Shuffle-Bored Card Trick

Effect

The magician cuts the deck in two and tells the spectator to take one half. The magician takes the other half. Then, both the magician and spectator shuffle their respective halves. Then, they lift some cards off of their packs, flip them face up, and trade. Again, the spectator and magician shuffle their packs (shuffling face up cards into face down cards). This trade/shuffle action is then repeated as many times as the spectator desires. Then, the magician shuffles both halves of the deck together. The spectator can then shuffle again if he wants. Next, the magician shows that the deck is composed of randomly face up and face down cards. Then, the magician pulls out a prediction sheet. It says, "There will be 21 face down cards." The magician or spectator goes through the deck, removing the face down cards. There are 21. Then, the magician unfolds the prediction sheet once, and it says, "There will be 10 red cards among those." The magician or spectator then goes through the face down cards, removing the red cards. There are 10. Next, the magician unfolds the prediction sheet again. It says, "The remaining cards will all be clubs." The magician or spectator then verifies that all of the remaining cards are clubs. They are all clubs... except for one: the Ace of Spades. The magician then unfolds the prediction sheet one last time, and it says, "Except for the Ace of Spades."

Method

1. Before the trick, get a piece of paper, and fold it in half three times. On the outside, write, "Prediction." On the other side, write, "There will be 21 face down cards."
2. Unfold the prediction sheet once, and write, "There will be 10 red cards among those."
3. Unfold the prediction sheet again, and write, "The remaining cards will all be clubs."
4. Unfold the prediction sheet completely, and on the inside, write, "Except for the Ace of Spades."
5. Then, remove ten red cards, ten clubs, and the Ace of Spades.
6. Shuffle those 21 cards, and place them on top of the deck, catching a pinky break below them. You are now ready to begin the trick.
7. Cut the deck at the break, and place it beside the bottom of the deck on the table.
8. Tell the spectator to take any half in his hand.
9. Then, tell the spectator to shuffle his pack as you shuffle yours.
10. Next, lift a few cards off from your pile, and turn them face up.
11. Invite the spectator to do the same.
12. Trade your face up cards with the spectator's face up cards.
13. Shuffle the face up cards you received from the spectator into the face down cards that you have.
14. Invite the spectator to do the same with the face up cards you gave him and the face down cards he has. You and the spectator can both shuffle as many times as desired.
15. Ask the spectator if he would like to do the trading sequence again. If he says, "Yes," repeat the previous steps (lifting cards from your pack, flipping them around, trading, and shuffling). If he says, "No," continue.
16. You can perform the trading sequence as many times as the spectator desires.
17. When the spectator is satisfied, take his packet of cards, flip them over, and shuffle them into your packet of cards.
18. Allow the spectator to shuffle as well, if he wants.
19. Now, spread through the cards, showing the spectator that some cards are face up and some cards are face down. As you spread through the cards, secretly look for the Ace of Spades. If you see the Ace of Spades while spreading through the deck, flip the deck over afterwards.
20. Now, pull out the prediction sheet, and have the spectator read the first prediction, which says that there will be 21 cards.
21. Deal through the deck, placing the face down cards into their own pile and counting them as you go. The spectator may do this if you like. There should be 21 cards.
22. Next, unfold the prediction sheet once, and have the spectator read the second prediction, which says that there will be 10 red cards.
23. Deal face up through the face down pile, placing the red cards into their own pile and counting them as you go. The spectator may do this if you like. There should be 10 red cards.
24. Again, unfold the prediction sheet once, and have the spectator read the third prediction, which says that the remaining cards will be clubs.
25. Turn over the remaining cards from the original face down pile. They should all be clubs... except for the Ace of Spades. The spectator should point this out to you.
26. Unfold the prediction sheet completely to reveal the last prediction, which says that the Ace of Spades will be the exception.

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