The Card Trick

Pick up the pack of cards and search for the 5 of diamonds and the 6 of hearts. Give the two cards to a member of the audience and ask them to replace the cards anywhere in the pack of cards.

Once the cards have been replaced, take the pack from the spectator and pretend to concentrate extremely carefully on the cards.

The trick will appear even more impressive if you keep your arms outstretched and clasp the pack of cards firmly in your hands. This will show the audience that you can't possibly do any sleight of hand.

Finally, after a few dramatic seconds, open your hand and show the pack to the audience. Slowly turn over the top two cards to reveal the red five and the red six.

The audience gasps and that's magic!

The Secret

Before you begin the trick, make sure that the 5 of hearts and 6 of diamonds are at the top of the pack.

Start the performance by searching through the pack to find the 5 of diamonds and the 6 of hearts. This will help to convince the audience that you don't have the cards arranged in a specific order.

Once you find the 5 of diamonds and the 6 of hearts show them to the spectators but don't draw their attention to the suits. Instead, refer to them as a red 5 and a red 6.

Just make sure that the 5 of hearts and 6 of diamonds are face down on the top of the pack when you hand it to the spectator.

Next, give the 5 of diamonds and the 6 of hearts to the spectator, and wait for them to hide them in the pack.

When the pack is returned to you, the trick is already completed (as the 5 of hearts and 6 of diamonds should still be face down on the top of the pack). You just need to add a few appropriate theatrics to make the trick seem more dramatic.

And when you reveal the red five and red six from the top of the pack most of your spectators will not realize that the cards have been changed. They'll just assume that they're the same red 5 and red 6 that were slotted into the pack.

But if someone notices that the cards have been swapped, here's the best way to proceed.

Adopt a more serious tone and ask the person to name the cards you're just revealed. Then ask them to name the cards that were originally hidden in the pack. If they name the right cards, ask whether anyone else in the audience noticed the problem.

If they did, announce to your audience that your pack of magic cards is broken. Next, tell the audience that to correct the fault you'll need their help. Then move on to perform another card trick that can be performed without any prior preparation. Once that trick works correctly, announce that your magic cards are now working properly and thank your audience for their help.

This will allow you to move on to another trick which should make your audience forget about the trick that someone saw through.

Whatever happens, don't try to repeat the trick as the pack won't be prepared and people will know what to look for.