(Hank) Moorehouse 1934 – 2011 - The Society of American Magicians

BASIC TRAINING
Welcome back to Basic Training. This month we are going to
be looking at a slightly more advanced technique with cards, one
that has the added benefit of using (for the most part) palming. If
you can already palm a playing card without too much trouble,
then this should be no problem for you; but if you are learning to
palm, or haven’t yet dipped the toe into this threatening (but very
worthwhile) pastime, then I have some tips and suggestions for
you as well. The end result is that we will be able to get a selected
card into our pocket or wallet quickly and efficiently. Once we
have the mechanics down we can talk about the blocking and
the attention direction we need to make the effect all that more
magical.
Before we look at the palming and loading of a card, let’s have
a look at what we are trying to achieve. The “plot” of “card to
impossible location” is – to the spectator at least – very clear to
understand and usefully passes the “one sentence” test of clarity.
From our side of the deck, however, it gets a lot more complex:
What is the final location? How does it get there? How can I do
this without being seen? How can I prove it was the original card?
That last point is one of the more important ones, lest we
get caught out by the Too Perfect Theory we talked about a few
months back. Let us imagine a hypothetical effect from the point
of view of a spectator. A card is selected and remembered. It is
returned to the deck, and then the magician immediately shows
his hand empty and removes his wallet. Inside the wallet is a card
that matches the selection. While this effect is achievable (and
we will be looking at it later), there is one glaring problem with
the structure: the majority of people are most likely to jump to
the conclusion of duplicate cards. No amount of protestation by
the magician will have any effect to dispel this plausible solution.
If we cannot change their minds after the fact, let’s change them
before. (And here comes a proclamation that is bound to get me
some flak.) Whenever you produce a card from an impossible
location, it has to be identifiable as the original selection. Most of
the time this will mean being signed on the face, but it can also
include the “torn corner” ploy. Having that level of confirmation
at the end of the effect will remove the “it’s a duplicate” solution
before it has a chance to be heard.
Palming
Of course, if we are going to produce a selection from a
pocket or wallet, there is one particular branch of sleight of hand
that we must tackle head on. (I know there are a few methods
for achieving this effect without palming, but none of them is as
strong as the palming versions. Trust me on that.) Before we talk
34 M-U-M Magazine
BY IAN KENDALL
CARDS To WhEREvER
to those who can (and do) palm, a few words to those of you who
are just starting out on the road. Palming is one of the families
of techniques where a lot happens at the same time. Too often
the instruction for a palm will involve three actions happening at
once, and the student is expected to muddle through things on his
own. People who have been reading my column for a while will
know that this is not how I like to do things, and I would strongly
suggest finding a tutor who will break things down for you for
easy learning. Luckily, there are three such teachers out there (and
I’m excluding myself from this list for reasons that will become
clear), any of whom would be an excellent choice.
First off, Editor Mike has a number of options; in Workers
Three there is a chapter called, simply, On Palming, which is the
first pedagogical approach to learning palming. A few years later
he produced a video called The Power of Palming, which is a great
study aid for the Workers lessons. More recently, there are the
first three volumes of The Work ebooks series, which expand on
the two former lessons, combining detailed text, photographs, and
clear video to help the student learn. (Three years ago, when I first
discussed this column with Mike, I said that I wouldn’t be teaching
palming because I felt the perfect lessons already existed. These
are they.) The second recommended teacher is John Carney, who
many of you will know as a true master of sleight of hand. He has
a DVD on palming that can be obtained from his Web site. Finally,
there is Bob White, who also teaches his approach on a DVD that
is available from your local dealer.
Once you have chosen your course materials, you need to
spend some time actually learning to palm cards. Unfortunately,
this is not an overnight task – we are talking weeks and months
(and more likely the latter). Don’t worry, we’ll still be here, so take
your time and go through the steps one by one.
The goal, despite not being strictly necessary, is to be able to
palm from the top of the deck with one hand. If you can palm
cards already, but haven’t had a go at the one-hand palm, then
this is worth the effort. The two-hand palm – top or bottom –
demands some type of motivation for you to come from an open
into a closed position. (Without that motivation you may be guilty
of “squaring up a squared deck.”) When you can palm one-handed,
there are a multitude of justifications you can have for moving
the deck from hand to hand, and even a small gesture towards a
spectator with an empty left hand will give you ample time to
palm a card. One-hand palming is the way to go…
now What?
Okay, you’ve palmed a card, and are standing awkwardly,