How to do a perfect faro? Need help!

kolebear · Jul 5, 2017

I have just memorized Mnemonica from Juan Tamariz, and it is amazing! I really love Mnemonicosis and Divination/Jumbled Divination, as well as ACAAN, and am really amazed by an "imaginary card game routine" (forget what it is called) that the spectator can actually shuffle the memorized deck and yet you can still know what their hand is! It is ingenious!
The problem is, I want to open a new deck, perform 4 outfaros and some cuts in front of the spectator, and be ready! The problem is, I don't know how to perfectly outfaro cards by cutting the cards precisely. Is there any material where I can learn how to do a perfect faro shuffle? I know how to faro cards for a quick shuffle/for cardistry, but I can't dead cut the deck. I see Jason England has a tutorial on dead cutting, but I am not sure what he teaches in the tutorial.

WitchDocIsIn · Jul 5, 2017

There's material out there for it, but really it's just practice.

Start with the deck in New Deck Order, so you know the kings are in the middle. Hold the deck with your thumbs at the short ends, and your fingers at other short end. Try to split the deck in half, and see which card you can see. If it's the King of Clubs, you're good. If it's not, how many cards is it from the KoC? Should be easy to figure out right away as they are in order.

Keep doing that until you can consistently cut to the middle card. Then, if you so desire, practice with a different number of cards the same way.

Fun way (if you're a geek like me) to practice this: If you can do 8 perfect Faros in a row, the deck will be back to New Deck Order. I do this with every deck I open, because that 8th Faro is like pure magic to me.

kolebear · Jul 5, 2017

Thanks so much!

CarySchlaffman · Jul 11, 2017

faro from the corners too it helps alot

Maaz Hasan · Jul 11, 2017

For the cutting part, cut the deck and hold the 2 packets next to each other. With practice, you will actually be able to see exactly how many more cards one packet has more than the other (just remember that you decrease this number by 2 everytime you move a card over, because 1 packet decreases, 1 packet increases). Like Cary said earlier, corners really help.

There are 2 chapters in Marlo's Revolutionary Card Technique on Faroing (6 & 7). If you really want, you could take a look at em, but I think your gonna be fine without reading them

CarySchlaffman · Jul 11, 2017

Farrowing from the bottom of the deck helps alot too

kolebear · Jul 11, 2017

Thanks guys. I have achieved perfect faroing thanks to you guys.

obrienmagic · Jul 11, 2017

kolebear said:
where I can learn how to do a perfect faro shuffle?

Watch this video. My good friend Jeremy Griffith teaches 2 versions he uses to achieve a perfect faro as well as explains the difference between "traditional" and "modern" cut decks.