Simon Croft’s Favourite Card Trick: A Masterpiece from Mathieu Bich

As a professional magician, I’ve seen and studied hundreds—maybe thousands—of card tricks. But every so often, a routine comes along that completely resets your understanding of what’s possible in magic. That’s exactly what happened the first time I saw French magician Mathieu Bich perform Spreadwave 2.0 on the debut series of Penn & Teller: Fool Us on ITV. 

 

The moment I saw it, I was amazed—not just impressed, but genuinely stunned. Spreadwave 2.0 didn’t look like anything I had seen before. It felt fresh, creative, and beautifully deceptive in the best way. The effect seemed utterly impossible, and yet there it was, playing out flawlessly on national television. 

 

Let me paint the picture for you: A spectator is asked to think of any card. There’s no force, no restriction—they are free to change their mind until they’re completely satisfied. The magician then introduces a deck of cards that are clearly blank on both sides. He cuts and shuffles the deck, and slowly, three cards appear with words printed on them: “Your Card Is.” The deck is shuffled once more, and finally, spread out underneath these words… is the freely named card, printed in full across the blank faces of the spread cards. 

 

It’s breathtaking. It’s baffling. And yes—it fooled Penn and Teller. 

 

I was so inspired by the routine that I added it to my own repertoire shortly afterwards. Today, I regularly perform Spreadwave 2.0 during wedding receptions, usually at the top table where I want to make a strong impression. The reactions it gets are everything a magician hopes for—wide eyes, laughter, disbelief, and enthusiastic applause. Even in a room full of guests who have seen their fair share of tricks, this one always stands out. 

 

Part of what makes Spreadwave 2.0 so powerful is that it blends elegance with impossibility. The fairness of the selection, the blank deck, the slow and deliberate reveal—every beat of the routine is structured to build suspense and heighten impact. It's not just a card trick; it's a theatrical moment.