Two Card Monte Card Trick

Effect

The magician asks the spectator if she has ever seen con men on the street play Three Card Monte. He then explains that the purpose of the game is to follow the red queen and then later identify where it is. The magician explains that he is going to do a variation with two cards. The magician starts by giving the spectator the Queen of Hearts to hold. Then, the magician takes the Queen of Diamonds and teaches the spectator the "secret switch." After performing the switch a few times, the magician gives the spectator each queen and asks whether she thinks the Queen of Hearts or the Queen of Diamonds is on top. The spectator takes a guess, and the magician tells her to turn the cards over. The spectator turns the cards over to see the Ace of Clubs and the Ace of Spades.

Method

1. Setup the deck ahead of time by placing the Queen of Hearts on top, the Ace of Spades second from top, the Ace of Clubs third from top, and the Queen of Diamonds fourth from top. You can perform this trick in impromptu fashion by secretly culling the aces in between the queens as you search for the queens.
2. Start by getting a pinky break under the top four cards.
3. Perform a single turnover (turn over the top card in the same manner as a double turnover) of the top card to show the Queen of Hearts.
4. Turn the card back over, and ask the spectator to hold out her hand with her thumb touching her first finger.
5. Place the top card, the Queen of Hearts, face down in between her first finger and thumb so that she is pinching the card.
6. Call out that you gave her the Queen of Hearts.
7. Perform a triple turnover to show the Queen of Diamonds.
8. Turn the three cards back over onto the deck as one.
9. Take the top card (what the spectator thinks is the Queen of Diamonds and in reality is the Ace of Spades), and hold it face down in your hand.
10. Tell the spectator that you are going to teach her the Two Card Monte switching move.
11. Slowly slide the card in your hand overtop of the card in the spectator's hand so that she is pinching both.
12. As you move your hand back, release the Ace of Spades and take the Queen of Hearts from the spectator's hand.
13. Call out that what you have just demonstrated is the switch.
14. Flash the card in your hand to the audience to show that you now have the Queen of Hearts.
15. Now say, "I am going to perform the switch two more times. Watch!"
16. Now quickly jab the card in your hand in between the spectator's fingers two times, but do not actually switch any cards.
17. Secretly perform a top change, exchanging the Queen of Hearts for the Ace of Clubs.
18. Place the face down Ace of Clubs on top and to the right of the card in the spectator's hand.
19. Ask the spectator, "Which card, the Queen of Hearts or the Queen of Diamonds, do you think is on top?"
20. No matter what the spectator says, tell her to turn over the cards.
21. When she turns the cards over, she will see that she is now holding two aces.

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