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I always used to perform the card spring using my pinky on the top right corner. I find now that using my ring finger gives a much better controlled spring and I can reach more than 1 foot with my card springs now.

I hope this advice helps people having trouble with the spring.

StEvEbO!

Springing the deck is certainly one of the most spectacular and flashy flourishes known however it can be used for far more than just a feat of showmanship through the spring palm. I'm not sure whether you're familiar with it as little attention is paid to this palm in contemporary card material however it is an extremely effective sleight. I believe it either originated from the genius that is Jean Hugard or was first documented by him and can be found in one of this many books on card manipulations.

The basic sleight goes thus - the deck is sprung in the conventional manner however when the majority of the deck has been sprung the lower three fingers are curled inward whilst the index finger is used to apply the pressure. Finally when the last card is reached it is palmed in the conventional manner. At this point I've always made a fist with all but my forefinger which I point and jab accusingly at the deck with whilst squaring up in the left hand. I've found it to be one of the subtlest methods of palming.

One finally thing as this is becoming rather verbose, there is an another method for springing the deck which dramatically improves control over the cards although it does so at the cost of power. The thumb holds the top inner corner whilst the pinkie, ring finger and middle finger hold the bottom of the opposite long edge and the index finger presses (not holds) the outer top. The deck is the squeeze down the middle lengthways by the pinkie and thumb and the cards can be rained down far slower than with the conventional spring bending across the centre. Not sure who originated this technique.

Take Care,
Machinator

On the same subject...I had a couple of days away with work last week and on retiriring to my bedroom in the evening my thoughts turned to.... springing cards. I thought it would be really cool to finish a trick by plucking the spec's card out of mid-air with the right hand out of a pack that is sprung by the left hand with the rest of the deck falling on the floor. I think the solution's a palming thing, but I'm stuck wih the misdirection - any thoughts?

If you use the spring palm above, just use a top control then spring palm the cards and produce the palmed cards.

N.B. I can't spring cards so if I wanted to do something like this I'd top palm the selection the normal way then throw the deck up in the air and produce the seletion.

Kati

I think the way that Stevebo is describing the Sping method is the way that Oz Teaches it.

I've always found it much easier to bend the cards from corner-to-corner rather than end-to-end.

Kati, without sounds patronising I'm sue that the issue you have with the sping are probably down to hand strength ... i find it difficult to spring a new pack of cards, once they are broken in i find it much easier.

Rob

Don't worry about patronising .

I'm fairly sure it's not hand strength - I have a relatively strong hand, from fencing. What happens if I try to spring the deck is that they go straight forwards...I don't understand how people make it go down .

I can dribble cards about 1 foot though so that's enough for me.

Kati

I can dribble far aswell, but I'm working on my spring

I'm trying to learn the Anaconda, which is like a 3 foot dribble, not a spring.

The method I'm using is the one taught by Jerry, not Oz. I've just altered the fingering for the spring.

StEvEbO!

I spring differently (if you see what I mean )

I hold my middle and ring finger together and spring using both, which are on the top right of the cards. I can also spring effectively using just the middle finger but can't get the hang of using just the ring finger or pinkie.

I agree that this may be one where your finger strength will determine which way you spring, and this in turn may be related to the size of your hand. You have to experiment and find out what works best for you!

Yeah, see kids, at the age of 43 you have big gristly old man hands ...

Your technique sounds almost identical to mine, Dat, i too use those fingers on the corner of the card, seem's to work a charm for me.

Rob

Never mind being 43, I was born with big gristly old man hands

You know when you've really mastered springing the cards when you can do it with your big toe on the bottom left corner and your middle toes on the right corner and still catch them in a neat pile in your left hand!

Only problem is reaching down to get your sock off

dat8962 wrote:You know when you've really mastered springing the cards when you can do it with your big toe on the bottom left corner and your middle toes on the right corner and still catch them in a neat pile in your left hand!

You want to be carefull pulling stunts like that Dat ... a broken hip at your age can be a serious injury .. lol ... and so close to retirment ... would be a shame.

Rob

Mmm, true and such wise words from one so young. I'm sure that you'll be an asset when you start working at the day care centre.

Only 7 years from retirement - can't wait and don't want to spoil it.