Читать книгу Expert Card Technique - Jean Hugard - Страница 52

a. By the use of this method of palming the hand can be placed flat on the table and can be lifted again, retaining the card, with perfect freedom.

With a card in the regular palm, the flat palm is made in this manner:

Hold the card at the outer index corner by a slight contraction of the top joint of the little finger. Hold the upper index corner in the fold of flesh which is formed when the thumb is moved backward and pressed tightly against the side of the palm, in this action taking with it the corner of the card and thus forcing it to buckle outwards slightly from the palm, Fig. 1. It is the thumb action which buckles the card, not that of the little finger, although the latter aids to some small extent at its corner.

It will be found that the grip on the corners holds the card with perfect security and it can be transferred from the orthodox palm to the flat palm, and vice versa, with ease.

This special palm will also be found very useful in many forms of the color change.

b. Another extremely useful, and for some purposes a better, palm is to transfer the packet of cards to the flat palm by catching its right inner corner in a fold of flesh near the crotch of the thumb, Fig. 1. The corner does not actually press into the crotch of the thumb, but is caught in a fold of flesh by moving the thumb outwards, as though to touch the tip of the second finger, and then moving it up against the hand. This action folds a crease of flesh over the corner of the packet sufficient to hold it in position when the hand is placed flat on the table with all the fingers straightened out, and to bring it back to the regular palm when the hand is drawn along the table towards the body in removing it.

This grip will not support the cards if the hand is lifted straight up from the table since they are held by one corner only. There is, however, a sufficient grip for the purpose desired, that is to say, to place the hand flat on the table, to slide it off the table and to bring with it the concealed cards and take them again into the regular palm.

This is another of the stratagems which have been transferred from the armory of the gambler to that of the conjurer.