Magicians far and wide have jealously guarded their secrets until now. Magicians have become a little bit generous and opted to share some of their best kept secrets especially when it comes to sleight of hands technique. There are a lot of methods for sneaking a peek at the top card from a deck of cards, some are simple and some require a little skill at maneuvering and distracting the audience at the same time.
The Palm – transfer the card to the top, palm it with your right hand and then hand it over to a volunteer from the crowd to shuffle. This way you bring the card for a peek. You must be careful on selecting a volunteer to shuffle the deck of cards so you won't expose the card you palmed. Use the One Hand Palm wherein you place the deck on the volunteer's hand with the outer index of the palmed card expose to you a little bit above the tip of your little finger.
The Ruffle – the deck must be held between the 2nd, 3rd and 4th fingers of the left hand, with the first finger doubled back and the thumb positioned on the top corner of the deck, in a vertical position with the face towards the spectators. The single hand ruffle is accomplished by bending the corners of the deck of cards back and then proceed to release them rapidly one by one, holding back the top card. You must not peek at the cards during the ruffle but to take note of the exposed index when you take the deck with your right hand.
The Gambler's Method – you hold the deck of cards face down placed between the thumb and second finger on one side while the other side with your 3rd and 4th fingers and your first finger place at the outer end. Position your right hand squarely over the deck with the tips of your fingers found at the outer end and the thumb placed at the inner index corner of the top card. You turn your hands which brings the deck upright on its side, and then the fleshy part of your thumb bends the index corner of the top card and then you take note of the card. All of these moves done hidden from the audience. A favorite of gamblers obviously.
So enjoy these techniques and remember all of these are executed while the magicians are speaking or spinning a tale so gripping, audiences in turn concentrate on the magician's face itself and not the hands.
