Principle · Adept
The Pre-Arranged Stack
Secretly order the pack and miracles run themselves.
Definition
A stacked or pre-arranged pack is set in a secret order (such as Si Stebbins or Eight Kings) so that, knowing one card, you know them all. False shuffles and cuts preserve the order.
Why it fools people
Because the system is mathematical and rote, you can name the card above or below any cut, deal perfect hands, or reveal cards by spelling — all while the pack looks ordinary and shuffled.
What it lets you do
- Naming cut-to cards
- Dealing winning poker/bridge hands
- Whole-evening routines
Beginner drills
Learn Si Stebbins
Set the pack in +3 rank order with rotating CHaSeD suits. Practise naming the next card from any card until it is automatic.
Success: Cut anywhere and instantly name the card you cut to.
Common mistakes
- Losing the stack to a real shuffle.
- Hesitating, which reveals you are computing.
Tricks that use The Pre-Arranged Stack
The Sagacious Joker No.3
A spectator cuts, freely buries cards, and pockets three; the Joker names all three correctly.
The Card Doctor
A signed selected card is torn to pieces during a hospital story, yet at the end it is whole again and still bears the spectator's initials.
System for Arranging Cards
A reliable paper-and-pencil method for building any spelling arrangement so a deck spells out exactly as you want.
Peculiarities of the Pasteboards
Three spectators pick cards, and one by one each card answers its name, appears on top, then turns over by itself.
Thought Spelling
Three people merely think of cards from small fans, yet each thought-of card is spelled out and found.
Quadruple Spelling
Four people each think of a card from their own packet, and every thought-of card is spelled out and revealed.
Another Thought Spelling
A spectator thinks of a card from a small packet and later spells it out, finding it automatically.
Improved Spelling Trick
A spectator thinks of one of several cards, then spells it themselves and turns up the very card.
Think It-Spell It
A spectator merely thinks of a card glimpsed in a small spread, yet you spell straight to it.