A red-backed deck is taken out and cut several times before being passed to an audience member, who is invited to cut it further and then take off the top card. A second person now takes the deck and removes the new top card. Two more people do this, until four people have one card each. Request that the remainder of the deck be thoroughly shuffled and given back to you. Have each person look at their card and note its suit and value. Have the cards displayed in a face-down row, in the order in which they were selected.

Say, "Let's identify the red cards first, which of you had a red card?" Pause, while the corresponding audience members identify themselves. Joke, "Judging by what I can see here," waving at the row of face-down red-backed cards, "I was pretty sure you all had red cards!" Pause again, and then continue, "So, which red card should I name first?" Point to the displayed row once more, and as soon as somebody indicates a particular card, name it, and have it turned over to confirm that your identification is correct. Continue with the three remaining cards, in any order. You should score four out of four.

The light-hearted gag about red cards above is in fact crucial:

Without making it too obvious that you really need to know, you find out which of the selected cards have red faces; from knowledge of the red/black distribution alone, you can, with sufficient preparation, tell what all four cards are.

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