My Hands Are Too Small!!!

Okay, everyone come beat me up and call me a wuss.

After months of dropping cards all over the floor in practice, I think I'm going to give up and trade my poker sized cards in for bridge cards. It'll be easier that way.

Why is this wrong?

I didn't know it was wrong? Cards are cards... use what you feel comfortable with.

Jerry Andrus had hands the size of Texas, and he used Bridge cards because he thought the shape was more pleasing to the eye than the blocky shape of poker size cards. I don't recall anyone caling Jerry a wuss.

Of course that bare-handed production of a five pound steel ball might have had something to do with that.

Don't do it. Nobody's hands are too small. Paul Daniels has tiny hands and he is an expert card manipulator. Stay at it, your frustration will subside. Whatever you do , do not start practicing with bridge sized cards... no matter what anyone says... you'll thank me later.

fish

I would think this is a personal prefrence thing. Nothing wrong with bridge cards.

I would also say I have heard so many time " that my hands are small" you would be amazed to know their are a lot of card workers that have small hands. Jay Sankey is one that comes to mind very quickly. It's not necessarily the size on your mits it could be other issues or what you are actually trying to accomplish. Have you been working on anything specific? If you have let us know and maybe you can have another look at what is going wrong. Otherise like mentioned above a lot of fine car men have used bridge decks over the years so don't listen to everything you here.

Jeff

Lots of people think about switching when they're new to card magic.
newbies always think their hands are too small.

if you switch you'll never be able to go back easily.
don't switch and you'll always be able to use either deck.

do you really think card magic is that difficult? of course not.
do piano students shop around for smaller pianos so they can reach an octave more easily?

magic is the only "sport" I know of where everything is continually made easier and easier and easier for the novice and where everybody is constantly looking for the easy way out.

Pick the cards up off the floor and get back to work!

The rest of us did it. you can do it too. In exactly 2 years, you'll be back thanking me (and magicfish) for your decision to use poker cards.

There is nothing wrong with useing bridge size cards:-) Use what works for you and your magic will be much stronger!

Thanks, magico563:-)

1. There are tricks which can be performed nicer with Bridge size deck and nicer with Poker size deck.

2. There are more Gaff cards for Poker size deck.

3. To lay people, there are few difference between Bridge size and Poker size.

4. For magicians with really small hands, Poker size is very difficult to use.

5. If one is too accustomed to use Bridge size deck, he feels much difficulty in using Poker size. The opposite is not true.

If the poster is 8 years old boy, I would not insist Poker size. But if he has normal size hands, I recommend to practice with both, but mainly with Poker size.

Hideo Kato

Bridge sized cards are better for shooting cards. Go do the hot shot cut with a poker deck, then a bridge deck and tell me which one flew better.

In Australia bridge sized cards are the norm. Up until just recently, when the poker craze/fad finally hit Australia, I rarely saw poker size decks in stores.

Since bridge size is the standard in Aust, I was tempted to start with them. I decided to start with poker size (got the cards from a casino), and out of frustration almost switched to bridge... but like Frank says, practice with the larger size and you'll be able to perform with either.

Unless poker size is a rarity where you're from, I think go for poker size.

A) I would almost be willing to bet that I have smaller hands than you. But, more importantly - b)and nobody mentioned this -it's all according, isn't it? If you work only with bridge size cards, what do you do when you're handed a deck of poker-size cards? I never carry my own deck, so that's important to me, I have to work with what's available, what's handed to me. If you work ONLY with your own deck, then I guess it doesn't matter. HL

Try going to this page and seeing how small your hands are.
Hope this link works

http://www.leeasher.com/lee_asher_hand.html

Have your tried practicing with both? I find it helps me with the poker size to practice first with bridge cards. With some sleights, like a classic pass, it seems easier to get started with the smaller deck, and it doesn't seems to take any time at all to adjust then to the poker deck.

I agree with harry. What if you are handed a deck of poker size cards? What will you do?

If I used bridge size cards and someone handed me a poker size deck, what would I do? If I was inclined to perform in that situation, I'd simply be prepared to perform one of the thousands of effects where the size of the card doesn't matter, and I can name many of them that are among the strongest card effects ever created. That being said, I personally use Poker size cards.

I personally do use Poker size cards. My point was merely that there are no hard and fast rules on the subject as may have been interpreted by your post "PERIOD"!

In addition to those already mentioned, Steve Freeman and Ricky Jay, two guys who look as though their hands are on the smallish side, are master sleight-of-hand experts with a pack of normal sized playing cards. If you plan on incorporating gaffs, then you're going to find it difficult using bridge sized cards. What happens when somebody hands you a pack of cards? Here's a suggestion I overheard a knowledgeable magician give someone complaining about hand-size. Pick up a pack of jumbo sized cards. They sell cheap, plastic ones at Walgreens for two or three bucks. Take'em out and shuffle'em, try to palm them, pass them, fan them (even if they protest), Charlier Shuffle/cut'em, spring'em, double-lift and all of things we do to cards. Pretend to hold'em and spread'em like you're Brian Tudor, stretching your fingers around as far as they will go (acting like an annoying ______head is optional). Just toy with them for twenty minutes while watching a movie, or show. Then pick up some poker sized cards. I think it's a useful and fun exercise on occasion.

I disagree. I think there are hard and fast rules. I started with poker sized cards at the age of seven. My hands were pretty small then. Magic is not supposed to be easy. It is usually easier to roll a coin along your dominant hand, but a magician can do it with both. So too, a magician can work his miracles with a poker sized pack. Derek Dingle shared this view, and I think it is the correct one.

Sincerely, Magicfish

I understand your point!

I used to do a coin roll, but I no longer do (with either hand), so I'm not a magician. I'm somewhat comforted by the fact that Jerry Andrus wasn't a magician either, because he used bridge size cards.

Not all magicians think that the "hardest" part about magic is the moves, me being one of them, and it's not a rationalization given that I regularly perform effects that require some pretty advanced sleight of hand.