Learn Card Tricks - Become a Magician

Learn Card tricks if you want to become a Magician. Card Tricks
are an essential part of any Magician's performance. Some require
difficult sleight-of-hand techniques, most just need you to
distract your audience while you 'do the deed', many can be done
in full view. If you learn a few simple techniques then you can
make up your own card tricks!

The False Shuffle is one of many and possibly the easiest to do.
With it you can appear to fully shuffle the deck whilst actually
maintaining the top card in place or keep the bottom card in
place or move the top card to the bottom or bottom card to the
top. In all of these moves, keep the backs of the cards towards
the audience or they might spot the selected card during the
shuffle.

Keeping the top card in place; hold the pack in your left hand,
face down, tilted at about 45 degrees with the backs toward your
right hand. With your right hand remove the top half of the pack.
Flip the pack upright with your left thumb so that the backs of
the cards rest against your finger tips. Using the same thumb,
start to detach small packets of cards from the half pack held by
you right hand so that they drop alternately on top and bottom of
the deck. The pack is alternately supported by the thumb and the
tips of the other fingers as it is rocked to allow cards to drop
on either side. Your forefinger should be bent against the top
card to prevent it accidentally moving when you are dealing the
last package. Continue this until all cards are back in the pack
- making sure that the last cards go on the top.

Move a card from top to bottom; as above but make sure the last
card goes to the bottom.

Keeping the bottom card in place; as above but take the half pack
from the bottom of the deck and ensure that the last card goes
back on the bottom.

Moving a card from bottom to top; as above but ensure the last
card is dealt to the top.

In many tricks you will have a selected card replaced at the
centre of the pack. You need to control this card to the top or
bottom. One way is to hold a break in the pack by squeezing it as
the two halves of the pack are reunited. This pushes your own
flesh in the way of the pack coming back together and enables you
to separate the two halves again at the required point. To move
the card to the top, make the break above the selected card - in
other words get your fingertip in the way after the card arrives
on top of the half deck. Now simply cut the deck at the break and
the card arrives at the top. Use the false shuffle to move the
card to the bottom if you need to.

These techniques are the basis of many card tricks and if you
master them - practise them! -you will soon be able to develop
your own magic.

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