How to Do the Cops and Robbers Card Trick

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: January 30, 2022 Tested

Mastering the Cops and Robbers card trick is fairly simple, but always a crowd pleaser. The trick is an illusion that will convince your audience of your abilities to move cards throughout a deck using nothing but magic. This trick is accompanied with a story about cops and robbers, so you'll be able to captivate your audience in more ways than one.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Preparing the Deck

1
Organize your deck of cards while no one is looking. It's important to put your cards in the right order away from your audience, otherwise the trick will lose its magic. Make sure your cards are in place before beginning the trick for your audience.
2
Remove the 4 Jacks from your deck of cards. When you remove the 4 Jacks, place them facedown on top of your deck. These 4 Jacks are the cards you will show the audience when you begin your trick.
- Place 3 additional cards facedown on top of your 4 Jacks. It does not matter what cards these are, as the faces of the cards will never be seen. These will be your secret hidden cards that will make your magic trick work.
- When you show your audience the 4 Jacks, you will hide these 3 secret cards behind the Jacks.^{[1]
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3
Learn the Cops and Robbers story. You will need to tell a story to go along with this card trick. The story typically states that there a 4 robbers who are going to rob a bank. The robbers are unsure of where the safe is, so they split up throughout the bank. One robber goes to the basement, one goes to the first floor, one goes to the second floor, and the fourth robber stays on the roof as the lookout. The alarm tips off the cops, so the lookout needs to send a signal to the other robbers that it's time to leave. Miraculously, all four robbers get back to the roof and escape in time to get away without getting caught.^{[2]
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- The 4 Jacks are robbers and the deck of cards is the bank they're robbing. As the trick unfolds, you will move the robbers (Jacks) throughout the bank (deck of cards). The magic of the trick is that all 4 robbers will escape to the roof of the bank (top of the deck) in time to get away.
- The cops are a part of the story of the card trick, and actually have nothing to do with the cards.
- As long as your story still makes sense with the trick, you can alter this story or add any details that you'd like.

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Doing the Card Trick

1
Captivate your audience. Showmanship is typically the most important part of card tricks. Engaging your audience with a little pizzazz will help distract them from looking at your hands too closely. Plan your story out with interesting details, and consider adding flashy hand motions to distract your audience even more.
- Get your audience to trust you. You'll be a more believable magician if you're audience trusts you, so win them over! Do this by smiling, making good eye contact, and treating your audience with respect.^{[3]
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2
Begin the card trick. You will start the trick by showing the 4 Jacks to your audience. Fan out only the Jacks and keep the 3 secret cards hidden behind the Jacks. It's crucial these secret cards remain hidden. You want the audience to think that you only are only holding the 4 Jacks.
- Begin your Cops and Robbers story by explaining that the 4 Jacks are 4 robbers who have come to rob the bank.
3
Place the Jacks facedown on top of the deck with the extra cards on top. Keep the entire deck of cards facedown throughout the entire card trick. At this point, your 3 secret cards should be on the very top of the deck with the 4 Jacks underneath them.
- Continue your story. Explain that the 4 robbers are looking for the safe inside of the bank, and that they must split up to find it.
4
Take the card on the very top of your deck and move it to the bottom of the deck. This will be one of your secret cards. Explain that this robber went to the basement of the bank to search for the safe. Be sure nobody sees the face of this card.
5
Take the next card from the top of the deck, and insert it into the middle of the deck. This will be another one of your secret cards. Explain that this robber went to the first floor of the bank to look for the safe. Make sure no one sees the face of this card.
6
Take the third card that is now on top of the deck and insert it slightly above the middle of your deck. This will be your last secret card. Explain that this robber went to the second floor to look for the safe. Like the other secret cards, make sure nobody sees the face of this card.
7
Hold up the card that is now on top of the deck and show it to your audience. This will be a Jack. Tell the audience that this is the look-out robber who will be staying on the roof of the bank.^{[4]
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- Your audience thinks the cards you just returned to the deck were the Jacks you showed them at the start.
8
Finish your story. Explain to your audience that the cops were tipped off and the lookout robber had to send a signal to his accomplices. Then, tap the deck to make it look like you're doing magic.
- You don't have to tap the deck. Instead, you can say a magic word or do a special hand movement. The point is to make it seem like you're doing something magical with your deck of cards.
9
Show all 4 Jacks. After you've done your magic move, reveal the 4 Jacks, one at a time, that are on top of the deck. Explain that all 4 robbers escaped to the roof on time, and got away with robbing the bank. Your audience will be blown away that all of the Jacks ended up back to the top of the deck.^{[5]
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Community Q&A

Question

What if the person I'm trying to fool keeps glancing at the bottom of the deck, trying to figure out the trick?

Scott Elliott

Community Answer

You don't have to have the first robber go to the actual bottom of the deck. Just place it near the bottom. That way it doesn't matter if you flash the bottom of the deck or not.
Question

How do I force the top card of deck?

Gerald Klein

Community Answer

Take the card and use slight of hand and force it to the top. You can do this with your pinky, thumb, index finger, middle finger or your ring finger. Most tricks don't even force the card to the top but its already there.
Question

Women are thieves too. Could I use Queens instead?

Sharkboy1

Community Answer

Sure, you can really use any suit of card. If you want it to be a woman, make it a queen. If you want it to be a man, make it a king or jack. It doesn’t have to be a royal card, it can be a ten or ace.