Royal Road to Card Magic

[RediSpades]

So, I have begun my travels down to the fundamentals of Magic so I know that I am mastering the basics, and I have been really pleased so far. I have learned a lot in a small time, and most importantly, I have learned how I can switch things up a bit. But some things appear to be unclear. While reading the Royal Road to Card Magic, I am trying to see the difference between the two tricks on page six and seven. It is about retaining the Top and Bottom cards. If someone could just send me a PM, that would be great =)

 

[RealityOne]

The proceedures aren't different in execution, but rather are only different in effect.

The two phases of the procedure that begins on page 6 are done as a single shuffle resulting in the top and bottom cards ending up in their original positions. Also, see the sentence beginning "NOTE that by placing..." in the first new paragraph on page 7 to be able to use this method to control three cards in the deck.

The procedure that begins on page 7 is designed so that you do the first phase, then show that the chosen card is neither the top card or the bottom card and then to do the second phase to control the chosen card to the top.

So you are doing the same thing, but using it for different purposes.

 

[RediSpades]

I have no clue how many times I read these to see what the difference was, but missed that paragraph... I am thinking that I am making this book way more complicated than it really is. I am trying to get every little detail down, but in the end, I could just figure out the why, and make it more comfortable for myself. Thanks for your help, Mate.