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Really? As far as my experimentation goes, even the slightest rubbing of one card against another will make some noise, albeit imperceptible in normal working conditions. Because the original Cardini change doesn't require any contact between the two cards to be changed, it can happen literally...

I would say that the original Cardini Snap Change has very different mechanics from the Ego Change. Dan and Dave's variation of the Cardini Change moves it closer to the Ego change by moving the break to the fourth finger from the third finger. The Cardini change (and it's variation) can be...

You could start with the modern paperback editions of Royal Road, Erdnase, Expert Card Technique, Card Manipulations, More Card Manipulations and Card Control. Have a look at the Gambler's Book Club website where you can pick up a load of paperback editions of classic texts pretty cheaply. Also...

I used to get annoyed by ignorance, but, to be perfectly honest, I quite like the fact that a lot of young magicians can't be bothered to read and research. It means that there are vast swathes of sleights and effects that are only available to those of us willing to put the effort in. True...

Erdnase has what is essentially a tabled multiple shift under the heading "Ordinary Methods of Stocking, Locating and Securing", where he describes a technique in which cards are jogged and then controlled with a running cut.

I've already got a fair few nice magical mementos, like Scarne on Cards autographed by John Scarne, and some Dai Vernon books autographed by Dai Vernon, but I think the best one would be the legendary copy of Erdnase, that apparently exists somewhere, that has annotations in by Ed Marlo AND Dai...

Sorry to be off-topic, but do you know how much extra stuff there is in the new edition? I've only got the old comb-bound version.

Not specifically, but I've been playing with a handshake induction for a while, so over time I imagine I'll incorporate some ideas from there.

As I understand the descriptions, the Horizontal Turn Cut allows for multiple revolutions, but a more awkward close, because the index finger goes past the front end of the deck, which is one thing Tudor specifically advises against in the execution of his cut. I believe that the Horizontal Turn...

Have a look at Reality is Plastic by Anthony Jacquin. I only came across this recently, and it's really good. It's aimed at the beginner in this kind of thing and teaches a load of good impromptu hypnosis techniques, as well as some background on what hypnosis is and why it works. The book also...

I'm guessing you mean strip cuts rather than strip outs? I don't think it's possible to choose one over the other. If done well, they both acheive a convincing illusion of a random, although dextrous, series of cuts. However, I personally use up-the-ladder, because I find it flows better with...

Hopefully Allen Ackerman's rather than the Wesley James one...

I was just wondering how often you find it works for you. I tend to find that I can feel in advance whether a suggestion's going to work, I don't know whether that's to do with confidence or rapport or what, but stuff like that seems to hit about 80% of the time for me.

I don't think it's that hard to get an acceptable push-through shuffle. Of course, if you want to get an invisible brief or do anything advanced with it, that will take longer. I would say it's definitely worth adding to your arsenal. I think that, in the context of a gambling routine, in which...

Yeah, I've got a few copies, including the pocket edition. The only problem with that one is that it's got gilt-edged pages, and it looks so nice I don't really want to carry it round in my pocket and let it get all beaten up...I might have to get a couple of backup copies. My view on...

This is the kind of book that you probably won't fully understand the first time you read it. Not only because it was published in 1902, and therefore containing occasionally archaic language, but because there is so much finesse and subtlety packed into the descriptions of each technique...

Very nicely done. Do you hit it 100% of the time? I find with those kind of psychological forces they can't really be guaranteed.

On the Ego change, I saw an old Dai Vernon lecture video recently where he gave a subtlety for reversing a card on the bottom of the deck, which fits the Ego change perfectly. Rather than cleaning up by moving your left fingers to the left, move the deck to the right. It makes it look so much...

Thanks very much for your advice. Having just reread the one-hand bottom description, I still think it may be susceptible of both interpretations. However, I concede, I may have got over-zealous in trying to find something new in Erdnase and twisted the text to fit my theory. Oh, well, back to...

Thanks Jason. I would be very interested to find out what Mr Freeman has to say about this. Over the last year or so I've been trying to go over Erdnase with an open mind, reading the words without allowing other people's views on the text cloud my thinking. I read the "up and slightly inwards"...