# How is this Mentalism "guess the card" trick done? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 10, 2026, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-mentalism-guess-the-card-trick-done/1029972 "2026-05-10T19:20:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jharvey963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/54ee81/32.png) [@jharvey963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jharvey963)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2026, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-mentalism-guess-the-card-trick-done/1029972/1 "2026-05-10T19:20:59Z")
I have seen a couple of magicians do this mentalist trick, and I’d like to know how it is done: The magician has 3 - 5 people in the audience choose in their minds a card from a standard playing deck - so 52 choices. The people are told not to respond in any way. Then the magician talks out loud asking questions about the card: i.e., “I need to decide if it is a red or black card”. “It could be a high card or a low card”. “How high is the card”. etc. After several of these questions, the magician then says, “I’ve got your card” and tells what it is. Most of the time the magician is right. In 2 occasions, I saw one magician get 4 out of 4 correct, and another one get 4 out of 5. These people are not plants in the audience. I’ve known some of the people who were chosen. The magician must be getting clues from the people’s unconscious reactions somehow. Does anyone know how it is done, and what clues they see? Thanks, J. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2026, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-mentalism-guess-the-card-trick-done/1029972/2 "2026-05-10T23:38:26Z")
52 is between 32 (2 to the fifth) and 64 (2 to the sixth) so at most 6 well-chosen questions will determine the card. It’s hard not to react at all to a question, so a minor nod, headshake, exhale, widening of the eyes, etc. could give away an answer. And I suspect that a magician will be aware of which cards are most likely to be chosen “at random” by a typical person (people are not going to really pick at random), so that’s going to reduce the number of answers required a bit too. This [article](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/revealing-psychology-playing-card-magic/) in fact says > When asked to _name_ a card, over half of the people chose one of four cards: the Ace of Spades (25%), or the Queen (14%), Ace (6%), or King (6%) of Hearts. If you’re like most people, you may have chosen one of these cards when asked at the beginning of this article. (A full [list of cards and their frequencies](http://www.psychologyofmagic.org/research/cards/data.html) is also available.) > But when asked to _visualize_ a card, people seemed to choose the Ace of Hearts more often. In our sample, they chose it almost twice as often when asked to visualize (11%) rather than name (6%) a card. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2026, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-mentalism-guess-the-card-trick-done/1029972/3 "2026-05-10T23:42:27Z")
Do you have a clip you could show us? Not that I doubt your recollection, but sometimes we miss things when we recall from memories. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2026, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-mentalism-guess-the-card-trick-done/1029972/4 "2026-05-10T23:48:14Z")
Yeah, it would be particularly interesting to see what the right answers have been. If they’ve been random cards like the six of diamonds, that’d be more impressive than if it were any of the ones mentioned in the link above. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2026, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-mentalism-guess-the-card-trick-done/1029972/5 "2026-05-10T23:54:43Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Not that I doubt your recollection, but sometimes we miss things when we recall from memories. Also, there’s the like of Max Maven’s old “four-sided triangle” trick: even if _you_ remember it right, there never was anything for _you_ to hear and get clued in by; it’s only the person choosing the card who hears something different… ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2026, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-mentalism-guess-the-card-trick-done/1029972/6 "2026-05-11T00:24:12Z")
My trick card deck was all the same card x 52. I was the Whomping Great Wrek.. 100% accurate! “Coulda been a contender!” 😆 ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2026, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-mentalism-guess-the-card-trick-done/1029972/7 "2026-05-11T00:28:46Z")
This reminds me of the Penn & Teller Is this your card? 3 of clubs ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2026, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-mentalism-guess-the-card-trick-done/1029972/8 "2026-05-11T02:31:16Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Do you have a clip you could show us? Not that I doubt your recollection, but sometimes we miss things when we recall from memories. Especially when there’s a person who’s specifically skilled in tricking us into seeing and remembering something other than what actually happened. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2026, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-mentalism-guess-the-card-trick-done/1029972/9 "2026-05-11T14:27:27Z")
> [@jharvey963](#): > > The magician must be getting clues from the people’s unconscious reactions somehow. I was an amateur magician and did some mentalisms, although not this particular one. I don’t know how this particular trick is done, but I my money would be on something other than reading reactions. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2026, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-mentalism-guess-the-card-trick-done/1029972/10 "2026-05-11T15:33:04Z")
> [@jharvey963](#): > > The magician has 3 - 5 people in the audience choose in their minds a card from a standard playing deck - so 52 choices. The people are told not to respond in any way. Then the magician talks out loud asking questions about the card: i.e., “I need to decide if it is a red or black card”. “It could be a high card or a low card”. “How high is the card”. etc. The “not respond in any way” sounds like misdirection. You say that so people remember it. Before you say that, you say something like, “And write it down,” or “Tell your neighbor,” or otherwise record it. That’s where the trick is done. Or not, but done in some other way that you forget. I’m far from even an amateur magician, but I know barely enough to teach an after school magic trick club. My first lesson is this: do the trick when the audience isn’t paying attention, and get them to pay attention when you’re not doing the trick. If you’re trying to understand how a trick is done based on memory, there’s a very high chance you’re not remembering the moment when the trick was done. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2026, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-mentalism-guess-the-card-trick-done/1029972/11 "2026-05-11T15:49:42Z")
Do try to remember that when a magician says he does not use stooges/plants, they are not in court testifying under oath. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2026, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-mentalism-guess-the-card-trick-done/1029972/12 "2026-05-11T15:58:26Z")
Yeah, you really need to see a video of the performance to see how it’s done. The magician will do certain things that make it seem like you had a free choice and you will remember it that way but he has control over it. Example if there were and object A and B and they wanted you to end up with object A they may say something like “Pick up either object…” and if you take object A continue with “…and that’s yours”. If you take object B continue with “… and give it to anyone else but yourself.” Afterwards you remember and tell people “he let me freely choose the object”. ---
**Author:** ![Steven\_Maven](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steven_maven/32/3272_2.png) [@Steven\_Maven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steven_Maven)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2026, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-mentalism-guess-the-card-trick-done/1029972/13 "2026-05-12T16:25:18Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Do try to remember that when a magician says he does not use stooges/plants, they are not in court testifying under oath. As a life-long amateur magician I will say that many magicians consider using stooges as “cheating.” I can’t say it never happens. I can think of some popular effects where it seems probable to me, but I cannot reveal which ones I suspect. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-mentalism-guess-the-card-trick-done/1029972/14 "2026-05-14T04:05:44Z")
> [@Steven\_Maven](#): > > As a life-long amateur magician I will say that many magicians consider using stooges as “cheating.” I can’t say it never happens. I can think of some popular effects where it seems probable to me, but I cannot reveal which ones I suspect. Quite a few years ago, I got into an argument regarding “magic” tricks, and my personal read on some of them (in this case using a “technically not-quite” a stooge) and did a direct comparison to mentalists and why I didn’t fine mentalists or that particular type of trick interesting or amusing. Though there were plenty who disagreed with me! > [@Magic: Making Big Things Disappear](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magic-making-big-things-disappear/42794/50): > > I think there is a slight difference. For a visual illusion, there is a chance that an eagle eyed observer can figure it out, where the illusionists skill in misdirection and showmanship are put to the test to prevent just that. Having the entire premise falsified because your confederates used a Obi-wan level cheesy cheat, nope, that’s just short of bait-and-switch. Sure, it’s better than the earlier examples where everyone is in on it, or visual effects are used to create an illusion that w… ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-mentalism-guess-the-card-trick-done/1029972/15 "2026-05-14T22:10:30Z")
If it’s any help, here’s Max Maven doing the effect I’d [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/XjlCDPuusT4/maxresdefault.jpg "Max Maven - Mind Reader - The Best of Magic - 1990") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjlCDPuusT4) He repeatedly emphasizes that she never wrote down which card she’d had in mind, or disclosed it to anyone — and he’s not even _pretending_ to read her responses, because the whole point of the posterboard is to sell it as a _prediction_ — and he obligingly spelled out the specifics in one of his books, though I’m sure the SDMB could explain it in short order. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2026, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-mentalism-guess-the-card-trick-done/1029972/16 "2026-05-15T00:56:09Z")
I’d say that it depends on the number of stooges needed relative to the size of the live audience. When you have an audience of three, even one of them being a stooge is too much. But a trick performed for an audience of a thousand, that depends on three of them being stooges, is fine. And a live audience of 300, all of whom are stooges, so the trick only works at all for the TV audience, is right out (_cough_Copperfield_cough_). > [@Andy\_L](#): > > This [article](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/revealing-psychology-playing-card-magic/) in fact says > > > When asked to _name_ a card, over half of the people chose one of four cards: the Ace of Spades (25%), or the Queen (14%), Ace (6%), or King (6%) of Hearts. This suggests a method for the trick in the OP: Ask several people to think of a card, guess those four cards, and you’re likely to get a few of them right. And then people only remember the successes, not the failures. Am I sure that’s how it was done? No. There are about eleventy hundred different ways to do the “Pick a Card” trick, and almost all written descriptions of a magic trick will leave off or get wrong enough details that it’s almost never possible to tell which one. But it seems like a reasonable and simple possibility.