I just received a brand new Invisible Deck, but I've never worked with the "roughed" cards that are in the invisible deck and I'm having a ton of trouble separating the cards to reveal the face down one as I fan through. I've tried light pressure, heavy pressure, everything in between, pressing from every side of the card and nothing seems to get them to separate without a more concentrated effort.

Can anyone give me some advice?

Try rubbing each pair of cards together to reduce the friction of the roughing to suit your requirement.

I'd agree with Blondin, sounds like you just need to break it in. New decks can be a bit too roughed.

I grab the selected card with my middle finger of my left hand underneath the deck so they will separate.

Having moist fingers also may work too.

Yes but don't break them in too much. I de-roughed my first ID a bit too enthusiastically, and ended up with the opposite problem, namely the backs would peek out while spreading through. It seems to be a fine line between too rough/too smooth.

Sean

Thanks a ton, I'll give it a shot!

I agree. I tend to give the thumb and middle finger of the hand I push the cards from a little lick just before I begin to get some extra grip.

And remember if you do break in the cards a bit too much then you can always top up the "roughness" yourself.

Although I must admit I've never had much call to do this as yet; so I can't vouch for how well this works.

Cheers.

I suffer from dry skin. My skin will not allow me to have enough tack to separate the cards, regardless of what kind of pressure I use (heavy or light).

Most lotions help with the dry skin, but only one give my SEVERE case of dry skin the tack it needs.

Zim's Crack Creme *in the spray-pump bottle*, not the creme in a tube.

In a pinch, licking my fingers works well, but only lasts a short time.

Everyone's mileage will vary here.

Thanks again guys! I'm going to look for that cream, since I have VERY dry hands as well and can't even palm a card without it slipping out of my hand, so I look forward to that.

Here's something else that you might consider -- not all Invisible Decks are created equal. The quality can vary significantly from one manufacturer to the next. I've bought some that are simply horrendous, so poorly made that you couldn't separate the cards without using a "Jaws of Life." I prefer the deck made by the California Card Co.

Larry D.

I find that a little moisture helps out a lot, especially on the newer decks. Though it is not the cleanest, I tend to give the left middle and thumb a quick lick before spreading the cards. With this, only a little EVEN pressure is needed to separate the cards. As stated before, it does take practice to get the knack. But once you have it, it'll be quick and smooth, almost seeming effortless. Good luck.

I find that a little moisture helps out a lot, especially on the newer decks. Though it is not the cleanest, I tend to give the left middle and thumb a quick lick before spreading the cards. With this, only a little EVEN pressure is needed to separate the cards. As stated before, it does take practice to get the knack. But once you have it, it'll be quick and smooth, almost seeming effortless. Good luck.

I also always wondered why magicians made seperating the cards look so easy and natural when my fingers would just slide along the card. I thought I wasn't applying the pressure properly or something like that. I also have problems with other basic slights like a simple color change. I recently bought Jay Sankey's Invisible thinking Jay would give some pointers that I had been missing but again, he skimmed past the seperating of the cards like it's just naturally easy. A lightbulb went off and I grabbed my bottle of ZIM's Crack Creme that I had read about early and sprayed some on. I let it sink in a little and again picked up my invisible deck. WOW!!! The cards came apart exactly like they were supposed to. I knew I had dry hands but hadn't realized how pronounced the effect of their dryness would have on something as basic as the invisible deck.

My hands are so dry that spraying the creme into my hands is only effective for about 10-15 minutes before I need to do it again. I think it's partly due to my age. (Rock climbing and using hand chalk a lot doesn't help I'm sure.)

Anyway, definately get some ZIM's and try it. You will be amazed. I found mine at Walgreen's.

Mike

Great! And remember, the spray bottle - not the tube cream.

I sometimes spray 2 layers. Do one and rub it in, then a second and rub it in. I find the more I do that the longer it lasts.

Thanks for the tip Chessmann, I'll give that a try. I think we must be brothers in dry hands!