Preparation:  
- Use a standard 52-card deck and shuffle thoroughly.  
- Ask three participants to each select one card without revealing it.  
- They must remember their chosen cards.  

Setting Up the Trick:  
1. Deal three piles face-down:  
   - Pile 1: 10 cards  
   - Pile 2: 15 cards  
   - Pile 3: 15 cards  
2. Keep the remaining 9 cards in your hand.  

Placing the Chosen Cards:  
3. The first participant places their card on Pile 1.  
   - They cut any number of cards from Pile 2 and place them on top.  
4. The second participant places their card on Pile 2.  
   - They cut any number of cards from Pile 3 and place them on top.  
5. The third participant places their card on Pile 3.  
   - You place the 9 extra cards from your hand on top of their card.  

Stacking the Deck for the Reveal: 
6. Reassemble the deck:  
   - Place Pile 3 on Pile 2, then place both on Pile 1.  

The Magical Sorting Process:  
7. Move the top four cards to the bottom of the deck.  
8. Begin revealing cards one at a time:  
   - Flip one card face up, then place the next card face down.  
   - Repeat until you run out of cards.  
9. Instruct participants to shout "Stop!" if they see their card.  
10. Set aside the face-up cards and repeat the process until only three face-down cards remain.  

The Grand Reveal:  
11. Turn over the final three face-down cards:  
   - The top card belongs to the third participant.  
   - The second card belongs to the second participant.  
   - The bottom card belongs to the first participant.  



This trick works through controlled placement and structured elimination, not sleight of hand. Here’s how:  

1. Positioning the Chosen Cards:  
   - The first participant’s card gets buried under a random number of cards from Pile 2.  
   - The second participant’s card gets buried under a random number of cards from Pile 3.  
   - The third participant’s card is placed under the 9 pre-set cards in your hand.  
   - Since the deck is always stacked in a controlled way, their cards maintain predictable positions.  

2. The Alternating Flip Mechanism:  
   - By flipping every other card and eliminating face-up ones, you systematically reduce the deck.  
   - The last three remaining face-down cards must be the chosen ones, due to their controlled placement.  


1. Audience Engagement:  
   - Let participants believe they have full control by letting them cut random amounts of cards.  
   - Build suspense by slowing down before the final reveal.  

2. Educational Additions:  
   - Probability: Explain how despite seeming random, the trick follows a logical sequence.  
   - Patterns in Card Tricks: Have students analyze the deck structure and predict where the chosen cards might be before the reveal.  

3. Presentation Flair:  
   - Give a dramatic pause before turning over the last three cards.  
   - Use a script: "These last three cards… should belong to you three. Let’s see if magic is real!"  

Watch the video.