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OK, I haven't got the Gene Maze book so I don't know how he describes his grip, but Erdnase's description is that the "middle of the first joint of the second finger" is against the corner. Now, based on the illustrations, this does allow for the possiblity that the pressure applied by this...

Regardless of how much practice you've put in, or how much you've written on the subject, it doesn't change the description as written by Erdnase, and there is certainly room for differing interpretations. In addition, Jason England (with 20 years of practice) performs the Erdnase two-hand...

Ah, I see. I think I still managed to stumble to the answer even though I didn't really get the question. If you grip the deck with the first finger, it makes it harder to extract the bottom card, because it's always going to put pressure on the outer left corner. This can add noise and reduce...

Do you mean, why is the second finger round the front of the deck to support it, rather than just the first (as in mechanics grip)? If that is what you mean, then there are a number of benefits. First, and most obviously, it provides more cover at the front of the deck. Second, it makes the...

In my opinion it's never to early in your magic life to dip your toe into the ocean of Erdnase. Don't expect to understand or appreciate much of it to begin with, but it's something you will keep coming back to over and over again, seeing something new each time. However, Royal Road is required...

Yeah, I think you should take the video down, practice more and refilm it. I've been using that final switch technique for a while and you've kind of exposed it.

I've been playing with magic for a few years now. And that's what I mean, I've just been playing, it's never coalesced into anything more than something to make myself seem impressive and get some ego-massaging reactions. 2008 was the year of my epiphany when I realised what it was that I'd been...

It's pretty much the Paul Rosini false cut, and if you perform it casually, as you would a double undercut or something like that, it really flies.

Just a small point on what Romeo said. Derren Brown has never claimed to use NLP, and, in fact, very rarely explicitly mentions hypnosis. He allows his audience to draw conclusions regarding his methods for themselves. To be honest, if you're a magician wanting to achieve mind control effects...

I thought De'vo was going to have a change of heart after his health problems (unintended pun, but still quite funny). Obviously he's forgotten all about that. The 2003 post he linked to where he described his son's Sybil with fans is very vague about what the concept actually entails and...

If you're sure you want books then for mucking, go with Hand Mucking by George Joseph. However, Tony Giorgio's Ultimate Work DVDs are brilliant and have some moves that I think you'd be hard pressed to find anywhere else. Whereas Joseph's book is more aimed at the magician, Giorgio's material...

It seems that something fundamental about the definition of artist has been missed. A lot of people seem to be arguing, or at least stating, that they themselves are artists. To my mind, you are an artist when OTHER PEOPLE say you are. Art is a form of expression, sending a message. There is no...

Juggling can be an art. Magic can be an art. Painting can be an art. However, they aren't automatically art. People use the term "arts" for these things because that's what they're intended to be. If someone throws a ball in the air and catches it, that's not art. If someone shows you their pass...

I agree completely Steerpike, although maybe I wouldn't have put it in quite such an inflammatory way. In order for something to be art, it needs to express something above and beyond it's own beauty, or lack of it. The performance of a card flourish or trick is not necessarily art, however...

I've been doing the DPS for a while now, learned from Erdnase and Carney on Palming. Without wanting to come across arrogant, I'm not bad at it. On a good day maybe even with less finger-flutter than Mr England's first couple of demos on the 1-on-1 trailer. However, I'm still considering buying...

Unless you're working for young children or those requiring educational support, I would categorically dispute this. To be fair, some audience members may conclude that they come from the sleeve or that some gimmickry is involved, but if it is demonstrated that the cards are genuine and the...

As a slight addendum to my previous post, I believe that the audience can still experience magic even if they know (or believe) the effect is acheived by sleight-of-hand. Something does not have to deceive in order to astonish. The prime example of this maxim is Derren Brown. Many of his...

I think any stage manipulator who thinks the audience doesn't know that the cards are somehow concealed in their hand are fooling themselves. Basically, this kind of manipulation is just a display of dexterity.

Snorri, do you have the names of any sources for these old Z cuts? I know Herb Zarrow and Gianni Mattiolo had a couple of flourish cuts published in Apocalypse, but I don't know of any two-hand flourish cuts published much further back than that, so I'd be interested to track them down.

As Heckler said, it's not really possible to learn NLP visually, given that it's to do with the structure of language. I would recommend the early works of Ricahrd Bandler and John Grinder (before Richard Bandler got all messianic about it), or, as a basic introduction, get Sleight of Mind by...