In My Pocket


Effect: A spectator picks a card. The magician looks for the spectator's card in the pack but can't find it. He then magically pulls the card out of his pocket.

Note: You must have two packs exactly the same to do this trick. If not, you can try the variation at the bottom.

Preparation: Take one card from one pack and put it in your pocket. You will no longer need that pack. Put its twin from the other pack on top of the pack.

Card Trick:

Flip through the pack of cards and ask the spectator to tell you when to stop. Stop at that place. Now comes the tricky bit. Remove the top half of the pack, sliding, with your thumb, the top card of the top half to the top of the lower half of the pack (this should be the same card as the one you have in your pocket). (Editor's note: Another method is to hold the deck in your left hand with your fingers wrapped around so that their tips rest on the top card. Riffle the cards upward with your right hand until the spectator says to stop. Lift the cards above the break with your right hand, while your left fingers slide the top card onto the lower group of cards. --RS) Hold out the cards below the break and tell the spectator to take the card and memorize it. Reassemble the pack and give it to the spectator, telling him to put his card in it and shuffle the deck. Take the pack and announce that you are going to find his card. After looking through the pack claim that you cannot find his card (although in fact you should have seen it). Then say something like "Hang on, what's this in my pocket?" and pull out the card.

Variation:

If you don't have two identical packs, you can use two cards of the same number and color. Get the spectator to find his card and put it on the table, then pull out your card.

Editor's note: When you're supposedly looking for the card, if you cut it to the top of the deck, it's fairly easy later to palm it off and get rid of it.



More

;