I have a few questions regarding the double lift for you experienced card guys.

Sometimes when I perform an effect that requires a double lift the response I get is "Its obvious your holding two cards." I fool MOST of the people I double lift for, but sometimes there is that occasional person that knows. So here are my questions about the DL:

Do you feel as if your double lift gets better with practice?

Do you feel that the double lift is something like the top change that just needs some built in diversion?

Do you feel that the key to a double lift is doing the "best one", or in other words is there one double lift that works better than all others?

While simple in its nature, Harry Lorayne once said, "If you can perform a good f***e, control, and double lift, you can work limitless miracles with a deck of cards." Therefore, while the double lift is simple, I believe its a critical skill to acquire.

Also feel free to list your favorite double and a reference where it can be found. Especially if its something crazy like Lee Asher's dl.

Yes, I feel my double lift gets better with practice. The smoother your double gets, the less it will be suspected.

Yes, I think the double lift does need some built-in diversion, especially if your lift requires a get ready. Of course, most people will tend to look towards your hands while you lift the cards, but Roberto Giobbi gives some suggestions on using your gaze while lifting in Card College Vol. 2. More diversions for the double include having the same confidence as you would while turning one card over, and managing a silent script that really convinces audiences that you are turning over the top card.

I do not believe the key is doing the best one. A well-performed DL will fool any layperson. I used to do a very basic one to a guy who knew all about doubles and forces, and I still fooled him several times. He was awestruck by a simple ACR that used a simple move that he supposedly "knew".

My favorite double at the moment is Dr. Daley's "Instantaneous Double Lift" found in Stars of Magic. I've been putting a lot of work into the lift because it requires no get-ready, and it's beginning to look pretty smooth.

Oh yeah, don't waste your time with an Asher-style lift unless you just want to impress your magician buddies. I'd actually be more impressed by a well-performed push-off DL.

The best advice I can give regarding th DL is let some time pass between getting the break and doing the move. The instantaneous DLs that Vernon, Dingle and others have written about are fine although more difficult to do. How you pick up the card I believe is less important than how you replace it. I'm sure I'll get arguments about that. That's been my experience doing this. I've never been caught doing a DL. Sure maybe someone suspected it but was too polite to say. That I'll never know. We never can know that. However, I've never been called on it. IMO the replacement should appear effortless. As you replace the card you give the spec. sort of a retention of vision effect. They will concentrate more on the value of that card and not the thickness of it. Bottom line for me is to delay the display after the break and efortlessly replace the card on the deck (folding over etc.).

^^What he said too. I definitely agree with that.

I never thought of created retention of vision with the double lift, thank you Larry for bringing that to my attention.

I too think that you should let time pass before the move and the break, but there are other factors. The style of double lift (pinky count etc.) should be decided on before you actually perform them. I've seen a few people get caught a lot trying out all of these different and fancey double lifts that they can't even do. Also, I think that you need to misdirect through talking while you get your break, if all of the attention is on the deck while you get your break you are more likely to get caught. Go through the trick and see at what points in time you would be able to misdirect through patter or whatever, and use that timing in your performance.

I get the break very early, while talking to them. Sometimes I turn my body a little away from them as I start the turn like when you do a pass.

One of the biggest mistakes in card magic is to think of the double lift as an easy or simple move. It is not. It is a very difficult move to perform deceptively and requires constant practice.
I also think, that it's not enough to master only one method, because of so many different requirements of various routines.
Apart from the lift and turnover it's also necessary to learn how to hold and handle a double in a relaxed manner.

I definitely agree that the double lift is a difficult move to do well. And, from personal experience, laypeople will pick up on a poorly performed double lift. I would highly recommend learning one of the push-off methods, as it will eventually be possible for you to push off doubles and triples by feel alone. Also, one of the best double lift subtleties can be found in Whit Haydn's Chicago Suprise manuscript...

Jason

Practice in front of a mirror. See what it looks like to do a single lift. Make your double look like your single (and vice versa, for that matter). There are many ways to do a double lift, but some just don't look natural to me.

Also, try to look your audience in the eye, rather than looking at the cards...

There is a lot of good advice on this thread, I hope this adds to it.

I agree with Uli above. It is a critical and may require several different methods.

Also, being critical, people tend to overuse it and that leads to being caught also. I always used the idea that if you put 10 card effects together into a routine and you use the double lift more that twice, you are over-using it.

I think one of the most important is how and where you hold the card, occasionally you see a magician holding the double in a sort of biddle grip, either end, which looks very awkward and suspicious. I just hold the card like any other card, I just need to put more pressure down so the double doesn't split.

Also, I like to turn the card and set it on the deck, then leave it whilst I patter, I free both hands and have an open gesture. The double is left on the top of the deck face up for a longish time, but who said card magic has to be quick. Just make it look natural like nothing odd is happening.

--art--

--art--

I second that, art.
Double lifts done by the ends look very dicey.

Another thing is this:
Always get your break a little while BEFORE you do the lift (that is, unless you're doing a dl in which getting the break is part of the lift). This is a big one.

I'm not sure I agree. What about more than two DLs in a single effect, let alone across ten effects? For example, Harry Lorayne's handling of the Ambitious Card requires at least six DLs (Close-Up Card Magic, pp. 51-61). Arthur Buckley's makes use of five DLs (Card Control, pp. 177-179).

Frank Garcia's Apex Ace in CUCM requires a triple lift followed by an immediate DL and that sequence repeated two more times for a total of 3TLs and 3Dls It's a great effect.

I mean across effects....if more than two of the effects require the double lift/turnover move, it is overused.

Check out Daryl's Encyclopedia of Card Magic DVD set for several great DL methods. His "Snap DL" is a thing of beauty.

The snap double is a Larry Jennings sleight. I believe Daryl does credit it to Jennings too.

I like the Strike Double. I've never done anything but it unless there is a lot of misdirection for a break.

Cloneman, yeah the snap double is nice. I use it when I switch between it and just a regular ole dl turnover. The snap double is definitely more flourishy, it makes a nice sound and the cards stay perfectly aligned all the time, but the good ole dl is just plain more natural.

The strike DL works well. Never had a problem with it. No get ready either.


Kasper

I use a strike double lift, but get a break before hand if I know the patter allows it.

Think of what sells a DL to be perceived as a single lift.

First, are you fiddling at or before strike time under the attention of the spectator to grab the two? If so, you're not selling it correctly.

Secondly, how do you turn the cards or hold the cards? The double turn like a page turn really sells that it's one card. I've had people familiar with the DL buy the strike with the page turn as a single card. It takes practice, but once you master it, it's burnable.

After you turn it, how do you grab the two for the turn back over? If you fiddle under their attention, then it's suspicious.

The strike DL on Double Take by Greg Wilson is where I learned my DL. He teaches it better than anywhere else to my knowledge, BUT he doesn't teach everything. It takes lot of practice to learn the little steps that ensure the feeling of two cards, either at strike or prior when securing a break.

By the way, it took me 3-4 months before I was comfortable performing a DL, and 6-7 months of weekly performances before I quit thinking about it before I performed it. Now it's just a sleight that I know I'll nail every time but it was a move that took more practice to learn than anything else in my skill set.