How to Perform the Do as I Do Card Trick

Place two decks of playing cards on the table.

Let the volunteer choose the deck she wants to use. This lends authenticity to the trick by showing that it's not the deck that's being tricky - it's you.

Take the other deck and shuffle it, saying, "Do as I do." She will shuffle her deck.

Now trade decks and shuffle each other's cards.

Trade once more so that you are holding the original deck you started with.

Put your stack of cards on the table, face down, saying, "Do as I do."

Take the top 2/3 of the deck and place it to the right of your remaining cards.

Take about half of this new stack and make a third pile to the right of the new one. You should both have three piles of cards in front of you.

Indicating the middle stack, announce that you will look at the top card. You and the volunteer look at the top cards on your middle piles, but don't show them to each other.

Pick up the pile of cards on the far left and set it on top of the middle stack. Pick up this new pack and set it on top of the third pile.

You should both now have just one pile of cards in front of you.

Cut the cards three times.

Now exchange decks with each other. Tell the volunteer that you are going to look for your card in her deck and she should look for hers in yours. Instruct her to lay the card face down on the table when she finds it.

When there are two face-down cards on the table, pick up one card and use it to flip over the other one, then turn over the one you are holding.

You both chose the same card!

While you are shuffling the volunteer's deck in step 4, get a glimpse of the bottom card. This is the only card you care about.

In step 10, when you put the first stack on top of the second, the bottom card of the original deck will be on top of the card you looked at. You know what the volunteer's bottom card was, so when you trade decks to "look for your card," the one you want to pull out is the one right in front of that bottom card.