Oil & Water

A simple deck of playing cards is all you'll need to perform this astonishing trick! Join host Ryan Oaks for another magical mystery!

A deck of playing cards

SOMETIMES WE USE MATERIALS THAT REQUIRE ADULT SUPERVISION…LIKE SCISSORS SO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE FRIENDS AND FAMILY AROUND WHENEVER YOU DO MAGIC TRICKS!

1. Remove six playing cards from your deck: the Ace, Two, and Three of Diamonds and the Four, Five, and Six of Spades. These will be the only cards you need.
2. Arrange the cards in the following order from bottom to top: Six of Spades, Two of Diamonds, Four of Spades, Three of Diamonds, Five of Spades, Ace of Diamonds.
3. Show the cards to your audience while keeping them in order. Indicate that the red and black cards are alternating back and forth.
4. Now hold the stack of cards face-down, with your thumb on the back and your fingers on the front side of the stack. The tips of your fingers should protrude about half an inch past the cards.
5. You’re going to show each card to your audience again, one at a time. Turn your palm face up to show the Ace. Say “Red” out loud as you do this.
6. Turn your palm face down again and peel the Ace up from the bottom of the card stack. Casually show it to your audience again and place it on top of the stack.
7. Turn your palm up again to show the Five at the bottom of the stack. Say “Black.”
8. Turn your palm back down. Peel and show the Five again as you did the Ace and place it down on top of the remaining cards.
9. Turn your palm up again to show the Three. Say “Red.” Turn your palm back down.
10. After you turn your palm back down this time, perform a secret move where you slide the Three half an inch back towards your wrist with your finger tips. This move is called a “glide.”
11. Peel what your audiences thinks is the Three from the bottom of the stack and place it on top. It will actually be the Four since the Three has been glided back out of the way.
12. Square the cards back up to realign the Three with the rest of the cards. Keep your palm down.
13. Peel the next card from the bottom (which should be the Three) and place it on top. Don’t show it to your audience. Say “Black” as you do this since your audience will think you’ve alternated to a black card.
14. Turn your palm back up to reveal the Two. Say “Red.”
15. Turn your palm back down. Peel and show the Two again just as you did your Ace and Five and place it back down on top.
16. Turn your palm back up one last time to reveal the Six. Say “Black.”
17. Turn your palm back down. Perform the glide move again to slide the Six back towards your wrist.
18. Peel what the audience thinks is the Six (but is actually the Ace) from the bottom and place it on top. Square the cards back up. Remind your audience that they have just seen the cards in alternating, red-black order.
19. Snap your fingers and turn the stack over, fanning it out to reveal that the cards are now sorted with the reds and the blacks in separate groups!
20. For the kicker, reveal that not only have the red and black cards separated, but are now in perfect order: Ace, Two, Three, Four, Five, and Six!