Im trying to learn faro from like around a week. At the beginning I couldn't even get a card to weave but now I can only get 2-3 cards to weave but then they stop weaving. I know it takes months and sometimes years of nail it but I thought the reason behind is to get 26 into 26 perfectly but I cant even get all of them to weave.. Is it common?? Or I might be doing ot wrong.....
Need help with Faro Shuffle....
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I have it and thats the reason I need to learn it but I cant get the cards to weave.
Try holding the cards at a slight angle when pushing the cards together. The edges of cards are not cut straight up and down. This video helps explain it.
Edit: More info on Standard vs. Traditional cuts can be found here.
Edit: More info on Standard vs. Traditional cuts can be found here.
You often need to 'break in' new cards in order to get them to faro smoothly. Also, try doing the faro from the top down and then the bottom up to see which way works better for you. (Alternatively, try doing it with the cards face-up rather than face-down). How the cards were cut from the sheet they were printed on also makes a difference so you'll often find it's easier one way than the other.
I learnt the Faro from the explanation in Harry Lorayne's 'Close Up Card Magic'. The description in there is excellent and really helped me get to grips with it. After that it's just lots practice in order to find that 'sweet spot' where the cards interweave nicely. It's a matter of finding just the right amount of pressure to apply.
To be honest, I've always found the hardest part to be perfectly cutting 26 cards, though I can hit it most of the time these days. Luckily most of the tricks I do only involve a Straddle Faro at most so it's not something I practice.
If you need any more tips, feel free to ask!
Rev
*PS: How long have you been into card magic? Previous posts on these forums very much suggest you are a beginner, in which case there are much more important things you could be learning rather than the Faro. Not trying to discourage you by any means, just I would consider even the Straddle Faro to be at best an intermediate card move. I was in magic over ten years before I even attempted to learn it!
You simply need more practice. re-watch or re-read whatever method you are using for learning often but having issues after a week of practice really doesn't mean much at all. This is not an easy thing to learn. Good card will help but you just need to keep working on it and not think this is something you are going to be doing next week or even next month.
Try different types of cards. Also, as Rev mentioned they will often faro better face up. If this is unacceptable then try some other cards. Bee's are generally cut so they will faro well face down. Bicycles typically will faro better face up. You can also check out "Steven Youell's tips for buffing a deck of cards for better handling" on youtube. That should also help.
In short, try different cards. Read Rev's post.
In short, try different cards. Read Rev's post.
In reply to my own reply, I should note that I do tabled faros. I'm not sure if the direction is the same for in the hand faros. The info still applies to in the hand faros, but for all I know you may have to switch the face up/face down above. You should turn the cards over to experiment, but I can't really say if Bees are better for you, though they should still behave in the opposite way of Bicycles and many other decks.
