Advice on the Glide (from Royal Road)

[leecreighton]

I’m reminded again why I chose to use bridge cards at 18 when I started card magic. Returning to it at 50, I am switching to Poker size. No going back.

The glide as described in Royal Road (Left Hand holds the deck with thumb and index finders; the rest of the fingers are used to execute the glide) really seems impossible to me after about four days of work. My hands are just so Trump sizes that I can barely move the bottom card at all. When I do, I end up with a stairstep of the bottom cards, not the displacement of the single bottom card.

So I’m soliciting advice from:
(1)people doing the move with small hands
(2)people who struggled with the move, but eventually overcame it
(3)maybe an alternate way to do the slide, aside from the Royal Road to Card Magic’a suggestion. (They also include a side-to-side glide rather than the traditional, which seems even harder than the traditional one.)

I’m using tons of moisturizer, but I don’t feel this sleight is any better because of dryness level. It’s more that I can’t get enough finger area on the cards because I don’t possess much length of finger.

I’ve got copies of Card College, which arrived after I stopped studying close-up magic many years ago. Just glancing through it doesn’t make me feel that switching to it would help me more.

Thanks, as ever.

 

[JakeTay10r]

I have really long fingers, which usually helps me in most cardistry and magic. But I can't really perform the Glide at all.
When I was learning it, I kept getting really really frustrated, so I developed on my own a way to perform it that is a little bit easier. I don't know if this will help you because you have smaller hands, but I hope it does!

What I do is I hold the deck in my left hand in a really high grip, then using my middle and ring fingers I pivot the card around the base of my thumb to the left. My thumb obscures the view of the moved card and allows for a clean modified glide.
I hope this helped!
I tried to attach a Picture, but I can't find a small enough format, Ill try again so you see what I mean.

 

[Maaz Hasan]

Theoretically, all you need to do the glide is just one finger. I learned to do it with just my pinky at first, and when I got more comfortable with it, I eventually just got the other fingers on it. Try and use the more natural hold, not exactly what it says. Also, try lightly licking your finger, just like you would if a page got stuck in a book.

Also, I think it might be more natural to do it with your right hand, depending on which hand you hold your Biddle Grip in.

 

[JakeTay10r]

Whoa! Right hand grip is way easier!! Thanks man!!!

 

[DavidL11229]

I’m reminded again why I chose to use bridge cards at 18 when I started card magic. Returning to it at 50, I am switching to Poker size. No going back.

The glide as described in Royal Road (Left Hand holds the deck with thumb and index finders; the rest of the fingers are used to execute the glide) really seems impossible to me after about four days of work. My hands are just so Trump sizes that I can barely move the bottom card at all. When I do, I end up with a stairstep of the bottom cards, not the displacement of the single bottom card.

So I’m soliciting advice from:
(1)people doing the move with small hands
(2)people who struggled with the move, but eventually overcame it
(3)maybe an alternate way to do the slide, aside from the Royal Road to Card Magic’a suggestion. (They also include a side-to-side glide rather than the traditional, which seems even harder than the traditional one.)

I’m using tons of moisturizer, but I don’t feel this sleight is any better because of dryness level. It’s more that I can’t get enough finger area on the cards because I don’t possess much length of finger.

I’ve got copies of Card College, which arrived after I stopped studying close-up magic many years ago. Just glancing through it doesn’t make me feel that switching to it would help me more.

Thanks, as ever.

Make sure you are using new cards and try different types of cards too. It sounds like you might want something low friction until you get the hang of it.

 

[RealityOne]

Your motion to deal the card from the bottom is to reach over with your right hand, slide your fingers under the deck, make contact with the front middle of the card with your index finger and pull the card forward. You can push the card back with your right middle finger before pulling the card you are dealing forward with your index finger.