talkmagic.co.uk

Hah... since everyone is making "tip" posts... no really, i just figured something out that I was doing wrong with my pass and I know many people were having the same problem so I thought I would share.

I have been trying to get my pass more invisible but I have been having a hell of a time. What was happening was when I would do the pass you could see my hand and a flash of the cards below the deck. Looking over some old posts on the classic pass it seems the most common answer to fix the problem is tilting the front portion of the deck downwards as if you are showing the spectator the top of the deck.

While this certainly does help it still was not enough to cover all the movement under the deck. I just realized what I was doing wrong and now the problem is fixed!

If you are having this problem... instead of grasping the top portion of the deck with the left fingers and moving it down really far so that it clears the bottom half (top half when complete)... you should be sure to pivot the bottom portion up high enough. What I was doing was just pivoting it slightly and then pulling the top portion all the way down and around when I should have been pivoting it up as high as I could and then not pulling it so far down w/ my left fingers.

Anyways, I tried to explain as clear as I could... if anyone has any questions or needs me to clarify something i would be happy to do so. If anyone wants to add to this to make it more clear that would be awsome too... i have a feeling this post was really confusing.

AcrylicAce

To build the speed of my classic pass up, I practise with two cased decks. It's obviously much harder and wont help you with cover problems, but when you come to try with a regular deck, your hands can really fly!!

Scott, that's a good point...

I have, in the past, sat and practiced the pass with the deck split in two, with the two halves sellotaped into blocks.

This wasn't to practice speed, it was to practice angles.

I remember reading somewhere that there was a magician (can't think who off the top of my head) that had two brass blocks made up to the size of half a deck to practice the pass! I would imagine this would significantly improve your technique. Not sure if these are commercially available but would love to get a set!

I just use plain rubber bands to make two packs or more. I saw Jeff McBride do it. Easy to carry, doesn't ruin the deck, cheap.

I tend to practice with cards intact and the break (in different places) and not dillute the operation.

I practice by rotating the pass. Doing it once and then switching them round again in a constant cycle. I found that this limbers up the hands nicely and I can do it at a great speed.
As I've said before, a great trick using the pass is Roy Walton's "Pass At Red" which is on the RRTCM DVD.
It works if you have just learnt the pass as there is a perfect moment for misdirection whilst you perform the sleight.

In my experience, the best way to practice the pass is by putting it in a routine. Practicing the routine over different audiences teaches you how to do it on the 'off beat'. It teaches you to use the right misdirection and it teaches you good 'clean-ups'.

When I saw Jay Sankey's 'Back in Time', I was really impressed with the effect. At that time, I was avoiding tricks requiring a pass. I could've substituted the move but I decided to learn the trick first before substituting sleights. I tried it with my usual test audiences and found the right timing for doing the pass.

You guys mentioned angles regarding the pass. I have a quick question regarding that. How well can you get covered on the extreme left side? I can get the front and right of me to be covered using a mutant child born of the jiggle and riffle pass using rocking. But to my left, the pass is very clearly visible. I know, I know, with misdirection and a good structure, no one will notice, but it still bugs me. Do any of you experience this too? Thanks.

For those having trouble mastering a classic pass, you may consider one of the many other highly effective pass methods available. You may find one that fits you perfectly.