How to memorize a deck of cards

Six steps to a full deck

1. 1
   Give every card an image

   Decide once what each of the 52 cards stands for: the 2♦ is Einstein, the K♠ is a king on a throne. The fastest way is a PAO system, where each card has a Person, an Action and an Object, so three cards fold into one scene. If that feels like a lot, start with one image per card and move to PAO later.

2. 2
   Learn the images until they are instant

   Seeing a card should bring up its image with no thinking. Go through the deck a few times a day for a week. The PAO Builder's daily review flashes your cards and brings back the ones you miss sooner.

3. 3
   Build a memory palace with enough stops

   A memory palace is a route through a place you know, with numbered stops. With PAO you put three cards at each stop, so 18 stops hold a deck. With one image per card, put two at each stop and you need 26.

4. 4
   Walk the deck

   Turn the cards over in order. Make each group of cards into one scene and leave it at the next stop: Einstein riding a unicycle into a black hole, right there on your front doormat. Don't go back. Keep moving.

5. 5
   Recall it in order

   Walk the route again from the first stop. Each scene gives you back its cards: the person is the first card, the action the second, the object the third. Write them down or pick them, then check.

6. 6
   Practise against the clock

   Start with the 12 face cards or half a deck, with no time limit. When you can recall it without mistakes, add cards, then add a timer. A first full deck often takes ten minutes or more. Competitive memorizers get it under a minute, and that comes from practice, not talent.

Three common mistakes