Hi all,

I'm looking for a recommendation of a good practical half pass. I haven't gotten around to really learning any half passes in the past, but I haven't really needed them.

Now, after reading Aaron Fisher's book, I've seen some interesting ideas using the half pass, but I want to find one that fits my style. Aaron's half pass requires far too much "framing" in my opinion. It may be invisible, but I think sitting there with your hands around the deck for several seconds waiting for misdirection to kick in and then for gravity to rotate the cards is a little suspicious.

I want one that can be done the way I do the pass. I hold the break naturally and during an opportune moment the hands come together for some well motivated reason and the pass happens in an instant.

I've got Ultra Cervon somewhere (it's not a book I open that often). I recall it had some half passes, but I don't remember much about them. I'm looking for a recommendation of a book that has an excellent description of a good half pass that can be done in an instant. In the meantime, I'll keep researching on my own and see what I come up with.

Thanks.

Dave

Spread Half Pass (The Complete Walton volume two).

Euan

Krenzel's Mechanical reverse and a variant he recently published in, I think, MAGIC.

Thanks guys,

I haven't come across the Complete Walton yet. I'll have to look it up.

I've thought about using Krenzel's Mechanical Reverse when I posted here, but I don't think I have a good reference for it. I messed around with it based on the description in Carneycopia, but I don't think I've got complete information.

Where, in print, is the best description of this sleight?

Also, can anyone point to a good description of the Christ Twist, since that's another one I've heard good things about but can't seem to find in my library?

Thanks.

Dave

Dave,
Check out "The Card Classics of Ken Krenzel" written by Harry Lorayne.

Henok

There is a description of the Christ Twist for reversing the bottom card on the DVD "Thoughts on Cards - Larry Jennings - The complete collection, Volumes 1 & 2.

You will find descriptions of the Mechanical Reverse for example in:

"The Card Classics of KEN KRENZEL" by Harry Lorayne (check pages 60, 207).

The Video "The London Collection" by Guy Hollingworth.

The Video "VERY VERY CLOSE, Volume 7" by Michael Close, should be on his DVD, too.

You will also find a "Half-Pack Reverse" in "Charles Jordan's´s Best Card Trick´s" by Karl Fulves.

Gary Ouellet explains his favourite Spread Half Pass in his Vol 3 DVD set.

The Christ twist is on the Kaufman 'PASS' tape.

The Kaufman tape is a must to get.

Get it for the techniques of the various passes.

Even though not everyone champions the Kaufman tape, it is the best. He gets straight to the point with detailed descriptions.

No crap, to put it bluntly.

Better still, get it because he looks like a 70's porn star. (I wonder if he had a medallion on.) ..lol

You need to learn the Mechanical Reverse and the Christ Twist to study how to get in to them. They both have extra visible movement to cover the hidden movement.

Depending on how much you need to reverse look at Krenzel's "Invisible Bottom Reverse" in The Card Classics. With a little thought you can do with any number of cards.

Dave,
The Gravity Half Pass isn't a quite as you perceive it. Aaron handles cards slowly and surely but there isn't a sense of framing up when he executes the GHP.

I've seen him do it dozens of times at his lecture recently and the tempo changes depending on the effect he's using it in.

It's one half pass that works equally well for a small packet of cards or a whole deck, but it does take a lot more time to internalize it than the Christ Twist or other half pass techniques.

I agree with wsduncan. Fisher's work on the half GHP is nothing short of brilliant card work. You'd do well to see him in action.

Yes. its all about construction. If your actions are slow all the time, they seem fair and not suspicous. If your tempo is fast than all of a sudden slowing down for a move makes it suspicous.