One time in the mid sixties, friends took me to see a guy who had a place in Lake Mahopac. This guy did card tricks. For two hours he amazed us, then he pinned us behind the couch throwing cards at us at blazing speed. Some of the cards actually stuck into the pine paneling.

That guy was Ricky Jay, the legendary magician, who just passed away.

Four of us watched his hands carefully as he shuffled the deck and deal us each a poker hand face down. Then he told us each what our hand was, including straights and flushes.

Then he turned over his cards, which were a royal straight flush. He said, “Never play cards with me.”

(Photo by Henryk Niestrój via Pixabay)