Nervous of doing the Pass

[tomstian]

I use the spread pass alot, but some off my friends and my mom know how its done so everytime I do the pass for them they say that they see it. also the same with the herman, classic pass and bluff pass.

I feel that I have mastered the spread pass now and the other passes but not the classic pass

Anyone else feel the same?

Have done it sometimes to people who dont know any thing about magic and I have never been caught doing it. not done its so many times.

Is it just because my family and friends know how its done that they see it?

And when I performe for many people I just do a double under cut or a faro shuffle from the break. but the double undercut I feel looks weird for the spectator.

so I have a problem doing magic sometime because I dont know how I can control the card to top :/

Have any tips?

 

[Shodan]

Point number one: nothing wrong with a double undercut; however if you're going to cut the cards a good old jog shuffle won't hurt either!

The people you perform for most often - friends and family ("test" audiences), will eventually start to pick up on the tells that go with certain moves. As a magician, I tend to be able to pick up on when a double lift, force, pass etc. is being done, because I am familiar with the covering actions, get ready actions etc. Of course, it could be that your pass is in need of some refinement, but don't be surprised if you struggle to get it past these spectators even with improvements.

I can suggest Greg Wilson's "Backstage Pass" as a truely deceptive and "burnable" pass; you can find it on one of his DVDs. Its a beautiful control that I have never been caught on AND its significantly easier than most passes out there. Another truely excellent control is the side steal, but be prepared to put in a LOT of work. The side steal is my control of choice as it is just SO good, and SO practical. Mike Close has an excellent ebook download on the side steal and other palming techniques with built-in videos which is a great resource.

However, there is even MORE to be said for stopping the focus on moves and starting to focus more on learning well-built routines. In general, a well thought out routine has controls uniquely tailored to the effect which adds a layer of deception. I recommend you look into John Guastaferro's "Brainstorm" DVDs and learn some fantastic card magic along with some new controls for you to play with.

Cheers,
David.

 

[Kontents]

Why is it so hard to just talk to your spectators and use misdirection? Regardless of who you perform for.

 

[Blindside462]

You need to learn to talk to your audience. If you can't do a pass without talking to your audience naturally, well then your not doing a pass correctly. You shouldn't be looking at your hands or pausing to think, you should be asking your audience something and looking them in the eyes while talking and either doing it on the offbeat when there is less tension and heat on the cards....If your pass decent then that is a different story. If you do all the steps to a pass right it should be invisible. If not you should practice more on the sleight until you can't mess up on it and you don't have to think about it. Your achieving a risky sleight here and everything should go right, your basically doing a transpo here. A card from the middle to the top, nothing with the deck should look fishy.

Be loose, that is some of the best advice I have received. And that was from kontents on advice with live performance. If you are stiff and you are just thinking about the next sleight you have to do you aren't having fun. You are just putting yourself at risk of being caught.

 

[SKSleighofHand]

One of the things that you need to work is on talking to the audience, in other words, patter. Patter is what makes magic understandable. I am sure that you are a great magician, but think about yourself. If someone hired you (like a gig) and he/she wants you to perform the audience for 30 mintues, a hour or even 2 hours. A weak patter will not get you to the extended time they want.

However, if you patter is great, then I am sorry if I misjudge you. I have some great practise tips. Don't perform sleights that you feel uncomfortable. Just practise until it is perfect. Try practising the sleights/tricks in front of the mirror. If you have a video camera, record yourself and be the judge. If you want to work on the pass, I suggest you to go on to RDChopper. It is very useful. Look below.

http://forums.theory11.com/showthread.php?t=19791

There are many other ways to control to the top such as: injog overhand shuffle control, classic pass, side steal, Death to the Undercut (check out Joel Paschall on 1-on1 in here), Cherry Control, Cascade Control (both Cherry and Cascade can be found in Dan and Dave on demands) and so on.

 

[CorbinB]

like everyone above me said, talking is important. If they STILL catch you which is unlikely learn some different controls...miller cascade, side steal, or simply catching a break and doing an over hand shuffle; just to name a few

 

[ZacEckstein]

haha, you can do the worst pass and still wont get caught. Don't look at the deck while you do it, instead make eye contact... Plain and simple. Just do that while you are practicing.

 

[canadamagic]

Practice

[word count]

 

[LukeDancy]

With any control the focus shouldn't be on the cards. The pass, sidesteal or whatever else you use is nothing more than a tool and should be used covertly. Hell if you have to wait until attention is off the deck then do it then. Malini was famous for saying he would wait a week before doing a control. Just wait until they look up and then do the dirty work.

The only people that really give a crap about your pass are other magicians. Save those nervous moments for magic conventions, otherwise have fun!


l u k e

 

[Morgan B]

All the focus of these posts seem to be on making your misdirection stronger. This will help, as long as the misdirection appears natural and doesn't exist just for the sake of the pass.

When giving tips on the pass, I notice a rigid body motion when both cards touch the deck. Also, much heat will always be on the deck when both hands touch. Aaron Fisher talks about making the pass quiet more than invisible, and I believe this is key - as NO classic pass is invisible. Ammar (among many) argues, as some have touched on above, that the pass is not the most efficient way of controlling a card, and that you may want to consider alternative methods like Asher's "Losing Control", a side steal, or any control that allows the illusion that the card is put back in the middle and left there - the first post mentioned a double undercut, but that is not the same OUT reality - as the cards are mixed in theory - and the pass is supposed to give the illusion that the card is still where it was placed. Consider this when selecting a control.

I digress, the pass is a sleight that you will use and work on for the rest of your life. Continue to seek alternative methods, but also more knowledge and tips on the pass - as it is a passage of right in understanding mechanics of all sleights to work on the pass!

Some tips, you may or may not know: aim to pass about 12-15 cards, start slow build speed (as the the technique of making it smooth is more important than the speed at first), use two decks to pass and one will feel much less and easier...even try it with a jumbo deck.

Anyhow - tips and tricks on the pass are plenty - keep adjusting your hands and think what it is to look like...then realize, a pass is not an invisible sleight...I can see it across the room! If you are being caught, it could be for many reasons...if in doubt. ASK!? It is your family.

 

[visualartist]

I use the spread pass alot, but some off my friends and my mom know how its done so everytime I do the pass for them they say that they see it. also the same with the herman, classic pass and bluff pass.

If they see all of that going on you have two major problems.

1. Your not as good at any of these passes as you think you are. In other words,its obvious what your doing and we can probably see everything.

2. The spectators are not supposed to be looking at the deck while your doing the pass. Its common sense. Try actually talking to your spectators and misdirecting them. Something every magician should be doing.

 

[visualartist]

haha, you can do the worst pass and still wont get caught. Don't look at the deck while you do it, instead make eye contact... Plain and simple. Just do that while you are practicing.

Thats me right there. My pass is slow as flonk. Sometimes deliberately to test myself on how interesting what I have to say is so I dont have them gaze down or anywhere else.

 

[Randy]

Find some other way of controlling the card to the top. The pass while it can look amazing and all, is something that will take years and even decades to get right. Which is why a lot of guys will usually find better ways of controlling a single card.

 

[WilliamMckeehan]

dont perform the same trick over and over for your family. it wont work.

 

[krswoodward]

they probably know because youre just doing the pas. the pass (any of them)are not ment to be solo moves use a shuffle with it. i could do the exact trick 100 times to the same person and have them not figure out try this trio : when they insert their card hold a break and do and over hand pass the first thing they assume is their cards on top good for them their right but don't tell them that duh! gointo a over hand suffle brining it to the bottom finish the false overhand to bring it back to the top . okay now they might know that but then you do a false cut and they assume what the hell he cant control it that good just dont pull it right off the top make it fancy find a pass
(i suggest the over hand and a good false cut and master them. i know about a 20 of each and have them masters but i only use one of each the best thing about skeptics is when they think they know something and you prove them wrong like when i do a change everybody knows i must have 2 cards when i do it so the first response i always get is whats the next card on top well it was theirs but when they wern't looking for that breif second i did a charlier pas puting that card in the middle the lift up the next card and you should see their face when their proven wrong. just master it.

 

[krswoodward]

ive done jacobs ladder to my mom like 16 time she still can't figure it out just master what your doing. And forget about not doing a trick twice pratice soyou can go right into it again cause the first response you get is do it again! do it again! make sure you are good at it because 99% of the time thier gonna wacth closely the second time what about the one percent they'lll watch closely the third time.LOL!

 

[Believe12887]

Don't double undercut ... Your wasting your skill ^_^

Nah whatever you want that works, like other posts said, you might as well just cut and riffle shuffle the thing a couple times, always works anyway.
If you want a pass then learn a bunch of the others, there's more out there.

Have you toyed with jack carpenters open turnover pass.
Go look him up.
for your mom and all that, they see it and assume its on the top.

The open turnover shows its not on top a split second before executing the pass, you'd like it since you already have the spread and herman down.

Go check it out.

Otherwise, there a world of controls you can learn to fool anyone who doubts you.
You have but to find them...
theirs a bunch on my dvd if you wanna check that out too =P lol

Goodluck to yuh!

 

[scarecrow1]

For me, I'm not too fond of the pass, and yet it is a very deceptive control and very useful...once you have it down very well. Until then, I would use other controls. Work on your pass, but use other controls for the time being.

As for the double undercut, I really dislike it, and disagree with people who say it's a good control. I think in certain situations it's good, but not in most. The fact is, it's improbable for the card to be on top after the move (in the specs mind). Not impossible. With the classic pass (or other controls where the deck "doesn't move") in the specs mind it's impossible for the card to be on top. It doesn't even cross there mind. There is no doubt to them that the card is in the middle.
With the double undercut, people might not suspect it, but in the back of their subconscious mind, there will be a thought that the card could be on top (even if they thought the cuts were random).

Anyway, hope you find a control that you like. Also practice isn't a bad idea. Neither is misdirection

Cheers

 

[Jacob L]

Practice and misdirection. Also it doesn't matter if your mom sees it, if she knows what your hands do when you do your pass, it doesn't mean she saw the pass per say, but rather that she knows you did the pass. That just happens because you practiced on her, so she knows whats up. I practice on my brother, I'll say "Hey hows my pass?" *does pass* he says "Nice, I couldn't see it." So he knows what I'm doing but doesn't necessarily see it. I hope that all made sense.

Also, I saw Mike Hankins post once on a thread like this. He said him and Dan Hauss were at a bar, and Hauss was doing a trick and as the card was put back he asked "Do you know what a pass is?" as he does the pass. He looks at the spectator while he says this and it flies right by them. They are reacting like "Uhh...what?" Dan says "Nevermind" and continues on. Dirty work is done.

To sum it up, its all about timing and misdirection.

Hope this helps!

 

[Kindredfool]

I do a lot of tabled work, so my sleight of hand is very card cheating techniques, what i tend to do is the old riffle control, break,cut,riffle. (dont wanna give too much away) One control i LOVE to use is the palm cut (if i remember correctly its taught in royal road to card magic) all i do is berg palm the spectators card and cut the deck, they beleive its in the middle, then i just dump the palmed card on when i pick the deck up, all the while using misdirection by means of eye contact or patter. (If im revealing too much moderators just remove it)

Anyway, ive just realised...this is a rather old thread, sorry people for "Reviving" an old thread.....