The Mnemonica Stack Order: Complete 52-Card List
Looking for the complete Mnemonica stack order? Here is Juan Tamariz’s full 52-card arrangement in a single reference table, followed by the landmarks worth knowing and the fastest way to actually memorize it.
If you’re new to memorized decks, start with what the Mnemonica stack is and why it matters.
The Complete Mnemonica Stack
| # | Card | # | Card | # | Card | # | Card |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4♣ | 14 | 8♥ | 27 | 2♣ | 40 | 4♠ |
| 2 | 2♥ | 15 | 6♠ | 28 | 3♥ | 41 | 7♥ |
| 3 | 7♦ | 16 | 5♠ | 29 | 8♦ | 42 | 4♦ |
| 4 | 3♣ | 17 | 9♥ | 30 | 5♣ | 43 | A♣ |
| 5 | 4♥ | 18 | K♣ | 31 | K♠ | 44 | 9♣ |
| 6 | 6♦ | 19 | 2♦ | 32 | J♦ | 45 | J♠ |
| 7 | A♠ | 20 | J♥ | 33 | 8♣ | 46 | Q♦ |
| 8 | 5♥ | 21 | 3♠ | 34 | 10♠ | 47 | 7♣ |
| 9 | 9♠ | 22 | 8♠ | 35 | K♥ | 48 | Q♠ |
| 10 | 2♠ | 23 | 6♥ | 36 | J♣ | 49 | 10♦ |
| 11 | Q♥ | 24 | 10♣ | 37 | 7♠ | 50 | 6♣ |
| 12 | 3♦ | 25 | 5♦ | 38 | 10♥ | 51 | A♥ |
| 13 | Q♣ | 26 | K♦ | 39 | A♦ | 52 | 9♦ |
Landmarks Worth Knowing
When you’re learning the stack, a few anchor points make navigation much easier:
- Position 1 — 4♣ opens the stack.
- Position 7 — A♠ sits early, easy to remember.
- Position 26 — K♦ marks the exact midpoint. Everything after it is the second half.
- Position 27 — 2♣ opens the second half.
- Position 52 — 9♦ closes the deck.
Learning the quarter boundaries (positions 13, 26, 39) gives you mental “mile markers” — most magicians learn the stack one quarter at a time for exactly this reason.
Where the Order Comes From
Tamariz spent years refining this sequence before publishing it in his book Mnemonica (2004). The arrangement is deliberately engineered: it looks completely random, can be reached from new-deck order through a known sequence of faro shuffles and cuts, and contains built-in effects — spelling tricks, poker deals, and more — that only work because of this exact order.
The order itself is just the entry ticket. The real value is in the routines built on top of it, and for those the book remains essential reading for any serious student of the stack.
How to Memorize This Order
Reading the table won’t get it into your head — structured practice will:
- Chunk it: learn positions 1–13 first, then 14–26, and so on. Don’t move on until a quarter is solid.
- Drill both directions: card → position and position → card. Performance requires instant recall both ways.
- Test, don’t re-read: active recall beats passive review. Quiz yourself on random positions.
- Track your weak cards: a handful of stubborn positions will eat most of your errors — find them and drill them specifically.
Our 7-day Mnemonica training plan turns these principles into a day-by-day schedule, and these five memory techniques speed up the process further.
Mnemonica: Stack Trainer has this exact order preloaded — study any range, drill it in both directions, and see per-card accuracy stats, all on your iPhone or iPad.
Related reading: What is the Mnemonica stack? · The 7-day training plan · The best card stacks compared