Moves

A sleight-of-hand reference work for cards, coins, billiard balls, and thimbles.

Magic without Apparatus is the first English translation of La Prestidigitation sans Appareils, which has been recognized by authorities on magic as the world's greatest treatise on legerdemain with cards, coins, billiard balls, and thimbles. The French edition elicited such comments as these:

Leo Rullman (Connoisseur of magical literature): "The greatest work on pure sleight-of-hand in any language."

Professor Hoffmann (Author of Modern Magic, More Magic, Later Magic): "A contribution of the first rank to the literature...

A play-by-play exposé of the tricks of the card sharp's trade.

Moss gives general advice on how to avoid becoming a sucker or losing more money than luck alone would explain. The most interesting part is where he describes several sleights and strategies cardsharps use to cheat at the card table. Many of the sleights are illustrated with photos.

• Introduction 5
• Meet the Enemy 7
  • Who Are the Victims?
  • Suckers
  • Addicts
  • Defeating the Enemy
  • Luck
  • Greed
  • Amateurs
  • Advice
• Modern Cheating
  • False Cut Number One
  • False Cut Number Two
  • False Cut Number Three
  • False Cut Number Four
  • A Reverse...

A version of a strike-second deal that the author calls the "shutter" method, referring to the shutter of a camera.

This version could be easier for some to perform than a classic strike-second because the coordination of the thumbs is built into the method itself. While the author claims that his method is practically self-working, there is some amount of practice necessary to acquire the knack. Still, his discovery has earned the praise of top-flight card experts, who have called it perfect in action and imperceptible to the keenest observer.

The second deal is an indispensable sleight...

A utility move that allows you to control a card to the top, to the second, or a few cards down from the top.

I have created this move back in 2010 to control a card to the top of the deck. Over the years I have refined it to this point, now I am confident enough to share it with the magic community. With this move, you can not only control a card to the top but also to the second position or a few cards down from the top. This move is easy to perform without any knuckle-busting exercises.

1st edition 2022, video 22:20.

Here is a deceptive and easy-to-do card control. You can really see the selection shuffled back into the deck but somehow the magician is able to locate and control it. No preparation and no setup is needed. Everything is done completely impromptu and with a borrowed shuffled deck. No crimps or gimmicks are used. A real weapon to add to your arsenal of card magic.

1st edition 2022, video 6:12.

Here you have a very deceptive False Shuffle based on Jay Ose's False Cut. You will see two versions in the demo. Look carefully; it will fool you. You will be able to keep the entire deck in order.

1st edition 2021, video 5:48.

Wesley James has done it again! While no single volume could include every multiple lift technique that has been shared in magic's vast literature, anyone that performs card magic needs the powerful tool multiple lifts can offer. Simply stated, this is the single most extensive work on multiple lifts ever created. No list could be fully comprehensive, but you'll find an abundance of techniques referenced in the exhaustive bibliography. You'll also discover as much multiple lift information as has ever been placed between two covers, and more.

Everyone who performs card magic needs to...

1st edition 2021, video 1:43.

This is Eddy Taytelbaum's version and handling of a flushtration-type count. That is, you show the same card multiple times but due to the handling, it appears you fairly show each card of the packet.

1st edition 2021, video 1 min 27 s

This is Peter Pellikaan's version and handling of a flushtration-type count. That is, you show the same card multiple times but due to the handling it appears you fairly show each card of the packet.

1st edition 2021, video 1 min 56 s

video 2:22

1st edition 2021, video 2:30.

1st edition 2021, video 1:43.

1st edition 2021, video 3:29.

Palming cards while the cards are in action of being shuffled.

• The Action Palms
• The Shuffle Palm
• Delayed Action Palm
• The Count Cop
• Count Cop For A Number Of Cards
• Count Cop For Small Packets
• Count Cop And Transfer
• Count Cop Exchange
• Count Cop For Left Hand
• Action Palm - One Hand
• The Clip Steal
• Turn Down Palm
• Misdirection Palm
• The Cull Palm
• Cull Palm Replacement
• Pressure Fan Palm
• One Hand Palm As Action Palm
• Take Techniques For Action Palm
• Square Up Drop Palm
• Drop Cut Palm
• Double Action Palms
• The Table Edge Palm
• Pivot Bottom Steal
• Brush Palm
• Bits Of Misdirection

A playing card held between both hands vanishes in an instant. It does not use a thread or pull or topit.

1st edition 2021, PDF 3 pages, video 17 s.

A two card switch for Baccarat or Blackjack that paralyzed casinos in the 80's. As clean a move as you could hope for. Excellent as part of a gambling exposé.

1st edition 2021, PDF 3 pages, video 22 s.

This hardcore tool is not an easy thing to acquire. That said, it is, with dedication, within the skill range of anyone willing to devote the time necessary to master it. The drawn-out process of selecting a card has become tedious and time-consuming, causing the audience to lose interest. With this side steal, a card is peeked, transferred from the middle of the pack to the top in an instant. This PDF and video will put the side steal within your skill range.

1st edition 2021, PDF 3 pages, video 39 s.

Palming cards, and getting away with it, is one of the most difficult skills in the magician's toolbox. If you've ever wanted to master this sleight here is your chance. This concise tutorial will get you started, or improve your current technique, in order to raise your confidence level. This lesson covers the one-hand top palm.

1st edition 2021, PDF + video (length: 16 s)

The purpose of the switch is to secretly exchange two packets of four cards. For example, to show four aces and then turn them face down and deal them onto the table for an assembly effect. The cards dealt onto the table, of course, are not the aces after the switch has been done.

• Introduction
• The Basic Switch
• Four for Five
• Just a Touch More
• Throwing a Pass
• In the Middle
• Changing Five
• Changing Five the Easy Way
• Triple Throw
• Just One More
• In Conclusion

This is an improvement in the handling of the Curry Turnover that makes this move easier to accomplish and more deceptive. A simple get-ready makes the exchange faster and infinitely more rewarding. It was perfected during hundreds of hours behind a Black Jack table without ever once being detected.

It can be used for magical purposes as well. Add this subtle weapon to your card arsenal.

1st edition 2021, PDF 4 pages, video 30 s.

A beautiful color change made popular in the 70s by Walter Cummings. A fan of cards is waved in front of the rest of the pack, causing the face card to change in a dramatic fashion.

1st edition 2020, PDF 4 pages, video 47s.

The Double Lift is one of the easiest and at the same time one of the hardest moves in conjuring with cards. It is the easiest, because everybody can get a break under the top two cards, and then take and show them as one. There is no difficulty whatsoever in doing this. However, it is also one of the hardest moves, because to do this simple action deceptively, so that nobody even suspects in the slightest you hold two cards, is hard.

This ebook explains in detail Arturo de Ascanio's approach to making the Double Lift deceptive. Jesús Etcheverry, a longtime student and close friend of Ascanio,...

An excellent running false cut that is highly deceptive and relatively easy to master. Combine this with any false shuffle.

1st edition 2020, PDF 4 pages, video 26 s.

Culling (cards) is not a particularly fashionable technique. During the past forty years, card magicians started to pay closer attention to various ideas and techniques, especially those having broad application. In this treatise three types of culls will be examined:

1. Desired cards are secretly culled during the logical and natural course of an effect.
2. Free selections are controlled (culled) to desired positions during a visible procedure that looks fair and above board.
3. A cull done during another fair procedure that results in separating the four suits in Ace to King order.

The Ascanio Spread is a beautiful false display move, generally used to display 4 cards and hide a fifth one.

From the Introduction:

• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• To Begin
  • Racherbaumer Variation
  • Some Comments On The Mechanics Of The...

The Shank Shuffle, a full deck false shuffle, was published in 1971 on Ed Marlo's behalf by Jon Racherbaumer. The Zarrow shuffle came out around the same time. New Yorkers backed this method and that overshadowed the Shank method, which may be superior, depending on your point of view. The Shank method is regarded as more convincing by some card handlers. Reading the description can be a bit daunting for the novice. Here is your chance to master the shuffle thanks to a lucid video presentation and a clear text and illustrations.

1st edition 2019, PDF + video (length 23s)...

The original version of the following card tutorial, "Gardner-Marlo-Webb Poker Deal," was first published in Gregg Webb's ebook, Soapbox Derby.

The package presented here includes:

• Webb's Casino-Style Zarrow Shuffle Tutorial
• Gregg's improved "Marlo-Gardner-Webb Poker Deal" using Casino Zarrow Shuffles

Two eye-popping 2 card transpositions using Ablest Change.

• Transposition #1 is for you to pump up your social media.
• Transposition #2 is simply an everyday miracle.

1st edition 2020, length 5:30

During the 1970's Dai Vernon demonstrated this around the Magic Castle to anyone who was interested. He was quite fond of it. It is a neat, highly deceptive, practical hole card switch using natural actions, something he highly favored.

1st edition 2020, PDF 4 pages, video 12s.

This is the deck switch from the train car poker game scene in the movie The Sting, executed by John Scarne, renowned gambling expert. It is straight forward and within the range of anyone willing to devote the time necessary to master it. Add it to your skill set. You will receive a PDF and a video (download from your digital shelf).

Here is the clip from The Sting where the switch is executed.

1st edition 2019, PDF 4 pages, video 17s.