The quote at the end is meant as a joke but it's interesting how often this is true. A lot of magic tricks rely on being prepared for different outcomes, while

The quote at the end is meant as a joke but it's interesting how often this is true. A lot of magic tricks rely on being prepared for different outcomes, while often trying for the least likely one first. This unlikely outcome happens surprisingly often and therefore makes the effect even more unbelievably amazing. I had a friend think of a playing card and any number (1-52). She picked the 6 of spades and the number 15 which is exactly the position where the card was located. It was only the third time I had done this trick with anybody. Obviously, card and number picking is not uniformly random, especially when you influence their choice (e.g. "pick a large number"). But the odds of someone guessing the exact combination should still be extremely low. A lot of what you see from David Blaine on TV is exactly this. He always has a backup plan but more often than not he doesn't need it.