I know as magicians we are not supposed to be fascinated with sleights for their own sake, but I was wondering if anybody here has a a favorite sleight that they just enjoy using all the time?

I'm talking about that one that is super simple but very deceptive and every time you use it you grin like a monkey on the inside because it's so slick.

Gambler's Bottom Palm.

Good one.

I take a lot of delight on something I picked up from a Slydini volume years ago. After a repeated coin vanish to the pocket, (I prefer silver dollars) I pull the "coin" out of my pocket one more time.

Um, except for the fact that my fingers which hold the coin are actually empty. But Slydini taught that the facial expressions (and the body language) must MIRROR the belief that the coin is REAL.

I place this real coin in my left hand and tell them to watch as closely as they can. I encourage them to BURN my left hand with the coin.

Of course, the "coin" vanishes right under their nose, and the right hand is cleanly shown empty as it goes to the pocket to retrieve the coin one more time.

Done correctly and with absolute conviction that the phantom coin is real, it will smoke their mind every time. Never saw it fail even once. Never been called on it.

I suppose that is not really a sleight as much as it is a ruse, but I smile inside every time I do it because its so devilish.

I did this just yesterday to a guy who had some gorgeous collector, colorful US Marine coins that he had planned to give to his daughter. They are at least the size of silver dollars, and the fact that I used HIS coins really messed with his head.

My favorite? Mickey Silver's Ultimate Vanish. A Retention Pass, that, every coin magician that has seen it went

Doug

Giggle pass, R.O.P.S. move. Smoked them every time!

Palmer Clip. After learning this from Bill I have created dozens of new effects using it (some available as an eBook) and am continuously finding new applications. Can't live without it -- especially with my crippled hands.

I'm going to go the other way and say my favorite slights are the ones meant for the spectators to see.
I vote for the muscle pass. (Back palm fan productions are a close second.)

I like the Bo Bo coin switch.
I pretend I don't have any coins and thumb palm either a penny or a half dollar if I have one on me. I switch what ever they give me. I'll look at the penny, "Hey, I thought you gave me a quarter?" or "Wow! Kenedy Half dollar? Sweet!" Either way I swtich it back and hand them what ever they gave me.

My favorite sleight is strangely the classic palm. I can't help trying to palm everything and anything I can find that fits into my hand.

The "pitch and ditch" is slick, and great when vanishing a coin.

Double Lift

French drop and variations. Now, stop giggling. It works for most objects, makes subsequent total vanishes easy and it's reliable. By reliable, I mean, compared to the vernon wand spin, strike vanish, or (coins) HPC, himber vanish and back palm, any of which can leave the audience picking coins out of their hair.

Cards -- my double lift now that I can finally do one! (Yay! Thank you Greg Wilson.)

Coins -- toss up between the thumb palm (in and out for miser's dream) and what Bill Tarr simply calls the "Coin Switch" in Now You See It, Now You Don't.

Strike Vanish !!! It's so open, clean, super visual, and no one ever figures out where it went. Oh, and yes it does cause the monkey grin. I second the classic palm as well.

The TCAPT revelation. ( top-card-air-pressure-turn-over )

Whatever gets the job done, well, at the moment that I'm using it.

The Depth Illusion or Elmsley count.

The French Drop is great when done well, and I do it well if I do say so myself. I also love the Revolution Coin Vanish also. It works very well with the clothing I normally find myself in and with the right build up it total kills.

There is a coin through the back of your hand trick I learned when I was 11 or so which I think is in Bobo's book. Rub a coin on the back of your left hand, show that your left hand is empty almost as an after thought, continue to rub the coin on the back of the hand and then reveal that it has passed through your hand and is now inside your closed fist. It takes some timing but I have been doing it for decades now so I can do it in my sleep.

I know and do several passes but sometimes when working with cards and it's been a long night and cards have exchanged hands it's the 15th time I'm going a trick..favorite sleight that bails me out is the Double Undercut.

Cards - Dribble pass, double lift
Coins - the classic palm
They Never brought me