Hello everyone!

Just a quick question for those well-acquainted with Marlo's work.

I am working on my doubles and seconds and I've decided to go with Marlo's technique, which seems very appealing as it relies on a "Master Grip" that is the same for all type of deals (from Revolutionary Card Techniques). For the sake of consistency, I want to turn this master grip into my standard mechanical grip. A consequence, however, is that when doing some sleights, I might have to adjust them to this new positioning of the hand. Primarily, perhaps, I wonder if there are others here that have taken this path and who would recommend turning Marlo's master grip into one's "go-to" mechanical grip.

If the answer is yes, I then wonder what double lift you use with the grip that doesn't require a get-ready. I am working on Marlo's push-off second and double, and knowing Vernon's push-off double lift (despite the name, I'm thinking of the turning over of the two cards), I just thought that it would suffice to change the push-off technique to Marlo's and apply the same principle. I haven't found any text of Marlo dealing with this explicitly, and I just wanted to hear with you whether you have any suggested readings or own solutions for a push-off double lift or simply a double turnover with no get-ready having Marlo's master grip as the starting point.

Cheers!

Hi Pedro,

I've never been comfortable with Marlo's Master Grip, I'm not sure why. I first learnt a push-off second from Expert Card Technique. I simply changed the grip to a Mechanic's Grip (MG). The advantage, I believe, of that specific technique (which uses a bent thumb) is that you can keep the double in perfect alignment which makes it good for DL work. I shot a quick video this morning to demo how I practice the push-off element of the DL by going through the whole deck to get used to varying thickness and show how I readjust the grip on the fly. (It's a bit shaky because I'm balancing my phone on my knee.) I also use this technique, posted elsewhere on this forum, for multiple lifts (up to seven cards). I know that Andi Gladwin can reliably push off up to 10 cards using his Master Pushoff technique. It might be worth your while to check it out.



I also perform the Marlo's technique (thumb extended instead of bent as in the ECT technique) which I find more natural for dealing seconds, but from a MG. The push-off DL I demo above is but one among many others available in the literature.

Thanks Claudio for sharing your thoughts (and video!!) on this. And what a clean push-off! It reminds a lot of Nash's Knock-out double lift. It makes quite a lot of sense to go that way, as it follows the ark of the front push-off. Just thinking out loud now, but it would go very nicely with Stuart Gordon's double lift as a get-ready alternative. Again, thank you very much for sharing.

My pleasure. In the demo, I take the cards stud fashion because it’s easier to split the pair to show that I’m not faking it. I use the same Mechanic’s Grip for all the types of seconds, so your aim of switching from Master to Mechanic’s is certainly achievable.

But, to be honest, I usually prefer a pinkie count to a push-off for a one-off DL.

I’m curious to know what you’re working on specifically.

Makes sense! Perhaps I explained myself a bit badly. My intent is to try to make Marlo's master grip into my standard way of holding the cards for the sake of uniformity of action. In the process of doing so, I realised that it might make some sleights easier and some a bit harder to get into, depending on variations. For my double lift, for instance, I've so far mostly employed Daley's instantaneous double lift and Vernon's push-off double lift. With Marlo's Master Grip, the needed readjustments of the hand makes these sleights a bit less smoother, so I'm looking for alternative options. I thought that a a push-off double lift from Marlo's master grip could be a good alternative, in the fashion that you showed in your video.

What I am working on more specifically is my second deal (that's what made me look at Marlo's Master Grip to begin with, which also seems to leave open the possibilty of developing my skills in bottom and center dealing). The reason for that is that I've been working on my repertoire in memdeck magic (the Tamariz stack, more specifically), and Pit Hartling's "Poker Formula" seemed like an interesting entry point into gambling demonstrations. To make it short, I'm just interesting in developing my skills in different forms of dealing (hence the interest in Marlo's master grip) without compromising too much the naturalness of my handling of cards.

I hope I managed to explain in greater detail my challenge!

Yes, it’s now very clear. Thanks. It looks to me that it is going to be a life long’s quest. Good luck!

I prefer the Jennings Snap Double. This was Daryl's favorite method.

I had to let go of this double. It's almost impossible to do with small hands. The first finger is too short to reach and grab the double at the outer corner.

I don't believe it's necessary for your first finger to reach all the way across to the far corner. My finger is only about half way along the outer edge.

The Marlo's push off double lift looks interesting. I recently purchased a book called 'the boy who cried magic' by Andi Gladwin and it has a move called the master push off. Its grip looks very natural and seems to be a polished off push off double. I haven't looked into it too much as I bought it last week but perhaps you can look into it. Here's the link where you can buy the book or just the move itself.
https://www.vanishingincmagic.com/search......ch-input

If you are working on a second deal, and starting from jump, you may not do yourself a favor by doing these seconds. Yes they seem the same in many ways. But where and when it counts you may have bad habits creep into the second.

Seconds are a long and arduous journey in and of themselves. No need to add distance to them.

It doesn't need to .