Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 7: Essential map handles
• Part 2 of 7: Mastering the Glide
• Part 3 of 7: Palming a card
• Part 4 of 7: Mastering a map
• Part 5 of 7: Double fan decoration
• Part 6 of 7: The dribble decoration
• Part 7 of 7: A simple sample trick - Picking a card from scratch
• Tips
• Necessities

Card tricks are some of the most basic magic tricks you can perform, but don't make them easy to master. In order to do a wide variety of card tricks, there are a number of grips, moves and techniques you will need to learn. Keep reading to learn a little more about the basics.

To step

Part 1 of 7: Essential map handles

1. Learn the Mechanics handle. This is the basic trick you will need to know, and you will need this trick for most of the tricks. It is essential for lifting and peeking, among other movements.
   • Grab the deck of cards in your hand, palm up.
   • Place your index finger and move it along the top edge, to the side of the card facing away from you.
   • Your middle, ring, and little finger are on the side of the card facing away from you.
   • Your thumb holds the deck of playing cards on the side facing you. The thumb itself lies at an angle on the deck of playing cards, pointing to your index finger.
2. Learn to master the Biddle grip. This grip can be used with a full deck of cards, a smaller deck, or a single card. You usually use these when moving cards or revealing cards to the audience.
   • Hold the cards in your right hand using the Mechanics handle.
   • Grab the top card in your right hand with your left hand.
   • The left thumb should be on the bottom, or short side facing you.
   • Your middle and ring fingers are opposite your thumb, at the top of the card.
   • Your little finger can stay on the top corner of the card, and your index finger is not needed.

Part 2 of 7: Mastering the Glide

1. Hold the deck of playing cards in your hand. Take the deck of playing cards in your hand using the Mechanics handle.
   • Grab the deck of playing cards so that the cards are face up for the public to see.
   • Take the deck of playing cards, turn your hand all the way over, so that the cards are face down.
2. Slide the bottom card towards yourself. Slide the bottom card unnoticed a fraction to yourself. So don't get rid of you.
   • Use your ring finger and little finger to do this. Your index finger is too far away and your thumb is needed to keep the stack of cards together. The middle finger is also difficult to move without the audience seeing it.
3. Pull the second card from the bottom of the deck. Use your other hand to draw this card from the bottom of the deck and place it on the table.
   • If you put the card face up for the public to see, this is a trick in itself, because you can assert that the bottom card has changed.
   • Note that this technique can also be used as part of a larger trick as it allows you to keep track of what the bottom card is.
4. Tidy up the deck of playing cards. Use your little finger to align the deck of playing cards so it looks like the bottom card has never been changed.
   • This technique has now been completed.

Part 3 of 7: Palming a card

1. Cover the deck of playing cards with your right hand. All four fingers should be on the top edge of the deck and your thumb should be on the bottom of the deck, near the inner edge.
   • This is not a trick in itself, but the ability to palm a card is an essential part of many tricks and manipulations.
2. Push the top card to the right with your left thumb. You pretend to hold the deck of playing cards with your left hand. The four fingers of your left hand spread across the back of the deck, but the thumb should crawl unseen between your right hand and the cards.
   • With your thumb on the top card, slide or rotate the card around the middle finger of your right hand.
   • The outer corner will turn outside of the stack, but will be hidden by your right hand.
3. Lift the deck of playing cards to the left fingertips, while pushing the top card into your palm. Grasp the deck of playing cards so that the left thumb releases its grip, causing the top card to rotate in the palm.
   • Place your left pinkie so that it presses on the far right corner of the top card.
   • Lift the stack up to the tips of your left thumb and fingers with your right hand.
   • The left thumb should now clear the way and once this happens, the top card will automatically slide into the palm of your right hand.
   • This technique has now been completed. The card is now in your right palm and the deck of playing cards will be supported by your left fingertips.

Part 4 of 7: Mastering a map

1. Select the card. By default it is to ask someone from the audience to select a card, and if you want to use this as a complete trick rather than just a technique, asking a spectator to choose a card will work best.
2. Divide the deck of playing cards. Divide the deck into two equal stacks and place the card you want to keep on top of the bottom stack.
   • The card and the rest of the deck should be face down.
3. Break a finger. Hold the position of the selected card using the tip of your little finger.
   • Practice this in front of the mirror so you can determine whether or not your fracture stands out. The audience should not be able to see that you have a finger on the card, nor should they see the opening resulting from your little finger that you have pushed between the deck of playing cards.
   • This fraction is an essential part of the technique as it allows you to return to the selected map.
4. Divide the stack twice to get the card back on top. This is an easy way to reveal the selected card.
   • Divide the top part of the deck in half. The top part is the whole of the stack above the selected card.
   • Get the remaining top part of the deck of playing cards. You divide by the fraction, which means that the new "top" card after the division is the selected card.
   • Reveal the selected card to complete the trick.
5. Alternatively, shake to the fraction. Move the fraction from your little finger to your thumb, and shuffle the cards to the fraction.
   • Move the stack of cards from your right hand to the left. Your thumb should be on the break and the rest of your fingers should be supporting the deck from the other side.
   • Use an over-hand shuffle to put the cards back in your right hand. Hold the selected card (the card at the break) in place with your thumb, making sure to shuffle the cards above it first, so that the selected card ends on top after all cards have been shuffled.
   • Reveal the selected card to complete the trick.

Part 5 of 7: Double fan decoration

1. Hold the cards in your left hand. The bottom of the card should be roughly parallel and aligned with your little finger. The thumb is roughly in the bottom center of the deck, and the rest of your fingers support the back.
   • Dashing gestures don't play a big part in manipulating cards, but they do serve a valuable purpose. Well-executed gestures can help distract the audience, as well as engage and impress the audience, even before the trick itself has even begun.
   • Fan decoration works very well when you want to show the audience that you are holding a "normal set of playing cards".
2. Tilt and spread the cards with your right thumb. Place your right thumb on the top left corner of your deck, close to the bottom of the deck. Push the top left corner to the right, and slowly lift your right thumb so that you move fewer and fewer cards to the right.
   • Move your thumb in a slight arc so that the fan looks neat.
   • Make sure you have a firm grip on the bottom of the deck of playing cards with your left hand, but also make sure there is enough room for the cards to shift between your fingers.
3. Close the cards with your index and middle fingers. Bend the middle and index fingers of your left hand so that they are directly above the center of the top card. "Walk" the bottom cards up with your ring finger.
   • This takes some practice to master. You will have to pull the bottom cards up by grasping the top cards with your ring finger and at the same time pushing the top cards down with your index and middle fingers.
   • This movement completes the technique.

Part 6 of 7: The dribble decoration

1. Hold the cards with your right hand. Your little finger should be on top of the top right corner and your thumb on the bottom left corner.
   • Your middle and ring fingers are spread across the top of the deck of playing cards.
   • Your index finger should be bent and support the back of the deck of playing cards.
   • Note that, as with other decorations, dribbling the deck of playing cards is not often used for manipulating the cards themselves. However, it is important for creating some sort of ambiance, and can help make you appear like a masterly card magician.
2. Bend the cards. Push the center of the deck slightly forward with your index finger. Pull back the ends of the deck with your thumb and little finger.
   • Meanwhile, move your left hand just below the deck of playing cards in preparation for dribbling the cards. You may not put your two hands together. They should be close enough to keep the cards from flying all over the room, but far enough apart that the cards have to fly a little through the air to reach the other hand.
3. Riffle the cards from your thumb. Slowly move your thumb up the side of the deck, releasing the cards one by one with your left hand. Continue to slide your thumb up until all the cards have been released.
   • The pile in your left hand may not be very neat, but all cards should be in the same direction and in a pile.
   • Line up the deck when you are done.
   • This technique has now been completed.

Part 7 of 7: A simple sample trick - Picking a card from scratch

1. Hold a small number of playing cards in the palm of your hand. Place the cards so that the deck is hidden by the length of your hand, and hold them in place using the inner knuckles of your fingers and the base of your thumb joint.
   • Your thumb should be bent slightly inward as if you were gripping something, so that the base of the thumb joint extends forward into the palm of the hand. At this point, however, the thumb itself does not touch the cards yet.
   • Only work with a small number of playing cards and not the whole deck. A smaller number is easier to hold and hide in your palm.
2. Peel the top card from the stack with your thumb. Push the edge of the top card to separate it from the rest of the deck.
   • In the meantime, your little finger should be positioned so that it lies between the top card and the rest of the pile, while supporting the whole pile at the same time. You also need the tip of your ring finger to hold the stack.
3. Slide the top card up with your thumb. With your little finger separating the top card from the rest of the deck, move your thumb to the innermost, top corner of the card. Rotate the card around this position to get it above your hand.
   • The back of your hand should be facing the audience, so at this point only the top card is visible.
4. At the same time, throw your arm forward in a sudden, gripping motion. You have to make it look like you took the card out of nowhere, so move your hand forward as if you were picking something out of thin air.
   • When you need an image, think about the movement you could make when picking an apple from a tree.
   • You can continue to grab cards from "the vacuum" until you run out of pile. This concludes this trick.

Tips

• Never repeat a trick, no matter how many times it is asked.
• Stick to two or three varied tricks. Get the audience involved in some tricks to keep them entertained.
• Practice, practice, practice. The key to any card trick and technique is practice. The movements won't feel natural at first, but the more your hands are trained to do the movements, the smoother they will appear to the audience.
• If there are tricks where someone from the audience has to choose a card, it is important that the rest of the spectators see the card. That way, there is always someone in the audience who still knows which card it is, in case everyone else has forgotten it.
• Take advantage of distraction. By distracting the audience with words or gestures, you can prevent them from noticing and remembering movements that could betray you.

Necessities

• Stack of standard playing cards