A Sure Bet by Roberto Giobbi

Card College 3 by Roberto Giobbi
Page 565 et seq.

Personal Comment: Larry Jennings also came up with a version. But the above version was created by Roberto Giobbi "independently" which means Larry Jennings had nothing to do with it. Technically speaking there is no need to even mention Larry Jennings. But some credit crazy magicians think otherwise. So after wasting all those words... the trick is gold, pure gold. The sucker element gets the audience if they really think you messed up. That of course requires acting. Also it requires real good audience management as they must not speak up telling you that you are wrong. So if you have kids in your audience this might not be the effect of choice. But if you sure you can pull this off, the reactions are crazy. This is no longer about the cards. This trick glorifies the magicians ability to fool the hell out of you. To lead you down the path that you think is safe, yet the magician has been there already.
There is also a risk involved in doing this trick. If the audience doesn't like you, they will also shut up and not tell you that you got the wrong card. Having the right card in the end however will also carry a very bad subtext. "Look at me, I'm smarter than you!" That has to be avoided at all cost.
So the trick requires audience management, acting and likability on the performers part. So this might not be for everyone. But for those few... this is gold.

Difficulty 2/5