Pressure Fan and "Under Pressure" Question

[Nicholas17]

Although I consider myself to be intermediate with a deck of cards (I've been practicing sleight of hand with cards for around 10 years now), one thing I've always had trouble with it the pressure fan. Recently, I've become obsessed with attaining a nice looking "Under Pressure" flourish. I'll number my questions so they're easier to answer.

1) Practicing both of these flourishes absolutely demolishes my decks. For example, I opened a new pack of Tally Ho's last week, and after less than a week of practicing these moves, the deck feels like garbage. Is getting this down just going to inevitably ruin a lot of decks? The bending is something you can't really work around...

2) Most of the time when I try to perform "Under Pressure," the problem is that the cards will shoot vertically up into the air instead of in a circular flow into my left hand. I understand the necessary hand positions (as taught by Dan and Dave) but I can't seem to isolate what the problem is.

3) I've always been able to make great thumb fans, but my problem with the pressure fan is that when I attempt it, the fan looks uneven and the cards end up bent. This, mind you, is after years of practice. Is something just not clicking in my head? Are there common problems with this flourish? I don't want to be learning it wrong and reinforcing bad habits.

 

[Tyler M.(6)]

I wrote out a big long reply with tons of tips but I accidentally deleted the text and screwed it up to where I can't get it back, but if you really want some help with it you can message me or something and maybe I can help you out by looking at your fan, this would require you to make a video or something but if you really want, I could look at it and make comments/ give tips. That is all I can really say.

 

[Nicholas17]

Thanks. I'll send you a PM soon.

 

[Cwerber123]

This is going to ruin your decks if you keep doing it. The problem is, the move is so addicting. To make my decks (somewhat) straight again after doing Under Pressure, I hold the deck vertically as if to do a fan, then I riffle the top of the cards towards me a few times with my first, middle and ring fingers, and then flip it over and do it again. I do it kind of vigorously but not too hard. You just want to straighten them out. If you watch D&D, their decks get really messed up too.

I had a problem with the cards shooting vertically too. With the hand that is holding onto the deck, you will want to hold it a little more tighter than you normally would when doing a fan. Also, make sure the deck isn't too high up in your grip.

Like I said before, you're cards will get damaged. Watch D&D's tutorial on their website and you'll see that their cards are very bent. Also, consider that they have a lot of money and can afford to ruin decks. Oddly enough, my Under Pressure looks a lot better than my pressure fan. It looks uneven and bent too. I don't know if I do it wrong, but I just stick with regular fans when I need to fan the cards. Under Pressure is an awesome looking flourish. My only problem is, mostly hold the cards in my right hand when most hold them in their left and my Under Pressure only looks cool from the back because you can't see the pips in the front. I am working on doing it in the other hand, but it's very difficult. Good luck to you and I hope you can get it!

 

[MasterMagician88]

When first starting out with " under pressure " you will find that you bend your cards excessively. Over time, once you've mastered the move, you'll find that you barely even have to bend the cards to get them moving.

If your cards are shooting up vertically, then there are two possible problems. Either one, you drag out the cards to far, so they have nowhere to go but up. Or two, your fingers aren't positioned in the correct place on the deck. My recommendation is to keep the under pressure small and adjust your hand placement until you can get it. Then gradually build up to a full sized "under pressure."

If you are attempting a pressure fan with a deck that is not broken in, you will find that it is uneven and clumped. Make sure that your deck is thoroughly broken in and then see if that makes a difference. If not, then you might want to vary your hand placement and pressure throughout the fan. Sometimes watching a tutorial on YouTube can be useful as well. As much as we think we may know a move, we might find out that we were doing something frivolous to mess the whole fan up, so a tutorial may be of use. And as for the bending, the move does require the cards to be bent; it's what makes the move unique, so your fan will always look at least a little bent. Practicing will help with this, because then you will require less pressure to perform it.

Hopefully this helps.