X-Ray Vision Card Trick

You can tell your friends that you have developed X-ray vision and can see through cards. You can prove it in several ways by identifying cards from their backs. A very simple but astonishing trick (if it is done quickly and smoothly) is to name the top card of four piles of cards after someone else has cut them at random.

Get someone to shuffle well. Take the pack back from them and shuffle the bottom card (which you have peeked at) to the top. Put the pack on the table. Request that, now the cards have been well shuffled by both of you, someone cuts them into four piles.

You know the top card (say it's the 7 of Hearts). Watch carefully which pile it is on. Touch any other pile, hesitate, announce 7 of Hearts;
then pick it up. Make sure no one else sees it. Glance at it; if, for example, it's the 4 of Clubs you touch the next pile and say `4 of Clubs, before picking up that top card and looking at it. Now touch the next pile and announce the name of the last card you picked up and do the same again to the third pile. If this time you pick up the Ace of Spades you at once announce Ace of Spades' as you pick up what you know is the 7 of Hearts.

Once you have all four throw them down with a flourish, face up, for all to see what good eyesight you have.

Your eyesight appears to be even better in the next trick as here you can apparently see through the whole pack. As usual, have the pack thoroughly shuffled and passed back to you. Cut the pack and secretly make a note of the bottom card. Let us say this card is the 2 of Spades. Pick the pack up and immediately put it behind your back. Bring the 2 of Spades around so it is face up on the top of the pack.
Bring the pack out and hold it up to face the audience so they can see the 2 of Spades. Hold the cards carefully so that they assume the whole pack is facing forward. Open your eyes, look at the back of the pack and announce that you can see straight through to the 2 of Spades. Of course you are looking at another card on the bottom of the pack (say the 3 of Clubs).

Shut your eyes, put the pack behind your back, move the 3 of Clubs to the front, and bring the pack up in front of the audience again. Announce '3 of Clubs' while making a mental note of the next card and so on. This can go on forever or until they are convinced of your X-ray vision.