An essay on the Classic Pass

Sep 1, 2007
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Belgrade, Serbia
I disagree. A 'Pass' has a lot of options a 'Cull' and 'Side Steal' don't have and vice versa. It's not just a single card control, it's also a false cut, it also retains the deck in full order, you can control as many cards as you like to wherever you want, and if done correctly it doesn't look like anything occured at all.

True. And is also done a lot fasted than a Cull or a Side Steal. Although I could never compare a Cull and a Pass because they are apple and oranges.
 
Jan 1, 2009
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Back in Time
But why would you want to do it? What exactly is the reason for learning it? If you say to impress laypeople with it. Guess what, lay people don't care about how fast or good you are. They don't think like magicians, they see the bigger picture. It's just redundant to use it for a card control or pretty much what most kids these days tend to think it's used for.
 
Jan 12, 2010
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But why would you want to do it? What exactly is the reason for learning it? If you say to impress laypeople with it. Guess what, lay people don't care about how fast or good you are. They don't think like magicians, they see the bigger picture. It's just redundant to use it for a card control or pretty much what most kids these days tend to think it's used for.
It's awesome to be able to show a selection really going into the middle of the deck. It adds so much to any 'ACR'. And because of its maaaaany different uses, if you learn the 'Pass' you don't have to learn many other moves instead. This could also add consistency to your magic and spectators care a lot about that because it makes everything a whole lot less suspicious as long as you do it right.

To be honest, you seem to be stuck to the thought of it being a card control but it is so much more than that. You should know better than those kids.
 
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Sep 1, 2007
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Belgrade, Serbia
You can do the exact same thing with a Side Steal. Work Smarter, Not harder.

True, but first of all, Side Steal look a lot more like a move than a pass does (talking about good side steal and good pass), and second, with Side Steal you cannot get the card to the bottom of the deck, or ie. 4th from the top etc...
 
Jul 13, 2009
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A good, proper sidesteal takes just as much work and time as a classic pass. Also Toby you most definitely can sidesteal and position a card X number of cards from the top or bottom, you can also secretly reverse said card undetected. Still I feel that both the classic and Sidesteal should be learned by a magicians, who focuses on sleight of hand, simply because they both require different disciplines and both train your fingers to be more dexterous.
 
Jan 12, 2010
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And once again we are back on talking about the 'Pass' as just a control rather than about all its other uses. I just hope Randy and everyone else who use the 'Side Steal' as a control realize that they in fact take the card out of the deck to put it back in. To me, that sounds like a very unneccessary action and one action too many.

As the 'Pass' is meant to be a false cut and control and constructed this way, a steal is meant and constructed to get a card out of the deck and either putting it somewhere else (as in a 'Card To Pocket' effect) or putting it back in or on the deck later (for instance when you want the spectator to shuffle the deck or when you want to turn over the deck to have the card facing the other way). It's called a 'Steal' for a reason.

Anyhow, this thread is obviously about the 'Classic Pass' rather than about the 'Side Steal' and comparing the 'Classic Pass' with any other sleight for that matter. I'm curious to know what anyone thinks about my statement that the 'Classic Pass' and its original handlings are outdated, as made on the previous page.
 
Jul 8, 2008
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Tintagel
I'm curious to know what anyone thinks about my statement that the 'Classic Pass' and its original handlings are outdated, as made on the previous page.

I agree full heartedly with your opinion sleights such as the pass cannot be learnt like the glide or glimpse. A person can only be truly proficient at the pass if they adapt it exactly to their own hands, to their style. That is the reason behind all the different pass techniques that continue being released they are still based on the core concept but are different enough to have there own qualities.

When I first started to learn the pass I used the core idea the Braue pass in expert card technique but I changed the method constantly until I reached a point where my pass was extremely practical to use in a performing situation. My pass I use can't be found as a single item in text as I have grabbed all the different sources gaining inspiration from everywhere, Youell, Kamm, England, Nelson, Braue, Erdanse, Fisher and most importantly the participants I perform for! I look forward to hear your thoughts on the pass Mark as you do have a great handling.
 
Jul 13, 2009
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The core mechanics of any variation of the classic pass is used in the variations, doesn't make it any different then the original pass. The original handelings are not outdated and are still effective in any situation. All the "Variants" are just add ons and quirks other magicians have added to help them conceal the classic pass, which really is unneeded since the pass is supposed to be done on an off beat. What I am saying is the classic pass is definitely not outdated.
 
Jan 12, 2010
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I agree full heartedly with your opinion sleights such as the pass cannot be learnt like the glide or glimpse. A person can only be truly proficient at the pass if they adapt it exactly to their own hands, to their style. That is the reason behind all the different pass techniques that continue being released they are still based on the core concept but are different enough to have there own qualities.

When I first started to learn the pass I used the core idea the Braue pass in expert card technique but I changed the method constantly until I reached a point where my pass was extremely practical to use in a performing situation. My pass I use can't be found as a single item in text as I have grabbed all the different sources gaining inspiration from everywhere, Youell, Kamm, England, Nelson, Braue, Erdanse, Fisher and most importantly the participants I perform for! I look forward to hear your thoughts on the pass Mark as you do have a great handling.

Thank you for the reply and compliment, Sir. Very wise words too. I didn't exactly mean it like that but it's definitely a great thing and an absolute must that every magician adjusts the 'Pass' to themselves. I continuously tell people that. On top of that, I share my own theories, tips and tricks with them which would automatically make their 'Passes' easier, faster and solid so they won't have to spend years or even just months on the move. I don't really get why so many people still think they have to do a 'Pass' the exact same way it was written down, taught in any video or performed by their favorite magicians. Many of them will end up nowhere with it.

The core mechanics of any variation of the classic pass is used in the variations, doesn't make it any different then the original pass. The original handelings are not outdated and are still effective in any situation. All the "Variants" are just add ons and quirks other magicians have added to help them conceal the classic pass, which really is unneeded since the pass is supposed to be done on an off beat. What I am saying is the classic pass is definitely not outdated.
Hmmm.. yes and no. I'd say that the original handlings are getting rusty due to the reasons I mentioned in my first post. The core concept obviously still is the same (or else it wouldn't be a 'Pass' anymore), but I adjusted it to a more modern kind of magic rather than keeping them the classic way. Therefore, I wouldn't call what I do the 'Classic Pass'.
 
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Jul 13, 2009
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Hmmm.. yes and no. I'd say that the original handlings are getting rusty due to the reasons I mentioned in my first post.

Yeah I saw your original post and some of the things that you mentioned I'd love to comment on.

"Over time, the spectator's way of looking at magic has changed and still is changing every day. Laymen are getting much more into burning the magician's hands compared to in the past in which they had a much more panoramic view towards our art."

Yes the views are changing toward magic. However, does it seem a bit parnoid to believe that your spectators are burning your hands All the time? Sure, spectators burn your hands, especially if your attitude as you perform magic taunts your participants to try and figure out how you are doing the magic. But, they are not always burning your hands and as a good magic performer you should be able to guage when the right time or even if it is the right crowd to perform something as sleight heavy/ angle sensitive as a pass.

"Also the magician's way of performing magic is changing in a similar way. The 'Classic Pass' was never meant nor constructed to be an in-your-face and show-off kind of sleight, yet that is what it became."

I simply do not agree completely with this. I've never witnessed a magician performing a classic pass as a show off of skill in front of laypeople. If you know of people who do that, kindly tell them, they're doing it wrong. The classic pass is a utility move that invisibly controls a card or a block of cards to the top or bottom of the deck. I hate, HATE, seeing people use the classic pass as a color change. Stop being a Brad Christian and not use this wonderful utility move as one of the literally thousands of ways to do a color change.

"Not to forget that cardistry is bigger than ever before, and fast fingers are a whole lot faster now too. There is a lot more magic involved when doing something slowly than to give the spectators a feeling that you just have very fast fingers and confirming that by doing a 'Classic Pass' the classic way."

So when you hold a deck in both hands and seem to do nothing and then you hold a deck in two hands and either do a riffle, rock or jiggle, that is better then the former? The Classic pass is supposed to look moveless and undetected by your participants. To compare it to the flashiness of cardistry isn't a good comparison because of the great contrast in what the move should be. It isn't as big of a movement as say the one handed shift (source please), or Charlier cut.
 
Jan 12, 2010
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"Over time, the spectator's way of looking at magic has changed and still is changing every day. Laymen are getting much more into burning the magician's hands compared to in the past in which they had a much more panoramic view towards our art."

Yes the views are changing toward magic. However, does it seem a bit parnoid to believe that your spectators are burning your hands All the time? Sure, spectators burn your hands, especially if your attitude as you perform magic taunts your participants to try and figure out how you are doing the magic. But, they are not always burning your hands and as a good magic performer you should be able to guage when the right time or even if it is the right crowd to perform something as sleight heavy/ angle sensitive as a pass.
Why exactly would you want to do this? Why not doing something more practical, easier, with the exact same options as it still is a 'Pass', without needing to worry about timing, people burning your hands, and angles (although, a mastered 'Pass' already shouldn't be angle sensitive)?

It's not that spectators would ever care about a sleight being heavier or not. And if a performer gets all obsessed with himself having executed a 'Classic Pass' at the right moment I'd say he has gone insane. You sure could use the 'Classic Pass' and its classic handlings to test your audience control but there are other sleights for that as well.

"Also the magician's way of performing magic is changing in a similar way. The 'Classic Pass' was never meant nor constructed to be an in-your-face and show-off kind of sleight, yet that is what it became."

I simply do not agree completely with this. I've never witnessed a magician performing a classic pass as a show off of skill in front of laypeople. If you know of people who do that, kindly tell them, they're doing it wrong. The classic pass is a utility move that invisibly controls a card or a block of cards to the top or bottom of the deck. I hate, HATE, seeing people use the classic pass as a color change. Stop being a Brad Christian and not use this wonderful utility move as one of the literally thousands of ways to do a color change.
I have witnessed it a lot and I've always suggested those magicians to stop doing it face-up as it will always show that, and when exactly a move has been executed. Only very few people can make it look good too, but thankfully the shift causes the spectator's reactions to fade on this kind of performance over time so I guess that makes those magicians stop performing it like that.

The main issue is that the 'Classic Pass' will always be done when the hands come together and there is no unexpected timing possibility for it. So I definitely agree with you on this.

"Not to forget that cardistry is bigger than ever before, and fast fingers are a whole lot faster now too. There is a lot more magic involved when doing something slowly than to give the spectators a feeling that you just have very fast fingers and confirming that by doing a 'Classic Pass' the classic way."

So when you hold a deck in both hands and seem to do nothing and then you hold a deck in two hands and either do a riffle, rock or jiggle, that is better then the former? The Classic pass is supposed to look moveless and undetected by your participants. To compare it to the flashiness of cardistry isn't a good comparison because of the great contrast in what the move should be. It isn't as big of a movement as say the one handed shift (source please), or Charlier cut.
The 'Charlier Pass' isn't much bigger than the 'Classic Pass' in terms of motions and having both executed as 'Passes'. But what I tried to say is that I think magicians should differ themselves from cardists by not doing very fast (or even speed-requiring) handlings, even if they are secret and aren't supposed to be seen by your spectators.

And you can almost not watch a magic video on the internet anymore without bumping into a 'Classic Pass' video. Its nowadays status is pretty much like Chad Nelson's 'Clip Shift' which is also done a lot as a skill show-off by magicians all over the internet rather than being actually 'performed' (not necessarily meaning in a live performance). Of course those videos may be meant just for other magicians but in that case they could as well have been uploaded as unlisted videos and shared on magic forums only. It adds to the "look how good and fast I am (or try to be)". In the art of magic this is a big no, in the art of cardistry it's more than fine.

Unfortunately I have to admit that I have been part of this myself too, but I still like to keep it as magical as possible for laymen, and in this case for magicians too. I wouldn't upload a video of me doing the 'Pass' face-up or as a color change for the very reason stated in the previous paragraphs.
 
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Dec 20, 2009
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Mumbai, India
I honestly think that the 'Classic Pass' is outdated. We live in a modern society, one in which tomatoes and cucumbers are called vegetables rather than fruits. Why would we be so fascinated with something called the 'Classic Pass' and its classic handlings?

Over time, the spectator's way of looking at magic has changed and still is changing every day. Laymen are getting much more into burning the magician's hands compared to in the past in which they had a much more panoramic view towards our art. In parlor magic you would be still safe, but in close-up magic I would beg to differ. Of course it also depends on the culture you are living and performing in. I noticed that Western-Europe has shifted the most already, second comes the US, and Eastern-Europe and the rest of the world slowly follows now too.

Also the magician's way of performing magic is changing in a similar way. The 'Classic Pass' was never meant nor constructed to be an in-your-face and show-off kind of sleight, yet that is what it became. That is also how the 'Charlier Pass' became a 'One-Handed Cut' and a flourish instead of staying the secret sleight it once was. Not to forget that cardistry is bigger than ever before, and fast fingers are a whole lot faster now too. There is a lot more magic involved when doing something slowly than to give the spectators a feeling that you just have very fast fingers and confirming that by doing a 'Classic Pass' the classic way.

Due to the shifts of both the spectators' ways of looking towards the art and the magicians' ways of performing magic, the classic methods for the pass shouldn't be done in their original ways anymore. Definitely not in close-up magic, if it was up to me to say. Not only is it a waste of time to practice it for 10 years straight to finally have the 'Classic Pass' you always wanted, but a modern pass (using the same basics as the 'Classic Pass' but adjusting it to hand burning and in-your-face magic) is easier, less suspicious, more visual once done face-up, and just as solid. This also makes it less of a show-off move and saves the art of magic a little.

If you can wait a month or two for my re-release on this, or hook up with me on any instant messenger or on Tinychat, I can talk in a more detailed and exposed way about this. Personally, I would consider this thread to be exposure.


I agree with Mark, earlier magicians could knock peoples eyes out with their magic wands and prevent them from looking at their hands. But that isn't a possibility today (obviously).But seriously guys, Mark showed me his handling of the pass on tinychat, it is really great! Some of the things he mentioned have been published before, but his combinations and adjustments make the pass completely angle proof! Plus, it allows you to slow down your pass so you don't have to worry about doing it super-fast


All in all, I agree completely, definately going to be practicing this move more from now on!


Thanks Mark
 
Jul 13, 2009
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Well I guess street magic and closeup magicians need to carry a hand gun now to get them spectators to quit burning their hands. Some of the things that Mark has expressed I strongly disagree with, but that is just the nature of the beast. Glad you got another variation to work on.
 
Jan 1, 2009
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Back in Time
The only reason people are burning your hands is because you are a boring person and a boring performer. If they found YOU and your presentation entertaining you would be able to get away with the sloppiest pass in the world because you did it in the off beat. Seriously, you must be doing something incredibly wrong and just portraying what you do as a challenge to the spectators to try and catch you, rather than doing your job properly and entertaining them.
 
Sep 1, 2007
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Belgrade, Serbia
The only reason people are burning your hands is because you are a boring person and a boring performer. If they found YOU and your presentation entertaining you would be able to get away with the sloppiest pass in the world because you did it in the off beat. Seriously, you must be doing something incredibly wrong and just portraying what you do as a challenge to the spectators to try and catch you, rather than doing your job properly and entertaining them.

True. Or they are burning your hands because you are burning your hands. Spectators usually look where you look. But most magicians are so used to looking at their own hands while doing the move, because that is how they practice for hours at home. It's a bad habit. So if you want your spectators to stop looking at your hands, you need to stop looking at your hands.
Btw, pass was never meant to be done on an off beat. Like Vernon said, pass should be done as soon as your hands come together after squaring up the deck (or picking up the deck to cancel the cut). Aaron Fisher also talks about that. If you hold a break, and than you relax and wait for an off beat to do your pass, as soon as your hands come together to do the pass, everyone will look at the deck. So you definitely don't want that.
I agree with Mark, there is nothing wrong in trying to make your pass angle proof from all sides. I do my pass exactly the same as if I was just squaring up the cards. Watch yourself in the mirror, and see how you normally square up the cards, and then just make your pass look exactly the same. And then you put the card in the middle, "square up" the cards, and you're done. No need to worry about an off beat moment, no need to worry about your break, you can even table the deck down. But I guess that will require more practice and work, which some of the people here are not willing to do.
 
Jan 12, 2010
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I agree with Mark, earlier magicians could knock peoples eyes out with their magic wands and prevent them from looking at their hands. But that isn't a possibility today (obviously).But seriously guys, Mark showed me his handling of the pass on tinychat, it is really great! Some of the things he mentioned have been published before, but his combinations and adjustments make the pass completely angle proof! Plus, it allows you to slow down your pass so you don't have to worry about doing it super-fast

All in all, I agree completely, definately going to be practicing this move more from now on!

Thanks Mark
Thank you too!

Well I guess street magic and closeup magicians need to carry a hand gun now to get them spectators to quit burning their hands. Some of the things that Mark has expressed I strongly disagree with, but that is just the nature of the beast. Glad you got another variation to work on.
I doubt that we disagree on a whole lot of points. I don't support the poking-eyes-out-with-magic-wands nor the carying-hand-guns statements though. Just saying, hehe. What do you strongly disagree with? We don't necessarily have to find an agreement.

The only reason people are burning your hands is because you are a boring person and a boring performer. If they found YOU and your presentation entertaining you would be able to get away with the sloppiest pass in the world because you did it in the off beat. Seriously, you must be doing something incredibly wrong and just portraying what you do as a challenge to the spectators to try and catch you, rather than doing your job properly and entertaining them.
If you would've said that 5-10 years ago, I probably would've fully agreed. But the shift I explained in the first post I left in this thread means that more and more spectators start burning the magicians' hands automatically. People don't care to be fooled but in the end they don't want to feel stupid not knowing how you did it either. Magic got a lot more accessible in the past few years and close-up/street magic adds to that because it all happens so close to the spectators' eyes. They don't have any excuse to be fooled, nor could they put all the blame on the beautiful assistant you would've used on stage.

As I said in that first post, you would still be safe if you're a parlor (or stage) magician. This is because of the distance you have with your audience. For instance, it's easier to pull off some misdirection on spectators on the street because these spectators simply don't have full view, yet they are more focussed which means that making eye contact is getting much harder. Many times I have to do a mentalism or 'Card To Mouth' effect first before they will finally look me in my face while only 4 years ago that was so much easier and didn't require any effect. I talked with a whole lot of magicians in my area on this subject to be sure it was not just me. It wasn't, nor are any of those magicians boring performers.

You can be the most entertaining guy in the world but that doesn't automatically cancel out all the hand-burning. Sure, you may be located in an area where the shift isn't as noticable or active yet so for you it may as well not matter, but that doesn't mean that absolutely no one should be aware of it. To flat out say that having your hands burned has to do with being a boring performer or looking at your own hands (which I never do when executing a secret sleight, yet I must say that it's a very valid point Toby made) honestly doesn't make much sense to me. There are a whole lot of more factors to that.
 
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Mar 6, 2008
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A Land Down Under
There are so many things that I disagree with here, not to start anything just my opinion on the move. Firstly I use the pass a lot and in every conceivable situation. The pass is a close up sleight, first and foremost it can work on stage really well but usually under the guise of moving around. The hardest environment is defiantly stand up situations in my experience. Bob Cassidy said that the closer someone is the less they see and I could not agree more.

The biggest problem I have noticed with people who claim that they are getting caught in the process of performing a pass or any other sleight for that matter is the attitude in which they convey. Not just when the sleight is being performed but before and after the sleight is performed aswell. The best pass for any situations in my opinion is Greg Wilson's Backstage Pass, it is not difficult the move happeneds completely in the open, and most importantly when Greg performs the sleight he demonstrates a complete indifference towards the move. Why, because it is not important to him just like it should not be important to the audience. An other related example is Kreskin, the most common force of a playing card he uses is a Cross - Cut Force, however he sells it by making the whole process seem completely natural.

The other reason that people get caught is because they are trying to YouTube the magic for the audience. What I mean is they want to keep everything in the shot for their webcam. In the real world there is no camera angles and most importantly there is not frame. You can dictate how big or small you want it to be, even in the real world if you have a close up pad set up on the table. It is assumed that the pad is the stage / frame and this is true the magic has no reason to happen anywhere else. Aaron Fisher in one of his podcasts talks about this and how in performance he turns slightly to is right when executing the pass. Yes the magic should happen either on the pad or above it however we are forgetting that the magic (in the context of an ACR) is not when the pass occurs but when the card is shown to be on top.

In the context of using the pass face up as a colour change I have varying views on that. I use to use it all the time in the right context in things like the Cavorting Aces and things of that nature. Even then I still take the cards out of sight for a split second (wrist killslight turn to the right). Most of the time the audience will not notice this however if they do. I feel this helps for two reasons the first is that it covers the move and should hide the transposition of the packets. The other reason is if they notice it, it gives them the moment when the magic will occur.

The funny thing is that as I type each paragraph I get a new idea. I will stop now because I do not want to go off on too many tangents. (Plus I am a little lazy)
 
Jul 13, 2009
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Btw, pass was never meant to be done on an off beat. Like Vernon said, pass should be done as soon as your hands come together after squaring up the deck (or picking up the deck to cancel the cut). Aaron Fisher also talks about that. If you hold a break, and than you relax and wait for an off beat to do your pass, as soon as your hands come together to do the pass, everyone will look at the deck. So you definitely don't want that.

Yes, I agree and knew what Dai Vernon has said. But you can relax using both hands on the deck at once. To further something you spoke of earlier about magician's staring at their hands while performing I'd like to tell a bit of real life observations I've had working at Starbucks.

Starbucks is a fast paced environment, our store goes through an average of 300 drinks in an hour during the morning rush 6-10am. That is a lot of drinks! Needless to say we have to work as a team to get everything done in a timely manner. However, that is not what I want to get at. I work the drive through window, that is all I do. Now in this drive through, there is a camera at the speaker so we can see if there is actually a car has pulled up. I've noticed and seen many things people do in their cars while at the drive through, everything from cleaning up spittle to take a hit from a bong. One thing that I've noticed that always pulls their attention to the speaker, is a change of inflection in my voice. It never fails to get their attention from whatever they are doing.

Another thing is when they come to the window and they hand me their credit card or money. If I want them to look up from their purse or from wherever they are looking, I ask in a slightly elevated tone, "Would you like a receipt," While my hands make a slight jerk upward toward my head. They for the most part look me in the eye at that moment. You are probably wondering what this has to do with magic right?

Well body language is everything! That is what I am getting at. True the pass should be performed when your hands come together but it should also be performed on the offbeat. When you put the card into the middle of the deck, you want to at first catch the eyes of your spectators then look down. They'll more then likely turn their focus to the deck as you push the card into the center of the deck. Once your hands are together on the deck and the card is pushed squarely into the deck, use your body and voice to basically command the audience to look back up at your face. You could use a slight pulse upward as if pointing toward your face and accompany it with, "Cindy. You saw your card get pushed into the deck...." "Now that was a fair cut, wouldn't you agree, John did a good job making this harder for me." Yuck yuck pass is done.


Okie doe, onto the points I disagree with made by MarkH.


I honestly think that the 'Classic Pass' is outdated. We live in a modern society, one in which tomatoes and cucumbers are called vegetables rather than fruits. Why would we be so fascinated with something called the 'Classic Pass' and its classic handling?

First of all your description on modern society amused me to no end. Out of all the technological advances our society has made over the last sentinel you chose tomatoes and cucumber are fruits…Furthering, you say this statement, "Why would we be so fascinated with something called the 'Classic Pass' and its classic handling?" WHAT??? Sure at first glance Classic may be a turn off to most beginner magicians who don't know their left foot from the right foot, but as they continue on their either long lived journey or very short lived journey through magic, they'll soon discover the classic pass and it's importance for card magicians. It is the foundation of most "Modern day" passes and should be learned and mastered before moving onto more advanced techniques.


Over time, the spectator's way of looking at magic has changed and still is changing every day. Laymen are getting much more into burning the magician's hands compared to in the past in which they had a much more panoramic view towards our art.

Nope I don't agree with this one either. First of all, what do you mean by "panoramic view towards our art."? Secondly, spectators aren't becoming more hand burners now a day, magicians are becoming in your face magic douches. Pardon my wording. Magicians (talking about most peer and beginner magicians and street magic special wannabes) have no idea how to properly present a magic trick. Instead they either passively or bluntly state with their body language and verbiage taunt spectators to try and figure out what the magician is doing. That is no bueno.

In parlor magic you would be still safe,

Well durrrrrrr you are farther away from your spectators. This statement I agree with.

but in close-up magic I would beg to differ. Of course it also depends on the culture you are living and performing in. I noticed that Western-Europe has shifted the most already, second comes the US, and Eastern-Europe and the rest of the world slowly follows now too.

Follows what exactly? Close-up magicians can and do get away with performing the classic pass in it's classical handling still. I do it twice in an acr/card/deck to pocket and never been caught. Though admittedly I only perform it every so often since I now consider myself a hobbiest magician and magic enthusiast of 11+ years.

Also the magician's way of performing magic is changing...

This I agree with and that is it.

The 'Classic Pass' was never meant nor constructed to be an in-your-face and show-off kind of sleight,…

This I agree with.

yet that is what it became.

Zaaa? No it has not at all. When is the last time I've seen a close-up magician, in the traditional sense, perform the classic pass as a show off move? Um NEVER!!!!
It's supposed to be an invisible utility move to control a card or block of cards to the top or bottom of the deck. I am not sure where you are getting the idea that people are using the classic pass as a means to show off skill. *Turns a blind eye to the youtube videos*

That is also how the 'Charlier Pass' became a 'One-Handed Cut' and a flourish instead of staying the secret sleight it once was. Not to forget that cardistry is bigger than ever before, and fast fingers are a whole lot faster now too. There is a lot more magic involved when doing something slowly than to give the spectators a feeling that you just have very fast fingers and confirming that by doing a 'Classic Pass' the classic way.

You know what the key difference between the two passes are? One was meant for stage, the other was meant for closeup. The Charlier pass is a one handed shift or cut and always was. To compare a utility move of the classic pass to a move that was originally meant to be covered by the turning of your back to the audience is silly. The classic pass is not a show off move, but a stealth move and shouldn't even be made aware of in a performing environment and has nothing to do with cardistry or flourishing! If that was the case I'd of submitted a video of me performing the many variation of passes I know, montaged together with dana hocking music going in the background to one of the SNC flourishing videos!

Due to the shifts of both the spectators' ways of looking towards the art and the magicians' ways of performing magic, the classic methods for the pass shouldn't be done in their original ways anymore. Definitely not in close-up magic, if it was up to me to say.

Good thing it isn't yours to say.

If you can wait a month or two for my re-release on this, or hook up with me on any instant messenger or on Tinychat, I can talk in a more detailed and exposed way about this. Personally, I would consider this thread to be exposure.

Now this I really have to raise an eyebrow at. The fact that you may be coming out with another variation of pass as a means to make money makes you BIASED. You could be saying all of the above statements as a way to HYPE YOUR PRODUCT. You should understand my skepticism and why I am pushing my points.

Also what the **** is being exposed?????


But why would you want to do it? What exactly is the reason for learning it? If you say to impress laypeople with it. Guess what, lay people don't care about how fast or good you are. They don't think like magicians, they see the bigger picture. It's just redundant to use it for a card control or pretty much what most kids these days tend to think it's used for.

I agree with you Randy. But I still perform it as a control because I spent a lot of time learning it. Might as well use it right?


It's awesome to be able to show a selection really going into the middle of the deck. It adds so much to any 'ACR'. And because of its maaaaany different uses, if you learn the 'Pass' you don't have to learn many other moves instead. This could also add consistency to your magic and spectators care a lot about that because it makes everything a whole lot less suspicious as long as you do it right.

To be honest, you seem to be stuck to the thought of it being a card control but it is so much more than that. You should know better than those kids.

What can you use the pass for other then a card control. I don't mean as a "single card" control, but a control of cards or block of cards? Also I am beginning to believe you are not much older then me and i am 21 and still consider myself a "kid" compared to the humble elders of magic.
 
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