Hi,
i'm just in learning and experimenting with the gamblers cop. Now i looked throug all my books of my library what is the exact position for the gamblers cop like. but nearly everyone uses an other position. and nearly everyone uses an other method to get in this position.
So, what du you think is the best position and the best way to get in?
Are there some guys who have got experience with this? What are your experiences with the angels (I'm allways afraid that it can be seen...)?
Hannes

I believe it was Giobbi in Card College who described a method for getting into the cop position via a buckle of the bottom card, rather than sliding it back with an apparent squaring action. The buckle might potentially be more "invisible," but I've never really found it very difficult to get into the cop position on the off-beat, so to speak. The squaring action doesn't look suspicious to me anyway. Also, the buckle method doesn't put the card as far back into your hand, and sometimes one corner peeks out past your first finger.

Anyway, to answer your question about the correct position: the outer right corner of the card should roughly end up in the crease of the inner second joint of your left second finger (the middle finger). You can also go as far back as the ring finger, which makes it less liable to be seen from the front, but creates other angle problems. The outer left corner should be at the base of the crotch of the thumb.

When standing, there are inherent angle problems for the gambler's cop, so you need to make sure that there is no one on your far left, as this is the most vulnerable angle. Of course, at the table it doesn't matter much, since the table provides complete cover.

Ben Blau

I use it a lot, but mostly for more than one card. I prefer a standard palm when it's only one.

The angles I find are quite good. But as Ben said watch out the far left (and also the right).

Standing up I normally turn a bit to the left if I want to ditch the cards into the left pocket as the hand comes down. Turn towards your leftmost spec as the hand will hide the cards from him and your body will cover for the other people.

As for the position just spend some time in front of the mirror and try angling your hand different ways. I personally prefer having the cards high up, but I think it's a matter of taste. I'm looking forward to hear what others has to say about this technique.

/ Karl