One of the Most common problems we see beginners face involves how they hold a deck of Bicycle Playing Cards whilst performing their magic tricks.
When magicians come to the magic shop for help or tuition, we tend to do an initial assessment. We ask them to perform a magic trick, and take note of what's working we'll for them, and what needs more work. This is some of what we say about holding your playing cards: Dominic Reyes talks about how to improve the way you hold your Bicycle Playing Cards:
How not to hold your Bicycle Playing Cards.
If you are a beginner, you may get nervous when you show people your magic tricks. Nerves make you tense. Being tense can lead to you hold the Bicycle playing cards very close to your body, at waist level. This is not a great position for several reasons:
1) A deck position that is low and close to the body means you have to look straight down at the playing cards, instead of making eye contact.
2) The background to the action is you groin. Not as appealing as a background with your smiling face in it instead!
3) Your arms are held close to your body, so you tend to cover up and block much of the action from your spectators.
4) You look nervous and as if you are trying to hard. That transfers to the attitude of the spectators as they focus on how you are feeling, rather than the magic trick.
5) It looks as if you are hiding something. Your body language is giving off signals that danger is present. On a subconscious level, you are telling the spectators they need to watch out for 'moves' even more closely.
How to hold Bicycle Playing Cards correctly.
1) Hold the deck of bicycle playing cards with a light touch.
2) Make sure your arms are forward and away from your body slightly.
3) Your hands should cover the front of the deck as little as possible.
4) Any fingers that aren't doing something should be open slightly and out of the way, so as much of the playing cards are as visible as possible.
5) The deck should be above waist level.
6) Move the playing cards around gracefully with finesse as if you regard it as a precious item that you respect and want to display. Imagine a sales person showing you an expensive watch or antique.
Do This: Take a couple of hours and watch a shopping channel. Pick a show where they are selling expensive jewelry.
Notice how the presenter handles the items and displays them.Look at how you handle your playing cards and imagine they are on show in the same way. Be aware of how your hands handle your playing cards and if they cover the deck.
Related Posts:
How Bicycle Playing Cards are made
How to make your Bicycle Playing Cards Last Longer
Thanks for the great tips
Your welcome Gary!
This is excellent! I have taken steps back to relearn my core basic skills again. Thanks again.
Thanks Mark
Your suggestion to study t.v. presenters displaying fine jewelry is truly inspired. Any performer who pursues this idea will be rewarded tenfold for their time. This is the finesse that cannot be taught. But, it can be learned.
Doing that helped me greatly. Not just with my card work, but for coin work too.
Thanks for posting Larry
Great advise!thank you very much 🙂
Your welcome Kelly. Hope the practice is going well!
Thank you. Great advise. Small details that make a big difference
indeed they do! Thanks for commenting
Dominic is on the ball again! We so often forget how things look to the spectator, especialy if we have been performing a trick for a long time. It’s well worth re-looing at your material with fresh eyes. Thanks Dominic.
Thanks Kevin, Great to see you stopping by the blog!
Great advice. As you say, we need to see the effect from the spec’s point of view.
I think the tendency to hide the cards from full view is probably an unconscious action to avoid any slights being obvious; eg. if I’m holding the deck very openly and then want to carry out a classic pass I unconsciously assume it will look obvious that I’m up to something when I cover it for a moment.
But of course, that’s where misdirection comes in. In reality if I hide the deck they are more likely to watch it; as you say it alerts the spec to something fishy going on.
Good stuff, thanks Dominic
great advice thank you so much
Your welcome!
Brilliant Dominic, its all in the detail, master the basics and you become a great magician, & you are a great magician.
Great job never looked at holding cards as i did when i saw your D.V.D. big help all the best and have a very Merry Christmas from Australia
Thanks Roy! Hope you and yours have a wonderful New Year!
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