Modern Magic: A Practical Treatise on the Art of Conjuring

In its primary form, the trick is only an illustration of the well-known fact that the hand can move quicker than the eye can follow. It is performed with three cards--a court card and two plain cards. The operator holds them, face downwards, one between the second finger and thumb of the left hand, and the other two (of which the court card is one) one between the first finger and thumb, and the other between the second finger and thumb of the right hand, the latter being the outermost. Bringing the hands quickly together and then quickly apart, he drops the three cards in succession, and challenges the bystanders to say which is the court card. If the movement is quickly made, it is almost impossible, even for the keenest eye, to decide with certainty whether the upper or lower card falls first from the hand, and consequently which of the three cards, as they lie, is the court card. This is the whole of the trick, if fairly performed, and so far it would be a fair subject for betting, though the chances would be much against the person guessing; but another element is introduced by the swindling fraternity, which ensures the discomfiture of the unwary speculator. The operator is aided by three or four confederates, or “bonnets,” whose business it is to start the betting, and who, of course, are allowed to win.