How to Do the One-Handed Cut Card Trick

One easy way to entertain friends and wow a crowd is to learn magic. Card tricks are fun since you can involve others in your slight of hand. You can do cool things like have them choose a card seemingly unknown to you, then reveal the card. So grab a deck, have someone pick a card, do the one-handed cut card trick and prepare to take your bow.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Enlist a friend or audience member to select a card from the deck. Ask the volunteer to look at the card while your back is turned. Turn around and secretly check the bottom card of the deck.

2. Instruct the volunteer to place the chosen card face down on the top of the deck, cut the deck in half and place the top half on the bottom. This puts the selected card directly underneath the bottom card you saw in Step 1. Keep your index finger in between the two halves, under the chosen card.

3. Cut the deck right after the selected card. Move the top half to the bottom so the selected card is now on the bottom of the deck.

4. Begin the one-handed cut and reveal by holding the deck face down in the tips of your fingers and thumb. Allow the bottom half of the deck to drop into your palm.

5. Use your index finger to tilt the bottom half up and then flop back down on top of the deck. Keep the top half separate by having the edge rest on your middle fingers.

6. Extend your middle fingers outward to push the selected card out of the deck. Then bend the fingers inward to flop the card face up on the top of the deck.

Tips & Warnings

• To make your one-handed cut card trick even more believable, borrow a deck of cards from your friend or an audience member or used a new, unopened deck.

Resources

• A magic and card tricks tutorial
• A popular card trick website