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Step 1
Shuffle the deck as many times as you like since mathematical tricks rarely rely on anything but numbers. Allow your spectators to cut, shuffle and cut again to their hearts' content.
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Step 2
Fan the cards to illustrate that the deck you are using is a normal, random deck. Even if you must stack the cards in the deck (for instance, in a math trick where an audience member's phone number is spelled out by the last 7 cards), fan out the cards to show that the deck is normal.
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Step 3
Play up your trick with jokes or mysterious stories. If you're performing for kids, it's better and more engaging to invent a story about magical mind-reading powers than to just launch into your trick. Even older audiences will be amused by jokes or stories, which will also distract spectators from the math, which might otherwise be too obvious.
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Step 4
Play dumb from time to time. Instead of acting like you know the mysterious trick behind all of your math tricks, a fun strategy to start off your tricks is to fumble with the trick and act surprised by the results. A funny act might be to invent a story and inform your audience of a certain outcome, while instead their original cards keep showing up. You can still impress spectators by finding original cards that they've chosen, while also adding an element of surprise.
