In most versions of the now very popular business of having a card thought of and finding it, it is necessary to go through several mixings and runs through the deck, with a bit of adroit, and sometimes not so adroit pumping and eliminations. This version has simplicity of method behind it. It is done quickly with little or no asking of the spectator this or that. Try it out a few times and see how perfect is the effect on the layman.

Prepare any deck by arranging ten cards of mixed suits from Ace to ten, the ten spot being at the face of the packet. A good card man won’t need it, but many will want to use a short card in the deck and this should be one of the Aces and the one used in the stack of ten cards. This packet of ten are on top of the deck. Give the deck several dovetail shuffles leaving the top ten in place and undisturbed. Now undercut about half of the deck and throw on top. Hold the pack vertically facing the spectator and with the right fingers riffle the top edge from the face towards the back, asking the spectator to watch the cards and just think of one.

Because the ten arranged cards are from about the fifteenth to twenty-fifth from the face, the first fifteen are let snap by rapidly as you ask the person to watch them. Just as you tell them to think of one, you reach the arranged packet, and at this point let the cards snap by deliberately so each can be seen. After these have been run through let the rest of the deck snap by very rapidly as you ask the spectator if he has seen one.

Never, after a few trials with cards in hand, will you have any difficulty in gauging the location of the arranged ten and the comparative speeds of riffling through. This, together with the timing of your statements, makes it almost imperative that their selection be among these ten. The moment you drop the pack and they admit having seen a card, cut it at the short card and give another dovetail shuffle leaving the top ten in place. Put the pack on the table and have them cut into two heaps. They point to one. You either pick it up or push it aside and take the other as the case may be but you must keep the top half for yourself.

Now ask them to watch you deal face down cards and they are to count until they come to the number of their card when they are to stop you. Deal off cards singly and slowly until you are stopped. Lay the card aside and ask them to name their thought of card and then turn over the one stopped at. It’s it !

As long as they think of one of the set ten, it must work out because they are all in order and it isn’t necessary that you ever know the suit or value until they stop you on the deal. A strong point in this method is that during the riffle for them to glimpse a card, there is no stopping or hesitating as is necessary with methods for practically forcing the selection. You have a range of ten and done with a little assurance should never fail.