The Circus Card Trick

The Circus Card Trick is a card trick in which the magician has a card selected and returned to the deck. He then deals through the deck, turning cards face up onto the table. The magician deals the cards out, several cards past the selected card, making sure that the spectator sees their card dealt out as it is passed. The magician then stops and announces "The next card I turn over will be yours!" The spectator, having seen the magician pass the selected card, thinks the magician will surely fail. The magician then reaches down to the table and turns the selected card "face down".

Method

Before performing the trick, the magician notes the bottom card of the deck. When the selection is returned to the deck, the magician has it placed on top and gives the deck a cut, placing the card he noted above the selection. While dealing through the deck, the magician knows that the card after the one he noted (the original bottom card of the deck) is the selection. The rest is showmanship.

ources

*Clayton Rawson "How to Entertain Children with Magic You Can Do". ISBN 0-671-21056-4