A Short Exhibition of Sleight of Hand

[Michael Kras]

Hey everyone! This video exhibits Guy Hollingworth's first shift method from his book Drawing Room Deceptions, as well as Ed Marlo's famous Snap Change. It is purely a technical video and I'd love to hear thoughts on it. Thank you!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5aXb872-ZA

Michael Kras

 

[Robert//Livingston]

Well, the DL was good..

The shift had way to much coverage to not be suspicious, and the snap change clean-up was not very good imo.

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

Agreed on all accounts.

The shift was invisible, but the handling is so odd that I'm not sure it would ever be unnoticeable. Or perhaps, un-suspectable would be a better way to put it. I don't know the exact quote, but "the sleight should never be suspected, let alone detected." This is why the classic pass was intended to be executed with the hands moving as little as possible. All the covers were added later to make up for imperfect technique.

With the snap change. The change itself was very smooth, but then you appear to reach up with the deck and take something from your hand that's behind the card you're currently showing. What else could that be, other than another card? Try to make that clean up motion smoother. Meaning, don't make it two separate things, where you grab the indifferent card, then grab the selection. Make it so it looks like you're just grabbing the selection, and in that motion grab the indifferent card as well.

Not sure this is entirely coherent, as I'm about half asleep while I type this, but I hope I got my point across.

 

[Michael Kras]

Agreed on all accounts.

The shift was invisible, but the handling is so odd that I'm not sure it would ever be unnoticeable. Or perhaps, un-suspectable would be a better way to put it. I don't know the exact quote, but "the sleight should never be suspected, let alone detected." This is why the classic pass was intended to be executed with the hands moving as little as possible. All the covers were added later to make up for imperfect technique.

With the snap change. The change itself was very smooth, but then you appear to reach up with the deck and take something from your hand that's behind the card you're currently showing. What else could that be, other than another card? Try to make that clean up motion smoother. Meaning, don't make it two separate things, where you grab the indifferent card, then grab the selection. Make it so it looks like you're just grabbing the selection, and in that motion grab the indifferent card as well.

Not sure this is entirely coherent, as I'm about half asleep while I type this, but I hope I got my point across.

Thank you sir, that did make a lot of sense and I appreciate it... it's something I'll work on.

Honestly, if you were to ask me if I ever use this shift in real life, my answer would be "seldom". The only reason I've worked so hard on it is because it's incredibly clever and addictive, and VERY deceptive although it's done in the context of an all-around square up action. This video merely showcases the shift because I know some of the technique guys appreciate stuff like this.