The Overhand Shuffle

It is our intention to show you the royal road to card magic, and the first stage of our journey is to instruct you in the use of the overhand shuffle and to explain the many purposes which it serves.

Anyone who plays cards has learned to execute the overhand shuffle. It is a simple operation, yet it is the first step–and a very important one–on the road to the mastery of card magic. It is essential that you master this first step before continuing on your journey, and for this reason we urge you to learn the various shuffles and perform the many fine tricks which they make possible before you pass on to the other sections.

Each succeeding chapter in this book, except the last, leads to the one which follows and supplements the one which preceded. By resisting the impulse to learn everything at once but by practising each step as you go, you will, with a speed that will amaze you, soon have travelled the entire road; when finally in that way you have reached its end, you will be a far more competent card conjurer than will the more impatient reader.

With this final word of caution, we now start you on your pleasant journey.

Position of the Pack in the Hands

It is essential that the cards be handled neatly and precisely, and the first requisite towards acquiring this neatness of execution is the position of the pack in the hands.

1. Hold your left hand half closed, palm upwards, and place the pack in it, face downwards, so that the third phalanx of the index finger is bent against the outer left corner. The middle and ring fingers, slightly bent, rest against the face of the bottom card; the little finger curls inwards so that its side rests against the inner end, and the thumb rests on the top card, its tip near the middle of the outer end.

The pack should slope downwards towards the left at an angle of about forty-five degrees, its lower side resting along the palm of the hand. In this position the pack can be gripped, as in a forceps, between the index and the little fingers by pressing them against the opposite ends (Fig. 1).

This position of the pack gives one perfect control of the cards and should be strictly adhered to. The grip should be firm but light; in fact, the lightest touch possible, consistent with security, must be cultivated from the outset.

Execution of the Overhand Shuffle

1. Holding the pack as described above, seize the lower half with the right hand between the top phalanx of the thumb, at the middle of the inner end, and the top phalanges of the middle and ring fingers at the middle of the outer end. Bend the index finger lightly on the upper side of the deck, letting the little finger remain free.

2. Lift this lower packet upwards to clear the other portion of the pack, then bring it downwards over the other cards until its lower side touches the left palm. Press the left thumb against the top card of this packet and simultaneously lift the right hand so that the card, or cards, pulled off by the left thumb fall on top of the packet retained in the left hand.

3. Repeat this action until all the cards held by the right hand have been shuffled off on to those held by the left hand. Pat the upper side of the deck with the outstretched fingers of the right hand to square the cards. Since the overhand shuffle is generally repeated, this action is absolutely essential to a clean execution.

In making this shuffle do not look at your hands and the cards . Practise this from the outset and so form the habit, which is an essential factor in the manoeuvres which follow and are done under cover of the action of this shuffle.

The speed at which the shuffle is executed should be about the same as that used by any card player, neither too fast nor too slow, and the tempo should be an even one throughout.