Easy Does It #9: Algorithmic Love

A card trick about finding your perfect match using the Aussie Algo! 🤖💖

Difficulty: ⭐⭐ (Easy)
Duration: ⏱️⏱️ (3-5 minutes)
Setup Time: 🎯🎯 (Moderate)

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Welcome to another edition of Easy Does It, a regular Ruseletter column about simple (and sometimes self-working) magic tricks that you can learn to impress your friends and family.

In this article, I’m sharing a trick called “Algorithmic Love” that’s been in my notebook for so long that I’d completely forgotten about it! As I’ve published several similar routines recently, I thought it made sense to release this one into the wild as well.

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While I design most of my tricks primarily with the amateur magician in mind, I also strive to make them robust enough for the professional performer. For example, this piece would work particularly well as an opening effect for the bride and groom on their wedding day, or as part of a longer Valentine’s Day-themed parlour show.

“Algorithmic Love” is based on a bizarre magick effect I published more than two years ago, “A Swindle of Souls”, which, in turn, was inspired by the Max Maven masterpiece, “Wagers of Sin” (see Tricks, Tricks & More Tricks #2: Satanic Sorcery to learn my variation).

If you enjoyed “Double Happiness”, the routine I published in the last edition of this column (see Easy Does It #8), I’m confident you’ll also enjoy this offering. It shares a similar theme and is equally easy to perform. Furthermore, the presentational framework of “Algorithmic Love” provides a relatable narrative that turns the most boring part of the trick—the procedure—into the most interesting part of the experience. Even if you don’t like the provided method, you can lift the presentation and use it with a different trick.

Here’s what happens:

You shuffle the cards—some face up, some face down—creating a random jumble that represents the chaotic and overwhelming world of online dating. You explain that the first step on any dating app is to “filter out the noise.” Accordingly, you remove all the face-down cards and eliminate the face-up ones. A quick “Deal or Switch?” shuffle further randomises the packet.

Next, the spectator performs a Down-Under Deal, or, as you playfully dub it, the “Australian Algorithm.” This procedure randomly selects one card: the King of Hearts.

The cards are given another quick mix. You explain that the “Aussie Algo” must now find a compatible match for the King. The spectator repeats the elimination procedure, and when the final card is revealed, it’s the Queen of Hearts—a perfect pair!

You spread the remaining cards face up across the table: every card is a Heart, arranged in perfect sequence from Ace to Jack. As well as facilitating a royal romance, the algorithm has brought perfect order to the chaotic world of online dating!

In many ways, this routine is similar to my packet trick “Loved Eightfold” (see Tricks, Tricks & More Tricks #3: Soulmate Sorcery), but it doesn’t rely on the Count-Back Force (10-20 Force) and uses thirteen cards instead of eight, which makes the final display a little more impressive because more cards are spread across (or dealt to) the table.

If you’re an experienced cardician, you can likely deduce the method from the description of the effect above. Although it is essentially self-working, I believe the handling is deeply deceptive for a lay audience.

Note: As this is an odd-numbered edition of Easy Does It, the trick tutorial is exclusively available to paying subscribers. However, I operate a freeven publishing model, which guarantees all even-numbered issues of this series will be free to read forever.

Ready to learn “Algorithmic Love”? Keep scrolling to learn the trick.