Is this a good excuse for NOT palming?

Feb 9, 2009
133
0
Reno, NV
My hands are small. Lengthwise, it's decent. The width, however, is horrible. I have skinny fingers.

Let me show you them:
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff285/FaltzerZX/untitled-2.jpg

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff285/FaltzerZX/untitled-3.jpg

In picture 1, you can literally see the 4-5 holes between my fingers, those are my fingers well closed.

In picture 2, you see a card in comparison. My fingers do not cover up the width of a card. My fingers are way too skinny, a side will stick out in one end no matter what, if I palm it really deep in my palm, a corner will still show.
 

ChrisKenner

theory11 artist
Aug 31, 2007
106
1
Palming is not the end all be all of card magic. I have done magic my whole life and very very rarely do a trick that I don't have an alternate method (almost always better) without palming.

Don't get me wrong I love playing with palms but they sort of scare me. I feel like there is a big red arrow hovering over my hand flashing every time I hide a card in my hand.

So keep working on everything else. Trust me there is plenty to keep you busy.


Chris
 
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Jan 1, 2009
2,241
3
Back in Time
Jay Sankey has small hands and he is still able to palm cards pretty good. It's all about misdirection and having actions that go along with palming the card (IE; reaching into your pocket for the card or your wallet.)
 

Jv

Jan 11, 2008
1,223
26
No, no , no this is not an excuse not to palm a card. It all matters about presentation and misdirection in a case or mainly all like this. Palming shounldn't be a moved your're scared to pull off or do...never. It may be a bold move, but practice makes perfect and so does experience. I've palmed cards before, I also have small hand, and have never been caught before in a 1-on-1 situation or in a crowd.

Also, many magicians, I think it was Lee Asher who put up a scanned picture of his hand on his site to measure your hands against his. Many magicians have small hands, but that doesn't give them an excuse not to do so in any situation or enviroment or any one is in.

Also, remember that actions cover up any secret moves you need to
accomplish. Hope that helps. I should also say that this does excuse any one from not practicing or performing this move, due to hand size or just becuase.

Also, don't let a move scare you from doing your sleight of hand or magic. Just becuase you have small hands doesn't make you different from everyone else. Almost all the times my hands are way smaller to those I measure and it doesn't make me not accomplish this move, passes or sleight of hand.

All I have to say is not to be afraid to do so. Get out and perform it and see how it goes. Involve actions, presentation and misdirections to hide and accomplish this move or any troubles you have. You can never learn from not doing so only from experience.
 
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Deleted member 2755

Guest
Palming is not the end all be all of card magic. I have done magic my whole life and very very rarely do a trick that I don't have an alternate method (almost always better) without palming.

Don't get me wrong I love playing with palms but they sort of scare me. I feel like there is a big red arrow hovering over my hand flashing every time I hide a card in my hand.

So keep working on everything else. Trust me there is plenty to keep you busy.


Chris

I will agree with Chris here, but I do not think that its an excuse not to palm.

I used to have trouble with my palm, but eventually I got it. Some people do have small hands and that is the way it goes. If my hand were any smaller, I'd flash corners or windows as well. Luckily, my hands just make the cut. However, even if you flash when palming, it is always good in my opinion to have the best palm you can. If someone asks to shuffle the deck or something and you need the card on the top of the pack, a palm can come in handy. If you have good misdirection, then you don't have to worry about flashing. I just about never get asked because my false shuffles/controls are nearly perfect (as everyone's should be), but there are those people that want proof the deck has really been shuffled. Of course there are other methods of having them shuffle without palming, but I was just giving an example.

So maybe you don't need to do routines that involve a lot of palming that's fine. However, I think its good to have a semi ok palm for the rare occasion that you need it.

To make a thread asking if it was a good excuse is nothing more than making an excuse and you know it yourself because you needed to actually ask us if it was a valid excuse. I think your are making excuses for yourself. Don't do that! Work at it! With enough hard work, you'll get to where you need to be. :D

Don't primarily focus on palming if you obviously cannot do it. As Chris said, there is plenty out there and almost all of the material I do doesn't require a palm at all. Of course, I have used palms though for the reason I said above. Get the best palm you can.

-Doug
 
Feb 9, 2009
133
0
Reno, NV
Thanks for the reply guys, I have seen a lot of cool palming tricks, but I don't think I'll be using them that much anyway, I thought it would just be really hand to know. I'll probably work on it in the future, I'll work on anything else non-palming related for now.
 

Sean.Cinco

Elite Member
Sep 2, 2007
683
2
Orlando, FL
www.seancinco.com
If it makes you feel any better, it took me two years to confidently use a palm in performance and I have average sized hands. Just keep at it. If anything, ask Lee Asher. I remember seeing a lifesize pic of his hand and it's a bit smaller than mine, yet he still uses palming.
 
Feb 9, 2009
133
0
Reno, NV
If it makes you feel any better, it took me two years to confidently use a palm in performance and I have average sized hands. Just keep at it. If anything, ask Lee Asher. I remember seeing a lifesize pic of his hand and it's a bit smaller than mine, yet he still uses palming.

Yeah, I've been hearing his hands are pretty small, but the holes damn it! The holes!!!

I may be able to get away with a dark deck at night, but with Red/Blue/White back colored decks, you can literally it. Can palming really look legit when you can't even cover it with your fingers?
I thought that that was a part of the "illusion/misdirection", is that it looks like you didn't do anything, I have zero angle that I seem safe with.
 
Jan 4, 2009
223
0
35
West Allis,WI
No excuses

Hey man, i know wat its like...flashin an all.....but try usin diffrent types of palms instead of a classic palm, try copping a card, etc...coppin a card for me works great!
 
Palming is not the end all be all of card magic. I have done magic my whole life and very very rarely do a trick that I don't have an alternate method (almost always better) without palming.

Don't get me wrong I love playing with palms but they sort of scare me. I feel like there is a big red arrow hovering over my hand flashing every time I hide a card in my hand.

So keep working on everything else. Trust me there is plenty to keep you busy.


Chris

Haha, I feel the exact same way. It's cause the hands always curved the same way I think.

Like someone else has mentioned, there are different kinds of palms that you can use. Granted, everything tends to have it's angles you have to work around, like a Tenkai Palm for example. But practice & lots of knowledge can't hurt.
 
Dec 9, 2008
91
0
Try other palms if you're not confident enough,
My current favourite is the Gambler's Palm, I think,
In which the card is curved width-wise, and held in between the
First phalanx of your pinky and thumb, in doing this,
You can keep you're hand flat, and easily get into other palms.
Use other palms,
Tom Field
 
Jan 4, 2009
223
0
35
West Allis,WI
Hey man, seriously, windows in your hand doesnt mean its the end of the world. Use motion in your routine an using ur body an eyes to do the misdirection. Fluidty is the perfection of invisibilty.
 
May 3, 2008
1,146
4
Hong Kong
dude
my hands are smaller than yours and have around the same amount of windows...
I dont palm much but still, I can if I want to (loading, ditching, etc). Its fully about misdirection and audience management. And as Chris said, If you dont like it, change it.
A good excuse for not palming is "I dont have hands."
 
Jun 22, 2008
61
0
Daniel Madison is famous for using the gamblers cop, in which a good portion of the card is actually exposed. Using the right angles and misdirection, it actually goes by completely unnoticed. I recommend getting Dangerous: Mystique if you want some good tips on an alternative palm that doesn't require big hands.
 
Jan 13, 2008
1,137
0
In order to close up your windows, you may want to try using elastics to hold your fingers together. Over time, your muscles would eventually get used to being where the elastics force them to be (right beside your other fingers), and voila! No more windows!

Or, as others have mentioned, there are other types of palms. When I don't feel confident using a classic palm, I tend to fall back on the gamblers cop. It's a beautiful way to steal a card. :)

Other than that, you can just come up with other methods to accomplish what you'd like. It's really up to you, I suppose. :)
 
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