Cards At The Finger-Tips



This is one of the prettiest effects in connection with the Back-hand Palm.

After the performer has vanished (by means of the back-hand palm), say, five cards, and shown both sides of the hands to be empty, he proceeds to reproduce the cards one by one at the finger-tips, as in Fig. 115.

cards at fingertips

Fig 115

This is accomplished in the following manner: When it is desired to produce one card from the back of the hand, the thumb bends round to the middle of the nearest end of the outside card and literally pulls it away from the rest, the first and fourth fingers aiding in its release by slightly re­laxing their pressure (see Fig. 116)

fingertip cards

Fig 116

Once quite free from the back of the hand, the card is pushed by the thumb into the position depicted in Fig. 115. This must be done very slowly at first, but, of course, in the actual performance all the above movements must be made simultaneously. If this is done with a slight wave of the hand, it will ap­pear to the audience that the performer actually caught the card from the air.

The effect of this trick can be further heightened by the performer, after having caught, say, three cards, showing his right hand to he absolutely empty, back and front, and the fingers spread wide apart. The following is the procedure:

As each card is produced at the right-hand finger-tips, it is placed in the left hand. (Fig. 117 shows the exact positions of both hands.) When the performer has caught the third card, in the act of placing it in the left hand, he secretly leaves the cards, still back-palmed, behind the three cards now in the left hand, gripped by the second finger. (See Fig. 118 which represents a back view show­ing the position of the hand and cards.)

Fig 117

Fig 118

The right hand is now shown empty, and the performer makes the remark: “Nothing between the fingers. All we have here is three cards,” meanwhile counting with the thumb of the right hand those in the left hand. Under cover of this movement the two hidden cards are again back-palmed in the right hand (see Fig. 119), and reproduced at the will of the artist.

Fig 119

This card trick is from the book “Card Tricks” by Howard Thurston.


Related posts:

  1. Four Cards Caught At The Finger Tips
  2. Disappearing Five Cards
  3. The Charlier Pass
  4. Gravity Defied
  5. The Cards, Coins And Glass

This entry is filed under Card Tricks.