CARD TRICK – The Autopilot Bottom Palm:

Our Easy to Master Method
by Aaron Fisher

With special thanks to Conjuror Community Contributor Alex Sladman!

Want to learn a great new card trick? If you can steal a selected card from the deck, you can produce it from any impossible location you can think of, from your pocket, to a wallet to a sealed piece of fruit. For that reason, it’s one of the most valuable moves in the card trick arsenal of any close-up magician.

At the same time, most of our clients find this to be a daunting, even scary sleight to tackle. Whether you’ve never palmed a card at all, or you’ve been palming for 20 years, you’ll find the method we’re about to share in this easy card trick will make the secret art of palming easier than ever to master.

BTW – At my most recent online class at Conjuror Community, I shared one of my favorite routines using this palm that makes this sleight even easier to accomplish (the routine itself does nearly all the work for you!).

Card Trick Power – How to Find Your Personal Palm Position

With Special Thanks to Alex, one of our Conjuror Community members and contributors, for doing such an excellent job preparing this article!

One of the major features of the left hand palm position you’re about to discover is that the card is not palmed as you might normally think, between the fourth finger tip and the ball below the thumb – as in the right hand position used for the top palm or side steal. (See Pic 1)

Rather, it’s a more economical position that does two major things for you at the same time. First, it lets you palm the card with less motion and more economy. That means it’s more deceptive. Second, this will makes it much easier to hold your hand in a natural position when the card is in palm. (See Pic 2)

Start by placing the right top corner of the card into the pad of the third finger and rest the bottom left corner at the ball of flesh close to the fork of the thumb. Apply slight pressure between these two contact points, curling your hand and allowing the card to bend until the card touches the inside of your palm. (See Pic 3)

This is your “hypothesis” position – just like most every card trick, as there really is no ‘one size fits all solution’. In fact, after you test the palming action we’ll describe, your personal palm position will likely change a bit. As you practice, the lower left corner of the card will adjust a bit until it sinks into your personal perfect position.

You will notice that there is a corner of the card slightly sticking up the first finger, as well as a tiny piece of the card sticking out of the back of the palm. To hide this, cover the corner of the card with your left thumb. There is also a very slight flash in the back – in a position no spectator will ever see. (See Pic 4 and 4.1)

Before we describe the palming action itself, keep this in mind: The cards will get bent…a whole lot. In ‘card trick class’ that’s one thing they never tell you about learning to palm cards – and it’s a good thing. That’s how we’ll ensure you never get caught, or even suspected of trickery, in performance.

Card Trick Power – The Autopilot Bottom Palm

Now that we covered your palm position ‘hypothesis’, let’s look at the action of the palm itself. Like most bottom palms, this method is derived from the Erdnase Bottom Palms in Expert at the Card Table. However, thanks to your Personal Bottom Palm Position and unique approach you’re about to discover, in card trick land, the Autopilot Bottom Palm is the easiest, most deceptive method we’ve ever seen.

One of the big secrets behind the Autopilot Bottom Palm – and almost every intermediate or advanced sleight in magic, is the concept of Micro Moves.

What is a Micro-Move?

It’s a single secret action that takes no more than a moment to accomplish. That’s important, because we can only direct the audience’s attention for one moment at a time, so any sleight that takes longer than a single moment, must be broken up into smaller units…so we can use our core Attention Jacking tactics of Open and In-transit actions to direct the audience’s attention away from the deck during each of the two Micro-Moves that combine to form the Autopilot Bottom Palm.

Card Trick Micro-Move #1: Preparing the Card for Palming

In the first secret Micro-Move, you’ll transfer the deck to the right hand as you prepare the card for palming.

Starting with the deck in dealing position, move the pad of the left first finger to the face of the deck near the upper right corner of the deck. (See Pic 5)

As you bring your hands together in front of your body, use the right first finger pad and thumbpad to grasp the deck at the left edges, the right first finger contacting the left thumb at the front edge of the deck and the right thumb contacting the ball of flesh at the base of the left thumb. (See Pic 6)

The right thumb holds the cards firmly. The left hand releases all pressure on the deck except for the first finger pad pressing up on the bottom card at the upper right corner. Hold the bottom card still with the left first finger as the right hand rotates the deck counter-clockwise, using the bottom left corner of the bottom card as a pivot post, so the deck rotates away from the bottom card. This is a slight action.

The moment the upper left corner of the bottom card lands between the first and second fingers of the right hand, you’ll find the right finger need only slight pressure to hold the card in place. (See Pic 7)

This action is invisible, but you’ll use simple Attention Jacking Concepts to make sure the audience never suspects a thing. As your left first finger moves into position below the deck for the move, shift your gaze to the spectators on your left as you say something to them. Then, a moment later, as the left hand releases the deck, use it to gesture toward those same spectators on the left.

Note: This gesture is referred to as the Open Action. The secret action of shifting the bottom card of the deck in readiness for the palm is the secret action, done In-Transit. These technical terms were coined by the spanish master Ascanio, but simply put, it means that your gaze shifts and draws (or at least splits) the attention of the audience.

The transfer of the deck from hand to hand is now justified as it seem motivated by your desire to ‘free up’ your left hand and gesture toward the spectators on your left. The In-Transit Action – transferring the deck as you prep the bottom card for palming – becomes psychologically invisible.

That’s important, because unmotivated actions raise suspicion. And once the audience is on ‘high alert’ they start tuning out what you say and focus only on your hands. Once that happens, your odds of amazing the audience go down drastically.

Micro Move #2: The Easy Palm Action

Now you’re all set to palm the bottom card of the deck in your left hand without any suspicious actions. In fact, you’ll barely move a finger! To the audience, it will look as though you simply place the deck back into your left hand.

Before you bring your hands together, take a moment to revolve both wrists rightward so both palms are slanted rightward and face each other. When you look down, you should be able to see both of your thumbnails. (See Pic 8)

Now bring your hands together so the left third finger tip contacts the upper right corner of the bottom card (at this point the corner points down to the floor – so don’t let that confuse you!). (See Pic 9)

As the third fingertip grasps the corner of the card, deposit the back left corner of the card somewhere close to your original ‘hypothesis position’ at the base of the left thumb. (See Pic 10)

As you feel both corners in secure contact with the left hand grip points, curl in your third finger and the card will snap away from the back into Bottom Palm Position. (See Pic 11)

Now complete the action of placing the deck in the left hand by holding the deck securely with the left thumb on the left side, with the second finger on the right side – and the first finger at the front of the deck. From the front, it looks as though everything is normal. (See Pic 12)

Don’t let the view from behind scare you! (See Pic 13)

If there are people on your right, don’t be afraid to close the third and fourth fingers up around the right side of the deck to make sure there’s nothing to see! (See Pic 14)

The palming action is totally invisible and natural. Even so, we use the same Attention Jacking Strategy to ensure no one in the audience gives it any thought. As your right hand moves to deposit the deck in the left hand and palm the card , shift your gaze to the right and speak.

Then, as you complete palm and your right hand releases the deck, use the right hand to gesture toward the right. Just as before, this Open Action – preceded by your shifting gaze – justifies the In-Transit transfer of the deck and ensures even the most attentive or difficult spectator won’t have a clue what you’re up to.

Now the card is safely held in bottom palm below the deck. We suggest you take advantage of the safety this position gives you and wait at least a few moments before stealing the card away from the pack. This action is known as ‘retiring’ with the card, and thanks to your unsuspicious movements up to this point, you’ll have an easy time of it.

Simply ask a person to shuffle and take the deck with your right hand and give it to them. Or use the right hand to slap the deck on the table. As you do, curl the left fingers and naturally drop the left hand to your side or lap (so you don’t seem to rush!) and then move to produce the card from your pocket, wallet, envelope or any place you desire.

Easy Card Magic Mastery: The 7 Point Natural Dealing Position

Do you want to learn easy card magic and start to master easy card tricks? Did you know how you hold the deck has an enormous effect on every single trick or sleight you want to learn?

In fact, at least 80% of clients I work with discover, during our first meeting, that by making a few simple adjustments to their normal dealing position….

They can make drastic improvement in the success and ease of every sleight they pick up!

Easy Card Magic Amazement In 10 Minutes

As you’ll see in this video, there are no sleights involved here. But the way you hold the cards when nothing is happening actually dictates your success or failure with any sleight. Fans of my popular blog post called “How to Do Easy Card Tricks” already know the importance of holding the deck correctly.  These 7 points will help you understand this even better.

Each one of the 7 points gets you closer to easy card magic – makes your sleights easier to use successfully – and at the same time – eliminates suspicion before it ever arises. And that’s one of the major keys to performing card magic that not only fools your audience, but amazes them.

This video is only ten minutes – and if you want to perform amazing card tricks, you should make sure to watch it. And if you’re an experienced card magician already, it’s safe to say you’ll find some very useful information here you won’t want to miss. As you practice, keep these tips in mind. Enjoy!

VIDEO FROM CONJUROR COMMUNITY

Now that you have the 7 Point Natural Dealing Position, you may find it helpful to see how each point can make or break the success or failure of the most important sleights in any card magician’s toolbox.

Point 1: The Thumb Position

Passes and Half Passes

It’s almost impossible to neatly square the deck in a single motion unless your thumb is in this position. That means sleights like the Classic Pass, the Gravity Half Pass or countless other sleights won’t be possible – because your thumb won’t be there to square the pack for the move.

The Double Lift and Turnover

The position of the thumb allows you to square the cards perfectly and easily. If you’re thumb floats up, you won’t have any way to square the double card before the switch. So if your thumb isn’t normally in the position shown in the video..BINGO.

You’ve just discovered a big clue that make make your double lifts seem like you really only have one card. We are getting closer to easy card magic…

Point 2: The First Finger

Keep it in front of the tip – above the top edge of the pack! Many of my students find this challenging. After a few weeks, I notice the finger has dropped a bit and is no longer in contact with the front edge of the deck.

Double Lifts and Turnovers

It doesn’t matter whether you want to do a simple two card push off or a more Advanced Robert Houdin Break (the choice of most Top Masters for almost a century), this position keeps the double card aligned at the front of the deck. This is especially crucial when you’re first mastering these all-important techniques.

Spreading the Cards

Without the first finger at the front of the deck, the cards move forward – and you won’t be able to spread them cleanly. And if you can’t spread them cleanly – you want square them cleanly.

Hofzinser Spread Cull

That means you won’t be able to perform the Spread Cull, which allows you to secretly control any cards you want as you spread through the pack, because you simply won’t be able to push them off the deck straight.

Card Controls

If they involve the spread, you’ll have trouble, because without the first finger rising above the front of the deck – the pack won’t be squared and ‘ready to go’ as your hands come together and close the spread.

The Pass, Gravity Half Pass and Hermann Turnover Pass

Virtually all experts, starting with Dai Vernon himself, find the first finger position invaluable if you want to perform a pass without anyone seeing your fingers move. As the right hand takes the pack to do any one of these moves, keep the left first finger still by pressing it against the back of the right second finger. This key touch was first shared by Dai Vernon himself, and it’s VERY important.

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Points 3,4 and 5

Keeping the second, third and fourth fingertips just barely above the right side of the deck is the most important thing to focus on immediately. Rehearse this…get this one right… and your card magic will start to progress immediately. Without these fingers in the correct positions, you’ll have trouble with:

Dealing

With your fingers sticking up like bananas over the right side of the pack, you won’t be able to deal a card, or even push one off the deck.

Spreading

This is the same problem we just mentioned, but multiplied. The correct finger positions ensure that your second, third and fourth fingers don’t stop cards coming off the deck when you spread the cards between your hands.

So, quite literally, you need these exact positions in order to have someone pick a card!

Breaks

Most important, you’ll never be able to hold a left fourth finger break without these points. If the fingers stick up, the moment your pinky moves to hold a break (near the top, bottom or middle of the deck doesn’t matter) – your pinky will seem to vanish! Great Trick?

Yes – it’s awesome to make your finger disappear :), but it will KILL your card trick. The positions in our 7 Points ensure the deck looks the same whether you’re holding a break or not…and that’s a big piece of the puzzle. Now, we are getting even closer to easy card magic…

Point 6 and 7

The “down and to the right” slant to the deck makes all of your magic more effective.

Standard Dealing Position

Puts tension in your hand and draws audience focus to your hand – even when you aren’t doing anything sneaky. The relaxed position of the 7 Point Natural Dealing Position uses no tension, and allows you to connect with the audience.

Bring the deck parallel to the table or floor only when you want the audience to focus on the cards!

The Blank Slate

The down and rightward position of the deck facilitates each and every move you do – because it show you how to hold the cards in ‘neutral’. In this position, the cards rest in a bracket created by the first and second finger.

This is much different than in a standard ‘dealing grip’ where the cards are parallel to the floor. In this case, it’s almost impossible to avoid putting pressure on the cards with your left thumb or fingers. That pressure isn’t helpful to any of your handling – from spreading the cards to secret moves.

When you take all the pressure off the cards by using the 7 Point Natural Dealing Position, you create a ‘blank canvas’. Now, every finger position you use and every move you make won’t be impeded by pressure you’re placing on the cards without even knowing it.

For this one reason alone, I suggest you try out the 7 Point Natural Dealing Position. Starting from this new ‘blank canvas’, you’ll discover many sleight you thought were difficult may immediately become easier. And that’s something every magician loves!

Now we need your help! Let me  – and your fellow readers – know which tips you found the most helpful. I’d also love to read YOUR performance tips – after all, there are many paths to great magic, and we want to explore them all! I can’t wait to read each and ever comment you post!

The Ambitious Card…

Is one of the favorite tricks in most magician’s arsenal.  With an unprepared deck, you can cause the spectator’s card to rise to the top of the pack.  Again and again, their card rises to the top – eventually leading to a grand finale of some sort.  In this video, Aaron explains two ideas for the ambitious card which you can incorporate right away.  For more episodes of The Card Magic Minute, check out Aaron’s Youtube channel.

If you really love the ambitious card, you should check out the mega-post on How To Do Easy Card Tricks… where you can learn tons of card tricks that you can perform right now!