talkmagic.co.uk

Hello everyone,
I haven't introduced myself yet (I'll do that soon in the proper subforum) but I've recently become interested in card magic and been practicing for a while now. Today my first 'proper' bicycle decks arrived in the post, and I was really disappointed to find that they're aimed at right-handed magicians. I naturally hold the deck in my right hand and lift cards up with my left. Obviously when I fan a normal bicycle deck out with my right hand (towards the left) you can't see the values of the cards because those are printed on the top left corner!
I could just get any deck that has the values printed on the top right corners, but bicycle decks seem to be standart for card magic, and as far as I can see most gaffed cards / decks are made to match the bicycle design.
Are there left-handed bicycle decks, or do you think I should just try and re-learn stuff right-handed? I just tried some moves out, and I can hardly fan out the cards with my right hand at the moment, it's gonna take me ages to even get a pinky break...

You could try cards4magic.co.uk they have an immense selection of random stuff. Hello and welcome by the way.

I'm left-handed too (actually, I think there are quite a few of us here) and I agree, it is annoying. There's a devilish glimpse in my new book (Dear Mr. Fantasy) that I just can't use because it's aimed at right-handers.

Fanning the deck is a problem, I agree. The blank fan (what happens when you fan left-handed) looks quite nice but is not particularly useful if you want to show the pips of the cards. There are a couple options:

1) Use a reverse fan (in which you fan the deck 'the other way', starting in the position where you would finish a regular fan and fanning upwards) which will show the indices.

2) Learn to fan the cards in your left hand (I can't do it but if you really want to learn then it's probably better to do it early).

3) Buy a bridge deck which will be slightly smaller but also will have indices in all four corners.

Hope that helps,

Kati

Just to put your mind at ease, Bicycle cards are NOT "aimed at right handed people". There isn't a conspiracy within the playing card producing industry to discriminate against lefties; its simply a fact that Poker cards have always had their indices positioned in the way they are. And no, there is no such thing as a deck of cards for left handed people, that would be silly. Take katrielalex's advice and buy a Bridge sized deck with four indices.

Of course there's a conspiracy! All the people who make cards have agreed to discriminate against us! Noooooo!

I think a left-handed Bike deck would be quite cool though

Kati

You're not along, lefty here

I've learnt all I know from right-handed books and played around with it until its comfortable for me.

The fan I'm still having a little trouble with but I'm learning it right handed as it's unlikely that a Fan will lead into something else that will require you to change hands and even then it's not too difficult.

Check out Darwin Ortiz's books and videos.
And Bill Malone's videos.

They're both lefty's.

I'm a left-hander too but I have no problem - I simply fan from left to right instead of right to left.

Am I correct in thinking that natural southpaws would have no problem in fanning a deck of all blank cards and then change them into a regular deck in a twinkling of an eye? If so, being 'sinister' seems to have one advantage!

I posted something about this the other day. And it was to do with the 'blank' deck fan. Of course I just do it the other way but I just can't get it looking as good...

Well, we fan regular decks so that they turn blank but it's hard for us to fan regular decks so that they look regular. It's the same move as righties use to make the deck look blank.

I'm a left-hander, but I've taught myself to display the faces like a right-handed person would. it only took an afternoon, and it's about as good as my natural side can do it. Everything else I do left-handed. When I'm following a method, I just mentally swap left for right in my mind.

Get with the program! Cards are ment to be fanned to the right. The planet itself revolves to the right. The galaxy rotates around the sun to the... that's right, to the RIGHT. See! even the word 'right' itself means correct. What move proof do you need that what you are doing is wrong and unnatural!

All you lefties should be burned for the witches that you are.

Watch it or we'll turn you into a frog!

Rich Lehmann wrote:Get with the program! Cards are ment to be fanned to the right. The planet itself revolves to the right. The galaxy rotates around the sun to the... that's right, to the RIGHT.

No, you righties are just standing on your heads!



Kati