talkmagic.co.uk

Hi,

I was wondering whether the technique that David Blaine uses for his DL is taught in any books, as it is unlike most of the methods I have read about. David Blaine's Street Magic first got me interested in magic, and even though I have watched more magicians and learnt more about card magic sleight-of-hand since then, I still find his DL very impressive. It's more a question of curiosity, as I have practised the DL from Expert Card Technique and I am going to stick with that for the time being. I'm wondering if it's described in genuine books or DVDs; please don't suggest youtube tutorials.

Thanks very much, cc100

I don't think it's taught, but i might be wrong; i think it's his own.

However once you get the standard DL down and you can do it all in your sleep, it's easy to improvise the way you do a DL anyway, and Blaine's is no different.

Depends who you ask;

PushOff Double
Derek Dingle DL
Krenzel's DL

I use what Blaine uses but someone taught me it many years ago. Count with the thumb, rotate whilst keeping the cards together with right thumb, 1st & middle finger, give it a snap to show just one card if you like. I'm pretty sure you won't find a better explanation than

The problem with his DL is you can usualy spot when hes doing it, so imho it's worth looking at others.

Perhaps Daleshrimpton, but I think most magicians can spot a DL, no matter how good the technique is. Well, at least those methods requiring some sort of get-ready. I just think Blaine's handling of the DL is very smooth and effortless, which might be more to do with decades of card handling experience rather than the particular DL technique used.

I had a feeling it might be his own technique, but I was just wondering whether it might be explained in some book/DVD.

Thanks for the tip russpie.

cc100 wrote:Perhaps Daleshrimpton, but I think most magicians can spot a DL, no matter how good the technique is. Well, at least those methods requiring some sort of get-ready.

Not really. Only if you change what you do for a DL. You should ALWAYS do the same action, even if its for one card. So if you need a break for your DL then when you are only turning one card over, get a break!

Which is my issue with his DL.
Nobody picks up a card in that way. You have to think about what you are doing, which is simply picking up a playing card, and showing it's face.

In normal every day life, when you pick something up you dont do it in a showy, theatrical way, because what your doing is mundane, and unimportant.

Taking this as read when executing the move, you should use an action which , to the viewer,appears equaly mundane and uninportant.

Then they wont give it a seconds thought.

All they will remember is the face of the card that they see.. which is the whole reason for doing the lift.


Read Vernons thoughts on the lift... he thought prety much the same as i do.

And if its good enough for him, its good enough for anybody.

Good point, but the phrase 'No-one picks a card up in that way' could apply to any DL. The natural way to push off a single card would be to push it off laterally with the thumb and turn the cards over with the other hand. No DL corresponds exactly to this method; in the push off DL the cards are pushed off diagonally, in the Larry Jennings method the thumb doesn't push the cards off at all, etc. I don't think Blaine's method can be singled out on this point alone.

Good point Ace of Kev, I suppose if the same actions are used for single or multiple cards then it's impossible to tell the difference. As magicians, though, it is easy to backtrack and tell if a DL was used, even if the action is perfect.

Perhaps Dale could round up the people Blaine performed for on TV who were screaming after seeing him perform routines using DLs and ask their opinion on how one should pick up a single playing card?

Duplicity wrote:Perhaps Dale could round up the people Blaine performed for on TV who were screaming after seeing him perform routines using DLs and ask their opinion on how one should pick up a single playing card?

Exactly. To a magician it might look odd but as kev points out, as long as you do the same lift for a single card as you do for doubles or triples, then there shouldn't be any suspicion.

Im with Dale on this one. I used a technique identical to the one David Blaine uses for the turnover for a while, then abandoned it in favour of the ''spooning the bowl'' technique instead (with the occasional snap applied). My reasoning was that I felt it was a bit flashy for just showing a card (apparently), for my taste. The spooning the bowl is a very natural lift, and if combined with a slight miming of a push off with the left thumb and the ocassional snap, it can be very deceptive.

The origin of Blaines lift can be found on pages 5 - 6 of the Dover edition of Expert Card Technique (''The Lift'' and ''The DL in Action'').

jim

Thanks a lot for that Jim. Theoretically, I should be able to pick it up fairly quickly as I use the standard DL explained in pp. 3-5 of Expert Card Technique. You and Dale do have a good point about Blaine's method being quite a showy display of a supposed top card. I personally feel though, from my own reaction to Blaine's tricks and the reaction of his participants, than it is a criticism that non-magicians are unlikely to make.

Imho any magician can spot a another magician doing D/L whether or not they use the same tecnique for a single card but from a lay perspective alot of moves magicians do don't look quite normal simply because magicians have more skill than most average card players so a lay wouldn't arouse any suspicion if it doesen't exactly look like a everyday person picking up a card. I do however feel you should perform a single and a d/l up in the same way with whatever method you choose and honestly I don't think I have ever seen a magician to a d/l the way I would normally pick up a card if I wasn't a magician and I have been working on a method for years whether or not anything will come of it I don't know but the future holds that secret, another thing do every day lay pick single cards up in the same way?.

Though i agree that you should make the DL look the same as a standard, to try and prevent detection.
I also argue that doing say a Larry Jennings snap DL for example can add to the showmanship of the trick and if you do it with a nonchalent attitude and make nothing of it then it why would the person even pick up on it?

Thoughts anyone

I agree, why do we riffle shuffle? Why do we fan cards? To make ourselves look proficient with cards. I believe my DL is showing a card in a showy manner. Just my opinion.