A favorite effect of Dan Durbin PhD. One of our local Kansas boys that lives and works in LA., and enjoys frequent visits to The Magic Castle. This is a fun trick to perform. But, don't let that fool you. Practice it and perform it and you'll be surprised how entertaining and effective it is for a variety of audiences. As simple as the trick is, you'd be surprised how many magicians it has fooled. Its principles are rather old and have seldom been used together.

The entire trick relies on the magician seeming to handle the cards and the story in an offhand way. Treat it as a light piece of fun and it will prove engaging and mystifying. You might want to hold the cards in your hand as you read through this explanation.

Effect: The magician shows four matched pairs of lovers, the King and Queen of Clubs, Hearts, Diamonds, and Spades. He separates the lovers so that none is beside (or anywhere near) its mate, shuffles the pack several ways, has an audience member cut the cards, and shuffles the pack once again. Yet, despite separating the lovers and the various shuffles and cuts, the pairs of lovers find each other and end up together once again.