Sleight of Hand

The First Glimpse behind the Curtain

Manual Dexterity in Legerdemain Magic Tricks

Employing only mechanical tricks, a magician can be pretty good if the entertainer’s showmanship is top notch. But if the performer is not proficient at sleight of hand (and misdirection), the person cannot be an outstanding magician.

What Is Sleight of Hand?

Sleight of Hand Meaning

1. skillful deception

2. manual dexterity, typically in performing tricks

3. skill and dexterity in conjuring tricks

Sleight of hand, in various performing arts, aka prestidigitation or legerdemain, is recognized for its ability to fascinate, captivate, and move audiences. Close-up magic, coin magic, card magic, and card flourishing are closely related.

Sleight of hand is frequently confused with being exclusive to the world of close-up and parlor magic because of its frequent use and practice by illusionists. But it's really a different form of entertainment in its own right, and some performers have a real knack for it.

Shuffling into Mystery

All successful magicians are great at sleight of hand—even the ones who don’t display the manual dexterity. Magicians David Blaine, magicians online like Jon Finch, and even Max Maven are proficient at sleight of hand magic tricks. But the audience see no sleight of hand.

There are fantastic magic tricks which depend on a prop. But if a magician seek such tricks, the performer is limited.

An excellent magician does not frown on such prop-heavy routines. Still, the master performer is not constrained to perform only when special props are at hand. The magician should be well-rounded, and sleight of hand makes a well-rounded magician.

Palming Cards and Fooling Crowds

Sleight of hand magicians must never fail. That is to say, sleight of hand magicians should never allow the audience to see that they have failed in arriving at any desired result. The surest method of avoiding this is to practice and rehearse everything, down to the minutest detail, in private, so as to be able to present in its perfect form to the audience.

In the classic endeavor of cardistry, performers manipulate cards — passing the playing cards from palm to side in a diagonal path — not for the thrill of it, but to impress spectators. In these performances, making good use of props like dollar bills can often depend on audience interaction and people's impressions.

The beginner sleight of hand magician feels a little awkward and stupid in rehearsing at first. But when he discovers, as he will, the necessity for it, he will soon become used to it. The great thing is to begin well, and this is best done if two sleight of hand magicians commence studying together, in which case will act as a critic to the other.

Stage Magic Sleight of Hand Magic Tricks for The Audience

During the first six months, write down everything need said and done, accompanied by the most minute stage directions. Each hand and foot has its proper position at a given moment. At first, this kind of thing is somewhat irksome to the sleight of hand magician, but the good results derived will soon make themselves manifest and compensate for all trouble.

Now You See It...The Skills Behind the Swindle

One thing of paramount importance is the talk to be used with each magic trick. At the outset, this is invariably written out beforehand, and committed to memory. If not word for word, then very nearly so. By this means, the sleight of hand magician is best able to avoid a repetition of any well-marked points, which would tire the audience and cause them to think the performer to be a man of limited ideas.

At the same time, great care must be taken to avoid making anything approaching a speech, which is even worse than saying nothing at all. People come to sleight of hand magician entertainment expecting to see sleight of hand performed, not to listen to speeches, however beautiful they may be in themselves. What is wanted is something to accompany the trick, just as a pianist accompanies a singer.

Dexterity and Deceit

The only occasions on which nothing should be said or when some feats of this dexterity, corresponding to the runs and scales of the expert vocalist, are being performed; for, a verbal accompaniment would only spoil them. On the other hand, a very poor trick can be made a good deal of, by the introduction of a few lively sallies, mingled with allusions to topics of the day, made to appear to bear upon the matter in hand.

A sleight of hand magician should be, before everything else, original. And original he would not be if he only repeated what other sleight of hand magicians had to say.

It's not enough that in orange is successfully vanished. The sleight of hand magician should perform the operation with all possible grace. This will be impossible if the sleight of hand performer is not well up in his magic trick. But this he must not fail to be.

The sleight of hand magician should acquire a manner neither hurried nor slow.

As a general rule, audiences prefer a suave and easy style — one which appears free from the slightest exertion.

Being in a hurry is the way to forget many little but telling points, while being too slow is the way to weary the audience. The worst possible style to adopt is that which impresses the audience with the idea that magic is nothing but a mere cheat, a swindle, from beginning to end. This impression is given when the performer wishes to appear extra-sharp, and endeavors to thrust everything down people's throats, whether they will or not. always endeavor to impress spectators that they are being deceived by skillful manipulation, and not bamboozled by talk.

Be careful not to substitute impertinence for boldness.

Too many beginners make this mistake. They mistake the precise nature of the boldness required by the sleight of hand magician. A better name for it would be audacity. To be successful out of the ordinary way, the magician must be audacious and venturesome now and then, though it is as well not to tempt Fortune too much or too often — the jade may fail at an awkward pinch. The warning not to play with edged tools should be taken to heart by the sleight of hand magician.

That celebrity magician paid his dues. Sure, the celebrity magician at times performs with props. But he doesn’t depend on the props. He has the chops when he needs them.

Believing you can be a celebrated magician while always depending on other magicians’ inventions is an excuse not to get good.

A good sleight-of-hand technician not only will entertain the audience, but will please himself with accomplishment.

Dai Vernon’s double-undercut was a clever and easy sleight-of-hand solution to the difficult sleight-of-hand Classic Pass. But the Classic Pass is far better in many more circumstances. The double-undercut is frowned on by magicians (rightly). It requires very little skill, and it works; but the double-undercut is not very deceptive because of the extra movements required to achieve what a sleight-of-hand master could achieve in the blink of an eye.

The “it works” justification for using an easy, somewhat passable sleight-of-hand move is not good enough.

That spectators didn’t quite follow what was performed is not the goal. The goal is to make the spectators witness a miracle and feel a sense of wonder. The double-undercut confuses the audience. They think, Wait a minute, what just happened?

The audience must not think, What just happened after I put my card where he told me to put it?

After witnessing an outstanding sleight of hand magic, the audience thinks, I KNOW what happened. I put my card in the middle of the deck.

Dai Vernon was a genius, but there are better alternatives to the double-undercut: the Bluff Pass, the Convincing Control, the Diagonal Palm Shift, the Classic Pass, and the Side Steal (invented by the outstanding card sleight of hand Vaudeville performer Nate Leipzig) are much smoother. My favorite is probably the Diagonal Palm Shift (covered by Roberto Giobbi in Card College Vol. 3).

The Bluff Pass and Convincing Control are perfect in the right trick, and the professional sleight-of-hand magician often may often use these sleights, sparingly. The Classic Pass, Side Steal, and Diagonal Palm Shift are versatile: the proficient sleight of hand magician can use these sleights in any card trick.

Advantages to the above sleight of hand maneuvers are listed below.

1. The spectator can put her playing card where she chooses (aside from the Bluff Pass).

2. The performer appears to do nothing, or almost nothing (rather than making multiple cuts, usually in a jerky motions).

Dai Vernon’s double-undercut is easier, but what the spectators see is more involvement and jerky maneuvering by the performer. With the side-steal, aka side slip, the sleight of hand performer merely squares the deck. With the classic pass, the sleight of hand performer apparently does nothing, or casually riffles the cards. With the convincing control, the performer merely squares the ribbon. With the bluff pass, the sleight of hand performer does nothing.

There are several reasons which make mastering sleight of hand worthwhile. As a proficient sleight-of-hand artist, a magician can entertain at a moment’s notice, at the drop of a top hat.

Without any need of props, the sleight of hand magician can entertain with impromptu magic, and the performer can use borrowed objects such as a phone, a spoon, a wristwatch, a napkin, or even a receipt.

The spectators can examine anything and everything — the sleight of hand performer ends clean.

In the rare event the sleight of hand magician is caught, if his sleight-of-hand technique is good, the spectator will be just as impressed with the performance. Contrast that with the humiliating exposure of a magician’s gimmick.

Since the sleight of hand magician have skill, money is saved on purchasing new props and eventually replacing them.

What are the benefits of sleight of hand?

The 5 benefits of sleight of hand are listed below.

1. Versatility

   The sleight-of-hand performer can get out of a tight spot, whereas the entertainer who depends on gaffs and gimmicks can perform down only one linear path.

2. Pack small, play big.

   A skilled sleight of hand magician can pack small and play big. The performer does not need a suitcase full of props. There’s no need for fanny pack full of gaffed decks and other gimmicked magic props filling his pockets.

3. Establish authority.

   The close-up magician approaches groups of people. One of the best icebreakers is to spring the deck, which demonstrates masterful skill. Instantly, the magician has conveyed nonverbally that he is a professional.

4. Peer respect.

   Fellow magicians will recognize and admire the sleight of hand.

5. A unique magic act.

   The sleight of hand act is difficult to copy, so the sleight of hand magic act will be unique. If a magician depend on the latest fashionable prop, then the magic act will be similar to the other magicians. If the performer accomplish the impossible with sleight of hand — just manual skill — he is a unique magician.

Exit through the Smoke and Mirrors

When a magician takes the magicians oath, the performer vows to practice before performing. Learning one sleight-of-hand move will take a year or more before the maneuver can be pulled off in front of an audience. The culmination of years of practice will be invisible to the audience.

The best sleight-of-hand artist is not seen as a sleight-of-hand artist. He’s seen as a magician.