Test Quest
Magic Pairs

Another Trick to Amaze your Family and Improve your Memory!

In this trick, you will pick the card that your friends are thinking of! You can do this trick with one to four players. Here's how it works.

Select ten pairs of cards, for example two 3s or two aces -- for a total 20 cards.
While you are out of sight, have each player pick one set of cards or more than one set and then place all of the cards in a single pile.
You pick up the cards and place them in (what appears to be) random order on the table with four rows of five cards each.
After all of the cards have been placed, ask the player to point out the row or rows in which their pair appears without saying what their card is.
You then announce what the card is.

SO -- How do you perform this trick? The key is memorizing and picturing four words: LIMIT, MOOSE, PEARL, AND STRAP.

Put the four memorized words in a table in your mind. Picture them!

When you place the cards on the table, be sure to place them where the pairs are, for example, the two 3s in your deck would go on the two I's.
Ask the player to tell you which row or rows have your letter.
Use your memory picture to know what the pair is.

Variation
This can be done with vocabulary words or math facts you want the students to learn.

This idea is from the book Memory Power Plus! By Fred Chernow. Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1997 pp. 277-8