Sleight of Hand: The 7 Strongest Sleights for Card Magicians

October 28, 2019 By Aaron Fisher

I hope you’re enjoying our massive 3 part series on magic tricks! Welcome to the third and final installment in the Complete Card Magic Blueprint. If you are practicing your sleight of hand right now… don’t put down your deck… but make sure you check out all 3 parts!

Complete Card Magic Blueprint

Part 1: Magic Tricks: 22 Essential Sleights
Part 2: Complete Card Magic Blueprint: 9 Most Popular Techniques
Part 3: Sleight of Hand: The 7 Strongest Sleights for Card Magicians

This Blueprint is your fast-path to easy card tricks! It shows you every sleight you’ll need to do great magic, and more important, exactly why each one matters.

Just by reading our Blueprint, you’ll save yourself hours of frustration, confusion and wasted practice time on techniques that you don’t really need. In the long run, you’ll have even more fun with your magic, and your audiences will be even more astonished when you perform.

If haven’t read the first two installments of this Blueprint, use the links above to read them first. This post deals with ‘Advanced Techniques’, and this article will make them much easier to learn.

But as you’ll see, the secrets to making the ‘difficult’ look easy lay in how you approach the fundamental card magic concepts we cover in the first two parts of this Blueprint!

Okay… I’ll pause here so you can go read the first two parts of the Blueprint. Don’t worry, I’ll be very patient…:-)

Congratulations! Expert ‘Sleight of Hand’ Will Be Easy!

Sleight of hand easy? You may be thinking I am making a bold claim!

Now that you’ve learned the genuine secrets in the first two parts of this plan, you are in for a very big treat. The ‘simple’ Double Turnover is actually far more challenging to perform than the so-called Expert Level Sleight of Hand.

In fact, armed with the knowledge you now possess, you’re about to discover that the most powerful sleights in all of card magic are not as difficult to master as you may think.

You’ll see EXACTLY how they fit into the ‘big picture’ of your card magic, and as I’m about to reveal, that information absolutely eliminates the unnecessary frustration magicians experience when they tackle the techniques you’re about to discover.

Consider one fascinating thing these sleights have in common:

The Classic Pass
The Gravity Half Pass
The Top Palms
The Bottom Palm
The Side Steal
The Diagonal Palm Shift
The Top Change

These ‘sleight of hand moves’ fascinate the inner magician in each of us because of one main feature they all share:

Anytime you witness a performer who can demonstrate one of these moves in person, a mere demonstration of the sleight itself actually feels like real magic. And once you know the ‘basic idea’ behind the mechanics of the Classic Pass or Top Change, it’s even more amazing to witness.

The first time I saw a magician who could really do these moves, over 20 years ago, I couldn’t believe my eyes. My face looked as though I’d just seen a fire-breathing dragon flying above my house!

Surrender the Idea of Invisible Sleight of Hand. It’s an Illusion.

When these sleights are performed properly, they seem invisible. However, when we practice them, we find invisibility to be an all but impossible goal. This approach leads to unnecessary ‘sleight of hand frustration’.

In fact, this illusion is encouraged by on-screen ‘move demos’. In live performance, these sleights DO NOT rely on invisibility for success.

That’s great news for your success. Don’t strive for ‘invisibility’, or wait to acheive it in practice before you start using these sleights in your performance.

Instead, focus on far more important goals that are not only realistic, but actually easy in comparison. For a move like the Classic Pass to be effective, it must be silent, effortless and economical – each secret action must take less than a single moment to complete…without rushing.

Finish the sleight before your ‘moment of misdirection’ expires and thanks to your quiet, relaxed execution, you won’t have any noises or tension to draw your audience’s eyes to the pack as you perform it.

If you learn the sleights in this part of the Blueprint in this way, people will soon be saying you perform these sleights ‘invisibly’.

But in truth, you’ll have mastered the illusion of invisibility. And that’s what makes the sleights that follow seem so impossible.

Advanced Sleights Make Direct Miracles

Unlike the Open Action Sleight Clusters we covered in Part 2, the techniques that follow do not take place as you seem to turn over the deck (Invisible Turnover Pass) or display the top card of the pack (Double Turnover).

I DO NOT recommend the advanced techniques that follow because they’re challenging, or because they’re ‘cool’. In fact, as you go through this final part of our Blueprint, you’ll see that I’ve only included a small number of sleights for your consideration.

Each of the sleight of hand moves that follow are direct and economical. After learning about deceptive Double Turnovers in Part 2 of this plan, you’ll be very glad to discover that most of these techniques require a secret break and only one other Secret Action.

To the audience, It will seem as if you’ve barely handled the cards. And as you’ll discover, this one feature can have an extremely powerful impact on your audience’s experience when you perform.

The Classic Pass

The Classic Pass, or as it is titled in The Expert at the Card Table , The Two Handed Shift, allows you secretly to cut the pack as you seem to do nothing at all. This one sleight can be used to force, switch, control or force any number of cards.

In fact, the Classic Pass is the most dynamic, adaptable secret move in magic. It always has been. For that reason, the Classic Pass was considered ‘the backbone’ of card magic for centuries. And once you start using it, you’ll find it to be one of the most useful sleights in your entire repertoire.

Here’s a tutorial sharing a powerful, little known secret to performing an imperceptible Classic Pass:

In my Pathways Training System , we use unique training methods and specific strategies to help passionate magicians master the shift quickly.

However, you can find the basic technique I teach under the name, The Two Handed Shift in The Expert at the Card Table, by S.W. Erdnase.

Our Pathways Training goes into great detail about every aspect of mastering this sleight. There’s over an hour of training on this one move, that in performance, takes less than a moment to perform.

But here’s the most important tip I can offer you for working from the easy-to-find method that appears in Erdnase.

Solving Sleight of Hand Frustration

At some point during your practice, you’ll become frustrated and unsure. That’s when most magicians become susceptible to ad-copy or youtube demonstrations that promise an easier method.

If you’ve already had this experience, you’re not alone. I’ve done it. And so has every great magician I know.

You’ll be tempted by variations that seem a lot easier to master. For example, for longer than I’ve been in magic, magicians have used a riffle of the front end of the deck with the right fingers to make the pass more ‘invisible’.

However, I’ve seen less than 5 who can perform a riffle type pass softly enough to avoid drawing focus to the deck.

Remember what you’ve already learned from this Blueprint. The Riffle Action is an Open Action. On top of that, it makes a sound on purpose!

The sound and the Open Action actually FORCE your audience to look at the deck…and at exactly the wrong moment.

You can find my complete video training on The Classic Pass and the other items in this Blueprint, in my new improved Pathways Training System.

In 12 Volumes and over 13 hours of instruction, you’ll discover a unique approach to learning that makes The Classic Pass, and every other sleight, easier than ever before to master.

Click Here to find out more about the Pathways Training System.

The Half Pass

The Half Pass works a lot like the Classic Pass, and allows you to reverse any number of cards at the bottom of the deck, from one card, to all the cards beneath the top card of the deck.

Like the Classic Pass, The Half Pass can be totally imperceptible from any angle for an unlimited number of spectators.

In this case, I can proudly recommend my own technique, The Gravity Half Pass, which first appeared in my 2002 book The Paper Engine. I’m fortunate that experts all over the world still agree this is the best ever devised.

You can see a demonstration of the Gravity Half Pass in the original trailer for the Paper Engine here. Pay close attention – it’s used here to create some highly visual magic:

The Gravity Half Pass is actually invisible from every angle. Even more important, and not possible to show on video, it can be performed with no tension and thus, it’s also completely imperceptible. And as we’ve already discussed, that’s what really counts.

Like the Classic Pass, the Gravity Half Pass can be used to force, control, switch or visually reverse cards in the pack. It’s incredibly versatile, and once you get comfortable with it, you’ll use it every day.

The Gravity Half Pass is the exact method I teach in the new Pathways Training Program.

Practice Tip: The Gravity Half Pass was developed from closely following the concepts underlying the Classic Pass. In fact, you’ll be able to make even faster progress by studying the two sleights at the same time.

Use 3M Cross Training to Master…Only Faster!

In my popular 3M Coaching Program, I use the common exercise term ‘Cross-Training’ to describe this principle. In effect, a small breakthrough in any one of the Cross-Trained techniques causes an immediate leap forward in all the others.

Since the Invisible Turnover Pass, the Classic Pass and the Gravity Half Pass are all based on similar mechanical principles, practicing them at the same time gets faster results than working on any one of them alone.

The Top Change

The Top Change is to the Double Turnover what the Classic Pass is to the Invisible Turnover Pass. No open action is required, and nothing seems to change from before to after the switch. There’s not a hint to alert anyone that something suspicious has happened.

In all appearances, you simply hold the deck in one hand and a card in the other. As you place the card on the table, or on a spectator’s hand (or really, you don’t have to do anything with the card at all), it transforms into another card.

This incredibly powerful technique is not hard to do, but it does test your nerves.

For that reason, I recommend you get very comfortable with the Double Turnover before you add this ultra-direct ‘power tool’ to your belt. When you’re ready, you’ll find the Top Change to be one of the most reliable ‘sleight of hand tools’ in magic.

To learn this sleight, I suggest two versions. First, the method that appears in Expert at The Card Table is very good, as is the David Williamson Method from his first book, Williamson’s Wonders.

The finger positions are different in each of these methods, but both can be performed wonderfully. But in each case, invisibility deserves little thanks.

Success here depends more than ever on misdirection, effective structure and effortless, relaxed execution.

The Complete System Of Palming

Now you’ll discover the most important new concept in this plan. It’s the only idea that can’t be simulated by methods introduced in the first two parts of this Blueprint.

Even if you only master the easiest of the techniques in this section, The Bottom Palm, you’ll be able to accomplish astounding miracles that can’t be accomplished any other way.

Like the passes mentioned above, there’s no change in the deck after any of these Palms are executed. Again, softness and context are far more important than ‘invisibility’ when it comes to this type of sleight of hand.

Remember, no person is an average, and you will undoubtedly experience faster results with some of these techniques than others. When it comes to palming cards, there’s no substitute for experimentation.

The Top Palm

Top Palms are more difficult than Bottom Palms, but despite this fact, most people choose to practice the Top Palm first. I suspect this is because the Top Palm seems, at first glance, to be more practical.

However, when you have a card hidden in your right hand, it’s extremely difficult to hold your hand just as you would if it were actually empty.

Many instructors suggest you hold the deck from above for a few moments after palming. In practice , this is only practical if you have extremely large hands. Even then, it’s pretty easy for audience members to ‘see the goods’.

For these reasons, successful ‘Top Palmers’ nearly always steal the cards from the deck immediately after palming.

Stealing the palmed cards away from the deck is called retiring, and while you’ll find it takes a bit of courage with ANY palm, you can cover the action by using the other hand to pass out the cards for shuffling, or by placing them on the table.

Ultimately, the Top Palm is a helpful sleight of hand method in many situations. However, I mention it here first – primarily to get it out of the way. There will be plenty of time to master a Top Palm after you’ve experienced the success and confidence that come from starting with a much more practical approach.

The Bottom Palm

I suggest you begin your journey to masterful palming with The Bottom Palm because of several big advantages it has over the more popular Top Palm.

First, the Bottom Palm is easier to learn. Second, you can keep the deck in your left hand, above the palmed card, for as long as like. It looks as though the deck sits normally in your hand.

In performance, this will make it very easy to retire with the palmed cards because you can wait for as long as you like, without fear of detection.

In the Pathways System, you’ll discover many of my favorite Bottom Palm methods. But why wait? Start using my easiest method right now, which appears in one of our most popular posts here.

Side Steals and Diagonal Palm Shifts

Side Steals and Diagonal Palm Shifts allow you to palm a card or cards directly into either hand from any position in the pack.

Left and Right Hand Steals use the exact same palm positions as the Bottom and Top Palm – and they become most helpful in situations where you want to steal the card(s) from the pack without first shuffling or passing them to the top or bottom of the deck.

Remember, in most cases, 90% of the final effect on the audience will be easily achieved using only a Top or Bottom palm. Surprisingly few effects demand such directness.

Miracles like Card to Pocket , Card to Wallet and any effect where four-of-kind are produced from an audience shuffled pack can all be performed, with roughly the same impact, using only a Top or Bottom Palm.

How Palming Skills Progress

With a little practice, you’ll be able to use the Autopilot Card to Pocket in performance. You’ll be able to not only palm a card, but imperceptibly retire with that card to your pocket.

As you perform the Card to Pocket regularly, you’ll acquire the confidence to retire without moving immediately to your pocket. After a few months, you’ll one day feel bold enough to relax with the palmed cards to your side or in your lap.

This may seem ambitious now, but you’ll be surprised at how quickly you develop the ‘sleight of hand confidence‘ to ‘hold out’ cards while the audience shuffles.

The image above shows a card midway through the Side-Steal Sleight Cluster

This image shows a card midway through the Diagonal Palm Shift, otherwise known as a Left Hand Side Steal

The first time you ‘hold out’, you’ll be so pleased and amazed that you may nearly give yourself an award!

But in short order, you’ll begin to rely on this tactic all the time!

And that means you’ll need to start covering your tracks. Once you start using palms in your sleight of hand, for a variety of effects, including multi-phase routines like “Card to Pocket”, you’ll positively NEED alternate methods to keep the audience off your trail.

For that reason, Side Steals and Diagonal Palm Shifts will ultimately play a crucial role in your advancing repertoire. However, don’t hurry the process.

Just as each stage of this Blueprint has led to the next, the left and right hand palming positions you learn at first will become second nature as you use them. It doesn’t take very long.

And you’ll discover as you progress, that Side Steals and Diagonal Palm Shifts will actually come to you. You’ll find you’ve already half-learned these incredible sleights before you even practice them.

The Spread Cull

The Spread Cull allows you to spread casually through the deck and to steal any card or cards you want, and to move them secretly to any location you desire. As far as sleight of hand goes… this is very useful!

It’s an astounding tool, but difficult to acquire and perform with real confidence. The best path forward is to focus on developing your Hand to Hand Spread, followed by the Classic Force on the same line.

These techniques develop your ‘spread intelligence’, so that when you’ve acquired many of the techniques in this Blueprint, you’ll be ready master the Spread Cull in short order.

Now You Know the Pathway!

Many valuable techniques and sleight of hand moves do not appear on this Blueprint. I decided to include only the most important, valuable techniques I’ve encountered over the last 20 years.

My hope is that you can use this material to develop your own card magic without wondering what to do, what comes next or if you’re practicing the right things.

Now that you’ve read the whole plan, I suggest you go back and start at Stage One. It Provides a complete suite of card magic tools.

Use those tools to perform amazing magic for anyone you know. Then let those tools, and the micro-skills they include, provide a foundation on which to master first your Stage 2, and then Stage 3 skills as you need them.

I sincerely hope you’ve enjoyed the Complete Card Magic Blueprint – I’ve had a great time developing this material and teaching it to passionate magicians all over the world. And now, it’s yours!

With Warmth,
Aaron Fisher

P.S. Sleight of hand is so rewarding! If this Blueprint has helped you, there’s a VERY good chance that my Pathways Training System can save you hundreds or thousands of practice hours and dollars on your own path to astonishing card magic.

You can find out all about the Pathways Training Program here. You’ll be very glad you did.

(Thanks for reading! I’d love it if you would give a little back and “share” this article to others who might enjoy it. Also, leave your comment or question below and we will read each and every one…)

Complete Card Magic Blueprint: 9 Most Popular Techniques

October 27, 2019 By Aaron Fisher

This is Part 2 of our Complete Card Magic Blueprint. This plan shows you the 22 essential techniques that drive all great magic tricks with cards.Everything we’re about to cover in Part 2 builds on the specific strategies I taught in Part 1. If you haven’t read Part 1, do it now, and don’t worry… I’ll wait here…;)

Complete Card Magic Blueprint

Part 1: Magic Tricks: 22 Essential Sleights
Part 2: Complete Card Magic Blueprint: 9 Most Popular Techniques
Part 3: Sleight of Hand: The 7 Strongest Sleights for Card Magicians

Assuming you’re reading these words, congratulations! In reading Part 1, you’ve already acquired the foundation for complete card magic.

You may be asking, how is that possible?

Can a small, curated collection of specific techniques actually make it easier to master even the most advanced skills in card magic?

The surprising answer is…ABSOLUTELY. This Blueprint is your fast-path to easy card tricks!

The most powerful techniques are not as difficult as they seem. Sleights like the Double Lift and Turnover, or the Riffle Force, are not actually difficult.

However, most magicians take on these moves without first addressing a handful of simple techniques that ease the way for every sleight to come.

And YOU are to be congratulated, because most of these small, yet crucial details (I call them ‘micro-skills’) can be mastered simply by using the easy techniques you were introduced to in the first part of this Complete Card Magic Blueprint.

Complete Card Magic Blueprint: Stage 2

Thanks to the core micro-skills you’ll acquire just by using the material we covered in the Stage 1 one of the Complete Card Magic Blueprint, only one small sleight stands between you and the most powerful techniques in the world of card magic.

Without it, you can go no further. But with this one simple idea, there isn’t a single valuable technique you can’t master.

The Biggest Little Secrets In Card Magic

Charlie Miller, one of the greatest card magicians of all time, used to say The Fourth Finger Flesh Break was the most difficult move in card magic.

The Left Fourth Finger Flesh Break (The Pinky Break)

It doesn’t matter if you have an invisible pass, palm or half pass. If the spectator can see a line in the front of the deck, or a break between the packets, they’ll know you’re ‘up to something’. Once that happens, it’s impossible to deliver the experience of magic with cards.

Here’s video training that will show you how to catch and hold an invisible fourth finger flesh break:

Save Years of Frustration: Learn From My Own Embarrassing Story

I feel compelled to share an embarrassing story with you. I hope my mistake can save YOU some precious time.

My first book, The Paper Engine, is filled with information on how to do invisible, imperceptible passes and reverses, like my well known Gravity Half Pass.

But just a few years before I wrote that book, I was practicing over 10 hours a day, just to learn advanced sleights like the Passes we’ll cover later in this plan. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t find a way to ‘break through’.

I made a lot of progress, but something was still missing. For YEARS I tried to discover the secret…without success.

And then it finally hit me…

My break was showing.

In that moment, I realized that my pass was flashing…because the audience could see my ‘secret break’ between the packets, they could effectively see what was coming…sometimes as much as 30 seconds before I ever did the move!

At that moment I decided to make my Fourth-Finger Break invisible. That became my top priority. And as I found out, just giving this one detail my undivided attention for a few weeks was enough. Before I knew it, the problem was solved…and everything began to change.

In fact, within a few months, I developed the core technique of the invisible Gravity Half Pass.

And that never would have happened if I hadn’t realized the importance of holding a break that can’t be seen.

The Right Thumb Break

The Right Thumb Break is the counterpart to the Left Fourth Finger Break. You’ll use it to transfer the break, along with the deck, from your left hand to your right hand, or vice versa, anytime you want.

Once you have both breaks working together, you’ll be able to maintain the break no matter what happens during your performance.

Shake hands with a new spectator, pick up your drink and take a sip or get something from your pocket – it won’t matter what you need to do. You’ll have your break safe and secure. You’ll be ready to proceed anytime with complete confidence.

By the way, this is an incredible feeling of confidence and comfort. In fact, I know for sure you’re going to LOVE it.

The Two Breaks also arm you with anything you need to tackle, with ease, every sleight in the world of intermediate and advanced card magic. Now you’re ready to begin arming yourself with the most popular sleights in magic.

Here’s a video to show you the best ways to maintain a break as you transfer the deck from hand to hand:

I recommend that any time you have the opportunity to ensure the success of a technique by getting a secret break a few moments before the sleight, you do so. In nearly every situation, this will make it much easier to ensure you don’t ‘hang-up’ when it’s time to execute the sleight.

And that’s what separates every sleight to come from all those we covered in Stage 1 of the Blueprint. Moving forward, every sleight in this plan makes use of a secret break.

And that one piece of information changes your card magic entirely. Because once you add a secret break, a sleight is no longer a sleight at all…

Complete Card Magic Blueprint – Introducing the Open Action Sleight Cluster

A ‘Sleight Cluster’ is any technique that combines two or more secret actions. In almost all cases, these secret actions are separated by Open Actions.

Open Action are actions you want the audience to see. Open actions break us secret actions, and lend those secret actions protection and cover.

For example, Double Turnovers take place as you turn a card face-up, and then face-down again. The Invisible Turnover Pass happens as you turn over the deck.

The most popular sleights tend to be Open Action Sleight Clusters.These sleights are deceptively appealing, thanks to the Open Actions that cover them, but in truth, they’re more challenging to master than they first appear.

First, they each require two or more secret actions – they’re not sleights, but sleight sequences. Second, magicians make the mistake of attempting to perform these techniques without using separate misdirection for each secret action. In most cases, we actually encourage the audiences to watch the secret actions as well as the open ones.

To perform sleights like the Double Turnover repeatedly in your performance, each of the secret actions in the sequence must be misdirected as though it were a separate sleight. On top of that, the audience must feel as though they never looked away!

When I teach the Double Turnover in our card magic coaching program, there are no fewer than 3-4 secret actions in the sequence. It’s easy to misdirect the audience during these secret moments, but if you perform the whole sequence as though no misdirection is required, you’re virtually guaranteed to raise suspicion.

Here’s a great short tutorial to show you how misdirection works with the Double Lift:

The Double Turnover is actually one of the most challenging Sleight Clusters in magic. Before we get there, let’s cover a few less complex Sleight Clusters – ones that use only two secret actions and are easier to master.

The following techniques use only a secret break, combined with Simple Stage 1 Micro-Skill, to create the most reliable, effective secret card forces in magic.

3 Elite Card Forces

The ability to ‘force’ a person to take a specific card, while maintaining their conviction that they themselves made a totally free choice, enables more direct, astonishing effects than any other kind of sleight.

Ultimately you want several deceptive, practical ways to force a card.

Once you’ve mastered the easy-to-do Crossing the Cut Force from Part 1 of this plan, you’re ready to taste the power and magic that ‘Stage 2’ Card Forces allow.

Fortunately, the most practical forcing methods come directly from the Stage 1 ‘Selection and Replacement Procedures’! If you can already to the Left Thumb Riffle, Hand to Hand Spread or Dribble, you’ll be able to transform any one of them into a powerful, practical, card force.

The Riffle Force uses the Left Thumb Riffle to secretly force the card either directly above, or below, the Fourth Finger Flesh Break.

This is one of the most practical forces, but to make sure it becomes one of your ‘go-to’ moves, develop your Left Thumb Riffle – once it looks ‘fair and square’, the force is ripe for you to harvest.

The Dribble Force is particularly useful because of the fair, almost careless look of the selection procedure. Essentially, you’ll hold a break below a force card about ¾ up from the bottom of the pack. As you dribble the cards into the left hand, you’ll ask the spectator to call ‘stop!’ at any time. Then, as the spectator’s lips begin to move, allow all the cards below the right thumb break to fall. Look away and show the face card of the upper half to the entire audience.

This procedure makes sense to the audience – and it looks natural as well.

Remember that the Dribble takes more practice than the Riffle. For that reason, the Dribble Force develops just a little more slowly than the Riffle Force. The Dribble Force is ultimately stronger, but it’s likely to take a few more months to master than a good Riffle Force.

The Classic Force lets you force a card above or below a Fourth Finger Break as you spread the cards from hand to hand for a selection.

This force looks like real magic, but it’s not 100% certain. In order to master it, you’ll need to be very comfortable spreading cards from hand to hand – slowly, quickly, one at a time or in small groups as necessary.

Ultimately, it’s all about being able to modulate the pace of your spread as the spectator goes to take a card. Every spectator behaves a little differently, and good ‘Classic Forcers’ can adapt their spread action in real time to deliver the force card just as the spectator’s hand reaches the deck.

The best way to practice this amazing, powerful force is to attempt it anytime you have a card selected…just for practice. Before long, you’ll find yourself ‘hitting the force’ more often than not.

The Classic Force is one of the most diabolical, incredibly astonishing methods you can use, so it’s worth having a ‘Plan B’ for those unavoidable times when it doesn’t ‘hit’. When your Classic Force misses, abandon it immediately, and allow your spectator to take any card they want.

Immediately proceed to perform a trick that doesn’t require a force. Then double back, and use a sure-fire method like the Riffle Force or Crossing the Cut to perform the original trick.

This is one of the oldest and best ways to handle a missed Classic Force. It’s stood the test of time because it’s always been incredibly effective.

I’ve used the Classic Force successfully in 1000’s of performances, and I’ve found that when it fails, the Crossing the Cut Force is the ideal backup. The process is swift, the result is sure…and nobody ever suspects a thing.

You’ll soon discover that merely HAVING a backup plan takes all the pressure off, and in the bargain, improves your Classic Force success rate immensely.

The Double Turnover: The Ultimate Sleight-Cluster

The Double Lift and Turnover are the most popular switches in card magic. As a practical matter, most magicians get caught doing them far more often than they would like – and arouse suspicion even more often than that.

The issue arises partly because this wonderful sleight is used much too often – in many cases (like the Ambitious Card) several times in the same routine. By simply having an alternative switch in your toolbag, like the Two Handed Glide from Part 1 of the Blueprint, you’ll reduce the ‘load’ on your Double Turnover – and greatly reduce the likelihood of problems in performance.

The Experts Choice: The Robert Houdin Double Turnover Get-Ready

Once you decide you never want to get caught again during the Double Turnover, it’s time to start using the Robert Houdin Break method. Any break before a Double Turnover helps, but this is still the most reliable approach ever devised.

I can tell you from personal experience that learning this move alone was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made for my magic.

You can find this method taught twice in easy-to-find, classic books like Stars of Magic and the Dai Vernon Book of Magic, and it’s clear this method was Vernon’s preferred choice.

My own research performing and teaching this method to thousands of students has proven it further. There is no more effective or deceptive method you can choose.

This video shows you how to perform my Simplified Robert Houdin Break. It’s a great way to get started with this invaluable technique:

The Double Turnover

Most of the time, magicians learn the Double Turnover as a single action that needs no misdirection. They do the move as they look down at the cards and the audience sees the whole thing.

They get away with it once..if they’re lucky. The second try arouses suspicion, and often, by the third turnover, the audience says, “You’re holding two cards as one!”

Every magician who has attempted the Double Turnover has had this experience. I’ve had it myself more times than I can count..and trust me. It’s horrible!

Want to know more about the difference between a Double Lift and a Double Turnover? Watch this tutorial:

The Simplified Vernon Double Turnover

In my Pathways Training System, we make several alterations to the Vernon Double Turnover, which make it easier to perform so the cards NEVER split. Combined with the Houdin Break and proper misdirection, you can perform as many Double Turnovers as you want without any fear of arousing suspicion.

Whether or not you have our Pathways Training System or you’d like to get the training directly from the books mentioned above, always remember that the Double Turnover is NOT a single sleight, but an Open Action Sleight Cluster.

The Secret Reversal Sleight Cluster

The Cover Reverse allows you secretly to reverse a card or cards at the bottom of the deck as you seem to merely turn the deck over in your hand. Like most Open Action Sleight Clusters, magicians are taught to perform this technique as though it were a single action. And again, that’s why we have problems in performance when we don’t have to.

The Invisible Turnover Pass

The Invisible Turnover Pass takes place as you turn over the deck, and it’s actually surprisingly easy to perform so that it truly IS invisible.

Most performers look at the cards as they do this pass, because the illusion is visually superb. However, when we invite the audience to ‘burn’ our hands during secret actions, we raise suspicion.

Always remember, just because a move is invisible, it doesn’t mean you should ask the audience to look at it.

Here’s a video tutorial showing you how to perform my own version of the Invisible Pass. This sleight is fun to do and easy to learn – it first appeared in my first book, The Paper Engine:

Up Next: Stage 3 – Expert Card Magic Made Easy

Congratulations! If you’re reading this, you’re in for some very good news. In Part 2 of the Complete Card Magic Blueprint, you probably discovered that many techniques you’ve been told were easy are a little more challenging than you’ve been lead to believe. At the same time, you discovered the secrets to unlocking those moves and making them your own.

In the next and final part of the plan, you’ll discover that invisible Classic Passes, Half Passes, Palms and Steals are actually easier than you’ve been told. With the information you now possess, you have everything you need to make even the most advanced sleights in magic surprisingly easy to master.

We’ll see you in Part 3!

Aaron Fisher

(Thanks for reading! Take a moment to click “share” and let other magicians know about this article. Do you have a question or comment about this article? Leave it below and we will read each and every one…)

Juan Tamariz: 5 Magic Lessons You Can Really Use

October 6, 2016 By Aaron Fisher

Reading books is a great way to learn… getting the stuff you read ‘up on its feet’ in live performance helps even more. But one method that folks don’t use often enough, or forget about entirely, is watching.

If You Want to Learn From Juan Tamariz, Watch Juan Tamariz

You can learn an incredible amount just by watching great artists perform. I am not suggesting you watch in order to copy their work, but rather, to see how they create amazement for their audiences, so you can too.

A great example is when I learned exactly how to let my audience breathe after a particularly strong effect from watching Bob Sheets.

In the video below, you’ll see Juan Tamariz perform in person for Ali Cook – a well known actor and magician in the UK, and old friend from the 4F Convention – and another talented magician, Pete Firman.

The awesome magic trick you’ll see in this video is enough reason to watch, but if you’re ready to really pay close attention, you’ll find many other hidden lessons here as well.

Watch Juan Tamariz Perform now:

We asked our C.C Expert and professional magician Rosemary Reid to share a few thoughts on what can be learned from watching Juan Tamariz. If you want to play along, write down a few of your own, and then compare notes with her.

Let’s Play…

Rosemary here, encouraging you to play along.

Can you spot certain methods Tamariz employs to deliver the experience of magic to his spectators, which could be used by ANY magician, and are not specific to his ‘style’ of magic?

We know it’s a bad thing to copy a fellow performer. And many people also frown upon purchased scripts. But it can be really challenging knowing how to start inspiring creative, original thinking in magic and there is little support material when it comes to this subject.

Of course shameless thieves and hacks do exist, but there are also a lot of magicians who really want to bring something new to the table and don’t know how.

The magician’s thought process is something like this:

“Juan Tamariz does amazing magic. I want to do amazing magic. I will mimic what Juan Tamariz does and says and then my magic will be amazing.”

What that often ends up making the audience think is:

“My friend just turned into a totally different person as he began to perform. He must have watched another magician perform and is clearly copying him. I feel so uncomfortable. I can’t wait for this to stop.”

How Much Is too Much?

Learning to separate out the methods from the performer is important when discovering the appropriate amount of influence to take from your magic role models. Just as any magician can perform Lee Asher’s Diving Board Double without mimicking Lee Asher himself, any magician can employ strong, specific body language to accomplish an effect without mimicking Juan Tamariz.

If you have trouble knowing where or how to draw the line, watching this video and trying to isolate these concepts for yourself before reading further will help you develop that skill.

As David Stone would never say: without further adieu…

Performance Methods for Stronger Magic Demonstrated by Juan Tamariz in 5 Minutes

Notice how Tamariz asks his spectators if he can shuffle, but he is already starting the action? Asking permission gives the illusion that Ali and Pete have more control over the action than they actually do. The more perceived control the audience has, the more powerful the final effect

Tamariz also actively works to decrease the amount of perceived control he himself has over the deck. Did you catch a sneaky trick he used at 1:26 to accomplish this goal? While his presentation and performance may be decidedly ‘Spanish’ in their style, the magician having less control over the situation to make the effect stronger is a concept true to magic as a whole. And it’s something you can work to incorporate into your own magic, without miming another magician.

Another great method Tamariz uses is creating urgency in the actions he asks of his spectators. When a spectator (or any regular human) feels rushed, they will likely take the most obvious solution to the problem they are presented with.

There are many different ways to use this idea in performance. The first application that comes to mind is with the Classic Force. If you are just learning it, or find yourself missing your mark more than you’d like, try creating a bit of urgency by saying ‘Quickly choose a card’ as you spread the pack and move the cards toward your spectator. You can work it into your presentation by talking about gut feelings, intuition etc… or just do it and move on forward!

Juan Tamariz uses every tool at his disposal to strengthen the magic effect, including his physical body.

Body language is communicated and understood more quickly and efficiently than verbal language. So using your body effectively can allow you to say one thing to your spectator – like ‘Choose any card’ – while physically communicating ‘Choose one of these 5 cards but believe you could have chosen any card’.

Body language is also something that we’re hard-wired to understand. Which means that for the general majority of spectators, we don’t need to worry about them consciously perceiving this communication and ‘calling us on it’ mid-performance. It is so subtle and powerful, it can be done blatantly without suspicion.

If you’re awkward or too obvious about it they may simply ‘feel’ off about the performance. Or feel that you were trying to control their actions. Like everything else in magic, successful communication takes practice!

There are three subtle but distinct instances where Tamariz uses his body to accomplish his magical goals in this video. I’ve shared one of them just above, the other two (or even more that I have missed!) are definitely better viewed than explained.

Thanks so much for reading – I’d love to continue the discussion with you any time, anywhere… most likely in the comment section on Facebook. 🙂

Half Pass Techniques – New Gravity Half Pass Training Tips

June 2, 2016 By Aaron Fisher

During a recent meeting of my highest level online magic coaching group, I shared many new training tips that will make it easier than ever to master an invisible, imperceptible Gravity Half Pass.

The Gravity Half Pass is still the most direct, natural secret reverse in magic. It first appeared in my book The Paper Engine, but the complete video training can be found in our Pathways Training System.

In about 5 minutes, this short video will arm you with new details and training tactics that are making it easier than ever to start using this Pass to make miracles fast…

As you watch, the camera is set in ‘close-up’ on my hands so you can get all the new details with no filler. For many of you, this short video will be the ‘missing link’ that will make YOUR Gravity Half Pass into the ultimate tool. With this Pass you can create direct, astonishing card magic!

Vanishing Deck of Cards – Panic Paradise

May 24, 2016 By Aaron Fisher

Vanishing Deck of Cards: Your Perfect New ‘Panic’ Plan

By Aaron Fisher

If you’ve seen Panic, my ‘Perfect Vanishing Deck Trick’, then you’ll absolutely love this easy new routine. It was a hit during my recent lecture at Columbus Magi-Fest, because it allows you to perform a more incredible routine – and it removes all the work at the same time. For fans of easy card tricks, this is a perfect choice.

If you haven’t seen Panic, you can check it out here before you watch the new routine.

If you know the trick, you already know that Panic is an easy vanishing deck trick to perform. But this fun, simple, new routine comes with a built-in climax that’s strong enough to close any close-up show.

But as you’re about to see, now Panic is even more amazing.

The Vanishing Deck Miracle: Easy Panic Routine 2016

Recently, I shared this new routine with my highest level online magic coaching group. In the first video, you’ll see the new disappearing deck routine. Then I’ve included an informal training-video to lead you through all the details.

And finally, I’ve included a 12-Step Outline that makes it super easy for Panic Lovers to use your Panic Cards with this new routine. It’s quickly become one of my favorites, and I just KNOW you’ll love it.

Watch this powerful new vanishing deck routine, Panic Meets Wilson, here:

Here’s the Vanishing Deck Video-Training:

Want Amazement?

If you haven’t tried Panic yet… what are you waiting for?

You will absolutely love it!!

Click here to see it now >

Your Quick Start Checklist for Panic Panic Meets Wilson

Start with the deck in your right pocket with any 5-spot reversed on the bottom of the deck. The deck should be facing your body, and there are no kings in the deck.

Start with the Panic cards in your left hand with the four kings on top of them.

Perform Panic normally by first taking the four kings and displaying them for the audience. Place them in your right pocket on the bottom of the deck, face-down, below the inverted 5 spot.

Vanish the deck using Panic.

Reproduce the pack from your right pocket. Take care not to flash the face of the deck or the reversed card!

Openly eliminate the ‘4 Kings’ by placing them in your breast pocket (or any other pocket you like!)

Spread the cards and have one selected. Cut the top half of the pack to the table and have the selection replaced as you look away. Drop the original bottom half on top of the tabled cards.

Spread the deck across the table to reveal…the inverted 5 spot!

Remove the cards above and including the 5. Deal the next four cards onto the table in a wide, but ‘careless’, pattern. Take the fifth card and hold it dramatically, back toward the audience.

Take this opportunity to remove everything from the ‘picture’ but the four face down kings.

Reveal the selection! Remark to the audience how pleased you are to have performed a great trick without the benefit of the four kings.

Look at the four cards on the table. It dawns on you that the kings have returned. Turn them over one at a time to reveal the four kings have made their way back ‘into the action’!