Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Many seemingly complex magic tricks rely on a simple mix of old-fashioned slight-of-hand and misdirection. Some magicians talk to the audience as a form of misdirection, which sounds like a logical strategy, at first glance. Even the most skeptical viewer may be susceptible to the distractions of a particularly charismatic or chatty illusionist, right? It actually seems that both magicians and their fans have been deceived. According to a psychological study recently published in the journal Scientific Reports, conversation or “patter” has virtually no effect on misdirecting people during the classic card trick known as Three-Card Monte. Variations of this classic ruse are documented around the world, dating back centuries.But the general premise to Three-Card Monte goes something like this: a magician (or, in many cases, a con artist) bets their mark that they cannot identify a specific card after it’s repeatedly shuffled between two other facedown cards. If the person successfully follows the chosen card’s trajectory, then they …