Although the following card effects will intrigue many magicians, the presentation and handling has been plotted with the lay audience in mind.
To think as a 'layman' is not possible once one has been involved in magic for some time. The best we can do is to try and imagine how a layman regards magic tricks and what will interest him.
Most card magic in print is written by card enthusiasts or technicians, who themselves have forgotten the layman's' viewpoint, or (more likely perhaps) are not interested in card magic for the public. This is not to decry their work, it is very valuable and appeals to me personally as I do some of it - but we should know very clearly the difference in viewpoints.
A seeming paradox is, that although laymen are not much interested in the details of trick methods it is nevertheless vital that they should not be given any clues as the type of method used. In tricks based on mathematical principles therefore, all reference to numbers should be eliminated by careful plotting and presentation. This is what has been done in the effects that follow. That is why the spectator is never asked to 'count the cards in his packet'.
