The Card Wizard is a mysterious entity who, when called on the telephone, can guess which card has been drawn at random from the deck.

You can invoke the Card Wizard at any small, casual gathering in a home.  Our family has been invoking the Card Wizard for literally decades with great success in every age group.  Whether you spring the Card Wizard on your teenager's youth group, your drunken buddies, or a couple's dinner party, everyone will be astonished and delighted.  Only occasionally will someone come close to figuring out the secret, and everyone will enjoy the special magic of the Card Wizard.

Before I reveal the secret, I want to stress that the key to your success will be practice.  When you invoke the Card Wizard, you must do it with deadly precision. 

Set up:

Don't advertise in advance or give any warning that you will be contacting the Card Wizard.  When you find an appropriate moment, tell your group that you know someone who can always guess any card drawn randomly from a deck when contacted on the phone.  Say something like,  "It is really freaky, but this person literally became a legend known as "The Card Wizard."  I am not allowed to divulge the Card Wizard's history or any other details about the Wizard as a condition of my access to the Wizard's phone number."

Obviously, you'll have everyone's attention at this point.  Locate a deck of cards, and choose a victim to pick a card and hold it up for everyone (including you) to see.  The trick will work no matter which card is chosen, but for illustrative purposes, let's say the card was the eight of diamonds.

Delivery:  (Note:  Card Wizard's words heard only by you are in red)

Pick up the phone and call the Card Wizard.

Card Wizard:  Hello?

You:  Yes, I'd like to speak with the Card Wizard, please.

Card Wizard:  Clubs......Spades.....Diamonds.....

You:  (interrupt Wizard right after he says "Diamonds" ) Yes, I'll hold.

Card Wizard:  Ace.....king......queen....jack......ten.....nine.....eight...

You:  (interrupt Wizard right after he says "eight")  Here s/he is.

Hand the phone to your "victim."

Victim:  Hello?

Card Wizard:  Your card is............the eight of diamonds.  (Wizard hangs up.)

Tips:

The Card Wizard should be careful to speak quietly to you.  Loud-talking Wizards can sometimes be overheard saying "Ace...King...queen...."

The Card Wizard should grab a piece of paper and write down the suit and rank so he doesn't choke under pressure and forget something.

You can cultivate a few "alternate Wizards" in the event your Card Wizard is not available to you.  Gramps comes from a family of nine, and every one of his siblings is prepared and trained to serve unexpectedly as the Card Wizard no matter what the hour.

When the Card Wizard reveals the card to the victim, it is always entertaining if the Wizard speaks in a deep and mysterious voice.  The Card Wizard can also request that the victim place the card on his/her forehead, stand on one leg, etc. before revealing the card.

You can run into trouble if you try to call the Card Wizard but someone else in the Card Wizard's family answers who has no idea what you are talking about.  If you can't call someone who is single, it's best to call a "Wizard" who is in fact a husband/wife team with no children, and both the husband and the wife are trained to serve as the Card Wizard.  Avoid referring to the Wizard as "he" or "she" if you aren't sure who is going to answer the phone. 

People will start to figure out the secret if you perform the trick more than a couple of times.  ("Why on earth does the Card Wizard have to keep putting you on hold?  How busy can he be?")  It is allowable to reveal the secret of the Card Wizard to the group to conclude the trick if you'd like. 

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