The Expert at the Card Table: The Classic Treatise on Card Manipulation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Expert_at_the_Card_Table

by c--misura • 11 years ago

76 20 11 years ago

en.wikipedia.org

kqr2• 11 years ago

For a fascinating look at one of the masters of card manipulation, see Secrets of the Magus :

http://rickyjay.com/NewYorker_RickyJay.pdf

There was also a recent documentary on Ricky Jay (available on Netflix) called Deceptive Practice :

http://www.rickyjaymovie.com/

viggity• 11 years ago

I love Ricky Jay. My dad is a slight of hand specialist and his entire basement is essentially a magic library. Anyway, when I was a kid I took particular interest to Ricky's book on how to throw playing cards as he used topless models to demonstrate form.

Knowing how hard you can throw a card, I feel like I'm lucky that me and my brothers escaped childhood with our eyesight intact.

mistermann• 11 years ago

I also love Ricky Jay after seeing a video, but was disappointed when searching for others that it seems that, unless I'm missing something, he's been doing the same 5 to 10 tricks his entire career. Wish he had more variety (available online I mean, he's certainly capable I'm sure.)

aristus• 11 years ago

I have a copy of this, reprinted in 1940s sandwiched into another work by MacDougall. Lots of fun for a bored child. I still shuffle cards in the rather striking way he describes:

Cut the deck perfectly in half. This is easier than it sounds.

Pincer the halves at the end, and push the two other ends together.

Push harder, smoothly, and rotate your wrists opposite slightly. The two halves will fan into each other. With practice you can perform 2 (4?) perfect shuffles and end up with the cards in the same order you started in.

rcoppolo• 11 years ago

It takes 8 perfect shuffles to get back to the start.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faro_shuffle

ChuckMcM• 11 years ago

Link to the actual book : https://books.google.com/books?id=_7wyAQAAMAAJ&printsec=fron...

nawitus• 11 years ago

Here's a nice video by Richard Turner demonstrating various card manipulation techniques:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11R-jy8DZt8

sev• 11 years ago

And the guy is blind!

spinchange2• 11 years ago

Erdnase is like the Genesis of the card magic canon. While it has an important & worthwhile place on any cardworker's bookshelf (Dai Vernon basically considered it the bible), there are some newer & more modern treatises a little more accessible in terms of language, descriptions, illustration, and just overall instruction. The multi-volume Card College series by Roberto Giobbi comes to mind.

diiq2• 11 years ago

Yeah, Erdnase is the last thing I'd recommend to someone who wants to learn card work -- that is, I'd recommend it, but after all my other recommendations :) Erdnase was revolutionary as a catalog of slights and subtleties that existed -- but if you want to learn to perform them, all you'll get from Erdnase is frustration.

britknight• 11 years ago

What would you suggest?

joosters• 11 years ago

That's nothing, there are whole books dedicated to some of these individual techniques and tricks, like 'Second Dealing'

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_dealing

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Second-None-Art-Dealing/dp/098191666...

markgarity• 11 years ago

The Expert at the Card table is a classic, but pretty advanced for someone just getting started with card handling.

For anyone looking to learn more, I would strongly recommend some of the video tutorials available at http://www.theory11.com/tricks (some are free, many are cheap, and majority can be streamed online)

Specifically look for anything you can find by Jason England. That man is a modern master of card sleights if their ever was one, and over the years he has created some great walkthroughs for techniques from the Faro Shuffle to Palming to Dice Switching.

(Full disclosure, I have done some work for this site, but it's legitimately one of the greatest resources for learning more about this topic that I know of)

brucehauman• 11 years ago

I'm a big fan of "The Complete Works of Derek Dingle" and "The Secrets of Brother John Hamman"

Both are absolutely excellent.

The Expert at the Card Table: The Classic Treatise on Card Manipulation

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