I have a good friend that has been into magic and has more skill with the presentation/patter/poise/misdirection of magic than he does with the technical handlings and sleights associated with cards.

He's been struggling with nailing a DL consistently, and I wanted to get the take from the Café on what is a good bread & butter DL that is clean, relatively easy to nail each time, and doesn't require a difficult get-ready.

I use a strike DL but that me took months and months of daily practice for me to nail it cleanly and consistently. I originally started with a right handed biddle style using the left thumb to turn. The biddle is easy and with some misdirection, clean (I guess most magic is cleaner with misdirection.)

What DL would you advise a technically challenged card magician to study?

Before this thread receives a lot of posts with the same theme of "he should practice more" and "he needs to put in time to respect the art", he does practice and he respects the art of magic but he just needs a DL that's a little easier. Whaddya say?

Also, if you mention a DL, please also note where it can be referenced.

Thanks tremendously in advance for your responses.

There might be something useful in this thread:

Double Lifting any easy way?

I would suggest Derek Dingle Double Lift in The Complete Work of Derek Dingle.

This double is relatively simple to learn, requires no get ready and look natural.

Richard Tremblay

Have you tried LePaul's handling - I believe it was his (see Card Magic of LePaul). LePaul's method was to contact the double at the lower right corner, slide the fingers along the edges of the two cards up toward the top right and then turn the double over. If anything it affords an opportunity to make sure the double is fully squared before flipping it over and also if you don't catch both cards during the first strike you've got some extra time to pick up the second card as you run the finger along the edges. Hope that makes some sense.



Sounds somewhat like the Vernon Double Lift. Has your friend tried this one?

Excellent Neo. I'll refer him to that link. It seems the thread discusses get-ready's and a couple of DLs, along with the smattering of "must practice more" posts.

The DLs that are specificially referenced are from RRTCM, ECT, and Mark Wilson's book. Do you recommend any others for the technically challenged?

Learn the Vernon DL described in Stars of Magic. Another, and better, description is available as the addendum to a Ron Bauer pamphlet - "The Mechanical Deck". Even if he doesn't use the trick, the sleights he will learn from the RB book are well worth the ten bucks...

Best, PSC

I have to say the Vernon Double lift is great, there is also a chapter on it in The Dai Vernon Book of Magic. My favorite double is based on the Vernon Double and is called the Flash Double. It is in Bob White's lecture notes which are worth every penny of the money. It also has great info on palming from a small packet, the depth illusion, the Gemini Count and many other useful moves that focus on uniformity of action, and naturalness.

Whatever is used, try to make it look the same when not doing a double... learn one that is natural to the way you turn a card over singly.

Watch out for anyone seeing the end of the card and how it is thicker when a double. Cover that.

Don't rush. Learn it well.

The Le Paul handling is pretty simple and the Jenning's Snap double is too. Both are mechanically easy enough that the physical aspects can be mastered in a short time by a person with average motor skills.

The real work (sorry Pete) on the double lift is to learn not to look at the pack until the card is already face up. There is no reason to watch what you are doing when you turn over a card. It's not an act that requires much attention. Plan your presentations and effects so that people are looking at you (say something to them) instead of the cards. THEN look down at the card after it's face up and attention will go there. Nothing to see and nothing to hide.

Once the card is face up the natural curve of the cards makes it relatively easy to turn it back down without a get ready (the so-called Lyn Searles autobreak). This is the point at which attention to the card is more appropriate and misdirection of attention more likely to be noticed.

Teach your friend that the best double lift is the one that isn't noticed.

And for fun investigate Lee Asher's Diving Board Double and Carmen D'Amico's Snapover Double. Both are flashy one handed techniques which you can use when you want to make your fellow magi cry.

The most important thing about a double lift is for it to look exacly like your single lift.

I would suggest double take for learning all about double lifts and holding a double. I'm sure he'll find something easy and normal-looking there.

Uh, that's the Reel Works...

I'm surprised that you're recommending this DL. The poster has already rejected a strike double as taking too long to learn. This DL is a strike double using the ring finger instead of the forefinger. I think most people would agree that it is tougher to learn to strike with the ring finger than the forefinger.

Gianni

Doubles are funny. I find the Strike very easy, but I have students who couldn't turn over one card like they would with the strike if their life depended on it. Someone here said the Snap was easy. I worked on that one off and on for a month, and never could get it to work well. Besides, you end up turning the card over (in the Snap) like you would with the Strike, so why bother. Unless you really work at it, it is easier to get two cards with a Strike then you can with a thumb or pinky count. But to each his own. But definitely get Wilson's Double Take. Besides the info on Doubles, there are some good effects on the video. He does a great variation on Daley's Last Trick, one on Jumping Gemini, and a number of other nice effects.

I agree with JordanB,Dai Vernon's method gets my vote.It's easy,deceptive and natural.
Andre

Not everyone will agree, but I've always quite liked what Harry Lorayne had to say about this:

"I have had many discussions with card men who said that the DL must be done just as you would ordinarily turn over one card. Well, I agree up to a point - that is, the audience must see only one card. But, I can't agree that it must be turned or dealt as you would ordinarily turn or deal one card. We sometimes tend to get too technical over things a lay audience doesn't really give a darn about. In the middle of a routine, I seriously doubt if the layman stops to think, 'Ah hah, he didn't turn that over the way he should.'" (Close-Up Card Magic, p.52)

Food for thought.

Where would be the best place to download the snap double from? (preferably not a dvd, as I've spent quite a bit on them recently!)

I see no reason with squaring the cards and getting a break, pattering for about 15-30 seconds, then doing the turnover. I recommend Paul Daniels' turnover style, in which he turns the card over like a book and keeps it on top of the deck.

However, the pinky count, if executed properly, is magnificient as well.

For a beginner I would normally suggest the Strike method. Since this was precluded in the original post - simply push over two cards and pull them back obtaining a left pinkie break while doing so. You are then pretty much free to execute the turnover in your favourite manner.

That said, what you now lack in technique now has to be made up with in theatre and structure. This should be built into the routine and not just added as an after thought.

An alternative technique suggested by Vernon is to deal off the top card into the right hand and motion with it. While doing this obtain a break under the top card. Return the original top card and you have your break. This also needs to be motivated within the context of the effect you're performing.

Good Luck.

Andre first Double I learned was the Vernon method , easy to learn for a beginner and looks very good in my opinion ...

Lewis Jones has a great DL (Lift Off), in his book Ahead Of The Pack.
No fiddling.

It has served me really well.

Glenn