Pushover DL

[RebelZero]

So I'm struggling with this move. I've watched Gregory Wilson's Knock-Out Double as well as Brad Christian's ACR with the first 10 minutes dedicated to this particular DL. My primary difficultly comes with pushing over the two as one. The explanations usually differ. For example, when Brad drops his thumb at the top left corner in preparation for the pushover, he says to "really dig in," and Greg Wilson says to use a light touch. Either way, they both faultlessly push two cards over that are practically cemented together.

I'm sure it's a little different for every person but I'm really having trouble. Sometimes it works great if I put my thumb on the exact top corner, sometimes it works if I drop it down a bit and push from the long side instead of the corner. Sometimes light pressure works, sometimes "digging in" is better.

I'm wondering if there's a sweet spot. Say, a specific place on the top of the deck, with a specific pressure that moves two cards reliably. I can't seem to get the knack of this down. It's not like there's one right way that I keep messing up; it's more like there's a couple ways that sometimes work well and sometimes not at all.

I've been practicing quite a bit for about 7 days now and I'm still not ready to debut this to spectators. Any advice?

 

[poonchingyip]

only 7 days??? You are still too early to show it to your audience.
It actually needs at least 6 months to get it ALMOST 100%
I only worked a little bit on it long time ago, and what I rmb is that the most VIP part is how many cards your middle allow to push out.

Btw, I rmb this move is called "Pushoff DL" instead of "Pushover DL"; unless we are talking about two different moves

 

[TeeDee]

Andi Gladwin has recently released a two DVD set called The Master Pushoff over at Vanishing Inc, which covers multiple-pushoffs in great detail. I haven't acquired it yet, but I'm going to. From what I know of Andi's work, it'll be well worth it. There's also some very good tips in Expert Card Technique.

Having said that, pushing two cards as one can be learned just through hours of repetition. Keep your deck in your hand, when your watching TV or whatever, and just keep trying to hit it over and over again. It will gradually become more and more reliable, you'll get the feel for it and one day you'll find you can hit it every time. Eventually, you'll discover that you can push two cards as one with your thumb in any position, top left corner, middle of the long side, however you want. My only additional practice tip would be to remember to cut the deck after every few attempts, to avoid using the same two cards all the time, otherwise they'll become slightly warped or sticky which will make them cling together easier and therefore the feel of the pushoff won't be the same as when you try it with other cards.

 

[RikAllen]

I've also heard great things from The Master Pushoff by Andi Gladwin.

I want to say Tony Chang (who has an amazing pushoff) just worked and worked over months and months to be able to push off two cards as one. It's a move that comes with time and patience.

 

[mayniac]

I have the Master Pushoff and it is a great dvd. I was able to get down a decent (not spectator ready) two-card push off quite quickly by just using Andi's technique and learning his tips. IMO, if you're really serious about your push off, then this the dvd to get.

 

[RebelZero]

Thanks, everyone. I'll definitely acquire the Gladwin DVDs, they sound like they'd really help. And, yes, I definitely meant the Pushoff not Pushover DL.

It's a good thing I like to practice. I remember that Dai Vernon said if you don't like to practice, find another hobby. Glad to hear it just takes time.

 

[ChrisWiens]

I also have The Master Pushoff and I really like the DVDs. He shows various uses of the pushoff and gives lots of additional tips.
The second disc alone is worth the money IMO.
The only drawback is that the explanaition of the move itself could be a little bit more indepth for my taste (more camera angles, zooming, slow-motion or a pdf with some sketches). I would like a forum where you could exchange experiences (just for the owners of the DVDs) because
there are some subtleties I´m not sure about even after watching the explanation over and over again.
However, it´s the most accurate (in terms of aligning two cards perfectly or at least nearly perfect) double pushoff technique I know (never got the ECT one handed pushoff technique down) and it really can work straight away (although I´m not nearly consistent and accurate enough to use it seriously). I´m confident (the right!) practice will fix it.
Andi is great, such a nice person and he´ll answer your emails.

 

[JustinClark]

I happen to have a quite decent push off dl and I can tell you that it can only be acquired through hours and hours of practice. Back when Blaines first Street Magic special came out I saw how great his dl was and became determined to develope that skill. If I remember correctly after about 7 days of practice I was cursing at how impossible it was lol. Just stick with it and sooner or later after trial and error you'll find the handling that works best with your hands. The only tips I can think to give would be easier shown than typed so if it would benefit you I could always send you a video going over some of the things that helped me.