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The Flesh Grip
The loose flesh at the root of
the thumb can be used to maintain a
break after the pack has been cut,
doing away with the necessity of
inserting the tip of the left little
finger, in this manner:
 Pick
up the cut and put it in the left
hand, well down on the palm, and
squeeze the left side of the packet
tightly against the fleshy root of
the thumb by pressing the second,
third and fourth fingers against the
right hand side of the cards. In
putting the other half of the pack
on top it will be found an easy
matter to clip a fold of the skin
between the two packets.
The outer ends of the cards may now
be tapped perfectly square, the
first joints of the left fingers are
all on top of the deck so that it
can be shown quite freely and the
bottom ends of the
cards can be
tapped on the table without the
least danger of losing the break.
This can be found instantly by the
right thumb tip by feel alone and
the deck split at that point for a
riffle shuffle, 'thus avoiding the
pass; or the break can be opened a
little, the tip of the left little
finger inserted and the pass made in
the usual way; or the pack may be
picked up for an overhand shuffle,
the break being held with the tip of
the thumb, the cards above the break
being then shuffled off and the
balance thrown on top.
Again, the flesh grip can be secured
after the insertion of the little
finger tip, following the replacing
of a chosen card. The tapping of the
ends of the deck and the position of
the left fingers on top will
convince the most skeptical
spectator that his card has really
been lost in the deck. |
