Whispering Queen

While the classic Whispering Queen is considered quite easy, this should not keep you from practicing the tricks many times before moving before a live audience. Often, the lack of practice will show up by forgetting the necessary cards or the specific shuffling methods used.

• On the pretense of looking over the deck to locate a Queen, glance at and remember the two cards next to the bottom card of the deck. These two cards are the cards that the Queen will whisper to you at the end of the trick.

• Once you find a Queen, lay her on the table face up. Then, place the deck on the table face down and have someone cut the deck into two heaps without restacking them after the cut.

• Here’s where you gain the advantage on the volunteer. Have the volunteer count the bottom half of the cards onto the table in front of them so that the half deck of cards is inverted (i.e. the top card of the half deck becomes the bottom card of the counted half deck). When this is done, the bottom card will be on top of the deck and the two cards you remembered should be beneath them, but in a reversed order, so make sure you guess the correct card! Restack the entire deck into one pile with the counted half on top.

• Tell the volunteer to take the top card and place it into the middle of the deck. Then, tell them to do the same with the bottom card. This gives the volunteer the illusion that you are “burning” the top and bottom cards and thereby giving away any advance you may have had in seeing the top or bottom cards.

• Have the volunteer place the now top card (the first card you remembered) in their shirt pocket or in one of their pants pockets. Then have them do the same with the next card (the second card you remembered).

• Now, this is just for effect, so ham it up as much as you like, but not so much that you make your mark suspicious. Have your volunteer rub one of the cards in their pocket on the Queen that is lying on the table and place it back into their pocket. Pick up the Queen and “listen” for the card she has supposedly just seen, but you know anyway. Divulge the card to your volunteer and soak up the reaction.

• Then, just to drive it home even further, repeat the last step with the other card. This helps allows the volunteer to believe that you didn’t perform a simple force to see the top card since you actually know two different cards from the deck.

Learn this trick and many others in The Gag's collection of Books of Magic and Starter and Deluxe Magic Sets.

Join our monthly newsletter, GagMail, to be updated on new tricks every month, plus get exclusive offers and other cool stuff!