The Final Sum

A card is secretly remembered while half the deck is counted. The cards are then placed back into the deck and apparently lost.

Three cards are dealt face up. Each card begins a small pile that is counted up to 10. The values of the three original cards are then added together.

That final number is used to count through the remaining cards.

The card found at that exact position is the card remembered at the beginning.

THE SECRET

Start with a normal 52-card deck.

Count 26 cards face up from the top of the deck, dealing them one at a time.

While counting, secretly remember the 7th card.

Continue counting normally until you reach 26. Flip those 26 cards face down and place the entire packet underneath the cards still in your hand.

You can say:

"We'll wash those cards back into the deck."

MAKING THE PILES

Turn the top card face up. Its value tells you how many more cards must be added until the pile reaches 10.

Use these values:

• Ace = 1
  
• 2 through 9 = face value
  
• 10 = 10
  
• Jack = 10
  
• Queen = 10
  
• King = 10
  

If the first card is a 5, deal five more cards while counting:

6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

If the card is an 8, deal two more:

9, 10.

If the card is a 10 or face card, it already equals 10, so no extra cards are added.

Repeat this until you have three piles.

Important: Remember the values of the three original face-up cards. Those are the only cards used for the final calculation.

THE FINAL SUM

Add together the values of the three original cards.

For example:

Queen + 5 + 9

The Queen counts as 10:

10 + 5 + 9 = 24

Your final sum is 24.

Take the cards remaining in your hand and count through them face down.

For a total of 24, deal 23 cards and turn over the 24th card.

It will be the card you secretly remembered as the 7th card at the beginning.

Critical: The final number is the card you reveal. If the total is 24, deal 23 cards and reveal the 24th.

PRESENTATION IDEA

As you count the first 26 cards, say:

"I'm going to split the deck into two groups. While I do that, I'm going to remember one card."

Secretly remember the 7th card and continue counting without changing your rhythm.



After placing the packet underneath the deck, say:

"Now we'll let the cards create everything else."



Deal the first card face up.

"Every card has a value. We're going to complete each one by bringing it up to ten."

Make all three piles, then add together the three starting cards.



"These three cards were completely determined by the deck. Added together, they give us one final number."

Count through the remaining cards and stop just before the final position.



"The strange part is that this number shouldn't know anything about the card I remembered earlier."

Turn over the final card.

It is the exact card remembered at the beginning.

PERFORMANCE TIP

Keep the opening count relaxed. Do not pause or react when you see the 7th card.

When making the three piles, keep the counting clear so the spectator understands that each pile simply reaches 10.

The entire trick is mathematical. Once the deck is positioned correctly, the final sum automatically leads back to the card remembered at the beginning.