by Farlsborough » Dec 20th, '07, 18:12
Well guys, let me be the bearer of glad tidings - you *don't* have to be able to push off two cards as one. Obviously the closer you can get to this the better, and it will come with practice, but you use the right middle finger to pull down on the cards, squaring them perfectly.
There is a wagon-load of natural cover for this because if you were to do this naturally to take the top card, your left hand lifts the cards towards the right hand which briefly obscures the top surface of the deck. This is vaguely analagous to the way you lift the deck slightly before a pass, but much more natural, because it would happen anyway unless you were trying to handle the cards in the most wooden manner possible.
The angles are great, because the top right hand corner and the right hand side are covered as your right hand comes in.
To start with, practice just spreading the top three, then pick up the top two. As you practice, experiment with pressure until you do push off the top two pretty much as one. But honestly - there is so much cover, you really don't need to be able to push them off exactly. I wish I could find the cable for my camera because I'd do a demo!
This is my favourite DL; it looks slick but not showy, portrays just the right level of "comfortable competence" with cards without blowing your skillz in their faces, looks like you could never do it with more than one card and you have that lovely little click as it comes off the base of your thumb. But best of all, they're square every time, and in a very easy holding position to keep them that way. It also leads into a silky and relaxed turnover, where you rest the edge of the cards in the V between deck and left hand finger tips, and use just your right index finger to gently roll the double over onto the deck. Beautiful.