As a general service in honor of this being my 500th post, I thought I'd take a moment to put some words down on one of the (very) few areas of card table artifice that I feel qualified to offer an educated opinion about: The Palm and holding out without the aid of a machine, bug, or other device that would arouse suspicions if discovered. Now, I'm far from an expert on the subject, and there is always more to learn. More to the point, I'm no crossroader/hustler/sharp or whatever you want to call it. I'm an "honest" gambler with a morbid interest in cheating. That said, I've been playing cards for money since I was in highschool and I've seen some very ugly things happen in my day as the consequence of cheating. And most often, that's happened in games where people were holding out.

I've occasionally reflected that when people decide to cheat at poker, the most obvious idea that comes to them is switching cards and this may be the reason that the times I've seen a cheat busted at a table I was at, it was almost always that the guy was holding out. Holding out has some real advantages over other methods. For one thing, you don't have to be the dealer, which means if you aren't working with a partner, or if you're in a game with a designated dealer, you can still make things happen. This is important if you're in a private game, and crucial if you're playing in a casino. The other advantage of holding out is that you have a longer period of time to make your play. Stacking, false dealing, cold decks, all of that stuff happens in an instant with the attendant pressure and stress of having to do something under fire, knowing ahead of time that you're going to do it and all the nervous anticipation that comes along with it. By contrast, holding out gives you time to think about your play as you wait for the right moment. And if that moment doesn't necessarily come on this hand, it might come on the next or the one after that. In a game like no limit hold 'em where position can be extremely important in determining the size of the pot, a hand mucker can wait until the pot is of sufficient size to make a play, and possibly do so from under the gun where he would otherwise be at a disadvantage.

All of this is counterbalanced by the problem of holding out which is that much of the time you're dirty as dirty can be. This has stresses of its own, I imagine, and one that I don't think translates to magic in the same way that some other gambling moves might. It's conceivable, possibly even likely, that someone could hold out for tens of minutes before they find their moment, playing hand after hand, knowing all the while that a slip up could expose them. This is the biggest hazard of this type of ruse, and as I said, I can say the risk of discovery is very real and consequential based on my own experiences.

That said, I would like to offer to the community a list of the best resources on this topic in my estimation.

First, on the top palm:

Vernon's Topping the Deck is excellent and well worth considering, but the best version I know is the action palm in Ron Bauer's 2008 lecture notes. Steven Youell very kindly sent me a copy in 08 and I wouldn't have discovered it but for his generosity. It is a beautiful move, and if ever I palm a card from the top of the deck, this is the method I use. With a few slight modifications from the published version, it works from a standard dealing grip and, in my opinion, looks even more innocent at the card table than it does in a magic act.

As far as the one-handed top palm goes, I'm not sure I've ever seen one that's particularly good or useful at the card table. For one thing most are so difficult that the people who do them do them with their right hands. I can think of no time in the course of a normal game of cards when the deck is held in the appropriate manner by the right hand. I've played myself with a left handed OHTP covered by the action of cutting the cards based on Glenn Morphew's OHTP, but I've never gotten it quite ready for prime time. I've looked for versions of the sleight using that same cover, but other than Erdnase's description of replacing the palmed cards during the cut, I've found precious little.

On the bottom palm:

I have yet to find a method superior to Erdnase's second method, and in general I prefer this action to the gambler's cop because I generally dislike the rather distinctive cover the cop requires when seated at the table. That said, it is a difficult move and requires much more practice than most people who I've seen do it think it requires. If done poorly, it looks bizarre and spastic. Done well, however, it is absolutely invisible. Much gets made of other sleights of out EATCT, but to my mind the bottom palm covered in it is the real jewel. Nowadays, if someone came up with a move that good, no doubt they'd run straight to the magic publishers with a boatload of half-baked tricks taking advantage of it and before you know it the kids on YouTube would all be doing crappy versions of it.

Skinning hands:

While erdnase has some interesting work on this stuff, the first place to go for it in my opinion is Giorgio's masterclass on The Ultimate Work DVD. Many of his variations on the machine break-off are things of beauty. There are also some applications from Marlo's tabled palm, I think, although without the width of the deck as a lever, I have trouble making this work myself. that said, I am convinced it is possible and people with better hands than me are likely to find interesting ideas there. And there are so many billions of things Marlo published, that I suspect he may have some work on this sort of thing that I've overlooked, however, and if anybody knows of it, I'd appreciate a heads up.


One final mention on a mid-deck side steal type of palm that might have some useful applications is the applications of the "Mechanic's Shift" which is a download from Vanishinginc. It's pretty rare that I worry about learning shifts and passes, because frankly I know too many of them already and learning new ones means letting the old ones get rusty, most likely, so it takes a lot for me to want to learn it. This, because it works in a way that can go straight and almost invisibly into a palm was one that struck me as pretty remarkable so I got the video and learned it and I can't say I was disappointed.

Anybody who knows of anything I missed here, or wishes to offer an alternative on the sources, please comment.

Thanks,
J

Palming...

I have huge respect for people holding out cards during play. It requires balls of steel or no brain cells (you choose). I'm gonna be honest, I have rarely seen people taking cards out of play by palming. Dropping them on the floor or stuff like that, oh yes, it happens often. But palming is another story.

I know that some people are gonna say I'm an idiot or that I know nothing, but for me, palming is for very special games, I could say for movies. OK, I'm talking for myself, but even in a game for £1,000 people are counting card every 20 hands or so, tables are not that big and everyone is closely observing everyone. How could we steal a card??? Oh well, I know that in the past people were not playing the way we do today, 5 card draw, discarded cards in front of the players, etc. But anyway, it's something that amazes me.

I've talked with people here, who told me incredible stories about legends of cardsharping, using holdouts machines, kings of palmings, etc. Really, my dream is to witness a game where such ploys are in use. I'd like to see those guys moving! Using a Martin in a game with old timers, geez, that's the stuff!

J,
Thank you so much.
Your 500th post is a labour of love; a terrific read.
Well played!

AMcD - you mention rarely seeing cards held out in games today and provide what appears to be valid reasons why it's risky.

Are you only referring to Hold'em games when making this statement? Also I'm assuming by not seeing much in the way of holding out you mean it's because the player wasn't caught or no discovery was made that the deck was short of cards. Or did you mean you're observant enough to see/sense when someone attempts to hold out by palming?

I'm being sincere in this post and not questioning your abilities but simply trying to better understand your post.

Thanks.

Tony Tuccillo

Hi Tony,

My abilities for palming are... crap. My hands have big windows and palming is, by essence, something I don't "feel". I don't like moves leaving evidences. When you do a false deal, once the card is dealt, it's done. Palming, holding out, well, you have the evidence on you! You can be caught at any moment.

Again, I admire generation of cheats who have done that. I would have paid to watch guys like Tony Giorgio breaking off cards in real games, or Rod the Hop using holdout machines. It requires nerves, skills, etc. I can watch Steve Forte switching cards in "Invisible Thieves" for hours. But it's not my stuff. And when you don't feel something, better is to leave it .

I was mainly talking about Hold'Em, sure. Stud or Draw offer more opportunities because you are dealt more cards. And, of course, because I didn't see it doesn't mean it didn't happen! Even at my tables. But as I said above, I'm used to play cards with psychos. They can count the deck 3 or 4 times during a session lol. Beside, procedure are rather strict and space is tight between players. No one is allowed to toy with the mucked cards. I still think though, that palming a card, taking a card out of play is more or less noticeable if you pay attention to it. That's mainly why I said I didn't see it. I would be frankly astonished to learn someone is holding out a card in my Hold'em games. But why not?

The cash game of choice is Omaha here and switching cards among friends in that is not unknown, especially when we have only one rich friend at the table.

What kind of switch? I'd like a video if you can ;-).

Thanks for clarifying.

Tony