Steve Cohen is ready to drink your milkshake.

Photograph: Erkan Said

This is a trick that a beginner can easily master. You take a drinking straw out of its wrapper, and place both the straw and wrapper side by side on a napkin. Then you roll up the napkin and make a magical gesture with your hands. When you unroll the napkin, the straw has magically re-entered its wrapper. You can read instructions below, or follow illustrated steps by clicking the gallery at left.

Preparation

Prep step one Find two straws, a cloth napkin and a table surface.
Prep step two Slightly open the wrapper on one straw and slide the straw out a few inches. Crumple the wrapper while it's still on the straw, creating several crease marks.
Prep step three Push the opened straw back inside the wrapper, and place it underneath a cloth napkin on the table. The napkin should be in a diamond shape, facing you, with the straw hidden in a horizontal position in the napkin's center.

The Trick

Step one Take out the unopened straw and show it to your audience.
Step two Remove the straw from its wrapper, and hold the two items side by side, one in each hand.
Step three Place the loose straw in the center of the napkin on the table, so that it lies next to the straw hidden underneath, and place the wrapper next to the loose straw.
Step four Make sure the three objects are lined up in this order: wrapper, visible straw, hidden straw.
Step five Use both hands to grab all three items, pinching the hidden straw through the napkin with your thumbs.
Step six With your thumbs pinching the hidden straw, fold the cloth over—away from you. Continue this rolling action (like rolling a croissant), until the napkin corner that was originally closest to you rolls over the farthest one. This move is called "The Gypsy Switch."
Step seven Pull the other corner out from under the rolled one. You have secretly flipped the entire napkin upside down.
Step eight Make a magic hand gesture over the napkin, for effect.
Step nine Use the fingers of both hands to pull the corners, unrolling the napkin. The prepared straw will be seen resting on the center of the napkin, and it will appear that the napkin has magically returned to its paper wrapper.
Step ten Slide the napkin, with the concealed loose straw and wrapper, in your lap. Try not to be obvious about it.

This trick was provided by Steve Cohen (a.k.a. the millionaire's magician). He currently performs his 19th-century styled Chamber Magic at a private suite in the Waldorf-Astoria hotel. Learn more at chambermagic.com.