Card Coats

Dear Simon,
What brand of cards do you suggest? I'd like to know which type is the most reliable for sleights.

Dear Card Worker,
It is very much a sixty-four thousand dollar question that you are asking. You could ask ten top card workers their choice of cards and get ten different answers.

However if by plastic coated cards you are referring to the plastic cards used by many casinos, I don't think that you would find many card workers who would advise you to use them. These are cards designed specifically for long life in a game situation and are really not very good for magic at all. Not only are they slippery but will not hold crimp work well either. They are stiff and much harder to use than a normal deck.

In your question you don't mention the most popular brand of cards used by magicians. It's also the brand that I favor above all others. That is Bicycle Rider backed (Air-Cushion Finish.) These are produced by the United States Playing Card Company in Cincinnati and can be found all over the US in newsagents and supermarkets and are usually available in other countries from magic dealers. While they are by no means perfect for every sleight or effect they are a good quality card that will serve you well.

Most packet and gaffed deck effects produced by dealers use these cards giving you a bonus of having matching decks through your show.

Perhaps the best advice is for you to try as many brands as possible and decide for yourself which suits your work the best.
Best, Simon

Wallet Work

Dear Simon,
Would you explain the palm and the loading procedure that you use to get the card into the wallet? I'm using a top palm but have trouble finding the opening as I put my hand into my jacket.

Dear Card Worker,
The Card To Wallet is one of my favorite card effects and, in walk around, is often a closing piece for me. For my money it's one of the strongest card to impossible locations.

I use a Kaps/Balducci style wallet (one that has a slide to act as a guide when loading) and that's the one I recommend to anybody who asks. The one I use is over 30 years old and is the original Professional Wallet released by Fred through Ken Brooke's Magic Place. Mine was given to me by Fred Kaps himself so, as you can imagine, it is a very treasured item to me.

The use of the slide will definitely help you in your loading problems. The guide makes it around 50 million times easier!

As for my handling of the load I too use a simple top palm in my right hand. As I reach for the wallet my left little finger curls in and grips the edge of my jacket near the bottom. This allows me to open the jacket a little making access to the wallet easier. It also allows me to pull down on the jacket slightly. This lowers the wallet a little (again making access easier) and also holds the wallet more firmly in place since the jacket can't flap around.

I hope that all helps you make the loading easier.
Best, Simon

Gaff Ditching

Dear Simon,
I recently started using a nice effect that requires a gimmicked deck. I usually perform for people who are naturally inquisitive and quite smart. At the end of the trick I need to get rid of three gaffed cards, any suggestions on how to do that so if they want to check the deck I'm clean?

Dear Card Worker,
Before I try to answer your question, you should ask yourself first why your audiences are so inquisitive. Is your style perhaps a tad "I can do it but you can't?" Any form of confrontational approach will automatically make people want to know how it's done rather than just enjoying the magical experience. If your magic is entertaining people will be much less likely to know how it is done! Rather they will want to see more and enjoy the fun that you are creating. So, perhaps by lightening your style up a little you will encounter this problem less and less. Of course I haven't seen you work so may be very wrong here but it's a point worth considering by us all when we look at our approach to performance.

There are several ways you can ditch the card. I would be very tempted to start to put the deck into my pocket and, as they ask to see the cards, quickly thumb off the top three cards and hand them the remainder of the deck. Of course, if they don't ask then I would just put the deck away. If they ask to see another effect I would bring the deck back out and, in the process of doing so, thumb off and leave behind the top three cards! This is exactly how I ditch a couple of un-wanted cards in my effect 'Another Departed Point.' You can read the exact moment of the timing of this (mid routine) in my book 'Simon Says.'

If you are proficient at palming cards you could of course simply palm off the top three cards and ditch them in your pocket under the strong misdirection of them looking at the rest of the deck. You could also take a break under the third card and side steal it out as you hand over the now clean deck.

Of course two of these ideas leave you a few cards short in the deck but, unless your next effects require a full deck this is no problem. When I am working the deck is often a few cards short (from torn and restored effects, for example) and never worry about it at all.
Best, Simon

Invisible Card

Dear Simon,
Any suggestions to help with problems I'm having learning to palm cards.

Dear Card Worker,
Palming is definitely one of the moves that separates the big boys from the small ones as it is something that terrifies a great many magi. And, therein lies the problem; it is the fear of palming that gets so many of them caught.

The first big secret is to lose any fear you have. Palm a card all the time when watching tv, traveling, or just sitting around. Keep doing it until you almost forget that you are palming the card. Once you can lose that feeling that you have a brick in your hand you are over halfway towards to being a good palmer.

The correct position to palm is that the card is lightly gripped between the base of the thumb and the tip of the fourth finger across a diagonal. It is important to avoid what Vernon called the fish hook, in other words the dreaded sticking out thumb. Keep the thumb closed in! Don't be afraid to curl your fingers in to a natural hand position and many advocate actually touching the tip of the thumb to the tip of the first finger to achieve a natural hand position.

Of course it's very important to learn the move blind. In other words don't look at the hands when doing the move. I'm always chatting away to them at the point of the move and will often ask a question at a critical moment. This ensures that they are looking at my face and not at my hands.

So it's really all about learning the correct position then practicing it until you can do it without thinking. You may also want to look at published works including Mike Close's "Power of Palming."

It certainly is worth the effort as palming is a very powerful tool indeed to have in your arsenal.
Best, Simon

Blind Shuffles

Dear Simon,
What are the options when it comes to giving the deck a false shuffle? Also, what's the difference between a false shuffle and a blind shuffle?

Dear Card Worker,
A Blind Shuffle is, quite simply, another way of saying False Shuffle. It is not a single shuffle but rather a generic term for any shuffling action that controls either the whole pack or just a portion of it. The blind shuffle can be either an over hand shuffle or a riffle shuffle.

The Zarrow Shuffle when done by Herb Zarrow himself was a thing of beauty, looking exactly as if the deck was simply being riffled together. Done properly it is a shuffle that will fool everybody. It is one of the very few magician's moves that has crossed over into the world of professional card cheats who use the move not to entertain but to hold a slug (a block of known cards) in place.

My personal preference is a Push Thru Shuffle not because I think it is better than a Zarrow but simply because that's the one I learned when I was younger. It is, once again, a very deceptive shuffle when done correctly. It is certainly not an easy technique to get down but the time and effort are well worth it.

There are a number of overhand blind shuffles. The most efficient is probably the Charlier Shuffle. There are several others including the Wedge and the Chop shuffle which, done casually, can be very deceptive indeed. There are also the Three Block and also the Block Plus Four shuffles that are both casual full deck blinds done with an overhand action.

I think riffle shuffling is much better than overhand actions. It is the style of shuffling that most people think just can't be controlled, especially the whole deck.
Best, Simon

Perfect Force

Dear Simon,
I'm searching for the most perfect method to force a card. It seems to me that there are not many forces that seem logical from the view of the audience, especially those that involve counting or other activities before the card is chosen.

Dear Card Worker,
Like yourself I am not a fan of forces that require any un-natural handling or counting of cards. As soon as you say, "Pick a number, add the digits together." or "Pick a number between 17 and 33." or some-such I believe that you are reducing the effect to a puzzle.

Traditionally I use the Classic Force where the deck is spread before the spectator and they are just asked to pick one out. This force is considered difficult by many neophyte magicians but, if studied carefully, is actually much easier to do than you may imagine. You can find many good write ups of it including Paul Gertner's manuscript, the 'Card College' books and my own handling in 'Simon Says.' Paul Green also released a very good video devoted to the move simply called The Classic Force.

Although less free than the Classic Force there are others that at least don't simply fall into the puzzle category. The age old Cross-Cut force can be very effective when presented with a good line of patter. The Riffle Force can also be used very effectively and is not hard to do. Both these forces can be found in the 'Card College' books where Roberto Giobbi explains them very clearly indeed. You could also check out my 'World's Easiest Riffle Force' in 'Simon Says' which, although requiring a little courage to pull off, is one that I use quite often.

Finally, fake deals, if you are proficient at them, can be used to very cleanly force a card. Using Second Deals, you can be dealing cards and ask them to say "Stop," whenever they like. Or, conversely, you can use a Bottom Deal to give them the force card as they call out "Stop." Several folks have published a force using a one-handed Bottom Deal. You'll find a good description of this in Randy Wakeman's very fine book 'Randy Wakeman Presents.'

I hope that helps you on your quest to find a good force that suits you.
Best, Simon

Time Frame

Dear Simon,
When people hear I'm a magician they often ask me to do a few card tricks. I'm concerned when I do this that I'll go on too long. How many effects or how much time should be enough for an impromptu demonstration?

Dear Card Worker,
This really is a bit like asking how long a piece of string is. It all depends on your watching audience of course. If you have a group of magic junkies they may watch you all night until you run out of repertoire or, on the other hand, if you have somebody who is just vaguely interested then perhaps just one or, at the most, two effects will be fine.

It really is about judging your watchers and understanding that there really is no set rule. It's all about observation.

That having been said, if somebody at my local asks to see an effect I will normally do two or three for them running no longer than ten minutes. If they want more then I will shy off saying to them that this is my living and right now I'm relaxing. If they'd like to see more they can come and see my show or, if they wish, they can book me for one of their events.

You see, by working for free all the time you really take away your ability to be employable. They'll invite you to a party knowing that you'll work when requested so they don't need to pay you. If you make it clear that you will show them a sample of what you do then stop they'll realize that you are a professional. While it is fun to do magic it's also nice to be paid for it at the same time.
Best, Simon

Double Lifting

Hi Simon,
I'm having trouble doing a double lift, the two cards are never squared up enough to be convincing. Any hints or practice tips?

Dear Card Worker,
Quite a few card men have observed that a truly natural and deceiving double lift is among the hardest of all the card moves.

Perhaps the biggest fault among magicians is that they handle the two cards like a piece of concrete. You are meant to be lifting, to the spectators eyes anyway, a single playing card so it must be done with a casual light touch. This is not a heavy object. It's just a piece of cardboard so it's of paramount importance to do the move lightly and casually.

I would suggest picking one double lift and sticking to it. I am not a big fan of the super-flippy, extra showy versions. The one I use is pretty much Derek Dingle's double lift which can be found in "The Complete Works of Derek Dingle." The book is also, as a bonus for you, full of some superb magical routines well worthy of your study.

A big secret is to always turn cards the same way whether turning a double card, a single card or even multiple card lifts. By keeping the action the same every time less attention is drawn to it.

This means practicing turning single cards as well as doubles to make them look the same. If you only use your double lift action when turning double cards then attention will be drawn to it, something you should avoid.

The quality of the cards is important as well. Ragged, dog-eared cards can make the action much harder. Nice crisp cards will do a much better job for you. Newer cards tend to cling together much better than older ones.

You don't say how long you've been working on the move but, of course, constant practice over a long period of time is the key. This move is a tough one to do absolutely convincingly. The best handler of a double lift I ever saw was Ascanio and a study of his videos may well give you further advice and at the very least show you just how well it can be done to give you something to aim for.
Best, Simon

Pull Down

Hi Simon,
I'd like some insight into the 'pinky pull down' for showing the two top cards as one.

Dear Card Worker,
Actually there are really two forms of pinky pull down commonly used by card magicians.

For the first type the deck is held quite normally in what is commonly termed the Mechanics Grip (the first finger at the front of the deck and the second, third and little fingers along the long edge.) This is the way many people hold a deck of cards and, despite what others may say, is no sure sign of cheating. The little finger pulls down on the cards and allows them to snap, one at a time, off the finger tip. If the deck is beveled slightly to the left the action becomes easier.

At first it will be difficult but, as your little finger gains strength, you'll find it becomes easier and faster. Using a deck in good condition is also a big factor in making the move a consistently accurate one!

This can be used to set a Double Lift, but can also be used to count, covertly, any number of cards. Pinky Counting is used by Darwin Ortiz who describes it in full detail in his book "Card Shark." Tom Mullica is another well-known magician who uses Pinky Counting in a number of routines.

The other common pull down is the Marlo Pull Down. Here the tip of the little finger is used to separate the bottom card of the deck by pulling down on it. Again the action is easier if the deck is beveled slightly to the left.
Best, Simon

Got A Card Question?

Simon is on a first name basis with every card in the deck. So if you've got a question about the pasteboards, use The Card Question message form to send it along.