A deck of cards is one of the most useful tools in a magician’s bag of tricks, as it can be used for a ton of different magic tricks. Card magic is very popular with all types of audiences, as it’s engaging, quick, and baffling; it’s also a favorite of magicians as its simple to practice, portable, and requires no elaborate equipment or any set-up or preparation. There are hundreds of different magic tricks that use a deck of cards and we’ll highlight some of the most popular ones below. Be forewarned, though, we’re not going to reveal any secrets so you’ll have to look elsewhere for magic tips or instructions.

The Color Card Prediction and Rising Card trick are two of the most popular, and both are quite easy to learn. In the Color Card Prediction trick, spectators are asked to pick a card from the deck; when they do they discover that they selected the only red-backed card in a deck of 51 other cards with blue backs (or vice versa). The Rising Card trick is exactly as it sounds, with spectators picking a card and putting it back in the deck. The magician taps the deck with his finger and the selected card comes rising out.

The Dealing a Royal Flush trick is a favorite with poker fans or gamblers who play online slots, video poker, and other casino games. The magician deals hands for himself as well as various spectators, with the dealer somehow always managing to get the very best hand in poker, a royal flush. The Simple Monte is a take-off on another gambling game, as a spectator is shown just three cards and ask to memorize them. When the middle one is selected the spectator is asked what it is, only to find it’s a completely different card when revealed.

Mind Reader is another classic card magic trick, with a spectator asked to shuffle the deck and memorize the card on the bottom, and put the deck back into the card box. The magician then tells the spectator the card they memorized without ever opening the box of cards. The Killer Prediction is a similar mind reading trick, as the magician first produces a sealed envelope and says there’s a message inside, then asks the spectator to flip through a deck of cards until they feel like stopping. When they stop the envelope is opened and the message picks the exact last card the spectator dealt on the table.