Читать книгу Expert Card Technique - Jean Hugard - Страница 91

This peek is a gamblers’ subterfuge and has, to our knowledge, never before been divulged. As with so many moves which come from the gaming table its originator is unknown. At first thought this peek may seem to be a dangerous practice but, actually, it is very deceptive. It carries the recommendation of having completely gulled every magician against whom it has been used by Charles Miller, the Western card expert. The feature of the sleight is that, unlike most glimpses, the operator deliberately looks at the pack during the process. It appears to the spectator that he bends the pack merely to straighten an upward bend in it. The moves follow.

1. Take the pack horizontally in the left hand at the inner end, the thumb above and the forefinger below, so that it rests on the side of the forefinger, Fig. 1.

2. Seize the pack by the ends with the right hand, keeping the four fingers together covering the outer end, and with the left thumb push the top card to the right, just far enough to expose the index at the right upper corner.

3. Retaining the hands in this position, bend the pack downwards at the outer end with the right fingers, as if to remove an upward bend. Look directly at the pack as you do this and you can sight the index of the top card through the arch formed by the right thumb and fingers, Fig. 2.