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Bob Wallace / Magic
← The Expert at the Card Table
S. W. ErdnaseContents

Transformations-One Hand

First Method

HOLD the deck in the left hand, the thumb well extended across the face, first finger at end, second and little fingers at side and third finger curled in as far as possible underneath. Grip the top card with the thumb and draw it back, tilting up the deck with the third finger until the top card clears the side (see Fig. 89.), then press the top card down between the curled-up finger and deck by bringing the thumb again to its original position across top. (See Fig. 90.) The third and little finger ends steady the pack as it is tilted upward, but the first finger takes no part in the action. The top card must be gripped well into the root of the thumb and drawn back as far as possible as the deck is being tilted up.

Figure 89 from Transformations-One Hand, The Expert at the Card Table.
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Figure 90 from Transformations-One Hand, The Expert at the Card Table.
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The action should be covered by a swing, and as it is extremely difficult to execute without some noise the company might be informed that if they cannot see the “Transformation” they will be permitted to hear it. The rapidity of the action is proportionate to the skill of the performer, and it may be made with the hand in any position.

Second Method

THE following process is another of our innovations, and it will be found easy, extremely rapid and without the least noise, a rare combination in one-handed manoeuvres.

Hold the deck in the left hand, one side resting on second joints of second and third fingers, tip of thumb on top side, first and little fingers at opposite ends. Slip the thumb over the side so that its tip rests against the bottom card, and push it up and over on top, the card turning over in transit, so that if it were face down at bottom it will be face up on top. (See Figs. 91 and 92.) The ends of the second, third and little fingers hold the deck in position as the card is pushed over, and the four finger ends unite in getting it squarely in place when on top.

Figure 91 from Transformations-One Hand, The Expert at the Card Table.
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Figure 92 from Transformations-One Hand, The Expert at the Card Table.
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The action should take place under cover of a short arm movement. Raise the hand up and in toward the person, and shift the position of the thumb just as the hand is about to make the down and outward movement, under which the action takes place. If one card is faced before it is exposed the deck will appear to be held face up, and the transferring of cards from the bottom may be continued to any desired extent. Though the process is very easy and can be performed with a motion too rapid to see, some little practice must be put in to acquire the knack of getting out the bottom card.

Both these One-Hand Transformations are much easier performed with about two-thirds of the deck.

Book contents

Front matter

  1. Title Page
  2. Preface and Introduction
  3. Table of Contents

Card-table artifice

  1. Professional Secrets
  2. Technical Terms
  3. Position For Shuffle
  4. Blind Shuffles
  5. Blind Riffles
  6. Blind Cuts
  7. Fancy Blind Cuts
  8. One-Handed Fancy True Cut
  9. To Indicate the Location for the Cut
  10. Bottom Dealing
  11. Top And Bottom Dealing With One Hand
  12. Second Dealing
  13. Ordinary Methods Of Stocking, Locating And Securing
  14. Stock Shuffle
  15. Erdnase System of Stock Shuffling
  16. The Erdnase System of Cull Shuffling
  17. The Erdnase System of Palming
  18. To Maintain the Bottom Palm While Dealing
  19. To Hold the Location of Cut While Dealing
  20. Shifts — Card-Table Artifice
  21. To Ascertain the Top Cards While Riffling and Reserve Them at Bottom
  22. Mode of Holding the Hand
  23. Skinning the Hand
  24. The Player Without an Ally
  25. Three Card Monte
  26. Mexican Three Card Monte

Legerdemain

  1. Legerdemain
  2. Shifts — Legerdemain
  3. The Blind Shuffle for Securing Selected Card
  4. Forcing
  5. Palming
  6. The Back Palm
  7. Changes
  8. Transformations-Two Hands
  9. Transformations-One Hand
  10. Blind Shuffles, Retaining Entire Order
  11. Methods for Determining a Card Thought of
  12. To Get Sight of Selected Card
  13. The Slide
  14. Favorite Sleights for Terminating Tricks

Card tricks

  1. Card Tricks
  2. The Exclusive Coterie
  3. The Divining Rod
  4. The Invisible Flight
  5. Tricks With the Prearranged Deck
  6. The Traveling Cards
  7. The Row of Ten Cards
  8. The Acrobatic Jacks
  9. A Mind-Reading Trick
  10. Power of Concentrated Thought
  11. The Acme of Control
  12. The Card and Handkerchief
  13. The Top and Bottom Production
  14. The Three Aces
  15. The Card and Hat

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