My son picked up a Brainwave deck at the magic shop today. He's having a problem with the cards separating at inopportune places as he passes them between his hands. I suspected the deck might not have been well-manufactured, but I have no problem going through the cards without exposing any of them.

I have sat in front of him, beside him, watched from underneath to make sure that he is not dragging his left fingertips on the backs of the cards as they leave his left hand, etc. As far as I can tell, he's not doing anything wrong, but he must be and I am missing it.

I know it's a longshot, but has anyone had a similar problem with Brainwave, Mental Photography, Invisible Deck, etc. that they've overcome? If so, I could check and see if maybe that's what he's doing.

He is becoming increasingly frustrated, and it doesn't help that I can just "do it" and he *appears* to be handling the deck the same way I am. I suggested that he take a break and try again occasionally until he finds a way that works for him and, once he does, it won't be problematic again.

He has mastered some basic sleights and he practices regularly so I know he's not hopeless with cards and he loves working with them ... in fact, he's planning on starting on the Card College soon.

Any constructive advice?

Two ideas:

First, the amount of moisture on his hands can make a difference. Too dry or too wet and the cards won't do what you want them to do. Try a little hand lotion or some powder on the hands.

Second, and the method used by several people I know, is to make your own deck. Since this is a public forum I won't go into detail, but in "Secret Sessions" there are lots of threads on making Invisible Decks -- what to use, how to use it, where to apply it.

Thanks, Willie. I have read those topics in the past, and they are helpful. But I'm not sure the deck is defective; it works fine for me. I think you might be onto something with the moisture, though ... I just picked up the deck after it had been sitting for an hour, and it felt almost ... wet.

Now some of the cards even slip on me, so it might be a moisture thing with his hands.

In any event, I plan to "touch up" some of the cards myself.

Thanks so much for your reply!

In gerneral kids hands seem to have more moisture in them. I have to use a moisturizer before I ever pick a deck up. But in his case, perhaps washing his hands with soap like ivory and drying them completely will help.

I don't think moisture is the key. I think it's how much pressure is applied to the deck keeping the r*****d pairs together. A grown magi/man knows how much much pressure to apply. Teach him how to do the same and the pairs will stop separating.

Kaylan

I don't think moisture is the key. I think it's how much pressure is applied to the deck keeping the r*****d pairs together. A grown magi/man knows how much much pressure to apply. Teach him how to do the same and the pairs will stop separating.

Kaylan

I don't think moisture is the key. I think it's how much pressure is applied to the deck keeping the r*****d pairs together. A grown magi/man knows how much much pressure to apply. Teach him how to do the same and the pairs will stop separating.

Kaylan

Thanks Kaylan; I will give that a try.

Thing is, I can lightly move them with my left thumb or press down as hard as I can and they won't separate unless I let my left fingers drag across the back, so I'm not sure the amount of pressure is relevant to this deck. Still, I'll give that angle a go tomorrow and see how it works out.

I really appreciate the advice!

--Dale

While I agree that the amount of pressure you use is a key, it's only a key once you've determined your "skin condition". Testing this out with my wife, I've found that moisture is the biggest factor.

I've never been able to use an Invisible deck (or brainwave) because I can't get the cards to seperate. No matter how hard I drag my finger underneath, or how lightly or hard I press with my thumb I can't get the cards to seperate, period.

If I hand the same deck to my wife and tell her to spread through the deck, she has a hard time keeping the cards together! They all seperate! With practice she can just about get through the deck without seperating a card. While I can't get them to seperate.

The solution for me is to put lotion on my hands. Then I have no problem. When I go through the deck I know just how much pressure to use to seperate the cards, just as Kaylan said. But if I don't use lotion, they won't seperate. My wife is just the opposite.

Have him wash his hands (as has already been said) in warm water to get rid of the oil on the skin. Then have him try again.

I would caution against touching them up just yet. But if all else fails that's worth a shot.

If your son does not apply pressure consistently as he runs through the deck, pairs may get slightly separated. As we know, the way to separate is with a light touch...which is what I assume is the problem for him when he's running through the deck. Alternatively, some pairs may need to be re-roughed...happens all the time.

Good luck

Kaylan

Thanks PIP. We'll try the hand-washing tomorrow and I'll report back.

Kaylan ... the idea of "consistency" in going through the deck is something that absolutely had not occurred to me. I really think you might be onto something there. I can go through the deck without any pairs separating accidentally, but I know I am applying pressure *consistently* ... not every pair accidentally separates in my son's hands, so it may well be that he is not applying the same pressure consistently as he goes through the deck.

I will try and explain this to him and see if that helps.

You guys are the best! Thanks for your help.

--Dale.

PIPmagician, just my 2 cents...djrdjr's son's issue is that he can't keep the pairs together...it is NOT that he can't separate them. Keeping the pairs together has NOTHING to do with how moist your fingers are...it has to do with the pressure applied to the cards. Wow, it's not easy to type this stuff out (to explain a technical point)...I wish I could just show you what I mean.
Anyway...
All the best,

Kaylan

My son's handling the Brainwave much better today. I think relaxing and not trying so hard helped alot. Clean hands and even pressure also seemed helpful. I also did touch up a few cards that were problematic.

Thanks again for all the help.

--Dale.

You're welcome, Dale. My son's only 3 - I can't wait to do what you're already getting to do.
Best wishes,
Kaylan

It's great Kaylan, especially because his interest in magic rekindled my own and also because it gives us something new to bond over when he's at an age (14) where some of the other stuff we used to do together has, well, disappeared.

Oh, and don't wish away your son's early years too fast -- they're gone before you know it.

It takes practice. Simple solution, just keep working on it.

Another idea is simply to spread them on a table (a relatively tighter spread though due to the quanity of cards). This would not only lessen his frustration, but teach him how to utilize the deck and to brainstorm ideas for other effects with this or any other similiar deck.