Entries Tagged 'Card Sleights' ↓

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The Double Lift is in our option the most important sleight in card magic.
It is used in almost every card routine.

You will find many tricks that require the double lift.
To start off with, we will teach you the basic double lift.

We will be adding more double lift techniques in the time but we like this version the most because it looks very convincing and it’s the easiest double lift we know.

So now you know is vitally important to learn the double lift so let’s get going!
This double lift requires a break after two cards and there are many ways to achieve this:

You can either riffle off the top two cards or hold a break after two cards or, our favorite way of getting a break is, by playing like you are looking through the cards and on the way back get a break under the top two cards. This looks very natural and when talking at the same time to your spectators they won’t notice a thing.

So now your pinky is holding two cards (the double) on top of the deck but always make sure they are square.

With the right hand you then lift up the ‘double’ with your thumb and middle finger on the right side of the cards.

Turn the ‘double’ face up on the deck but still maintaining a break with your pinky.

After displaying the cards turn them back over again.

Tips for double lifts:

1. Practice, practice, practice…..

You will hear this many times on Sharkmagic.com!

It is crucial that you feel comfortable with your cards.

Just practice when you can throughout

the day eg in front of the TV,
in the bus, on the toilet, etc,
as the more you practice the better the results.
Practice is a key element to your success!

Even if you think you can do it in your sleep or even 1000meters under the sea while huge sharks attack you, you will still need to practice every day.

Another piece of advice: Have the deck next to your bed so that when you wake up you can immediately pick it up to reinforce your feeling for the cards.

We would like to forewarn you that you may have slight problems using the cards at the beginning due to the tiredness you feel in your hands but if you persevere by practicing throughout the day, every day of the week, you will notice yourself that you are progressing.

So now imagine how great it must feel when you are able to handle the cards well in the morning and how good you will handle them during the day. Strangely, we have the best card feeling in the evening, but this is because the body and brain are all warmed up.

2. Performing various double lifts

As previously mentioned, there are many double lifts.

There are even double lifts that don’t require a break but we don’t like these, as these kind of lifts look good but if you are nervous or you just make a little mistake you can expose the double by mistake.

Therefore we recommend learning double lifts with breaks as these not only look natural but give you a secure grip with a feeling of control.

Once you have prefectioned your lift, we suggest that you always use the same double lift throughout your routine, as it will look more natural.

3. Control the cards

It is imperative that you are sure about what you are doing. You need to be in control of the cards the whole time not the other way round. This means that you have to look natural and relaxed but you have to concentrate on the moves, without it being obvious to your audience. Additionally, it is important to remember this because if you stare at your hands or concentrate too much you can draw attention to what you are doing.

4. Positioning yourself

Double lifts aren’t very angle sensitive. This means, your audience can be in front, behind, or even on the sides.

The best way to do this lift is when the audience is in front of you so all you have to remember is to angle the deck more to your spectators.

Even if you wouldn’t have the audience in front, they probably wouldn’t notice that it’s a double but you should do everything to help conceal it. This is your secret.

5. Single card lifts (essential)

Your single lifts, double lifts or even triple lifts should look the same.
Practice turning a single card the same way as you do your double lift!

6. Movements

Smoothness in all sleights is far more important than speed.

If you do a fast move it looks like you’re up to something. Smooth, regular movements, without haste are much more effective.

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Start with the deck face up in the left hand. Your left thumb lies along the left side and your fingers along the right side. You are holding the deck by its edges only. The left hand doesn’t do anything else in this effect; it just keeps the deck still.

• Bring your right hand over and slide the top card slightly forward. How far you pull it toward the audience will depend on how much of the next card you need exposed. You need enough to get contact with the heel of your hand. This will be clearer later.

• Your right hand should conceal the face card and deck so that most of the top card and all of the are hidden. The right hand is held with the fingers together and parallel to the face of the deck. Think of your right hand like a sliding door. It first slides forward (toward the viewers) and then backwards and then forwards again.

• As you slide it backwards (towards you), let the base of your right thumb- the meaty pad that would be used to grip a palmed coin- contact and pull the second card back with it. So, the hand slides backwards and the second card slides with it.

• Continue sliding. This exposes the top card again and pulls the second card far enough down so that it it is out from under the top one.

• You should now have almost all of the second card pulled off the deck under your right hand and most of the top card showing.

• Push slightly downward with the heel of your right hand and the second card will pop upwards into it. You don’t need to actually palm it, you just need it to clear the top card. The bottom edge of the top card and the top edge of the bottom card have to move past each other.

• Slide your right hand forward again, concealing the original top card again. This brings the change card on top as the right hand slides forward. Align the cards before you expose the change.

• To recap- the right hand covers the top card, slides back exposing the top card again, and then slides forward. You then pull your right hand away, showing the change.

Presentation Tips:

Show your right hand freely before it approaches the deck. Make the audience aware that it is empty without saying so.

The left hand stays still throughout the change. It serves as the ’stage’ on which the magic happens. The right hand’s action is almost machine like- forward, backward, forward, change…. Try to get all the moves to match both in rhythm and how you hold your hand.

There are two different ‘reveals’. In the first, you slide your hand off sideways and keep it frozen and stiff. The audience will suspect you have palmed off the face card. Wait a beat and then crumple your fingers and show the right hand is obviously empty.

The second reveal looks more magical. Instead of sliding the right hand off to show the change, just open the fingers wide in a sort of exploding starfish action. This makes it look as if the card changed immediately.

You can use both reveals in the order given by repeating the change. Just do a one-handed cut between so that a new set of cards is changed. Otherwise you will be just changing the same two cards.

Finally, when you perform this, tilt the deck down and towards the audience. This will hide the outer edge of the deck and prevent them from seeing that the top card is pushed forward on the get-ready.