Card Sandwich Catch
The Card Sandwich Catch is a beginner card trick with a flashy finish. The spectator's card is lost in the deck, you remove the two red eights, and with one toss of the deck their card is caught right between the eights. There is no real sleight of hand, so you can start performing it minutes after you learn it.
- Difficulty
Beginner. Almost self working. The only knacks are a tiny slide as you deal the second eight and the toss at the end.
- Pre-Requisites
None. A basic Swing Cut helps.
- Sources
Built on the key card principle, explained by Girolamo Cardano in De subtilitate (1550). Louis F. Christianer's The Obedient Card (1919) is an early trick where a selection is found sandwiched between two red cards.
- Deck Used
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What Is the Card Sandwich Catch?
The trick runs on a key card. Before you start, you secretly note the bottom card of the deck. When the spectator's card goes back, it lands right under that key card, so you always know where it is.
Then you announce that two cards will help you find their selection, and you name the key card and its mate, in this case the red eights. It sounds like an arbitrary choice. As you remove the second eight, a tiny slide puts their card on the bottom. The eights go on the top and bottom of the deck, and a toss of the deck from one hand to the other leaves the selection caught between them.
How to Do the Card Sandwich Catch, Step by Step
Follow along with the video. Walk through it with the cards face up a few times so you can see where the selection is at every moment.
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Step 1: Glimpse the key card
Before the trick starts, look at the bottom card of the deck and remember it. In the video it is the Eight of Diamonds. That is your key card.
Note the bottom card. Here the key card is the Eight of Diamonds. -
Step 2: Lose their card under the key card
Have the spectator take out any card, look at it, and remember it. Swing cut half the cards into your left hand, have them replace their card on that half, then drop the remaining right-hand cards on top. Their card now sits directly beneath your key card, and you can make a point of not controlling it in any way.
The selection goes back on the left-hand half before the rest drops on top. -
Step 3: Name the red eights and remove the first one
Say something like, I am going to find your card, but I need a couple of cards to help me out. Let's use the red eights. It sounds arbitrary, but you are really naming your key card and its mate.
Turn the deck face up, spread through it, find the Eight of Hearts first, and deal it to the table.
The Eight of Hearts is found and dealt to the table first. -
Step 4: Find the key card and touch their card
Now go back and find the Eight of Diamonds. The card right next to it is the selection, in the video the Six of Spades. Tilt your hand toward yourself so they cannot see what happens next, and place your left thumb on their card.
The left thumb rests on the selection, right next to the key card. -
Step 5: Slide the key card away
With your right fingers, grab the back side of the Eight of Diamonds and slide it out to the table. Because your left thumb is holding their card, the selection slides onto the bottom of the packet as the eight comes away. At real speed this is hardly a move.
Close up the spread, keeping their card on the bottom of the deck.
The key card goes to the table while the selection slides to the bottom. -
Step 6: Put the eights on the top and bottom
Tell them the eights are going to help you find their card. Place one eight on top of the deck and one on the bottom. As you place the bottom eight, side-jog it a little so it sticks out the left end of the deck. You can side-jog the top eight to the right as well, just to make it look symmetrical.
One eight on top, one side-jogged on the bottom. -
Step 7: Take the catch grip
Because the bottom eight is side-jogged, you can touch their card directly. Contact the selection with the pad of your right first finger, the bottom eight with your right middle finger, and the top eight with your right thumb.
Thumb on the top eight, middle finger on the bottom eight, first finger on the selection. -
Step 8: Toss the deck and reveal the sandwich
Throw the deck as a unit over to your left hand while holding on to those three cards. The rest of the deck lands in your left hand, and the selection stays behind, caught right between the two eights. Reveal it slowly and dramatically.
The selection is caught face down between the two red eights.
Card Sandwich Catch Tips
- Sell the red eights as a random choice. Name them casually, as if any pair would do. The method depends on the key card, but the audience should never think about it.
- Always deal the other eight first. Remove the Eight of Hearts first so the slide happens naturally as you deal the key card.
- Tilt the hand toward yourself. During the slide, angle the deck toward your body so the faces are hidden from the spectator.
- Try a top key card. You can use the top card of the deck as your key card instead of the bottom card. That way you do not need the small slide after removing the key card.
- Do the reveal in slow motion. The toss is quick, so take your time showing the sandwiched card. The slow reveal is what gets the reaction.
Common Mistakes
- Forgetting the key card. Glimpse it before anything else happens. Without it you cannot find the selection.
- Letting them shuffle after the replace. The selection has to stay right next to the key card. A cut is fine. A shuffle can separate them.
- Making the slide a big move. It is a tiny action. Let the eight slide away naturally while the thumb holds their card.
- Skipping the side-jog. If the bottom eight is flush, you cannot reach the selection with your first finger.
- Gripping the wrong cards. Before the toss, make sure your first finger is on the selection and not the bottom eight.
How Long Does It Take to Learn?
You can learn the whole method in a few minutes and perform it the same day. The slide and the toss get smoother with a few dozen run-throughs. Practice the toss over a bed or a table at first, so dropped cards do not end up on the floor, and rehearse your line about the red eights until it sounds completely offhand.
Card Sandwich Catch FAQ
Why remove the Eight of Hearts before the key card?
The secret slide happens as you deal the Eight of Diamonds, your key card. Taking the other eight out first means the key card is the second one you remove, so the slide hides inside a natural dealing action.
Can you use the top card as your key card instead?
Yes. Using the top card of the deck as your key card means you do not have to do the small slide after removing the key card.
Why do you side-jog the bottom eight?
The side-jog lets the pad of your right first finger contact the selection directly, even though the eight is underneath it. Without the jog you cannot grip the selection for the toss.
Which fingers hold which card during the toss?
Your right thumb holds the top eight, your right middle finger holds the bottom eight, and the pad of your right first finger holds the selection. The rest of the deck is thrown into your left hand.
Do you have to use the red eights?
No. You name whatever card is your key card along with its matching mate. In the video the key card is the Eight of Diamonds, so the pair is the red eights.
What to Learn Next
- Simple Sandwich Trick (a beginner to intermediate sandwich effect you can present your own way)
- Clever Bar Bet Card Trick (a beginner self-working bar bet)
- Design for Laughter (a beginner trick where the magician seems to fail, then recovers)
- Overhand Shuffle (a beginner shuffle every card trick uses)
- Charlier Cut (a beginner one-handed cut)