Sleight of Hand: A Practical Manual of Legerdemain for Amateurs & Others

by Edwin Thomas Sachs

The False Shuffle.

This the conjuror will find a very useful adjunct to the pass. There is nothing very difficult about it, but it is necessary to be somewhat bold in executing it. The two methods of shuffling in ordinary use are the perpendicular and the horizontal. The perpendicular is the most business-like, and I have no doubt that it is used by most of my male readers who are card-players. Ladies, I am aware, mostly patronise the horizontal shuffle, in which the cards are passed from right to left, or vice versâ, alternately over and under. To illustrate the perpendicular method, suppose the card to be at the bottom of the pack, just passed there, and it is desired to keep it in that position. By applying pressure with the fingers and thumb, the top and bottom cards will be retained in the left hand when the right hand draws away the rest of the pack, which is then shuffled over the two. The operation can be repeated hundreds of times without fear of a mistake. With the card at the top, the action is more complicated, though not difficult. The pressure with thumb and fingers must be made as before. This will bring the chosen card from the top to second from the bottom. Commence the shuffle a second time, and the card will be the bottom one of those held in the right hand, the one recently beneath it having been drawn off by the fingers of the left hand. It now remains to continue shuffling vigorously until the chosen card alone remains in the right hand, which then leaves it on the top of the pack in its original position. For this shuffle, which I prefer to any other, I have to thank myself. It is utterly impossible for the eye of anyone, be he the most practised conjuror, to follow the positions of the one card, even supposing that an opportunity for minute investigation were allowed, which it scarcely would be during a performance. When exhibiting before a select company of extra sharp people who have vague notions of false shuffles and passes, it is sometimes advisable to bring the chosen card to the top, with one card or more above it. You can then say, "Now, it is utterly impossible for me to know where the card is. You see it is neither at the bottom nor next to the bottom" (throw bottom card off), "nor is it at the top" (throw as many cards off the top as are above the chosen card). More than this the spectators can hardly expect you to do. In the horizontal shuffle, with the card at the top, draw the card off between the first and second fingers, and put all cards which are shuffled above it between the first finger and thumb. This will form two packs, divided by the first finger. The final movement in the shuffle is the replacing the lower half on the upper; but I prefer bringing this about by means of the pass. With the card at the bottom, one has merely to shuffle the cards in the ordinary way, just taking care that the bottom card is shuffled last by itself to the top, where it may be left; or it may equally easily be shuffled to the bottom again by simply retaining it in the hand last. This is the simplest shuffle of all, but it will not deceive enlightened people. I find it an excellent method to combine two methods of shuffling. Great rapidity of action should be studied; everything, however, being practised very slowly at first, until the proper method is secured. The false shuffle is very useful in covering the pass. The pass should be made, and the shuffle at once proceeded with, without allowing a fraction of a second to elapse.

Leaving the beginner to overcome at his leisure the various difficulties connected with the mastery of single-handed passes, I will describe some tricks performed by the aid of the pass, assisted by the false shuffle alone, commencing with the most simple. Lest the reader should say, "Oh! but no person in his senses would be deceived by that simple thing," I will observe that he should endeavour to suit his audience to his skill. The learner should commence by allowing a card to be selected from the pack, which he then cuts near the centre, and requests the person who selected the card to place it upon the lower portion. He then replaces the upper portion, taking care to allow the little finger to intervene between the two, so as to be ready for the pass, which must be made on the first opportunity, and the pack handed to a spectator to hold. Now say that you will cause the card chosen to rise from the centre of the pack, where it is supposed to be, to the top, and then let the holder of the pack show that such has actually been done. By inserting the finger beneath the card before making the pass, it will be brought to the bottom of the pack, whither you can afterwards command it to go. In these instances the effect will be spoilt if any shuffling takes place; but, in most of the following, false shuffling should be resorted to, attention being called to the fact that the cards are well mingled, and that you, therefore, cannot possibly know the position of the chosen card in the pack.

To Cause a Card to Show itself on the Top of the Pack.—Bring the card to the top, and, holding the pack in the right hand, push it off with the thumb of the left hand about half an inch, and then throw the pack violently on the table or floor. The resistance of the air will cause the uppermost card (the chosen one) to turn completely over, without losing its position. The effect is very good indeed.

The Attached Card.—Bring the chosen card to the top, and give the pack to be held by one corner tolerably firmly, between the finger, and thumb. See that it is held neither too tightly nor too loosely, and then suddenly strike the cards upwards with the hand. Give a good strong blow, and all the cards, with the exception of the top one, will fly into the air, the chosen card remaining in the fingers. If the card is brought to the bottom, the cards must be struck downwards to the floor, which method certainly has the advantage of causing less litter. The effect is increased if two cards are chosen, one being brought to the top and the other to the bottom. The cards are then struck—only moderately hard in this instance—sideways, when the top and bottom cards will remain in the holder's fingers.

To Catch Two Cards in the Air, out from the Pack.—A better way with two cards is, after bringing one card to the top and one to the bottom, to take the pack firmly between your own thumb and fingers, and jerk it upwards. This will cause all the cards to fly towards the ceiling, except the top and bottom ones, in a bunch. Before the cards fall, you make a dash at them, and affect to catch the two chosen cards in the air out from the rest. This is a very finished illusion. The audience, having their eyes upon the pack, do not notice the two cards between the performer's fingers, but the dash at the pack must be made immediately.

The Congenial Aces.—Select from the pack the four aces (four cards of any other denomination would serve equally well, but aces are best for effect), and allow the pack to be thoroughly examined for the purpose of showing that there are no others contained in it. Give one ace to one person, another to a second person, and the remaining two to a third. Have the first ace placed at the top of the pack, the second at the bottom, and the third and fourth in what the audience will suppose to be the middle of the pack, but in reality between the top and bottom cards brought together by means of the pass. As you turn to the third person holding aces you pretend to open the pack in the middle, but in reality make the pass, but without bringing the two portions together again. The two remaining aces are thus innocently placed between the two already restored to the pack, which you instantly close up, whilst calling particular attention to the fact that you do so with all possible deliberation and slowness. Now command all four aces to join company in the centre of the pack. On the pack being opened, the command will be found to have been obeyed. The trick can be varied by placing a red ace in the centre and a black one on the top or bottom, and then causing them to change places by means of the pass. But the most startling change of all is when two aces of one colour are placed in the centre, and the two of the other colour, one on the top and one at the bottom, and then made to change places. The company cannot realise that this can possibly be accomplished in so brief a space of time; but it is simple enough. It should always be produced as a final effect, the performer saying, "Now I will show you something more remarkable still." He then places, say, the two red aces in the centre of the pack, and one black ace on the top and the other at the bottom. In order to convince the company thoroughly that things are as stated, the pack is turned over and opened slightly, fanwise. In showing the cards thus, it will be very easy to insert the little finger between the two red aces unperceived, and the double-handed pass is made in the act of turning the pack over. It is instantly placed in the hands of one of the company, who may be asked to blow upon it, or to perform any other operation equally unlikely to bring about any magical change, and then the cards can be examined without the performer approaching them again. But, in such cases, much depends upon how the pack is examined, and it should always be done under the performer's directions. For instance, he would say, "On the top was a black ace; will you please look at the top card now?—you will see that it is a red one. At the bottom was also a black ace; turn the pack over, please, and you will find a red one there also. In the centre were two red aces; kindly look there, and you will find the black ones." By this means, the whole of the company are informed of what has taken place, which would only be unsatisfactorily done if it were left in the hands of the temporary holder of the cards, who only thinks of satisfying his own curiosity.

The single-handed pass ([Fig. 28], &c.) may be employed in this trick to great advantage, whenever it is required to bring cards from the outsides to the centre. Where cards, already in the centre, have to be brought to the top or bottom, the insertion of the little finger is necessary, and so the double-handed pass has to be employed. In such cases, the employment of the pass depicted at [Fig. 33] would be possible; but the performer would have to execute it in a more masterly manner than I have yet seen exhibited. For the first phase described, the single-handed pass ([Fig. 28], &c.) is perfect. Two aces are placed, one at the top and the other at the bottom of the pack, and as the performer turns to the holder of the two others, he executes the pass, leaving the cards open, precisely as depicted at [Fig. 30], turning the hand slightly downwards, so that the ace in the middle shall not be visible. It then appears to the spectators as if he had merely opened the cards slightly; and, when the two aces are inserted, the top half is allowed to fall to, and the pack given there and then into the hands of one of the audience.

The Reversed Card.—This is not at all a bad termination to a trick. Bring the chosen card to the top, and then pass it to the bottom with the two-handed slip pass previously described; but, in passing, cause it to turn upside down. This, it will be found on trial, is very easily managed by keeping the face of the card always against the pack. Now make the ordinary pass, and so bring the card to the middle, and then throw the pack along the table, when the chosen card will appear in the middle, face upwards. If you like, you may ask the audience whether the pack shall be reversed and the chosen card found face downwards, or vice versâ. It does not matter which is selected, as it is only necessary to turn the pack over before spreading it out, in order to bring about a reversal of affairs.

The Travelling Card.—By attaching a hair to a waistcoat button, and affixing the other end, by means of a tiny bead of wax, unperceived, to the chosen card, it can be made to walk out of the pack at the performer's command by a slight motion of the body. The cards should be spread face upwards upon the table, and the effect of one card disengaging itself from the rest is a very comical one. The waxed end of the hair should be held in a finger nail, so as to be at hand. Another method is to bring the card to the top, and then, holding the pack upright in one hand, with the faces of the cards towards the audience, pretend to pluck a hair from the head, and then to wind it rapidly round the pack with the disengaged hand. Pretend to pull at the imaginary hair, and, with the first and second fingers of the hand which holds the cards, work up the chosen card from the back. The effect is very comical. Two or three cards, selected by different people, may be treated in the same manner, when it is as well to come forward, after the first card has risen, and, making the pass, show that the chosen cards are not on the top. Before continuing, the pass must be again made to bring the cards back, the little finger having, of course, all the while divided the two halves of the pack. The trick should be practised before a looking-glass to ensure that the working of the fingers is not observed. It will be found necessary to allow the cards to well cover the finger roots. The performer should stand well away from the audience, and be certain that no one has a side view of his hand.

The Lady's Own Trick.—Say that you have now done quite sufficient yourself, and think it time someone else had a turn. Bring the card to any portion of the pack you please, so long as you know where it is. Take sixteen cards from various portions of the pack (you may have them selected if you please), taking care that the chosen card is included in the number, and arrange them in four divisions. Now, say that this trick must be done solely by a lady, and, giving your wand to one of the fair sex, ask her to point to any two divisions. The exact words you will use are, "Kindly tell me which two divisions I shall take." The word "take" is intentionally ambiguous, as, if one of the two divisions pointed at contains the chosen card, on which you are, of course, keeping a sharp eye, you will understand it to mean that you are to take those two and continue with them. If, on the other hand, they do not contain the card, you will assume that they are to be removed, and throw them aside accordingly. Two divisions will now remain, and you ask the lady to point to one of them, using the words, "Now, which do you prefer of the two?" This is, again, ambiguous, and you can do as you wish about taking or leaving the division pointed at. Four cards now remain, and you ask that two of them shall be selected, and, on two cards remaining, you repeat the request. If the chosen card is then pointed at, you allow it to be taken up; if the other, remove it, leaving the chosen card to be picked up by the chooser. You must endeavour to impress spectators with the idea that it is all sleight-of-hand, and never do it twice. Some tricks (not very many, though) will bear repetition, although it should always be avoided if possible. If there is no help for it, endeavour to vary the method as much as possible.

Fig. 35.

Another very rapid single-handed pass is depicted at [Fig. 35]. As it is only useful for passing one or more cards from the top to the bottom, or, rather, from back to front, it is not in general use, but forms almost a separate trick by itself. The cards, which should not exceed twelve or fifteen in number, should be held at the top corners by the first finger and thumb, and the third finger inserted beneath the card to be brought to the front. This card is then, by means of the middle, third, and little fingers, which hold it, brought from behind and passed round the others, care being taken to bring all together evenly. In executing this pass, the pack is first held up with the faces of the cards towards the audience, and is then turned downwards for a moment. When the pack is again held up, it is seen that the front card (the bottom one) has changed. The trick can be thus worked: Place secretly at the back of the pack three of any denomination of card, say, the fours. At the front, place the other four, which suppose to be the four of clubs, and request one of the audience to say into which other suite the card shall change. You will know the order in which the three fours at the back are placed, so you will only have to place the third finger beneath the one named and pass it to the front. If it is the actual top card, you will bring it forward alone; but if it is the second or third, those above it must come forward as well. As this pass cannot be effected without noise, it is always best to pretend to pass the card chosen as the one into which the original four is to change from some cards held in the other hand. Ruffle these cards with the thumb and say, "Did you not hear it go?" The slight noise heard will be accounted for by the cards passing from one pack to the other. If a duplicate four of clubs is held at the bottom of the second pack, it can be exhibited as the one changed in the other pack. But the best trick performed by means of this pass is by the aid of two duplicate cards, say, the knave of clubs and the ace of hearts. A pack must be held in each hand. At the top of the right-hand pack put the ace, and at the bottom the knave. At the top of the left-hand pack put the knave, and at the bottom the ace. The cards at the top are placed there secretly; those at the bottom openly before the audience. Hold the faces of the packs towards the audience, and, calling particular attention to the positions of the cards, say that you will make them change places. Turn the packs face downwards, with a flourish, executing the pass with both hands, saying, "Presto! pass. Did you not see them go?" On holding the cards up again, it will be seen that the knave has gone over to the left-hand pack, and the ace to the right-hand one. This is very effective indeed.