Magic with Cards

I ask Joseph to pick any 5 cards out of a deck with no Jokers.

He can inspect then shuffle the deck before picking any five cards. He picks out 5 cards then hands them to me (Jack can't see any of this). I look at the cards and I pick 1 card out and give it back to Joseph. I then arrange the other four cards in a special way, and give those 4 cards all face down, and in a neat pile, to Jack.

Jack looks at the 4 cards i gave him, and says out loud which card Joseph is holding (suit and number). How?

The solution uses pure logic, not sleight of hand. All Jack needs to know is the order of the cards and what is on their face, nothing more.




Similar Riddles

Which number should replace the question mark?

Triangular Logic

Asked by Neha on 11 Aug 2023


If you’ve got me, you want to share me; if you share me, you haven’t kept me. What am I?

Asked by Neha on 18 Feb 2022

How many letters are in the alphabet?

Asked by Neha on 01 Sep 2025


You walk into a room where there are three primates held in their respective cages:
1) A lion who is eating the flesh of a goat.
2) An orangutan who is playing with blocks.
3) A donkey who is sitting idle.

Who is the most intelligent primate in the room?

Asked by Neha on 16 Sep 2023

If Japan and Panama decided to merge into a single country, probably people will name it Japanama.

Can you think of two more such country's unions that could produce similar names like Japanama by overlapping their three letters?

Asked by Neha on 08 Sep 2024

Rose, Lily and Jasmine decided to buy flowers for their moms on Mother's Day. One of them bought lilies, the other roses, and the third one jasmines.
'It's funny!' said the girl with roses, 'we bought roses, jasmines and lilies, but none of us bought the flowers matching her name'.
'You're right!', said Lily.
What kind of flowers did each of the girls buy?

Asked by Neha on 07 Apr 2025


Below is the sum of symbols in each row and column in the figure. Analyzing the figure, can you find out the value of the symbols?

Value of the Symbols

Asked by Neha on 12 Aug 2023

Do You See It?

Do You See It?

Asked by Neha on 17 Feb 2022

Rebus Puzzle Definition: A rebus is an illusion device that uses pictures to represent words or parts of words.
What does This Rebus Puzzle Identify?

Rebus Puzzle

Asked by Neha on 31 May 2023


John and his wife were living in a rural place. On a particular day, John's wife fell ill and he called the local doctor. When the doctor picked up, he said, "Doctor, my wife is ill. She might have appendicitis."

"This can't be possible! I took out her appendix two years ago myself," the doctor explained.

When diagnosed, John's wife was found to have appendicitis. How can this be possible?

Asked by Neha on 19 Jun 2024

Hot Articles

Amazing Facts

Gambling

In Canada, a mathematical puzzle must be solved in order to win the lottery to classify it as a “game of skill” not gambling.