Feel the Heat Card Trick

Tools:

One deck of plain playing cards.

The Effect:

Spread the deck of cards out and ask a person in your audience (the subject) to select a card from anywhere in the deck.  The card is replaced and the deck is squared.  By "feeling the heat" on the back of each of the cards, you will be able to tell which card was selected!

The Method:

1. First, ask your subject to shuffle the deck of cards.  Shuffling always adds to a good card trick.
2. Take the deck back, and, with a flourish, fan the cards, either between your hands or on a table.
3. Ask the subject to select one card from anywhere in the entire deck and to hide the card from you.
4. After the subject takes the card out, square up the deck.
5. Holding the deck in your hands, cut the deck somewhere in the middle, taking the top half of the deck in your right hand and holding the bottom half of the deck in your left hand.  Ask your subject to look at the card selected and remember it.
6. Outstretch your left hand, and have your subject put the selected card down on that half of the deck.
7. Drop the packet in your right hand on top of the packet in your left hand.
8. Once again, hand the deck to your subject and tell them to cut the deck and complete the cut.  (This will not change the order of the cards.)
9. Take the deck back.
10. Set the deck down and slowly feel the back of each card, turning each card over and tossing it, face up, into a pile off to the side.  Pretend to "feel the heat" left on the card when they touched it.
11. When you arrive at the card chosen, pause before you turn the card over.  Take a deep breath, point at the card and say, "This is it!"
12. Let the subject turn over the next card -- their card!  Everyone will be amazed.

The Secret:

At step #6, while the subject looks at the selected card or while the selected card is being replaced into the deck, whichever is less obvious, glimpse the card on the bottom of the stack in your right hand.  Remember it!  What you have just done is place a "key card" right above the card selected.  You don't know the identity of the selected card, but since you know the card right above it, it's almost as good!  Make the finish as dramatic as possible.  Act as if you yourself are amazed at what an incredible sleight-of-hand artist you are.

Important:

Your subject will watch your eyes, so do NOT look at the pile of cards as you discard them.  Instead, stare at the face down deck and use your side vision to glimpse the cards as you discard them.  Pretend to concentrate on the face down deck.  The longer it takes, the more dramatic the trick will be.  When you see the "key card" tossed off to the side, you know that the next card is the card your subject selected.

A Variation:

Instead of tossing the cards until you reach the key card, spread the cards face up across the table.  Ask your subject to point with his index finger.  Hold the subject's wrist as if you are feeling their pulse, and pretend that the pulse increases as their finger slides across the selected card.  Make several passes back and forth across the spread.  Slow down the motion and stop on the card that is directly above the "key card."  Touch the subject's finger to the selected card.  Your subject will think you felt their pulse increase!

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