Spelling Bee (card trick)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Spelling Bee may refer to one of several card tricks that revolve around the spelling of card types, audience member names, or words suggested by the audience. Many make use of decks prepared in advance in order to provide the illusion of spelling card names in a particular sequence. Jean Hugard's Encyclopedia of Card Tricks lists a number of such spelling-based tricks,[1] many of which are considered to be self-working.
In the first style of Spelling Bee trick, the magician shuffles a deck of playing cards and removes a stack of thirteen cards from the top.[2] Holding these cards face down, they state they will be able to spell the name of each card using only that stack. They will draw cards one at a time from the stack. For each card drawn, they spell one letter from the intended card's name, then place the card on the bottom of the deck.[3] After the card's whole name is spelled, the next card drawn will be the intended card. For example, if the magician wishes to spell out "ace", they will draw three cards, saying the letters "a", "c", and "e" as they go. Then they will draw a fourth card, which will be an ace. The ace is removed from the deck. The magician can then continue through the deck, repeating the process for "two", "three", and so on, up to "queen", until the magician is holding only one card, which will be a king.[2] John Scarne's variation on the trick includes some intentional misspellings as a performance element.[2]
This trick requires some preparation on the part of the magician, who arranges the cards in order before beginning the performance. When spelling from ace to king, the order is 3-8-7-A-Q-6-4-2-J-K-10-9-5.[3] A mnemonic is as follows:[4]
387 years ago, a queen, 64 years old, had 2 sons, Jack and King. Jack worked until 10, but King worked a 9 to 5.
For two to ace, the deck is arranged J-4-9-2-K-8-A-5-7-3-Q-10-6. At the beginning of the trick, the magician performs a false shuffle that does not disturb the arrangement of the top stack.[2] The trick can also be performed without the false shuffle, making it accessible to the unskilled performer.[3]
The Encyclopedia of Card Tricks presents a more complex variation of this trick, called the Shuffled Spelling Bee. This version uses the entire deck, with the black suits, the spades and clubs, arranged in advance. An audience participant is given a magician's choice that results in the unwanted red suits, the hearts and diamonds, being removed. The spades are provided to the audience member, and the magician then spells out card names using the clubs.[5] A further variation on this trick by Stuart Lee uses all four suits.[6]
