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How to Palm Cards & Recover Them
Being able to smoothly and covertly
palm cards is an important skill for
aspiring Cardicians (Card
Magicians).
The Hugard Palm
By means of this sleight cards can
be palmed unnoticed, although the
bottom card of the deck remains in
full view.
Hold the pack in the left hand,
vertically, the bottom card facing
the audience, the thumb at the
middle of the upper side, lower side
resting on the first joints of the
middle and third fingers, the first
and little fingers doubled back so
that their nails rest on the back of
the rear card.
( see Fig.1 )
 Standing
with your right side to the front
bring the right hand to the pack and
grip it by its lower corners with
the tips of the thumb and first
finger. The bottom card should be in
full view over the back of the right
hand, the fingers of which are held
close together and bent in to the
same extent as the forefinger which
holds the outer corner of the pack.
At the same moment pull back the
lower sides of the cards to be
palmed, with the tips of the left
middle and third fingers, gripping
them against the backs of the left
first and little fingers. Extend the
left fingers downwards, thrusting
the packet into the right hand, the
left thumb remaining on the upper
side of the pack throughout. An
imperceptible contraction of the
second, third and fourth fingers
will hold the cards securely. Remove
the left hand with a careless wave,
and let your eyes follow it.
The palm can be made in a flash but
there is no necessity for great
speed since the move is covered by
the back of the right hand. This is
the cleanest method of palming yet
devised for the production of fans
of cards from various parts of the
body.
The Palm and Recovery
This very effective flourish
deserves much better treatment than
it usually receives, even at the
hands of
professional magicians. How
often does one see the artist
palpably grab a handful of cards
from the top of the pack, then
thrust his hand under the coat of a
spectator and bring them out spread
fanwise? The spectators laugh and
applaud and the performer takes it
all as the reward of his cleverness.
In reality the spectators have seen
exactly what he really did, there
was no secret in his getting
possession of the cards, and they
only laughed at the discomfiture of
the volunteer assistant. Having "got
away with it" so easily, as he
thinks, he never sees any necessity
for making his moves cleanly. Yet
the palm and recovery should be done
in such a way that it creates real
mystery as well as amusement.
In the first place when you palm the
cards never remove the right hand at
once. Hold the pack in the same hand
for a few moments and then transfer
it to the left hand as openly as
possible. Close the second, third
and fourth fingers, bending the
cards almost double, and with the
forefinger point to the place from
which you are about to produce the
cards. Thrust your hand under the
spectator's coat and rest it
momentarily fiat against his body.
Bend your middle finger inward,
pressing its tip on the back of the
packet to hold it as you withdraw
your hand a little to enable you to
grip the inner ends of the cards by
the finger tips. Then fan the cards
to the fullest possible extent as
you bring them into view. The whole
action should be made as if your
hand went to the spectator's coat to
take out cards you just pointed to
and not to push them underneath it.
In this way you get not only the
amusement of the onlookers but their
mystification as well.
When the cards are to be produced
from the performer's body, the
action differs. Suppose the fan of
cards is to be produced from the
back of your right knee, palm the
packet and retain the pack in the
right hand as you make a free
gesture with the left. Then take the
pack in that hand as openly as
possible and make a one hand color
change, pointing to the face card
with the right forefinger, the other
three fingers bending the cards into
the palm. Ruffle the pack, look down
at your knee and drop your right
hand just behind it. Insert the
first joint of your middle finger
behind the packet and, by
straightening the fingers, extend
the cards directly behind your knee.
Grip the cloth of your trouser leg
with the tips of your thumb and
middle finger and pull it outwards,
palm of the hand to the front, tips
Of the fingers and the cards behind
the cloth. Fan the cards as you draw
them into view and it will appear as
if they are being actually pulled
through the fabric.
If the palmed cards are to be
apparently caught in mid-air, then,
as you stretch your arm out, grip
them by their outer ends between the
tips of the first and second fingers
at one corner and between the third
and fourth fingers at the other,
exactly as in the front palm for the
back and front sleight. Bend the
thumb in on the back of the cards
and fan them out as Widely as
possible. By varying the methods of
making the palm and the single hand
color change, a routine of moves can
be arranged which will be really
mystifying and not mere jugglery.
The Hugard palm will be found a
valuable one for this purpose since
the bottom card remains in full
view, making it appear to be
impossible that any cards could have
been palmed off.
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