Expert Card Technique. Jean Hugard

at the left inner corner on the flesh of the palm, and bring the right hand up to the packet to remove this card in the same grip used in the preceding method. The ball of the thumb and the side of the second finger press lightly against the outer right corner of the card from above and below; the first finger presses against the tip of the left second finger and helps to screen the next action, in which the bottom card is pushed from the pack, Fig. 1.

      3. Concealed by the card which has been pushed over the right side of the packet, press the tip of the left third finger inward and to the right against the bottom card near the outer right corner, Fig. 4. This action buckles this card and enables the third finger easily to release it from the inward pressure of the second finger and to move it directly under the top card, the bottom card also pivoting at the inner left corner upon the flesh at the base of the thumb.

      4. Move the tip of the right first finger inwards, pressing it against the outer ends of the two cards at the corner in order to place them in alignment, grasp the corners, between the right thumb and second finger and deal the two cards as one, as shown in Fig. 2.

      The deal is made similarly, so that the right hand and wrist mask the dealt packet as much as possible; and again if there is to be an error in alignment, it should be on the right side of the dealt cards, not the left.

      A clean deal can be had with very little practice.

      CHAPTER 3. THE SIDE SLIP

      TWO METHODS, a, b

      This sleight is generally used to bring to the top of the pack a card, the index of which has been peeked at by a spectator. We give two methods; the first is as follows:

      a. 1. Hold the pack in the left hand as for dealing, the little finger holding a break under the desired card at the inner right corner.

      2. Place the right hand over the pack, the first and second fingers at the outer end, the thumb at the inner end resting against the break at the inner right corner.

      3. Press the right thumb against the end of the upper packet, insert the tip of the left little finger in the break and press upwards and outwards against the bottom card of the upper packet (that is to say, the card to be brought to the top) causing it to protrude diagonally from the pack, Fig. 1.

      4. Place the tip of the left third finger on the face of this card near the inner right corner and straighten the finger, carrying the card with it to the right as shown by the ghost card in Fig. 1. The outer right corner, striking against the right side of the right little finger, causes the card to pivot into the correct palming position as the left third finger continues pressing the inner end to the right. Thus the card is placed directly under the right palm, being completely concealed by the back of the hand as in the orthodox palm.

      5. Grip this card at its right corners between the first joint of the right little finger and the flesh of the palm at the right side.

      6. Under cover of an unhurried movement of the body and hands towards the left, first move the left hand a little faster than the right until the gripped card is free of the pack, then move the right hand a little faster than the left bringing it over the pack, Fig. 2. Deposit the card on the top and square the pack with the right hand. A swift action at this point would betray the sleight.

      An excellent method of guiding the slipped card to the top of the pack is this: Before slipping the card, move the right thumb and second finger along the ends of the pack squaring it. Note particularly how the ball of the thumb, which is almost parallel with the pack, brushes the inner end. Now, in slipping the card to the top, at all times maintain a light contact between the ball of the thumb and the inner end of the pack. This action has two advantages; it appears that you are continuing the squaring of the pack and, more important, it controls the slipping of the card to the top. If the right thumb is removed from the inner end, the hand may raise the stolen card half an inch higher than is necessary to bring it to the top; whereas with the thumb maintaining contact with the inner end, the card will be lifted only enough to slide it onto the pack. The thumb strokes the inner end, moving to the right as the card is drawn from the center of the deck, back again to the left as it is brought to the top. With the card at the top, repeat the squaring movement once or twice, then lightly square the sides with the left fingers.

      If it is desired to palm the card, you have merely to curl the right fingers on it as the left hand carries the pack away in the swing towards the left.

      b. 1. Hold the pack in the left hand as for dealing, the little finger holding a break under the desired card, the thumb lying along the left side, A in Fig. 2.

      2. Place the right hand over the pack, the thumb lying along the inner end, the second, third and fourth fingers at the outer end and the forefinger curled tightly on the top. Hold the wrist low so that the palm of the hand is in the same plane as the top of the pack, Fig. 2.

      3. Insert the tip of the little finger in the break and with it push the desired card diagonally to the right about three-quarters of an inch.

      4. Grasp the jogged card at the right corners between the first joint of the little finger and the flesh of the palm at the right side.

      5. Move the body and the hands to the left, the left hand moving more quickly than the right, and thus drawing the pack away until the card is freed. Turn again to the front, moving the hands in the reverse direction, the left hand moving faster than the right, and so place the desired card on the top of the pack. During the action the right first finger remains curled at all times, until the hand strokes the ends of the pack in squaring it. B shows the right hand depositing the palmed cards squarely on the pack, afterwards moving back to the right.

      The curling of the right forefinger and the low position of the right wrist and hand are the features of this method, making it an excellent one for use under adverse conditions with spectators surrounding the performer.

      TWO COVERS FOR THE SIDE SLIP

      The legendary strolling conjurer, Max Malini, brought to its apogee the natural and audacious concealment of a vital sleight by covering it with a characteristic and deliberate action. For instance, with a card pushed from the pack in readiness for the side slip, he often paused to converse with the spectators and, perhaps a minute later, brought the card to the top effortlessly in an unhurried action which superimposed the card on the pack as he turned to an onlooker and illustrated how the pack was to be opened for the spectator peek. The action, a legitimate one, gave a tacit reason for the right hand moving over the pack.

      Another favorite subterfuge of this expert card handler was the following cover for the same sleight, the side slip. Immediately before slipping the card to the top, he would request the spectator to concentrate on his card. As if to emphasize the request, he would raise both hands until the back of his right hand rested against his forehead, his right fingers grasping the pack by the ends and the left fingers by its sides. The hands, grasping the pack, seemed only to dramatize the request, actually the side slip was made as the hands rose, perfect cover for the sleight being thus afforded.

      It is not suggested that readers adopt these actions, for, while they suited perfectly Malini’s personality and style of presentation, they may be wholly unsuited to others. They are given as examples of the type of covering actions which card confers should seek—actions which are natural, unhurried and apparently predicated upon necessity.

      MALINI’S SIDE SLIP

      1. After the spectator peek, retain a break with the left little finger as in the methods previously given.

      2. Place the right hand over