Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-84b7d79bbc-lrf7s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-31T22:22:36.183Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
This chapter is part of a book that is no longer available to purchase from Cambridge Core

31 - The Probability an Amazing Card Trick Is Dull

from VI - Cards and Probability

Michael Henle
Affiliation:
Oberlin College
Brian Hopkins
Affiliation:
Saint Peter's University
Get access

Summary

The Ashland University student chapter of the MAA holds biweekly meetings, typically consisting of a short business meeting to plan activities that the group is sponsoring followed by a social time when the group plays mathematical games and munches on brownies. As a new feature in Fall 2002, I told the students that I would perform a new mathematical card trick at each of these meetings. My source for most of these card tricks is the delightful book [2]. One of the finest tricks described there is due to an amateur New York magician named Henry Christ. A spectator shuffles a deck of cards several times, and then the magician deals nine cards face down on a table. The spectator selects one of these cards, looks at it, and stacks the nine dealt cards on the table with the selected card on top. The magician places this stack on the bottom of the deck, and hands the deck to the spectator. The spectator is told to deal the cards out face up in a pile, counting backwards out loud from ten while dealing the cards. If at some point, the denomination of the card matches the number the spectator says, then the spectator repeats this procedure with a second pile, again counting backwards from ten. If 1 is reached without any cards matching, the spectator places the next card face down on top of the pile, and repeats this procedure with the second pile.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Mathematical Association of America
Print publication year: 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×