Guys,
Just wanted to mention a few things about my new 1-on-1 on false overhand shuffles.
I've gotten many requests from around the world to cover a variety of different moves. Some moves, like the tabled faro are definitely in the works, but are still a ways off.
Many of the requests that I've gotten have been for some easier moves that beginners and intermediate card handlers could benefit from. Up until now I've done virtually none of that, as many of you know. That's the reason for the overhand shuffles video.
This video is geared primarily towards beginners and those trying to make the leap from beginner to intermediate. There isn't much in there that will be of interest to advanced card handlers. That doesn't mean that advanced card handlers won't enjoy the video necessarily; it just means that there isn't anything new in the video specifically for them.
If you're a beginning card handler I highly recommend you get familiar with overhand shuffle techniques. I use them literally every time I perform. Although I'm an unabashed fan of false table shuffles, the ability to shuffle the way your audience members shuffle, while still controlling key cards, is of tremendous value.
As I've said before, the best use of your practice and learning time will come from learning moves that high degrees of utility. In other words, moves that are applicable to dozens of situations are more valuable than moves that are only applicable to a very few situations. As I said before, I use overhand shuffles literally every day. As utility moves go, the family of overhand shuffles ranks right up there with any other move you can name. They don't get any better (although I admit the move isn't as "sexy" as other moves).
Finally, one last note on the Erdnase sections in the video. I've had literally dozens of aspiring young cardmen tell me that Erdnase was or is difficult to read. This is of course nothing new, as Vernon was told that by all the New York City magicians that he fooled using the techniques from Erdnase in the 1920s. They said it was like reading geometry.
For this video, I wanted to show someone actually reading the book and following the instructions properly. You see, as much as I like Erdnase, I don't have every section of it memorized. I've worked through every page in the book many times over, but the things that I don't use every day eventually get forgotten.
For instance, when I learned the tip out of Darwin Ortiz's The Annotated Erdnase to only bother memorizing the 5 card overhand shuffle stacking procedure, I promptly set about memorizing that and I eventually forgot the methods for 2, 3 and 4 cards over time (although I could probably work them out if I really tried). On this video, I taught myself how to stack 2 cards using the overhand shuffle while on camera. I didn't do it beforehand. When you see me doing it on camera, I'm actually relearning the move right then.
The same goes for the cull shuffles in Erdnase. I understand the system and have used it in the past, but it isn't part of my daily working repertoire. So, instead of memorizing the sequence just to shoot the video, I decided to relearn the process right there on camera. Hopefully, this does a couple of things.
First of all, I hope that it demystifies Erdnase somewhat. Truth be told, the book is not easy to read. You have to take your time and read carefully and thoughtfully with cards in hand to get anything out of it. But if you do this, as I have many times and continue to have to do with items that I no longer recall perfectly, you'll be able to work through this extremely valuable book.
The other thing I hope it does is show the importance of knowing the terminology from Erdnase. Only by understanding the terms "undercut", "outjog", "injog', "throw", "shuffle off", "break", "first card" and "top card" can you ever have any hope of working out what he's talking about as he describes these moves.
I didn't want anyone to think that I was wasting their time by reading to them out of a book that is probably on their shelves already. That wasn't the goal. We certainly didn't need the time, as the video was already running quite long as it is.
Demonstrating how to learn from Erdnase was an experiment in teaching, nothing more. Please let me know if it worked or not. I'll need your feedback after watching the video and trying to emulate what I do as I learn (or rather, relearn the move) right there with you on camera.
Please tell me if it was successful and helped you in any way.
Thanks.
Jason
Just wanted to mention a few things about my new 1-on-1 on false overhand shuffles.
I've gotten many requests from around the world to cover a variety of different moves. Some moves, like the tabled faro are definitely in the works, but are still a ways off.
Many of the requests that I've gotten have been for some easier moves that beginners and intermediate card handlers could benefit from. Up until now I've done virtually none of that, as many of you know. That's the reason for the overhand shuffles video.
This video is geared primarily towards beginners and those trying to make the leap from beginner to intermediate. There isn't much in there that will be of interest to advanced card handlers. That doesn't mean that advanced card handlers won't enjoy the video necessarily; it just means that there isn't anything new in the video specifically for them.
If you're a beginning card handler I highly recommend you get familiar with overhand shuffle techniques. I use them literally every time I perform. Although I'm an unabashed fan of false table shuffles, the ability to shuffle the way your audience members shuffle, while still controlling key cards, is of tremendous value.
As I've said before, the best use of your practice and learning time will come from learning moves that high degrees of utility. In other words, moves that are applicable to dozens of situations are more valuable than moves that are only applicable to a very few situations. As I said before, I use overhand shuffles literally every day. As utility moves go, the family of overhand shuffles ranks right up there with any other move you can name. They don't get any better (although I admit the move isn't as "sexy" as other moves).
Finally, one last note on the Erdnase sections in the video. I've had literally dozens of aspiring young cardmen tell me that Erdnase was or is difficult to read. This is of course nothing new, as Vernon was told that by all the New York City magicians that he fooled using the techniques from Erdnase in the 1920s. They said it was like reading geometry.
For this video, I wanted to show someone actually reading the book and following the instructions properly. You see, as much as I like Erdnase, I don't have every section of it memorized. I've worked through every page in the book many times over, but the things that I don't use every day eventually get forgotten.
For instance, when I learned the tip out of Darwin Ortiz's The Annotated Erdnase to only bother memorizing the 5 card overhand shuffle stacking procedure, I promptly set about memorizing that and I eventually forgot the methods for 2, 3 and 4 cards over time (although I could probably work them out if I really tried). On this video, I taught myself how to stack 2 cards using the overhand shuffle while on camera. I didn't do it beforehand. When you see me doing it on camera, I'm actually relearning the move right then.
The same goes for the cull shuffles in Erdnase. I understand the system and have used it in the past, but it isn't part of my daily working repertoire. So, instead of memorizing the sequence just to shoot the video, I decided to relearn the process right there on camera. Hopefully, this does a couple of things.
First of all, I hope that it demystifies Erdnase somewhat. Truth be told, the book is not easy to read. You have to take your time and read carefully and thoughtfully with cards in hand to get anything out of it. But if you do this, as I have many times and continue to have to do with items that I no longer recall perfectly, you'll be able to work through this extremely valuable book.
The other thing I hope it does is show the importance of knowing the terminology from Erdnase. Only by understanding the terms "undercut", "outjog", "injog', "throw", "shuffle off", "break", "first card" and "top card" can you ever have any hope of working out what he's talking about as he describes these moves.
I didn't want anyone to think that I was wasting their time by reading to them out of a book that is probably on their shelves already. That wasn't the goal. We certainly didn't need the time, as the video was already running quite long as it is.
Demonstrating how to learn from Erdnase was an experiment in teaching, nothing more. Please let me know if it worked or not. I'll need your feedback after watching the video and trying to emulate what I do as I learn (or rather, relearn the move) right there with you on camera.
Please tell me if it was successful and helped you in any way.
Thanks.
Jason