Just a quick note:
I may be wrong here, but from your brief description, it sounds like you're actually trying to learn the Ego Change, not the Cardini Change. Here's a short post I wrote a year or two ago that describes the differences. Note in particular number 4, which is where I made this inference from (since you talk about your pinky being too small - as for this problem, there's really not much you can do for now, but I think that for many sleights, magicians should feel free to modify slightly so as to suit their hands...).
Hey guys,
For once, a really short post from me. Over the time I've been here, every now and again a post has come up asking what the difference is between a Cardini Change and an Ego Change. And more often than every now and again, a video is posted claiming to be one, when it is in fact the other.
So I just wanted to basically note the key differences between the two. My observations are based off the Cardini Change as published in Hugard's Card Manipulations Series 3 and the Ego Change as taught on the Daniel Garcia Project Vol. 1. However, if I have made a mistake, please let me know.
1. Finger positioning: In a Cardini Change, the third (ring) finger is inserted below the top card, in what is essentially a large finger break. In an Ego Change, all fingers sit on the side of the deck/on top of the deck.
2. Change motion: In a Cardini Change, the top card is carried up and away before the cleanup takes place. In an Ego Change, the top card is carried down and pivoted before the cleanup takes place.
3. Finger motions: In a Cardini Change, the fingers are extended outwards. In an Ego Change, the fingers drag downwards.
4. The finger in question: In a Cardini Change, the ring finger does the work. In an Ego Change, the pinky does the work, pivoting off the middle finger.
I hope this clears up what the differences are between the two changes! They are of course very similar, and both very good; it's a matter of preference picking between them. However, know which one you're picking to avoid looking like a novice.