One handed palm help

Jan 25, 2018
7
2
For those of you familiar with it, I'm having trouble getting the card in it's initial stages of the sleight to actually swing out of the deck if you know what I mean. It just refuses to even move. Can anyone pm me and help. Thanks !
 

Jason England

Elite Member
May 6, 2015
51
128
It's important to understand that there is a difference between what you do when you're learning a move and what you do when you're performing a move that you've already learned.

To learn the one-hand top palm, go ahead and practice the basic action by side-jogging the top card a small amount over the right side of the deck. You eventually won't need to do this, but it's a good way to get a feel for the action.

This side-jogging of the top card does 2 things: First of all, it enables the right pinky to push down on the exposed upper right corner of the card. This gives you the necessary leverage to maneuver the card up and into the palm. Second, it allows for a tiny bit of extra clearance at the lower left end of the deck where the right thumb is positioned. Sometimes the corner of the card can hang up on the thumb during the execution of the sleight. The small side-jog helps to prevent this.

Start off with perhaps twice the width of a white border. Over time, reduce this to the width of the border. Eventually, you'll be able to eliminate the side-jog entirely.

And of course, there's very few things in card magic that won't work themselves out with a few hundred thousand repetitions.

Jason
 
Jan 25, 2018
7
2
Thank you, my problem is that I can't side-jog it because it won't clear the thumb. There's just too much pressure holding the deck with one hand.
 
Jul 26, 2016
571
795
Thank you, my problem is that I can't side-jog it because it won't clear the thumb. There's just too much pressure holding the deck with one hand.

OK, I've thought about your dilemma with the deck in my hand so I could try to picture it. I believe the solution may lie in a 3-fold strategy: (1) a much lighter grip on the deck, so that there is much less resistance offered by your thumb; (2) pushing upward rather than sideways with your little finger to help achieve clearance from the thumb; and (3) you may not be getting enough friction against the card with your little finger, so try moistening your finger before the move (e.g. by touching the finger lightly to your tongue or the inside of your lower lip, or have a cold drink at hand, like a cola, beer or even a glass of ice water, which will naturally impart moisture to your fingers in the act of taking a sip).
 
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Jan 25, 2018
7
2
OK, I've thought about your dilemma with the deck in my hand so I could try to picture it. I believe the solution may lie in a 3-fold strategy: (1) a much lighter grip on the deck, so that there is much less resistance offered by your thumb; (2) pushing upward rather than sideways with your little finger to help achieve clearance from the thumb; and (3) you may not be getting enough friction against the card with your little finger, so try moistening your finger before the move (e.g. by touching the finger lightly to your tongue or the inside of your lower lip, or have a cold drink at hand, like a cola, beer or even a glass of ice water, which will naturally impart moisture to your fingers in the act of taking a sip).
Hey, thank you so much, moistening my pinky helped me move the card more easily. Awesome! :)
 

Jason England

Elite Member
May 6, 2015
51
128
When I wrote to side-jog the top card, I meant using your other hand! That way you could practice the feel of having the top card clearing your thumb without actually having to execute the actions of the one-handed top palm. Once you've done that a few dozen or perhaps a few hundred times, you would be in a better position to return to trying to get the entire action to work with just one hand.

But it seems like perhaps you were holding the deck too tightly and needed increased friction because of dry skin. All good tips.

Jason
 
Aug 6, 2017
253
158
When I wrote to side-jog the top card, I meant using your other hand! That way you could practice the feel of having the top card clearing your thumb without actually having to execute the actions of the one-handed top palm. Once you've done that a few dozen or perhaps a few hundred times, you would be in a better position to return to trying to get the entire action to work with just one hand.

But it seems like perhaps you were holding the deck too tightly and needed increased friction because of dry skin. All good tips.

Jason


I am having a little trouble learning this too. So basically you start as a two handed top palm by pushing the card out, then you take the other hand away and do the motion?
 
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