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Help with simple card technique

KingMerv00

Penultimate Amazing
K
Joined
Nov 4, 2004
Messages
14,462
Location
Philadelphia
I won't mention the name of the card technique since the name is a bit of a spoiler. The initials are DL and it is very very common.

I have trouble making it look natural and doing it quickly enough. Any advice?

PM's welcome.
 
What sources are you using to learn the move?

You can learn some basic technique from Royal Road to Card Magic or Card College vol. 1.

Is there anyone you know who could teach you? Since you're in Philly, I know there are a couple magic shops there. You could probably get someone to teach you a few methods.

You may want to look into this video:

http://www.dennymagic.com/cgi-bin/hazel.cgi?client=88994154&action=detail&item=001675

Whatever method you choose, just keep working with it. The move you're referring to is not as easy to perfect as it may seem. There are too many magicians out there who still can't perform it properly. Keep practicing.

Even after several years of doing card magic, I still practice this technique regularly. Don't worry about trying to do it too quickly. Concentrate on doing it smoothly and use a little misdirection. Don't look at your hands, look up at your spectator as you do it.

Hope this helps. Feel free to PM me if you have any more questions.
 
It is hard for me, too. The only way I can do it reliably is by getting a break and having the misdirection down so the audience doesn't see when I initially grasp what I'm turning over.
 
I will chime in only to add that I am not happy with my own consistency of the move. For me, the tough part is the "get ready." I'm not as smooth and consistent as I'd like to be, and I sometimes flash.

Various videos provide hints on the move (e.g. the Ammar and Lorayne videos), including different techniques that work better when you're holding different numbers of cards. When you're holding three cards, you can do a "block pushover" or a "buckle"; when you're holding four, you can do Lorayne's "No get-ready"; and so on.
 
It's one of the hardest sleights to do completely naturally IMO, partly because you often want attention on the pack for the maximum effect, unlike say a p**m where you would usually prefer strong visual misdirection. However you can have mental misdirection in the structure of the effect and patter.

To do it exactly like a normal person would is very difficult so many people just go for a consistent and believable one that they use when not doing it, if you catch my drift.

I personally do it by getting a b***** under cover of misdirection/patter/effect structure and then using my two fingers to pull and flip it over. It looks a little bit "flourishy" but that is believable in the context of doing magic, I believe. I practice by doing a real one and then a fake one ad nauseum. I've never been caught yet.

Try a few. Pick one and commit to it. Otherwise you end up being able to do 14 types badly.
 
Garrette said:
It is hard for me, too. The only way I can do it reliably is by getting a break and having the misdirection down so the audience doesn't see when I initially grasp what I'm turning over.
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At TAM5 a was privy to a Jamy demonstration up close and I have been obsessed with magic tricks since then. 3 and a half weeks. I guess I am an ultra novice but it seems to me that the DL is THE card technique to know. So many tricks depend on it that I feel pressured to get it right right now.
 
KingMerv00 said:
I guess I am an ultra novice but it seems to me that the DL is THE card technique to know. So many tricks depend on it that I feel pressured to get it right right now.
Click to expand...

Throw in a control and a palm and you have the basics to do a lot of great card tricks.
 
KingMerv00 said:
At TAM5 a was privy to a Jamy demonstration up close and I have been obsessed with magic tricks since then. 3 and a half weeks. I guess I am an ultra novice but it seems to me that the DL is THE card technique to know. So many tricks depend on it that I feel pressured to get it right right now.
Click to expand...
you have been at it for only 4 weeks? the DL is too har a move. Learn the basics first.

But that won't deter you, a strike DL is the best one. It does not need a get ready as most DLs do. I buckel the deck to the right. My top finger hits the card and the card turnsover on to the deck. Looks natural.
 
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firecoins said:
you have been at it for only 4 weeks? the DL is too har a move. Learn the basics first.

But that won't deter you, a strike DL is the best one. It does not need a get ready as most DLs do. I buckel the deck to the right. My top finger hits the card and the card turnsover on to the deck. Looks natural.
Click to expand...

I agree, a strike DL is the best looking, IMHO. I practice it a lot and only rarely have to double dip. However, in the rare times I perform I usually do a Snap DL. 100% absolute guaranteed DL or TL.

A
 
Don't worry about DL's do a side steal into Tenkai or lateral palm instead!

:D

DL's are easy if you don't think about what you are doing too much.
 
aofl said:
I agree, a strike DL is the best looking, IMHO. I practice it a lot and only rarely have to double dip. However, in the rare times I perform I usually do a Snap DL. 100% absolute guaranteed DL or TL.

A
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my hand is too small I think. I end up having to move my hand up to pull that off and than looks horrible for me. Other people do it flawless. The strike works for me.
 
KingMerv00 said:
Wow. Umm...Are we still taking about card tricks?

*Looks for the novice exit.*
Click to expand...

Don't run away. We strayed off topic a bit. Those are just some advanced moves you can use after you gain some experience.

Meanwhile, practice your DL and also learn a control and a palm and you can do some miracles.
 
Definitely don't run away. You need the DL, but you don't need it now. Last week I wowed some guys at a luncheon with just a few card tricks and none of them required a DL (none required any sleights at all, in fact).

You want to learn that all these different sleights exist, but you only need three or four. The DL is a must, even if you replace it with something else later. A basic palm is a must, and you can learn different ways to get in to that as you progress. The Elmsley Count was an excellent suggestion; it will get you through many tricks. Just one control is plenty to start.

If you do only those three, you can put on a regular show. In a couple of years you'll know enough to know what else you want to add to it.
 
KingMerv00 said:
At TAM5 a was privy to a Jamy demonstration up close and I have been obsessed with magic tricks since then. 3 and a half weeks. I guess I am an ultra novice but it seems to me that the DL is THE card technique to know. So many tricks depend on it that I feel pressured to get it right right now.
Click to expand...
To sort of contradict my previous post:

If I had to give up all my knowledge of card sleights save one, I would save a control and not the DL.
 
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