Hi guys. I have been doing card manipulation for a year now, and started thinking about what spectators think. Like when you have produced all of your cards from your right hand, should you show your hand empty? Because if a magician is watching, they will know to watch out for a steal. Tell me what you think.

RJH

What you do depends on your style of handling. If you are doing classic style or a modern fast style, each will suggest what is best for you. This is where videoing yourself will help you make up your mind. It is what works and what is right for you. If your misdirection is strong, then anyone trying to watch out for a steal will miss some good magical effects.

Remember it is best to be ahead of your audience then behind or with them, in your actions.

I'm not sure what you mean by "when you have produced all of your cards from your right hand, should you show your hand empty?" The audience should _think_ your hand is empty just before every production. whether it is or not. What I mean is, you walk out on stage and reach an obviously empty hand into the air and produce a fan. Toss it so that your hand is seen to be empty and produce another fan. Toss it and produce a few cards singly.

If you're asking whether you should perform an acquitment (showing both sides of your hand to be empty when it's not), the answer depends on 1) how well you believe the acquitment can be done, and 2) how perceptive the audience is.

Marlo and Ganson would say that no one can do an acquitment without flashing. Before I learned card manipulation, though, I would watch magicians do card manipulations on TV and the acquitment looked convincing to me.

After I became a student of card manipulation, I started to watch magicians do card fan and single productions on stage and I almost always caught flashes of the cards, especially when they were producing cards singly. But that's too be expected.

I used to practice the back-and-front acquitment when I was younger and worked at a magic shop that had a platform in the backroom for shows. But that was just an exercise. Magicians who dropped into the shop while I was practicing in the backroom would watch me do the acquitment and say, "He doesn't really have any cards b*ckp*lm*d, whereupon I would produce another fan--much to their surprise.

But when I perform for the public, I never do the acquitment.

----- Amado "Sonny" Narvaez

Thanks for the tips.

RJH

Remember to not have both hands empty and go for a steal, is pretty obvious. There should be one hand doing something while the other hand steals. Misdirection. I'm working on a different style to approach this, so try to create new things, I know lot of things have been created already, but I found one not common and I'm working hard on it. Have confidence, from your point of view as magician the steal is very obvious, but for audience is not if done correctly. And like Jeff McBride said: mimicking is essential. Work different styles out and practice a lot, even in front of friends which can tell you how it looks. Work hard, wish you the best:)

Thanks! Are you going to show your style to us?

RJH

Need to work out a lot, still a long way. But when I finish organizing everything as I want and trying with different methods I will let you know. Still a long way to make a performance with this concepts hehe. Thnx for the interest.