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I'd say cut deeper then riffle then cross cut and lastly my slip cut which I came up with years ago when I first started out even before I read about the real slip cut lol it does all depend what you're doing and where a good old one way deck when wrangeled in after a few bits can kill, I mean really kill. As I try to keep away from playing cards as much as pos there days I'd go with cut deeper and cross cut for the tarot

The Goldin Force is also brilliant.

henry christ's behind the back force...can be done one handed...in fact, i insist upon it...looks extremely fair, you arent doing anything as far as they are concerned - just takes a tiny bit of scripting/acting...

cut deeper is good, again if utilised as a fair one handed force if you are doing it...or as a two person "random choice" kinda method...

al koran's version of the classic force..."here just take any card..." if you've read the book, you'll know what i mean...

My favourite force is any one that works. Cut deeper is good. Classic force (Lorayne's behind the back version) is fun. Slip force is most reliable. If force is crucial then one-way force deck and deck switch is the obvious winner. Don't like cross-cut as it's too easy to spot if spec is wary.

TheStoner wrote: Don't like cross-cut as it's too easy to spot if spec is wary.

I would have to disagree. If you use a good bit of time misdirection and a well explained reason, it's undetectable.

The problem is most magicians have no reason for doing it, "cut the cards, and yeah we'll just mark the cut here"

...why?

In most cases you are totally right and the time misdirection does the trick. But a "wary" spec who is trying to catch you out will deliberately cut 10% of the deck or 90% of the deck and track the large and small halves - if they don't cut round the middle and they keep on eye on things then you're a bit stuck. This happened to me twice over a couple of days and put me off the cross-cut forever TBH. Other forces can't be messed up by the spec in the same way, which is why they are my preference.

If you ask the spec to "cut somewhere in the middle" and they do so then I agree that the cross-cut is fine.

Riffle force is by far my favourite card force. And I am a mentalist. It does give the more casual feeling to the handling. Instead of all the fancy flourishes that could be done.

I do say that theclassic force is somewhat impractical, but than again I do not use cards all that much, but a hundred years ago or so, when I did perform "magick" I found the classic force to work only some of the time, (maybe I was just doing it wrong)

The classic force is the best. I succeed 7 times out of 10. Even if I miss I can use the force card as a key card.

However if I absolutely have to force the correct card then I use a Vernon force that is so little known there isn't even a name for it. I have never seen it discussed or used by a single person yet it is a fantastic force and unlike the classic force cannot go wrong. And it does seem to give you free choice from a fan of cards. The spectator touches any card and you show it to be the one you want.

It is in the Ganson/Vernon card book where there is a chapter on forcing. Check it out.