The Double Handed Pass The purpose of the sleight is to cause the upper and lower parts of the pack, divided into halves by placing the little finger between them, to change places. In other words, the upper part of the pack is made to take the place of the lower one, and vice versa. Why is this useful? Usually a selected card is placed on the lower half of the pack. The upper half is then placed on top of this. The pass is then made in the twinkling of an eye, and the selected card is moved from the middle to the top of the pack. Fig 1 For this purpose the pack is held in the left hand, being divided into two nearly equal parts by the little finger inserted between them, Fig. 1. (Most American conjurors, including myself, prefer the insertion of the third finger instead of the fourth one, as it allows the fingers to grip the packet more firmly.) Fig 2 The pack is now covered with the right hand (Fig. 2), which seizes the lower half of the pack (the fingers being stationed on the upper edge of the cards and the thumb at the bottom). Under cover of the right hand, the upper half of the pack, which is held clipped between the third and fourth fingers, is drawn away till it just clears the lower half. Simultaneously with this movement, the right hand lifts up the lower half, the root of the thumb acting as a support. Thus both halves are made to pass each other without actually touching, both having now changed places. Fig 3 A close inspection of Fig. 3 will serve to illustrate this transposition still better. The shaded part (No. 2) in the drawing represents the lower half while the lighter one (No. 1) indicates the upper one. The original position of these two halves is shown in A; while in B, the upper half of the pack is represented in the act of being tilted upwards by the third and fourth fingers of the left hand. In C, the lifting of the lower half is illustrated; in D, both halves are seen to have passed each other; E shows the new position of the two halves. The beginner will at first find the making of the pass a rather awkward and difficult task, but as the beginner continues to practice the fingers will soon become more pliable, as it were, and act in unconscious unison. In a few weeks the pass can be mastered so that tricks depending on it can be safely exhibited. An ideal pass, which must be absolutely noiseless, quick as a flash and practically invisible will, however, take a year or more to acquire &endash; and even then constant practice must be devoted to it. Home | Card Tricks | Card Trick Skills | The Pass | The Force | Changes False Shuffling | The Glimpse | Card Palm | Card Sleights Copyright © 2003-2006 HowToDoCardTricks.com. All rights reserved worldwide.   You can quickly get a copy of every trick on this web site in a downloadable PDF book. That's over 40 classic card tricks to amaze and astound your friends, all stored on your computer to refer to at any time! Just click the link below to get your own copy today for just $5.