How to Do the Motel Dilemma Card Trick

The Motel Dilemma trick is an easy self-working card trick that almost anyone can do. Self-working tricks are fun because it looks like you have done something amazing, when it was simple math or something similar that made the trick work. Keep reading to learn how to do the Motel Dilemma trick.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Deck of cards

1. Learn the Motel Dilemma story. You will tell this story while performing the trick. The story doesn't have to be exactly the same each time, but must follow the same string of events. Four ladies went to a motel. The clerk behind the counter asked the busboys to take their luggage to their rooms. Four men then came to the hotel and the clerk accidentally sent them to the same room he had sent the ladies to. Once the clerk realized his mistake, he rushed to the room to find the ladies and the men having a big argument, so he called the police.

2. Remove the four queens, kings, jacks and aces from the deck of cards. The queens should be together, the kings together and so on. The cards should be face down, with the queens on top, the jacks under them, the kings under the jacks and the aces under the jacks.

3. Deal the cards into four piles while telling the story. Deal the queens while telling about the ladies and deal the jacks on the queens when telling about the busboys. Deal the kings on the jacks when telling about the men and deal the aces on the jacks when telling about the police. You should now have four piles, each with a queen on the bottom, followed by a jack, a king and an ace.

4. Pick up the four piles and put them on top of each other. Explain that the ladies, the men, and the police had a long discussion to get everything sorted out. While doing this, cut the cards many times. You must do a simple cut, taking half of the deck off the top and putting it on the bottom. Repeat the cut as many times as you wish.

5. Explain that after everyone straightened out the situation, the ladies went back to their room, the busboys went back downstairs, the men went back to their room and the police went back to the station. As you say this, deal the cards back out into four piles, one at a time. The first card goes in the first pile, the second card in the second pile, the third card in the third pile, the fourth card in the fourth pile, the fifth card in the first pile and so on until all the cards are dealt. The queens, jacks, kings and aces should all be together once again.