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

In a contest, four fruits (an apple, a banana, an orange, and a pear) have been placed in four closed boxes (one fruit per box). People may guess which fruit is in which box. 123 people participate in the contest. When the boxes are opened, it turns out that 43 people have guessed none of the fruits correctly, 39 people have guessed one fruit correctly, and 31 people have guessed two fruits correctly.
How many people have guessed three fruits correctly, and how many people have guessed four fruits correctly

Asked by Neha on 17 Aug 2023


The more you take me, the more you leave me behind.
Who Am I?

Asked by Neha on 15 Jan 2025

John went to meet his friend Jacob, but when he was about to reach the main gate, John notices that Jacob had a mighty dog who was fastened to the tree. The chain is long enough that it allows the dog to reach the main gate.

How can the John reach the main gate?

Dog and Visitor Riddle

Asked by Neha on 06 Apr 2021


Be active and find the killer in the picture Riddle below.


Who is Killer

Asked by Neha on 17 May 2021

Katrina wants to go on a date and prefers her date to be tall, dark and handsome.

Of the preferred traits - tall, dark and handsome - no two of Shahrukh, Ajay, Salman and Akshay have the same number.
Only Shahrukh or Akshay is tall and fair.
Only Ajay or Salman is short and handsome.
Shahrukh and Salman are either both tall or short.
Ajay and Akshay are either both dark or both fair.
Who is Katrina's date?

Asked by Neha on 12 May 2026

Complete the table series riddle by finding the number that can replace "??".

Tabular Math for All

Asked by Neha on 25 Sep 2024


A man is walking down a road with a basket of eggs. As he
is walking he meets someone who buys one-half of his eggs
plus one-half of an egg.
He walks a little further and meets another person who buys
one-half of his eggs plus one-half of an egg.
After proceeding further he meets another person who buys
one-half of his eggs plus one half an egg. At this point, he
has sold all of his eggs, and he never broke an egg.
How many eggs did the man have to start with?

Asked by Neha on 06 Dec 2023

A man dies of old age on his 25 birthday. How is this possible?

Asked by Neha on 17 May 2022

You have 21 jars with you. Out of them, 7 are filled with water, 7 are half-full with water and 7 are empty. How will you distribute the jars among three people such that each one of them gets an equal number of jars and an equal amount of water?

Asked by Neha on 29 Jul 2026


Can you arrange the six given marbles in a manner that each one of them is touching all four marbles of different colours?

Arrange the Marbles

Asked by Neha on 18 Aug 2026

Hot Articles

Amazing Facts

Crossword

The day before the 1996 U.S. presidential election, the NYT Crossword contained the clue “Lead story in tomorrow’s newspaper,” the puzzle was built so that both electoral outcomes were correct answers, requiring 7 other clues to have dual responses.