{"id":7645,"date":"2026-01-15T22:35:52","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T22:35:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/robertjwallace.com\/?p=7645"},"modified":"2026-01-15T22:35:53","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T22:35:53","slug":"dice-prediction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robertjwallace.com\/es\/dice-prediction\/","title":{"rendered":"Dice Prediction"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"\">This is another effect described by Matt McGurk on his youtube channel.  You can find that at <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/uxczhiTb9J0?si=65CU-LfJ-X6JnBLi\">https:\/\/youtu.be\/uxczhiTb9J0?si=65CU-LfJ-X6JnBLi<\/a>.  Below is a description of the trick followed by my modifications and notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Effect<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">A spectator shuffles a deck of cards. The magician takes them back briefly to remove a &#8220;Joker,&#8221; then writes a secret prediction and hides it under a glass. While the magician&#8217;s back is turned, the spectator rolls two dice and performs a series of randomizing steps to arrive at a secret number. They then deal cards based on that number and the final dice roll. Miraculously, the card they land on perfectly matches the magician\u2019s prediction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How the Trick Works<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Despite how &#8220;random&#8221; the process seems, the trick relies on two specific components: a <strong>top-stock memory stack<\/strong> and the <strong>&#8220;Rule of 7&#8221;<\/strong> found on standard dice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. The Secret Setup (The &#8220;Glimpse&#8221;)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">After the spectator shuffles the deck, you take it back under the guise of finding a Joker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\">As you spread the cards to find the Joker, you <strong>silently count to the 8th card<\/strong> from the top of the deck.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Memorize this card (e.g., the Three of Spades). This will be your prediction.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Remove the Joker and set it aside. Your prediction is now sitting exactly at the <strong>8th position<\/strong> from the top.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. The Dice &#8220;Math&#8221; (The Force)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">You turn your back and have the spectator follow these steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\">Roll two dice and add the top numbers (e.g., $3 + 2 = 5$).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Pick <strong>one<\/strong> die and flip it over (180\u00b0). Add the new top number to the total.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\"><em>Mathematical Secret:<\/em> Opposite sides of a die always add up to <strong>7<\/strong>. By flipping it, they have essentially added the remaining &#8220;half&#8221; of 7 to their previous total.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Roll that same die again and add the new result to the total (e.g., they roll a 4, new total is $12$).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Cover the dice with the Joker so you can&#8217;t see the numbers.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. The Reveal<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">When you turn back around, you ask for their final total (in this case, 12).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\"><strong>The Deal:<\/strong> They deal 12 cards onto the table.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>The Dice:<\/strong> You reveal the dice under the Joker. You ask them to add the two numbers currently showing on the dice and deal that many cards from the pile they just created.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>The Result:<\/strong> Regardless of what numbers were rolled, the math ensures that the final card dealt from that pile will <strong>always be the 8th card<\/strong> from the original deck.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Summary of the &#8220;Magic&#8221; Math<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">The sequence of flipping the die and rolling it again creates a mathematical &#8220;wash.&#8221; When you subtract the final dice total from the spectator&#8217;s secret number, you are always left with the number <strong>7<\/strong>. Therefore, counting down to the &#8220;next&#8221; card after that count always lands on the <strong>8th card<\/strong>\u2014the one you memorized at the start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">My modifications<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">First let me state that how McGurk performs this is great,  in fact I use his handling as a fallback.  What I do is use four die, with one roll.  This makes, in my opinion, the trick more straight forward.  I also do not turn my back, which lets me be certain that the spectator adds the numbers up correctly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">So here is how I do the effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">I have the spectator roll the four dice.  What I am looking for is to have two of the dice add up to seven.  The probability of this happening is about 63%.  If they roll the dice and no pair adds to seven I simply tell them to roll again &#8220;to convince themselves that the dice are normal and not loaded.&#8221;.  If necessary I have them roll a third time.  With two rolls the odds go up to 86%, and with the third roll to 94%.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">But even in that case I have an out.  If none of the tops add to seven then the odds of two numbers on the sides adding up to seven are <strong>100%<\/strong>.  So in that case I line up the four die, making certain that two of the center die add to seven.  Note that this also means the two center die faces that the spectator sees also add to seven.  I tell the spectator that to make it more random we will flip all four dice 90%, and they can decide whether or not to flip towards, or away from them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">The end result is that there is a row of four dice on the table, with the tops of the two middle dice adding to seven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">So now I have the spectator add up the tops of the four dice and let them deal that many cards to the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">I then tell them that we will now choose a random card from those dealt.  Because all good tricks have a start and an end, we will use the first and last die in the row.  I have the spectator add those two and deal that number of cards to the table.  The last card dealt is the prediction card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">One of the advantages of this method is that you are not locked into the 8th card.  In McGurks version you look at the 8th card because the number 7 is forced (by flipping of the die).  In my version you can look at the 7th and 8th card to begin with.  Then when they roll the dice you can set the two middle dice to be either 7 or 6.  If the two middle dice total 7 then the card forced is the original 8th card.  It the two middle dice total 6, then the 7th card is the force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Alternatively, you can use both &#8220;force&#8221; cards.  When I spread through the deck and can look for a matching pair next to each other, ideally the same color.  For example, two red nines.  If I don&#8217;t see any matches a simple one card cull can put two matching cards together.  Then I simply cut the deck so these cards are in the 7th and 8th position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Now after the counting and dealing the spectator will land on one of the two matching cards, and the other is right there to be revealed.  I will sometimes use a false cut, before the spectator turns over the card the dealt to.  I false cut and take the &#8220;random&#8221; card cut to and say &#8220;wouldn&#8217;t it be a co-incidence&#8221;  as I have them turn their card over and I turn mine over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">McGurk&#8217;s version and mine are mathematically the same.  In face, as I said before, I sometimes will use his as a fallback.  If the spectator has not rolled a seven I simply ask them if they are convinced the dice are normal and then tell the to pick any two and proceed with McGurk&#8217;s version.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Play around with this.  Look at <a href=\"https:\/\/robertjwallace.com\/es\/dice-decider\/\">https:\/\/robertjwallace.com\/dice-decider\/<\/a> as well, in that it uses four die and could be used as a lead in to this.  Also check out <a href=\"https:\/\/robertjwallace.com\/es\/aces-and-dice\/\">https:\/\/robertjwallace.com\/aces-and-dice\/<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is another effect described by Matt McGurk on his youtube channel. You can find that at https:\/\/youtu.be\/uxczhiTb9J0?si=65CU-LfJ-X6JnBLi. Below is a description of the trick followed by my modifications and notes. The Effect A spectator shuffles a deck of cards. The magician takes them back briefly to remove a &#8220;Joker,&#8221; then writes a secret prediction &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/robertjwallace.com\/es\/dice-prediction\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continuar leyendo<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Dice Prediction&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,159,142],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-magic","category-self-working","category-tricks"],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Bob","author_link":"https:\/\/robertjwallace.com\/es\/author\/admin\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertjwallace.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7645","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertjwallace.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertjwallace.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertjwallace.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertjwallace.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7645"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/robertjwallace.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7645\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7646,"href":"https:\/\/robertjwallace.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7645\/revisions\/7646"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertjwallace.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertjwallace.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertjwallace.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}