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On this poker forum I frequent I like to throw out these random theory questions that may or may not have any relevance to anything and I only post them because I think they're fun. So here's one I was thinking about for a bit earlier today.

In this scenario you have a deck of cards and you have one card palmed. For explanations sake lets say you have the palmed card in your right hand. Given the choice, would you rather hold the deck of cards in your left hand or right hand?

Assume that if you say right hand then every single time you are in a situation where you have one card palmed you have to have the deck in your right hand. What I'm trying to say is "it depends" isn't the answer I'm looking for here. I'm saying if you had to go with one or the other for the rest of your life which would you go with?

Also, do you think in the long run it makes a difference? Is one answer clearly better then the other or are they equally fine?

Short answer: both

long answer: p**m a card and hold the deck in that hand for a while for some misdirection. Then put the deck into the other hand to place the deck somewhere else or provide some more misdirection.

My own feeling is that the best way is to get the right hand well away from the deck.

The main argument for holding the deck in the right hand seems to be that it will reduce suspicion i.e. you couldn't possibly be palming a card in that hand because it's holding the deck. I don't like the tired cliches but why run if you're not being chased? If you've lead the spectator to suspect that you might have a card palmed you've already failed. If he isn't suspicious then why do you need to go out of your way to convince him further?

I do two things. I drop the right hand away from the action, resting it on the surface, or (better) on the edge of the table, or dropping it to my side while standing. If you do this naturally and keep the hand looking relaxed no-one will pay any attention to your right hand. The second thing I try to do (if the trick and the situation permit) complements this. I try to actively draw attention to the deck and the clean hand. You don't have to wave it about, just gesture with it naturally. Your right hand should just drop off the radar.

If you're going to draw attention to your dirty hand by doing something like placing the deck in it you need to have perfect technique (better have no windows), and a desire to make life more difficult for yourself than it needs to be.

There are exceptions where the deck needs to be placed in the dirty hand, but I'm a big fan of taking the easiest route available.

i like both, but on different occasions...

dragging the deck towards you with the right hand, whilst holding out the palmed card in the same hand lets you dump it back on top immediately doesnt it...but then again...

i suppose consitency is everything...

I like to hold the deck in the right hand for a few seconds and then pass it across to the left, keeping the palmed card in the right. I try to make the passing of the deck look like gestures when I'm chatting if I can or just idle fiddling with the deck

Charles Calthrop wrote:The main argument for holding the deck in the right hand seems to be that it will reduce suspicion i.e. you couldn't possibly be palming a card in that hand because it's holding the deck. I don't like the tired cliches but why run if you're not being chased? If you've lead the spectator to suspect that you might have a card palmed you've already failed. If he isn't suspicious then why do you need to go out of your way to convince him further?

While this makes a lot of sense, sometimes it's not the suspicion WHILE you are performiong the trick but AFTER. Some people might think - "Oh ya he/she must have palmed the card" (some more knowledgeable spectators understand that magicians do this - even though they themselves do not know how) - but then they think "but no - he/she was holding the deck with the right hand - so that's not possible..."

I think a lot of times THIS is the objective of holding the deck in the right hand.

I'd personally hold the deck in my left hand with a mechanic's grip. I'm paranoid so I'd try to keep the deck away from right hand as much as possible. Depending on the trick I'm doing, I might also do a one-handed flourish with the deck to misdirect the specs.

I think holding the deck in your right hand would work much in the same way as Ramsey's subtlety with coins (I think I mean Ramsey, the one where you classic palm a coin and hold another one in view to imply you can't have another coin in your hand) and it also leaves the left hand completely free to gesture and do whatever. The only problem I see with that is that whenever I'm just normally standing around with a deck of cards it's always in my left hand dealers grip, so changing it around when you have a card palmed could raise suspicion in some extra attentive spectators.

I tend to gesture with my hands a fair bit so personally I feel more comfortable with the deck in the same hand as the palmed card.

I feel that the cheekier the palm (or anything else in fact) the easier it is to get the spec to believe you're not doing anything fishy. So I don't have any problem in holding the deck with my right hand and move my hands while talking.

There are many methods for palming a card, and many more effects that may involve an opportunity for palming. I would suggest that this question can only be answered in the context of a specific trick. For example, I occasionally use a simple cull for a palm, during which my dirty hand hangs "dead" at my side. The fact that a card (or ten!) is sticking out the back of my hand goes completely unnoticed.

You should also consider the environment. For example, performing seated at a table will give you access to methods that stand up will not, and vice verse.

One final point - the stage of an effect might determine which to use. For example, in an effect where the misdirection is very strong (no one is even interested in burning your hands), you may try one versus the other.

Did I say cull? Ooooops! I meant cop.

There is never a cop around when you need one!