During the sleight the left thumb remains at its place at the outer left corner; its only function is to press downwards on its corner when it is desired to open the break at the inner right corner to admit the tip of the right forefinger.
This deal, surprisingly, is the easiest of all gamblers’ moves to master.
This method of opening a break at the inner right corner of the deck is so satisfactory that it should be noted that it can be used for a second deal. The left little finger holds a break under the two top cards; as the right hand approaches, apparently to remove the top card, the left thumb presses down on its corner, the break at the inner right corner is opened and the second card is whipped away inward and to the right. The move is almost indetectible, extremely easy of execution and can be mastered in a matter of minutes. It will be found useful in any number of card tricks.
The move can also be used as a substitute for the double lift push-off. As the right hand approaches to take the top card, the left thumb presses downwards on its corner and the break is opened at the right inner corner. The two cards are grasped by the right thumb above, and the second and first fingers below, at the corners; the two cards are turned face upwards as one and placed between the left thumb, first and second fingers at the left side, the end and the right side respectively.
The move has value since it can be made in a split-second, without fumbling and gives the natural handling that spectators expect of a person who supposedly is showing but a single card. It is, however, solely a substitute for the double lift push-off which remains the superior handling.
e. This method is exactly the same as the preceding one except that the break between the two packets is maintained by the flesh grip at the heel of the thumb and that the pack is held in the Mechanics’ Grip, Fig. 4.
1. Hold the pack in the left hand, the second, third and little fingers at the right side, the first finger curling at the end of the pack, the thumb pressed upon the top of the pack at the outer left corner, Fig. 4. A small mound of flesh at the heel of the thumb is pressed into a break between the two packets, the bottom cards of the upper packet being the desired cards. It should be noted that when the pack is held in this manner all the finger tips are exposed and apparently no break could be held.
2. Relax the grip of the left fingers and draw the left thumb, the ball of which has bent inwards to press upon the top of the pack, to the left. This action will shift the upper packet a quarter of an inch to the left. Press the tip of the left little finger down upon the exposed quarter inch of the lower packet at the inner right corner, and move the thumb back to the right with the upper half of the deck. The little finger now holds a break at the inner corner.
3. Press the thumb downwards against the outer right corner once more and make the deal exactly as in the preceding method.
4. Stop the deal at any point, remove the left little finger and press down upon the top of the pack with all the left fingers; the pack will appear to be in perfectly regular condition although the break is still maintained by the flesh grip at the heel of the thumb.
In this method, as in the preceding one, it is important that the fingers of the left hand should not move as the card is being dealt from the middle; they remain pressed against the side of the upper packet and it is this fact as much as any other which makes any false dealing seem impossible.
THE DOUBLE DEAL
In this deal the top and bottom cards of a small packet are dealt as one card. One of the specialties of Jack Merlin, it was suppressed by him when writing his booklet, … and a Pack of Cards.
A method of duplicating the deal, not necessarily Merlin’s, follows:
a. 1. Hold a small packet of cards, face upwards, in the left hand in position for the bottom deal, page 36. Push the top card diagonally off the pack with the left thumb, the inner end pivoting upon the flesh at the base of the thumb.
2. Place the outermost phalange of the right second finger upon the back of the bottom card, exactly as in removing this card in the bottom deal. From this point onward, however, the deal differs from the bottom deal.
3. Place the ball of the right thumb upon the outer right corner of the top card. Drop the rigid left fingers a little lower than in the bottom deal, allowing the right second finger to move freely inward, over them, during the following action:
4. Draw the bottom card inward to the right with the right second finger, this card also pivoting upon the flesh at the base of the thumb, until it is directly under the top card at the face of the packet, Fig. 1.
5. Pinch these two cards tightly together between the ball of the thumb and the outermost phalange of the second finger and deal them as one card upon the table, Fig. 2. If there happens to be any overlap of the two cards, let it be on the right-hand side, for the cards should be dealt directly under the right hand, which is two or three inches above them, obscuring them from view immediately as the hand moves with a wrist action upwards to remove another card.
The double deal should not be made until a number of single cards have been dealt from the top, when the presence of an overlap in the two cards when placed on the table pile will not be noticed.
This deal can be used to show that a single card has vanished from a packet, or to effect a set-up of cards stocked at the top of the packet in dealing them. Many other uses will suggest themselves. Merlin’s Lost Aces trick, in another part of this book, is an excellent example of the use to which the sleight can be put.
Second Method
b. This method of double dealing employs the Erdnase bottom deal, page 52, The Expert at the Card Table. As with the preceding method, it is for use with a small number of cards.
1. Hold the cards in the left hand, the first and second fingers curled up and pressing against the outer end at the right corner, the third and fourth fingers resting against the right side, the thumb lying diagonally across the pack with its tip pointing to the outer right corner. The pack is supported by the inward pressure of the outermost phalange of the second finger at the outer right corner which, exerted diagonally, presses the inner left corner into the flesh of the palm below the base of the thumb. When this grip is taken the left first, third and fourth fingers can be removed from the packet and it will remain supported between the second finger and the flesh of the palm. Note, in Fig. 3, that the outer right corner is pressed into the flesh of the first phalange of the second finger.
This grip is a modification of the Erdnase method which is preferred by some; the grip as described by Erdnase may, however, be used for this deal with equally satisfactory results should the reader prefer it.
2. Push off the top card of the packet with the left thumb, the card pivoting