This is another Larry Jennings trick, which was written up by Harry Lorayne in his magazine, Apocalypse V9.
The Setup
Crimp the bottom card in advance. I use a breather crimp that when the deck is cut becomes the bottom card.
Hand the deck to the spectator and let them shuffle.
Take the deck back, cutting the crimped card to the bottom.
Say:
“Think of a number between 1 and 10. Got it? Good. There’s no way I could know it, right? Totally impossible.”
You’re going to say “impossible” a few more times—lean into it. It’s part of the buildup.
Now explain:
“I want you to silently deal three face-down piles, each with the number of cards you’re thinking of. If your number is 4, you’d deal 4 cards into each pile—like this…”
Demonstrate briefly (and casually discard those cards onto the deck afterward). Then:
“Do that now while I look away. I don’t want to hear how many cards you deal.”
The Selection
With your head still turned, say:
“Drop the rest of the deck onto any one of the three piles.”
“Pick up one of the other two piles, shuffle it, and take out any card. Remember it. Drop the rest of the pile onto the deck. Then drop your selected card on top.”
“Now shuffle the last packet and drop it on top.”
Their card is now buried and completely lost—yet under your full control.
The Reveal
Turn back to face them. Pick up the deck.
“There’s no way I could know what your card is… or where it is, right?”
Casually overhand shuffle, running exactly 10 cards singly. Then throw the rest of the deck on top. Give the deck one normal overhand shuffle, then cut the crimped card back to the bottom.
Hand the deck to the spectator:
“Spell the word impossible, dealing one card per letter.”
Before they deal the final “E,” ask for their card. Then have them turn over that last card.
It’s their selection.
Why It Works
This trick is entirely self-working. Their card ends up 10th from the top—perfect for spelling “impossible” (10 letters).
Want to mix it up? Use different words or names. For example:
Use incredible or can’t be done (also 10 letters).
Run 12 cards instead, and spell your name—or theirs—if it’s 12 letters long.
You can also count 10 cards silently onto the table as you talk, instead of running them with a shuffle. Just don’t make it look like counting.