Self-working tricks which do not rely on sleights or gimmicked decks tend to require that the magician prepare his props prior to performance. A gimmicked deck is a "trick" deck in which the cards are specially altered to produce a specific effect. One classic example of a self-working trick is the fixed deal. The fixed deal illusion uses a normal, ungimmicked deck of cards and requires no sleight of hand. The trick has two parts: the preparation and the performance.
To prepare the illusion, simply remove all the fours and all the eights of each suit. Place them in alphabetical order by suit (this will come in handy later). Put the fours at the top of the deck and the eights at the bottom prior to the trick.
First, drop the cards from your right hand into your left. Hold the deck in your right hand between your index finger and thumb. Hold your left hand out flat underneath the deck. Place your right middle finger on top of the deck and exert a slight downward pressure. Simultaneously begin releasing the cards between your index finger and thumb. With a little practice, you will be able to get the cards to fall smoothly.
Instruct your spectator to say "Stop" whenever she likes, then ask her to take whichever card happens to be on top of the pile in your left hand.
Ask your spectator to hold her card while you deal the remaining cards into four equal heaps. Each stack will have a four on the bottom and an eight on top. Turn your back and ask her to put the card on one of the heaps and then stack the heaps in any order she wants. Her card will either be on the top of the deck or sandwiched between a four and an eight.
Spread the cards face up on the table. Bearing in mind that the fours and eights are paired up, quickly scan the cards for fours and eights until you come to a pair which has a different card sandwiched between them. If all the pairs of fours and eights are together, you know her card must be on the top.
Perhaps the simplest card trick of all is the one way forced deck. One way forced decks are trick decks comprised of nothing but identical copies of one card. They are available from most magic shops.
Using a one way forcing deck, have your spectator pick any card and be absolutely sure of his selection. If you are feeling brave, ask your spectator to shuffle the cards first. The majority of people shuffle overhand with the cards face down and rarely bother to check them.
Mathematical card tricks require a little mental dexterity; however, there is generally no sleight of hand involved at all, which makes them ideal for beginners. One trick, called lucky 14, is excellent for beginners.
Deal 27 cards face up into nine rows of three columns, one under the other. Make sure to leave a little space in between each row of cards as this makes for neater presentation. Ask your volunteer to pick a card and tell you which column it is in. Gather the cards in from top to bottom by column, ensuring that the column selected by the spectator is the second column you collect.
Deal out the cards again, just as before. Ask your spectator to mentally locate the card he picked previously, and then tell you which column it is in this time. Again, gather the cards up top to bottom by column, ensuring that the column your spectator has just pointed to is the second column you collect.
Deal out the cards a third time, just as before. Ask your spectator to mentally locate his card again and tell you which column it is in. As before, gather up the cards from top to bottom by column, ensuring that the column your spectator has pointed to is the second one you collect.
If you gather the cards together and deal down from the top of the deck, your spectator's card will always be the 14th one dealt. It does not matter what he picks. It works every time.