X Marks The Card

by Real McCoy
(Rossville, Ga.)

This is one of the best cards tricks ever to be invented please do not share the secret with people who are not magicians!


THE PREPARATION: Go to an artist supply shop and buy a can of "Spray Adhesive" I suggest "3M Super 77". Take a Joker out of a deck of cards and lightly spray it's face with a coat of the adhesive. On the back of the Joker make a large X with a black market pen.


Place the other Joker that comes with the deck on the bottom of the pack and place your gimmicked Joker on top of that Joker at the very bottom of the deck.


Place the cards back in the box and place the pack in your pocket. You are now set to show one of the best card tricks ever!


TIP: It is imperative to prove that you do not have a stooge helping you do this trick, so when picking out an assistant throw out a balloon or some object for someone to catch at random.


THE EFFECT / SECRET: When you have the assistant, ask him or her to shuffle an imaginary deck of cards then take a card out of the imaginary deck. Using an imaginary pen ask them to mark the card with an X and put the card back in the deck. Finally ask them to put the deck back into the imaginary box. This process usually causes a few laughs!


Have the assistant throw you the imaginary deck and as you reach into the air, pull down your deck of cards (that you have been holding all the time). Don't worry too much about palming the deck just sort of reach up into the air and pretend to grab your deck of cards from space.


Show the deck of cards still in the case and before you take the cards from the case ask the assistant what card they put the X on. Let's assume it was the Six of Diamonds. Hold the deck face up in your left hand. The audience will see a Joker on the bottom of the deck, do not bring attention to it but make sure they see that a Joker is the bottom card.


Fan through the cards until you reach the Six of Diamonds all the while making sure you keep it face up. Take the six of diamonds and place it on the bottom of the deck on top of the gimmicked Joker. You will find that it will stick to the gimmicked Joker real well (it is easy to take the cards apart when you are finish showing the trick).


Close up the deck leaving the deck face up with the Six of Diamonds showing on the bottom. Take the Six of Diamonds off the deck and throw it on the table, it will stay attached to the gimmicked Joker perfectly.


The audience will see a Joker still on the bottom of the deck so they have no reason to suspect anything funny is going on. Take the card from the table and slowly turn it over to reveal the X on the back of the card.


This is one of the best card tricks ever to be invented and if you perform it right you will baffle everybody who sees you do it. Enjoy!