21 Cards

This is a mathematical based trick involving three rows of twenty-one cards. After dealing them out a couple of times, you can deduce the spectator's card.

Pictures

1. Line up the cards in three columns

Method

You set up 3 rows of 7 cards each, face up.
You have someone come up and think of one of the cards (not telling you what it is).
Ask which row of cards their card is in
Gather up the cards, but be sure to put the row they said INTO THE MIDDLE of the 3 piles. Lay the cards out again, like this. Deal three cards in a column, then the another three cards in a column next to the first. Deal the rest the same way, until you again have 3 rows of 7 cards each. Ask again which row. Gather the cards and repeat for the third time. (Remember to put their row in the MIDDLE of the pile.) The 3rd time, you know what card it is because when you ask them which row, it's the 4th card in that row.

Advice

Here are two alternative endings -

Say you will find their card. Shuffle, then flip cards into a face up pile, until you go past theirs. Say: "The next card I flip will be yours." They'll be thinking: " he/she doesn't know it went by already..." You amaze them by flipping over their card in the discard pile!
You can square the deck out (so it's face down) and explain that the word ABRACADABRA is a very magical word which changes and truly defies nature! Spelling ABRACADABRA, deal out the cards face down, one for each letter. So you would be spelling A-B-R-A-C-A-D-A-B-R-A , at the last A you should have 10 cards already dealt out onto the table, pause for a beat at the 11th letter of ABRACADABRA, and turn over the card to reveal it to be the spectators!

Comments

LordofChange 18th Apr 06	Unforteatly whilst the principle of this trick is a good one just about everyone knows it or one of its variations!!!
odddog93 20th Apr 06	i would like to add an alternate endig: you take their card and put it in 1 of 4 "hoses", maening you put 2 cards naext to each other, and put 2 cards over them, but the other way. then you tell them to pick 2 houses, then1, 2 cards then 1, and, depending on wich card is theirs, you take away cards, orleave. basically, they are picking the cards, but you are picking for them.
ginterk 22nd Apr 06	odddog's ending is a bit confusing but i still think that it would work
Mysterioi 2nd May 06	Who doesn't know this one. Magician or not???
Sunny 7th May 06	Everyone I know know's this trick
sajid 10th May 06	A simple trick ....!! but good one ,,,!
blacktiger 15th May 06	a better ending: gather the rows up according to the same way you would for a fourth time. make one pile face down of the first row you picked up.(lay them in a star like pattern)Then lay the next row down but memorize where the fourth card is. then finish the third (star). Then through proccess of elimination have them choose two of the three piles(stars). If one of the piles that they choose has there selected card in it take away the third pile. one they are down to the pile with there card in it, use the same method for each individual card until finally they are down to one card(their card) then you turn it over to reveal the card the choose.
jaz 25th May 06	simple too many people have seen it
Eco 1st Jun 06	this trick is no actually that useful, those who "do" maths(99.9% of the ppls) might now understand this
magicholmesy 2nd Jun 06	I agree that this is a simple trick and that most people will have seen it - but there's a nice twist to add to it... once you know the card, collect them in and shuffle. now tell the spec to watch as you deal the cards. deal until their card, then cover it with about 10 more cards. now announce that the 'next card you turn over' will be their selected card. you may even offer to place a wager on it, if thats your thing... anyway, once they have agreed to bet with you, go back to the dealt cards, remove their selection, and simply turn it over! then collect your beer/cash or whatever they bet you! great in pubs, this one.
trappakeepa 8th Jun 06	Yeah like many other people said, this trick had already been seen by alot of people, but if you find someone that hasn't...theres still a chance that the spectator will figure the trick out.
Wexler 11th Jun 06	i new this trick a while ago. its a nice effect
crazybuzz 14th Jun 06	Pretty cool. The audience knows theres a trick but often cant figure it out.
wtfomfg2 25th Jun 06	good card trick for beginners i used it all the time when i started.
Ambitiouscard2 26th Jun 06	Great trick. Good to do at a dinner table.
badass115 29th Jun 06	i like this trick i also made my own variation where i use the whole deck
MDew 8th Jul 06	its a really good trick once you add some patter into it, saying something about the cards themselves are in a 'magical sequence'. add a story as well, something like a quest to find your card amongst the 20 other cards...this will keep their mind off the 'maths' enjoy the story.
Gusty 12th Jul 06	This is a good trick and I figured out a way to do it without them telling you which row their card is in but it is slightly more risky. If you spread the three rows far apart, and tell them to pick a card and concentrate on it. Watch their eyes and pick the row they looked at. Of course if they don't look at any row you could just do it the normal way.
taysimpsapimp 22nd Jul 06	i love this one..the only one who got it was my dad but he gets everything
bachlover 4th Aug 06	very very good magic trick but you can also do it with four rows of cards with four in each row good though
cotyt94 30th Aug 06	that trick is simple but to add more effect, tell them that you know which card it is and point to it. now gather up each row in a pile and then put them al together. make sure to put the pack where their card is in the middle. now lay them out in plies of 4. you know that their card is the 11th card in the deck count in your head and remember where you layed out the card.have them say which piles they want removed. if they pick the pile that the card is in, remove the other 2 piles.
joe11 31st Aug 06	Nice and easy but add some presentation by picking up all the cards and then reveal by asking the spectator to "keep thinking of their card" then turn over the thought of card.
ciwi286 28th Sep 06	nice and simple i love self working maths tricks
stevek 1st Oct 06	As a total beginner I have had to start somewhere, my kids (6&4) thought it was great
luigi10liker 3rd Oct 06	I wouldn't perform this trick much, because it is one of the most common card tricks found on the internet.
ryan70777 11th Oct 06	i like it because its self working
damsieb 26th Oct 06	A simple math trick that works well with kids and young teens
Wren 28th Oct 06	Its a pretty good trick. I enjoy the spectators reactions when I perform it on the streets.
MasterD 5th Nov 06	This trick works ok but takes a bit of time to perform, and it's quite common
RaistlinMajere 5th Nov 06	I have sat here for an hour and I've only gotten the trick right maybe twice. It seems that it only works if the card chosen is in the middle somewhere.If you pick the last card in the last row, it never works. Am I doing something wrong?
ChadS 9th Nov 06	I find that the three card variation works and looks better... also, too many people know this trick and they figure it out easily
JordanG 9th Nov 06	Good for kids, but not only do most people know it, most know how to do it!
xavekiller 10th Nov 06	its funny when peeps do this trick to me i lie and say the wrong pile and messs them up for everyone who is watching
mabel 14th Nov 06	A good trick for little kids but nobody's going to be amazed by the fact that this is just math.
Babypimp 14th Nov 06	nice trick. it's really simple good for beginners.
MoritaNaoki 21st Nov 06	Ah, my first ever trick. The mathematical aspect of the effect is obvious if you allow the audience to focus on it, but being a magician we are allowed to use patter as midirection. I hadn't performed this trick for three years before I performed it to a new friend last week: he's also a magician and he wasn't aware of how I performed the trick. My ending is similar to 'blacktiger's, although I use seven piles of three cards each, then reduce them to one pile with the Magician's Force, and then repeat with the final three cards. I later performed that to a stranger, and he was also unaware of the secret. Performance is everything when a trick is simple and self working! Don't let the mechanics take over.
markf 21st Nov 06	stale. there are better self-working math tricks.
id175196 24th Nov 06	fun to do at the age of nine. Also, I would recommend the bitten quarter trick to people who liked that one
blakefire445 24th Nov 06	this trick is ok but it takes to long and poeple get bored or know how it is done, or you could also lay the cards out into piles of three and you know that thier card is the 11th card down so u use a magicians force to get to thier card and turn it over works ever time and is quite impressive iff they dont know how it is done, highly recomended for beginers!
invisiblepalm 26th Nov 06	It's ok. I know many variations and one that is different but the same in a way but still quite good.
magict 27th Nov 06	i tried this on my dad but i should have figured that he would figure out how to do it because hes a math teacher. pretty good trick though
2untouchable1 28th Nov 06	pretty easy, but takes a long time, i usually make it interesting in that once i know where there card is ..ill do some "focusing" to try to locate it ..and do a bunch of fancy things with the deck.
basblfan004 1st Dec 06	This was one of the first tricks I learned and it really gets 75% of the people you show it to baffeled. Well that is if your doing shows or showing them to individuals that aren't magicians. So give it a try!!
rulerof52 4th Dec 06	I do not believe in using this trick because, even though the spectator can't follow or understand how you do it, most everyone knows that the secret lies in the math.
shade2193 9th Dec 06	This is a simple trick. But with a little more touching up it could be better. This trick has messed me up many times but still is good.
djtima 13th Dec 06	I love it!!! It is so simple, yet so effective!!!
djtima 13th Dec 06	But sometimes it doesnt work, like sometimes their card is the 5th card in the row. Is there a reason for this???
imaseoulman 13th Dec 06	can be done seven by seven (instead of three by seven) using fourty-nine cards and you only need to deal it twice. After you know which card it is, memorize it's order from the top turn the cards face down and have them "pick any card" and force their card on them.
Rhoads99 17th Dec 06	First trick I ever learned, But alot of people say "Its just process of elimination" But they're just idiots, lol
pc 3rd Jan 07	I don't think that its a great trick in itself, but because its so well known, you could use it as misdirection for a different effect. For example, you could force a card on them so you know from the start what they have. As you gather up the cards for the third time, get a break above their card, do the pass and palm it off the top to your pocket. You build it up to make it look like you've made a mistake, before revealing their card. Even better, if you have a chance, slip a duplicate in to their pocket beforehand. Do the trick, and by palming the card from the pack as before you end clean. This would be just one example, so you could be creative to get different effects.
onekewlpenguin 10th Jan 07	There are many other variations of the ending of this trick, and most magicians know at least one. Its a great trick though!
a385400 18th Jan 07	nice trick, took a while to set up, but great response from the crowd at the end!
ranger 20th Jan 07	this is the 1st trick i ever learnt. I was bafffeled when i saw it first.
nirvanaman 12th Feb 07	I used to do this many times for many people and it used to be one of my favorites but I changed types of magic from self working tricks to sleight of hand tricks.
pierceveil 14th Feb 07	yes lots of folks have come across this effect, but i've found that a little creative patter can change an effect compleatly. making stillfor a good trick.
aceofangels5 15th Feb 07	Really good for someone that doesn't know any magic tricks. But unfurtantly alot of people know this effect.
Beginner 18th Feb 07	Good trick, however most people guess that it is a "numbers" trick... Still worth a show though
ddawg 23rd Feb 07	works by itself
htyhty 8th Mar 07	another idea if you knwo there trick is you can put them in four piles each while you knwo there card and just keep eliminating cards untill you pretty much force the card on them and hey get amazing, it is a twist that i have seen hopfully it is a good idea.
mysticalteen 9th Mar 07	The first alternative ending is one I use in combination with key card. I love it!
rattiemattie 10th Mar 07	what i do is give the 21 cards to the spectator and get them to choose one and leave it anywhere in the group of cards then i deal out three piles of seven face up. i tell them before that to look out for thier card and once im done dealling them tell me which pile its in make sure you put thier pile inbetween the other two piles. do this 2 more times then deal eleven cards from the bottom there card is the eleventh card
tobygw 10th Mar 07	This is probably the first magic trick I ever learned. Or that someone ever did to me. Very simple. Could have been a bit clearer with the explanation but still perfect for beginners.
Egyptianwaterlily 20th Mar 07	I throw my audience for a loop by using fake cuts and shuffles in between each time of laying them out. They think I'm mixing them up and stop thinking it's math based.
Marshal 20th Mar 07	Secretly write down "you picked a red card" and "you picked a black card" on seperate peices of paper and fold them up and put in seperate places stashed. At the finally, pull wichever one it turns out to be from where you stashed it and hand it to them. If you want to get real crazy wite down all 21 cards before hand on seperate papers and pull whichever one it is making it look as if you knew before the trick started what they would choose.
Pavan 21st Mar 07	A bit hard to understand but VERY EFFECTIVE.
magiciscool1 22nd Mar 07	i think the trick principal is pretty good but is a little i dont know odd
CJ11CJ 25th Mar 07	This trick is pretty hard to do but when i got the hang of it it was pretty easy
BigMagic 27th Mar 07	I have seen this before but forgot how to do it. I think you explained it very well. This trick is very very effective
G91292 30th Mar 07	I love this trick! I do it all the time but I use different amount of cards and rows so it doesn't make it too obvious cuz some people already know this trick. I usually use like 5 rows of 5, 5 rows of 7, 3 rows of 5, 7 rows of 3, 5 rows of 3, 3 rows of 9, and the list goes on...
guzzibear95 31st Mar 07	Great trick for beginners and has a great effect Ive done this trick before and all I can say is its one of my favorates!!!
astronomer95 2nd Apr 07	how come u put a pic that said 3 columns when the directions said 3 ROWS?
JusticeisServed 13th Apr 07	My favorite alternative ending is so brilliant and no one catches on to it. It also makes it look like it's not a math magic trick. Okay so here it goes. At the end, after recollection, place 4 cards into cross form up...right...down...left, do that four times. Have them pick two piles...since it is the eleventh card keep the third pile in at all times (pick up the cards in the normal fashion at the end) and then keep that card in play no matter what they choose...if they choose the pile with that card...say I'll keep this pile...than tell them to choose one of the remaining piles and keep the eleventh card in play...after that repeat that process instead of piles just use the cards since four cards should be remaining and it is the third card of that pile. Just remember put the first card verticle, second horizontal, third verticle at bottom and forth horizontal...making a cross.
rossco 17th Apr 07	very easy trick for a beginner to learn and perform. Here is an alternative way of performing it and also a different ending. I have fooled people who know this trick. Do the trick with all 3 piles of cards face down, showing spectator each pile by fanning them towards spectator (you never see the cards) The trick is still done in the same way only you never see the cards. For the ending you have their card pop up out of the deck. The way I do this is as follows: After you have done the 3 times with the piles, take one of the piles which DOES NOT have their card and place it face down on the table, NEXT using the pile which DOES HAVE their card in it, start laying these cards on top of the first pile BUT have these cards sticking out past the first pile about halfway, alternating each card (you will have 4 cards sticking out 1 way and 3 cards sticking out the other way) then place the third pack directly on top and directly above the first pack. When you pick up this entire pile of cards and gently tap it on the table their card will pop up out of the pack NOTE: Always tap the end of the pack that has the 4 cards sticking out. Note2: you may have to flip over the pack simply by turing over your wrist and gently tapping the other end as well. I always pause and ask the spectator to name their card just before I do this Sorry for the longwinded explanation, but when you see it done it looks great
xmagicx 26th Apr 07	Very nice trick. Seems fairly easy and rather well-known by magicians and non-magicians. It still impresses many people though since not as many non-magicians do know it although most can figure out that it's a mathematical sequence. However, for a beginner card magician this is the ideal trick since it is one of the easiest "mind reading" tricks to perform and practice.
dasuprememep 17th May 07	This is a self-working trick. Even my four yrs. old cousin found out.
sasuke14 19th May 07	um this trick is awesome but even my grandpa knows it hahahahahahahahahahahahaha. now thats sad
oddbit 26th May 07	I'm not partial to math based mentalism tricks. When I see one guy, Maven, on TV I'm always a step ahead of him, at least. [Multiply by 2, add 8, divide by two and subtract 4 indeed!] But as a trick this one is still pretty good. It's true you can have a hard time finding people who don't know it, but that doesn't take away from the effect. The "ABRACADABRA" ending is a new twist, as are some of the suggested ones in the comments. These might make it different enough in that those t
martyfracker 5th Jun 07	This is a great trick but my brother showed me a 15 card variation and at the end the card rises up after you square up the cards and stand it on end
Lamborghini 15th Jun 07	Such an old trick, but it always works if done correct..it also has many other variations..You only need to use an odd number of cards divisible with three, do the whole process specified by our ''magician'' three times and count off the whole number of cards in the packet divided by two and add 1...
sunbursttele 7th Jul 07	Ahh, you've found my old friend. I find the ABRACADABRA ending is better then the other ones. It doesn't seem like you are counting, rather just spelling a magical word. 4/5
iponeu 10th Jul 07	your alternative ending #1 works best on little kids. even though that may sound like a bad thing, its not, my little cousins treat me like a god because of how suprised they were from that one trick. thands a bundle.
LACOM 7th Sep 07	for the ending you should get rid of the categories that don't deal with the card until you have two cards left, pretend to think about their card to bid up suspense and get rid of the other card
aperson314 15th Sep 07	This is a great trick because you have to do very little work. Kids fall for this easily.
Peteiscool1 25th Nov 07	I love to see people's reactions when they see this trick. The ABRACADABRA ending is awesome and uniqe. You can also write a perdiction on a piece of paper to add to the effect.
byrdno7 17th Dec 07	I remember this trick from when I was a kid. It still works for me on most laymen, and it's a good starter trick to use to open with.
lewismoore 4th Jan 08	Great classic trick. I too, NEVER look at the cards, I include false shuffles and after each gathering of the cards do a random cut asking "is THIS your card?" (which gives me a reason to do the same thing 3 times) The BEST addition I can offer is to include 'Muscle divining' to find which pile the card is in.
otterman4444 3rd Feb 08	For those of you who are not partial to ABRACADABRA it is no the only one that works. Any magic words that are eleven letters long will work. For example HOCUS POCUS works just as well and you can make up your own depending on your style.
Marael 3rd Jun 08	This manner in the end you draw attention to 11th card. You can simple distribute the cards without pattern, trhrowing them on the table (and mentally marking the 11th card), and after that close your eyes, concentrating, put your fingers on the head of spectator, open your eyes and suddenly flip the card they choose. It will be much more difficult to figure out what is happening
kidmagicion 25th Jun 08	this is a great trick I did it to my class and only 4-6 people guessed it(one of them had a friend who was a magician). its great for beginners and people who aren't magicians don't guess it very often
jordan8 3rd Oct 08	took me forever to find how to do this. but it dont always end up as the 4th card. mine ended up as the 2nd.
waterfall381 29th Oct 08	Think of other 11 letter words or phrases for an added effect. you could spell out "your card is" with cards and flip over the next card.
coreyhammer 3rd Nov 08	Using a false shuffle is a good way to make it appear that it's not self-working. I would also suggest reshuffling to rows instead of columns. By doing so, you shift the pattern of shapes and colors and that should obscure that the orders are essentially the same.