Читать книгу Expert Card Technique - Jean Hugard - Страница 41

Countless conjurers have attempted to devise a method of performing the pass, that is to say, to transpose the two halves of the deck imperceptibly with the hands at rest; but all such efforts have failed. We have the confessions of such experts as Erdnase and Merlin that they have spent many fruitless hours wrestling with the problem. The survival of the method of making the classic pass through the centuries proves that the basic principles are correct and the best yet evolved. The following method uses these principles but applies them in a slightly different way, with the result that the two packets are transposed with less movement and, therefore, more rapidly. The directions should be followed with the pack in hand.

1. Hold the, deck vertically in the left hand, the little finger being inserted between the upper packet, which we will call No. 1, and the lower packet, No. 2.

Press the first phalange of the left first finger firmly upon the top of the upper packet, No. 1 The sides of the cards rest upon the innermost phalange of this finger.

Rest the left thumb upon the upper side of the pack and extend the second and third fingers so that they do not touch the deck at any point.

Throughout the subsequent actions these two fingers are held away from the cards at all times.

The position of the two hands is as in Fig. 1. Fig. 2 shows the nature of the left hand grip of its packet, the cards being controlled mainly by the left first finger.

2. Bring up the right hand and cover the deck, seizing the top corners of No. 2 between the thumb and forefinger and keeping all the fingers close together. In this position, the tip of the left thumb presses against the side of the right forefinger at a point between the second and the innermost joints.

3. Pressing lightly downward with the first phalange of the left first finger against the top of packet No. 1, lift the No. 2 packet slightly upward by moving the right hand to the left and upward in a very small arc; at the same moment, with the right thumb and forefinger acting as pivots, draw No. 2 to the right by bending the right second finger inward. This action forces the upper side of No. 1 also to the right, its lower side pressing against the first phalange of the left first finger, which relaxes sufficiently to allow the packet to make its small movement to the right, Fig. 3. The tip of the left thumb remains pressing lightly against the side of the right forefinger.

4. When the two packets clear one another, swing No. 1 to the left by bending the top joint of the left forefinger inwards and let No. 2 drop on top of it, Fig. 3. Note particularly that the left little finger remains curled under packet No. 1, supporting the now assembled pack. Again, for clarity, the position of the left thumb tip against the right forefinger has been omitted.

The striking feature of this method is the heretofore unappreciated fact that a single left finger, the first finger, can fulfill the duties which heretofore have been performed by the left first, second and third fingers in controlling the No. 1 packet. This eliminates to a surprising degree the fatal dipping of the left fingers during the transposition of the packets which has been one of the great flaws of the pass.

In actual practice the pack should be held in a slanting position with the right side downwards. The pass is made noiselessly, very swiftly, and practically at the fingertips; but it requires a great amount of practice to accomplish the sleight perfectly. As with all sleights, the positions must be taken accurately and the action performed slowly until the fingers become accustomed to the necessary movements.