You may, by way of variety, instead of offering the cards to be shuffled, hold them in the right hand, and make the single-handed “ruffle” above described, at the same time turning their faces slightly towards yourself. You may effect the same object, even more simply, by the mere act of passing the pack from the one hand to the other, keeping the bottom card turned inwards as above.
Fig. 23.
To “Slip” a Card.—Hold the pack in the left hand having first slightly moistened the fingers, which should rest upon the back of the cards. Open the pack bookwise, at an angle of about 45°, holding the upper packet lengthways between the thumb and second finger of the right hand. Draw this upper packet smartly upwards to a distance of two or three inches from the lower packet. (See [Fig. 23].) The top card of the upper packet, being held back by the pressure of the fingers upon it, will not move upwards with the rest of the packet; but immediately the remaining cards are clear, will fold itself down on the top of the lower packet. If the top card of the lower packet be examined before and after the slip, the card will appear to have changed, the fact being that the original top card becomes the second after the slip, the slipped card covering it.
Fig. 24. Fig. 25.
To Draw Back a Card. (Glisser la carte.)—The performer shows the bottom card, then dropping the pack into a horizontal position, face downwards, he draws out, with the thumb and second finger of the other hand, apparently that card, but really the next above it. This is effected as follows:—Hold the pack upright in the left hand between the first finger and thumb, the back of the cards towards the palm, and the thumb and finger about the middle of each side of the pack. Let the third finger, which should be previously moistened, rest on the face of the cards. (See [Fig. 24].) You will find that in this position, by moving the third finger, you can draw back the bottom card about an inch below the remaining cards, and thereby leave exposed a corresponding portion of the next card. (See [Fig. 25].) This is the whole mechanism of the operation. You must, of course, take care, after showing the bottom card, to turn the pack downward before you slide back that card in order to draw the next card in its place.
Fig. 26.
To “Turn Over” the Pack.—There are certain tricks (as, for instance, where you have undertaken to produce a given card at a particular number in the pack) for which it is necessary to deal a certain number of cards from the top, and then (without the spectator’s knowledge) to continue the deal from the opposite end of the pack. As a necessary preliminary, you must “face” the cards—i.e., bring the upper and lower portions face to face. This you have already been taught to do by means of the pass. Whichever way the pack is turned, it will now, of course, show backs only. Take the pack flat in the left hand, the fingers clipping it rather tightly, but without the aid of the thumb. Pass the thumb underneath, and with the ball of the thumb press the pack smartly upwards (see [Fig. 26]), when it will describe a semi-revolution on its longer axis, the lower face of the pack being thereby brought uppermost. If performed with the hand at rest, the movement is very perceptible; but if you at the same time make a semi-circular sweep of the hand and arm from left to right, the smaller movement of the pack in the hand is much less likely to attract notice.