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I am wondering how other people can do classic pass really smooth. When i practiced in front of mirror, i always saw my left middle finger while passing the top half to the bottom. But most people can do it without their finger being exposed.

Any suggestions how to encounter this problem? And, does the size of the palm really matter?

the size of palm really shouldn't matter. It's all about practice really and in my opinion there's no need for it to be absolutly perfect as a little misdirection when performing is important

First, I'd practice in from of a video camera, not a mirror.

Which source did you learn the Pass from. Some are better than others?

I personally learned my pass from initially getting the method from RRTCM, and then fine-tuning it with Krenzel's teachings.

Krenzel teaches that the pass CAN be practically invisible, and there's plenty of variations for different hand sizes etc.

The angles of performance, and situating yourself in the correct position are far more important than speed or anything else.

The pass is almost impossible to make completely invisible, as it does involve a move, but it's sufficient enough most of the time to get a split second of misdirection to create the pass enough of a moment to make it totally unnoticable.

Practicing the pass in front of a mirror or a video camera are both fine. A mirror is better, as it allows 'instant feedback'.

The problem you're having with your little finger can easily be solved by re-positioning yourself. NEVER face the spectator square-on. You should be slightly angled so the back of the deck faces out.

I strongly suggest you invest £10 and get Krenzel's 'the pass' video. It's old, and it's a bit weird, but the teachings are invaluable.

seige wrote:A mirror is better, as it allows 'instant feedback'.

With the greatest of respect, and I do respect you, that's just not true at all. Working in front of a mirror and looking at what you are doing ...

a) is like looking at your hands
b) means you have to watch and perform at the same time
c) is harder to check angles
d) is non-reviewable

I practiced my pass in fornt of a mirror for a while before trying a camera and got much quicker improvement.

I would advise taking a video of ten passes that you do whilst moving (a bit) and talking to a poster or marks on the wall, then have a look at it.

Thanks for all the advices.
I'm gonna try it in front of camera. Hopefully can improve my pass at least a bit. Btw, i learned my pass from some tutorial videos in internet.

i kinda cack-handed in lots of way, im right handed, but eat left-handed that kinda thing...and sometimes i end up performing certain sleights back to front or in reverse...there you go...

i settled on a couple of passes,but my original classic pass was rather "snappy"...i would say its all about relaxing more than anything else, people tend to tense up too much, which in a way broadcasts to people you are about to do "something"....

my hermann is as near invisible as can be, and i much prefer that for cover, and a little jiggle at the end occasionally...

i'd say mirror is perfectly fine, as is a very trusted friend to practise on who might raise a finger if they think you're up to something...

but overall, i'd say learn the steps so to speak, then practise when watching the telly...teaches you to stop looking down all the time...

Wakeman's The Pass dvd, in my opinion, is superb...fantastic angles, explained superbly...bit pricey but he covers pretty much all passes for all situations...

EDIT: good god...dont learn from the internet, buy books...otherwise you'll pick up other people's bad habits if its done poorly...

fedry wrote:i learned my pass from some tutorial videos in internet.

Done by professionals or tubers?

I suggest a Royal Road to Card Magic.

i learned the basic "how to do" from tubers. then, fine-tuning it by watching videos from professionals carefully how they do it. Personally, i like the one done by jonathan kamm.

This is the close-up clip from his site.
http://web.mac.com/jonathankamm/iWeb/Se ... B13B6.html

He's done it really smooth.

I agree that Jonathon Kamm is awesome at doing the pass. It is near invisible and very natural because it's done from the Mechanics Grip. Great stuff!

Steve

I'd recomend getting yourself Royal Road to card Magic, there's a very good explainatin of the classic and other passes in there.

I learned it from an obscure book on card tricks by Charles Roberts. It took me a full 10 minutes to master it and I was quite astonished at how easy it was after I had read grave warnings in other books about how difficult it was.

Later I read it in the Royal Road to Card Magic but my study was superfluous since I had already mastered it.

The key thing is NOT to try and make it invisible. There is no such thing as an invisible pass unless you want to go through unnatural contortions to avoid dodgy angles. Instead misdirection is the key. Smoothness is more important than lightning speed although I personally do it very quickly.

Again you must use MISDIRECTION. I am always astonished at the various incompetents who do the thing expecting to have their hands burned. You need to distract people for a brief second either by asking them a question or kicking them in the shins. Alternatively a quick glance somewhere can sometimes be sufficient.

The pass can be very useful for certain specific purposes but as a control it is somewhat outmoded by all the easier methods that are available. I have always believed in doing things the easy way providing that easy way is just as deceptive and direct as the hard way. Of course sometimes the hard way IS the correct way but not always. I certainly don't think the pass is necessarily the best way to control a card although I do use it sometimes for this purpose just for variation.

mark lewis wrote:You need to distract people for a brief second either by asking them a question or kicking them in the shins

there you go Lady of Mystery...

Lady of Mystery wrote:I'd recomend getting yourself Royal Road to card Magic, there's a very good explainatin of the classic and other passes in there.

Although, the classic pass is certainly one of a select few sleights which are almost impossible to grasp from the book. You need to see them performed well, and used in real-world applications (as opposed to tutorials) to realise their potential.

abraxus wrote:

mark lewis wrote:You need to distract people for a brief second either by asking them a question or kicking them in the shins

there you go Lady of Mystery...

well I'm very good at that