This is my handling of a “self” working effect from one of Bob Longe’s books. He’s written many well‐regarded card‑trick books—notably Mystifying Card Tricks, World’s Best Card Tricks, and 101 Amazing Card Tricks—which offer a mix of sleights and self‐working effects.
Take a deck of cards and hand them to a spectator to shuffle.
“Last night, I had a dream.”
(You take out your written prediction and place it on the table—folded, under a glass, clipped, or plainly in view.)
“It felt real. Not just like I was watching something—but like I was being told something. A message was unfolding.”
“There was a person. I couldn’t quite see their face. But they were shuffling a deck of cards. They cut, they dealt, and then something happened. One card… mattered.”
(As you speak, spread the deck face up casually, comment on how mixed it is. You can start with a prediction already made, let’s say you have written your prediction as the “King of Spades”. The spectator does not know what you have written. As you spread them, spot the King and cull it under the spread until you find a 6, 7 or 8 spot card. Feed the King behind that spot card. Get a break below the face up King and cut it to the top of the deck.
This is all done causally, in the spectator’s mind the trick has not started yet.
“It was one of those dreams that haunts you in the morning, like it’s waiting to come true. So I wrote something down. I didn’t know why—it just felt like I should.”
(Gesture lightly toward the prediction.)
As you talk you have turned the deck face down and begin an overhand shuffle, pulling the top two cards to begin and then shuffling the rest. Because you pulled two cards to start, the number card (6,7, or 8) is on the bottom, with the King of Spades above it. Follow with a second overhand shuffle, milking the top and bottom cards then running the number of cards (6,7,or 8) that is the card value that was next to the King. After running those cards, either throw the rest on top, or milk a block and shuffle off. That puts the King exactly 6, 7, or 8 cards from the bottom, depending on what value the bottom card was.
“What’s strange is that everything you’re about to do was in the dream. Not the actions exactly—but the feeling. The choices. The moment you knew to stop. That’s what I remember most.”
(Now begin the actual selection phase. Have the spectator cut off some cards from the top of the deck and place them aside.)
“That’s your first decision. In the dream, that happened too. A pile set aside. No one told them to do it… they just did.”
(Turn over the remaining cards and let them deal face-up. Let them deal at least 8 cards then tell them:)
“Deal cards face-up, one by one. You’ll know when to stop. There’s no right number. Just follow your instinct.”
(They stop dealing.)
“Place those remaining cards—the ones you didn’t deal—on top of your original cut packet. Now take the face-up cards and hold them face down.”
Explain that at this point you could not have known how may cards they would cut at the beginning, nor how many cards they would deal.
(Pause. Shift tone slightly more serious.)
“In the dream… the person turned the top card over. Not knowing what it meant, only that it felt important.”
(They flip the top card—it’s your 6, 7, or 8.)
“Then they counted that many cards… like steps being taken in the dark, trusting something invisible.”
(They count that many cards onto the discard pile.)
“And then the rest of the cards they were holding were placed on top of the discard pile.”
(They finish stacking. The deck is complete.At this point, your prediction card is now on top of the deck to be revealed.)
The Reveal
“I couldn’t have influenced your cuts or your choices. I didn’t even know who I’d be performing this for. But this…”
(Point to the prediction.)
“…this is what I saw.”
(Open the prediction. Read it out loud. Then have them turn over the top card of the deck.)
“Sometimes dreams are just echoes of the day… but sometimes, they whisper truths we haven’t reached yet.”
Afterthoughts
If you can do a bottom deal this is a variation. Have the spectator shuffle the deck. Take it back and spread the cards face up to show they are well mixed. Spot your prediction and cut it to the second from the bottom of the deck.
Start your patter, I talk about there being 52 chances of making a prediction. I show the top card as I talk, then I turn the deck over and show the bottom card. This removes from the spectators mind the possibility of a bottom deal after the trick is done, not that that is likely if you do a good bottom deal.
Proceed having the spectator cut off and discard halve of the deck.
Take the remaining cards and start dealing them into a pile. After dealing some cards from the top, perform a bottom deal which gets rid of the indifferent card below your prediction. Continue top dealing asking the spectator to say stop.
Turn over the last card dealt. Use the value of that card to deal more cards. Say the card was a nine, top deal eight cards and then bottom deal the last one, which is your prediction.
Note that this process means you are bottom dealing from a smaller block of cards, which makes the bottom deal easier.