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KenRyan Elite user 465 Posts |
I'm having a bit of a problem with my overhand shuffle. When I pull off cards with the left thumb, I keep pulling some cards back up with my right hand. I am OK when I go very slowly. But at speed, I can't seem to figure out a way to prevent cards coming back up with that right hand. Any suggestions?
Thanks! Ken |
Levi Bennett Inner circle 1778 Posts |
A few thoughts...
You can try overlapping your thumb pad around a small block of cards as they come off. Try changing the angle you hold the deck at as you bring it into your receiving hand. Try catching the cards in the crotch of your first and second fingers as this can help hold them in place. This is hard to explain, I may not be describing it correctly, but I've found it helps me. Pay attention to the grip you have on the deck. Are you gripping it too tightly and bringing cards back after your release? I had some issues with the overhand shuffle as well. Just keep practicing and trying different ways of holding the deck and receiving the cards. You will eventually find a grip and a feel that is right for you.
Performing magic unprofessionally since 2008!
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KenRyan Elite user 465 Posts |
Thanks Theodore. I actually know exactly what you mean by "crotch of the first and second fingers." It turns out I'm already doing that. It seems like the cards are coming back up. But as I was trying to figure out how to overlap my thumb pad, as you suggested, I realized THAT is where I think I'm having the problem. I'm only able to sort of press against the side edge of the deck with my thumb to pull them off. It starts out looking like it should overlap the edges and act as a "stop" for the small block of cards, but as I pull up with the right hand, the "roundness" of my thumb pad allows several cards to slip back up and past. So instead of pulling off a block of cards, I'm creating a sort of vertical ribbon spread as I pull back up. So I think I've isolated the problem:). My left thumb. That is a big help. Thanks.
Ken |
Newsround New user UK 82 Posts |
I find if I make sure the pressure from my left thumb is greater than he grip of the deck in my right hand, then things work fine. Could it be that either your gripping the deck too tightly, or not pulling the cards off hard enough?
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KenRyan Elite user 465 Posts |
Thanks Newsround. I just studied Giobbi's videos (linked from his pdf) for this in slo-mo and I am doing pretty much exactly what he is doing (at least it feels like I am). And even HE pulls some cards back up with his right hand. So I think you are right about both holding the deck to tightly in the right hand AND not pulling cards off hard enough.
More practice! Cheers! Ken |
Newsround New user UK 82 Posts |
Gripping the cards too tight was causing me a few issues with different things. It's getting used to holding them loose that took the time with me. It feels so unnatural at first, but once you do get used to it I think you realise you're letting the cards do the work for you. That's what it felt like with me anyway.
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Mortimer Graves Special user New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.A. 556 Posts |
Relaxed hands help with an awful lot of card work. Lightness of touch is crucial. They should almost feel as if they're floating in space and your hands have just enough contact with them to keep them in position.
This is part of why it's so important to use clean and new-ish cards; it allows the slippery surfaces of the cards, and the air in between them, to do a lot of it for you. When I finally learned to stop squeezing the life out of my cards, my side-steal went from a mechanical action performed by my fingers to a floating motion of the deck while the fingers simply held the crucial parts in place. It felt like learning to fly after swimming through mud for years. Sleights are supposed to make otherwise impossible things easy, not the other way around. Remember what legerdemain actually means: lightness of hand. A light, gentle touch with relaxed hands. Pretend you're trying to pet a cat without waking it up, and you'll be closer to the ideal.
'Tis an ill wind that blows no minds.
Hastur, Hastur, Hastur! See? Nothing hap- ...and if we rub each other the wrong way, let's try going in another direction. - Pokey the Porcupine |
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