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The Magic Cafe Forum Index :: The workers :: One handed palm (5 Likes) Printer Friendly Version

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AlxRosekoski
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Guys
Do you have any helpful advice on the one handed palm. I’m really struggling with the method. There are many versions, but the one I am talking about is the one handed palm from Bill Tarr’s “the second now you see it, now you don’t more lessons in sleight of hand”
If you are unfamiliar with it, it is the palming of the top card card off the top of the deck with one hand, using the pinkie to spring the card into the palm.
Any help would be appreciated.
NicholasD25
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A couple of tips. It helps not to have dry hands. When you’re holding the deck in preparation for the palm, squeeze the deck with your first finger and thumb. This will bow the top part of the deck, making it easier for the little finger to push forward a little and spring the top card into the palm. There are ways to spring the top card into the palm without the telltale look of a tense hand, but that’s for another time.
Nikodemus
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Saying "I’m really struggling with the method" doesn't say anything about what your problem actually is. If you give more detail, you will get relevant answers.

NicholasD25 is absolutely right that it helps not to have dry hands! I have dry hands, and find it impossible to move the top card with my little finger. I have given up on trying the One Handed Top Palm, but I think I can do a pretty reasonable two-handed version.
ejohn
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Atlanta
723 Posts

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Yes, the one handed top palm is not easy if you have dry hands. One possibility: Have a cold beverage nearby and get some moisture from the glass. Another: Turn the deck face up and do the easy (one handed) bottom cop.
davidpaul$
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Georgetown, South Carolina
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Check out Glenn Morphew's "One Handed Top Palm". You won't be sorry.
Just Google it.
Guilt will betray you before technique betrays you!
badwords
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Gunna be tricky to help you without some more detail. At what point in the move are you running into trouble?

I don't know if this is poor technique by others' standards, but I bevel the deck (top of the deck toward the back, bottom toward the front), and while straightening the deck out as you place the deck down, doing the work with the pinky feels easy and natural.
Alewishus
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parts unknown
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Some tips:I may be wrong, but l thought Daryll suggested dribbling the cards so they're loose and not perfectly square and then doing the move.
There is a sort of get ready you can do from Card Finesse.
Lastly Vanni Bossi suggests doing the move with the pinky side of your palm against the table. The table prevents the card from poking out until you get the hang of the move.

A.
Sack subs, ok Ross?
We miss you asper.
AlxRosekoski
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Quote:
On Mar 31, 2024, Nikodemus wrote:
Saying "I’m really struggling with the method" doesn't say anything about what your problem actually is. If you give more detail, you will get relevant answers.

NicholasD25 is absolutely right that it helps not to have dry hands! I have dry hands, and find it impossible to move the top card with my little finger. I have given up on trying the One Handed Top Palm, but I think I can do a pretty reasonable two-handed version.

Good point
What I really struggle with is getting the card to spring in my palm without going sideways. When I try to one handed palm, the card always is partly sticking out of my hand and is clearly visible.
Jonathan Townsend
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Eternal Order
Ossining, NY
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New deck or broken in? ( soft, easily bent )
Before starting to push the corner of the top card around the corner of the pack; your thumb can swing out a little to adjust the angle between the deck and your fingers.

Keep at it. It’s worth the effort.
...to all the coins I've dropped here
warren
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uk
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It can be knacky when first learning it but once you get it you never lose it....just keep practicing and as others have said ensure your hands aren't dry when starting out.
Ed Oschmann
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Lake Worth FL
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Some (ahem) solid advice here on the OHTP. Swell application to boot:

https://www.penguinmagic.com/p/7993
Mb217
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How I ever came to be able to do this is still very much remarkable to me. Smile But I was just playing with it one day and there it was. Come to think of it, a lot of things have come to me that way. Smile

Anyway, it’s a really nice move to have in your card arsenal, though I don’t use it all that much with me being a decent-at-best coin guy and all. Smile But there are a few good pointers given here on how to make it happen, especially the download from Glenn Morphew. Anything from that guy is pure gold. And I remember that his method is a little bit different than is regularly taught by most others but well worth looking into. He is quite a master at palming cards. His presentation on Penn & Teller shows that to the max.

*And oh incidentally, I think Bill Tarr’s “Now You See It, Now You Don’t” magic books are terribly underrated, just wonderful magic instruction, and should be on every magic bookshelf everywhere. An absolute treasure chest of all kinds of magic, well explained and exceptionally well illustrated. Smile I think it’s everything that Bobo’s Coin Magic ever wanted to be and should’ve more solidly been. Smile
*Check out my latest: Gifts From The Old Country: A Mini-Magic Book, MBs Mini-Lecture on Coin Magic, The MB Tanspo PLUS, MB's Morgan, Copper Silver INC, Double Trouble, FlySki, Crimp Change - REDUX!, and other fine magic at gumroad.com/mb217magic Smile


"Believe in YOU, and you will see the greatest magic that ever was." -Mb Smile
davidpaul$
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Georgetown, South Carolina
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I remember performing at a graduation party and the person that hired me warned about this one guy
who just liked to mess up magicians. It was just his personality. There were about 15 people watching
our interaction. I did a typical pick a card, sign it and return it to the deck for this guy. After that,
he of course said "I want to shuffle those cards, and I'll give them back when I'm done.
Thank you "Top Palm" His signed card was in my wallet and he took it out. He just shook
his head and walked away. Perfect for this scenario.
Guilt will betray you before technique betrays you!
lancer3
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A couple more tips to add to those already given:

Make sure you are contacting the back of the card with the pad of your pinky, not the very tip. The pinky should momentarily flatten out some to help contact the card in the right spot. Playing around with where your pinky contacts the card will make the most difference.

You can also slightly extend your thumb to subtly pivot the deck clockwise which helps the card pivot making it easier to pressure the corner and make it spring into your palm.