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I'm very new at this magic thing (see my intro) but I consider myself very competent at a couple of sleights (overhand pass and invisible pass - both learnt from an ellusionist download ages ago)
As I've just got into magic again I showed a couple of tricks tonight at my local pub, where I play in a poker league, and got excellent responses ('Wow - How Did you do that - Way Cool etc)
The League Manager was impressed and said 'do that with these', and then gave me a brand new deck of cards. Well I got away with an overhand pass, then just chatted about Magic (giving nothing away) but jeez - the cards were as slippery as eels! How do you get past this new card nightmare, or is it purely experience and practice????

I've always wondered, what happens to people who play in a poker league when their buddies figure out they can manipulate cards. Has anybody seen some interesting bits from that?

I take it you've yet to pick up a few packs of Bikes? When you start working with those you'll find them slipping everywhere, but it's simply a matter of working with them and finding the right amount of pressure to apply to keep them in place as you perform the various sleights - it's an adjustment process and quickly becomes effortless.

I recommend practising with a pack of Bicycle cards, or most any other USPCC brand. Any other deck after that will be a walk in the park...

My regular poker group knows what I can do with cards, but they also know I'm not a scumbag, so they're fine with me.

My brother-in-law however, will never let me deal a hand!

I've been banned from dealing in my college in all games! No matter how real the shuffle is, and i am doing all the shuffles i know honestly, some ol' stingepot decides to nick the cards and give them a shuffle themselves.
Much quicker just to let them get on with it really!
and we're not even playing for money!

Reality Assassin wrote:the cards were as slippery as eels! How do you get past this new card nightmare, or is it purely experience and practice????

It's a process known as 'working them in'.
I always get funny looks when I tell people exactly what I'm doing, though I suppose I do get some kind of sick pleasure from it.

You're right though, new bikes are awkward to work with. Different people have different ways to break them in. Some people give them a few aggressive Faros, some give them a good springing.
Personally, I give them a good ten to fifteen in-hand riffles shuffles with good hard waterfalls at the end. That sorts them. A good guide is if you can get a perfect thumb fan out of them without too much difficulty. Then they are ready.

Pretty much every manoeuvre is harder with new bikes. There's kind of a 'tail off' when it comes to cards, if you know what I mean. Certain moves are eaiser with fairly new cards, but others are easier with well worked-in ones. You have to find a balance at somewhere in the middle.
A DL is much harder if the cards are all worn differently for example, because it will be more likely to flash. But hiding a break or injog will be much easier with worn cards.

I find that my repertoire changes over the life of a deck. Is this just me? Or am I sad?
I mean, try doing a Triumph with brand new cards. At a certain point in the routine, the deck seems to scream at the spectator that something is definitely not as it seems (you know what I mean here - I'm trying not to expose.... The bit where you do the standard display of the mixed up deck).

Anyways. Off I go again.

I love opening a crisp new deck of bikes.

I think I'm easily pleased. I got some great wrapping paper for Christmas

I was asked by a friend to play poker. He knows I'm a magician. I was winning which was amazing because I'm a horrible poker player. Everyone was having a great time but after my friend called and said he wanted his money back, (all of about 80 cents) because he knew I was cheating. I told him I was not cheating I'm a magician not a cheat. In the end I gave him his 80 cents I figured he must have really needed it. And thanked him for wasting my precious time all these years. We have not spoken since. I have been invited back to play by his poker buddies. I told them what happened after the game they just laughed and said not to worry about it. I however didn't partake in the game after that.

I love opening brand new cards. They slip around a little but a few stern faros or riffle shuffles soon straightens them out.

A good guide is if you can get a perfect thumb fan out of them without too much difficulty. Then they are ready.

Good point, Marvo. One of the things i do is give the deck a couple of shuffles and then let a spec shuffle them (if you can get someone who won't muck the heck out of the cards by major bends or something, it gets some extra wear on them without seeming that you're doing something suspicious). Then, i do a trick that only requires one or two easy sleights (i.e. the glide). But during the trick and directly after, i do a some completely harmless riffles with the front and back, maybe a card spring or a few dribbles. That way, you can sort of work the deck "in" during the process of the trick. But starting with the pass on a new deck is tough (for me at least).

Thanks for the tips - its much appreciated