I hold a break and then as I turn over the the cards i us the deck to keep them in line. I have benn doing this for years and I have never been caught. To Practice Start turning over one card and then try to simulate it with 2 cards.
Best double lift?
- Thread starter Lionsden123
- Start date
A good resource for double lifts is www.cardtricks1.com. The cost to access the site is only $9.95 which gives you a 1 year membership.
It provides closeup videos for a bunch of different doubles along with a ton of shuffles, controls, sleights, flourishes etc... The teaching is very detailed and the video of good quality.
I highly recommend the site for any beginning magician but there is also some good sleights and flourishes for intermediate and advanced workers.
It provides closeup videos for a bunch of different doubles along with a ton of shuffles, controls, sleights, flourishes etc... The teaching is very detailed and the video of good quality.
I highly recommend the site for any beginning magician but there is also some good sleights and flourishes for intermediate and advanced workers.
Very true.
One of the best double-lift I have seen is Cyril Takayama's because he was performing for a group of people, and, as Cyril begins to perform it, one of the spectators, halfway through, sticks his hand in and forces it over, without actually revealing the double-lift.
Simply flabbergasting.
Cheers,
JTM
Some that I have seen:
1. Diving Board Double, as mentioned by many. The first time I saw it, I thought it was SO nice.
2. Pinky Count. The one I use day in, day out.
3. Brian Tudor has this one handed DL that looks very smooth.
4. Spooky Altman Trap by Allan Ackerman. It just seems to float off the deck and slide off (think haunted deck effect, but as a DL moving across the deck)
I never liked those DLs where u pivot a corner of the card on the base of your thumb and "spin" it around. No one flips over cards like that. At least I haven't seen anybody do it before.
- harapan. magic!
1. Diving Board Double, as mentioned by many. The first time I saw it, I thought it was SO nice.
2. Pinky Count. The one I use day in, day out.
3. Brian Tudor has this one handed DL that looks very smooth.
4. Spooky Altman Trap by Allan Ackerman. It just seems to float off the deck and slide off (think haunted deck effect, but as a DL moving across the deck)
I never liked those DLs where u pivot a corner of the card on the base of your thumb and "spin" it around. No one flips over cards like that. At least I haven't seen anybody do it before.
- harapan. magic!
There is not a "best" double lift Paul Daniel's answer to this exact question was "it depends what you're gonna do next."
The Diving Board Double but that's CRAZY. So if you're not Diving Board Doubling, the best double lift would be the one that looks exactly like how you would flip over a single card.
I personally do the strike and push-off... can't remember the difference off the top of my head. I don't catch breaks to do my DL's most of the time as it can get suspicious in my opinion. I could post a little how-to on practicing the double lift that i do... but i'm at work and dont want to type it all... But if you want it, let me know and i can type it out.
I think that it really doesnt matter what DL you do, so long as it looks the same as your singles.
I HATE Diving Board Doubles (my apologies Mr. Asher). I dont care how damned convincing it looks. Give a deck of cards to a layman, watch them flip over a card. Guaranteed they never do a diving board double.
Doubles should look like your singles. And if you cant find a double that replicates that action, make your singles look like your doubles. That's key. I'll see guys with flawless doubles, but when they lift of a single, it just doesnt look right, because of the way theyve been doing their doubles.
You will have to comprimise either way. Make your doubles look as close to singles as you can. Now, make up any discrepancies by making your singles look like your doubles.
That said, I use a strike. But most importantly, I mimick that action with my singles...follow?
I HATE Diving Board Doubles (my apologies Mr. Asher). I dont care how damned convincing it looks. Give a deck of cards to a layman, watch them flip over a card. Guaranteed they never do a diving board double.
Doubles should look like your singles. And if you cant find a double that replicates that action, make your singles look like your doubles. That's key. I'll see guys with flawless doubles, but when they lift of a single, it just doesnt look right, because of the way theyve been doing their doubles.
You will have to comprimise either way. Make your doubles look as close to singles as you can. Now, make up any discrepancies by making your singles look like your doubles.
That said, I use a strike. But most importantly, I mimick that action with my singles...follow?
I don't know what my double is called, I just sorta worked out different ideas to find what worked for me.
But I only ever use that one, would it be beneficial to learn a second variation?
But I only ever use that one, would it be beneficial to learn a second variation?
I agree. This is the problem I have with the Jennings snap double. Its just not the way I (Not to mention any laymen) would turn over a card. I love the strike too BTW, And I try to get the same look with my singles.
I've never seen anyone (I assume we are talking about laymen here) Turn over a card in the same way as a Diving Board Double either. Come to think of it, I've never seen a laymen turn over a card with one hand as Tudor does.
Tim
Holy cow this is becoming a huge thread.
Where can you learn the strike double? It seems most popular.
Thanks,
Evan
(PS: does anyone have a video of the diving board double? I've never seen it performed so I haven't bought it.)
Where can you learn the strike double? It seems most popular.
Thanks,
Evan
(PS: does anyone have a video of the diving board double? I've never seen it performed so I haven't bought it.)
I do get sick of seeing the old chestnut about turning over a double like a layperson would. There is a fatal flaw in the argument!
How many of you went out and had laypeople turn over double cards to find out what was "the norm"? If you did, then obviously you didn't have a clear conception of how the technique would look. Logically then, neither do laypeople. Therefore, you don't need to worry about fitting in with "the norm", because nobody in your audience knows, or cares, what this is.
The key is to treat it as the mundane action that it actually is. We magicans get all excited about the fancy stuff you can do with a double because we are aware of the technical challenges. However, all you are supposed to be doing is showing people a card. It's not that big a deal!
What you treat as important, your specs will treat as important, and what you treat as unimportant...you know the rest.
Practise enough double lift techniques so that you can handle a double in any situation until you can do them flawlessly every time without thought. So long as they aren't overly flourishy that should be enough to make sure that the sleight occupies the correct place in your spectator's perception.
How many of you went out and had laypeople turn over double cards to find out what was "the norm"? If you did, then obviously you didn't have a clear conception of how the technique would look. Logically then, neither do laypeople. Therefore, you don't need to worry about fitting in with "the norm", because nobody in your audience knows, or cares, what this is.
The key is to treat it as the mundane action that it actually is. We magicans get all excited about the fancy stuff you can do with a double because we are aware of the technical challenges. However, all you are supposed to be doing is showing people a card. It's not that big a deal!
What you treat as important, your specs will treat as important, and what you treat as unimportant...you know the rest.
Practise enough double lift techniques so that you can handle a double in any situation until you can do them flawlessly every time without thought. So long as they aren't overly flourishy that should be enough to make sure that the sleight occupies the correct place in your spectator's perception.
I do the one that David Blaine did a lot of on his special- i can't remember what it's called. Strike or push...
It's ridiculous to attempt to turn doubles over the way a layman would turn a single. If you asked a lay person to spread out the cards for you to select on there's no way they would perform a Le Paul spread or a fan, or even spread the cards smoothly between their hands, yet there's no objection to these techniques. As a card performer, you would be expected to handle cards a bit more smoothly and more flashily than a layman would, so a flourishy turnover is completely acceptable in the right context.
I do believe I just posted on this topic in another magic forum...oh well, here we go again. 
What is it that makes magic effective? It is the way that you present the trick. Therefore, I would say that there are no "Best" double lifts, just whatever is comfortable for you to use. Ultimately, unless you are doing something that is crazy different from normal, no one will question how you turn over the "top" card. In fact, they don't care that you're turning over a card, they only care about what card it is.
Now, obviously, if you flash the second card then they'll point it out. This is where picking a comfortable lift comes into play. I personally cycle through two or three different double lifts depending on what my mood is and how the cards are handling that day. It has never made a difference what lift I used. All that mattered was what was on the face of the revealed card.
Practice your mechanics, perfect your presentation, and the performance will take care of itself.
~The Asian
What is it that makes magic effective? It is the way that you present the trick. Therefore, I would say that there are no "Best" double lifts, just whatever is comfortable for you to use. Ultimately, unless you are doing something that is crazy different from normal, no one will question how you turn over the "top" card. In fact, they don't care that you're turning over a card, they only care about what card it is.
Now, obviously, if you flash the second card then they'll point it out. This is where picking a comfortable lift comes into play. I personally cycle through two or three different double lifts depending on what my mood is and how the cards are handling that day. It has never made a difference what lift I used. All that mattered was what was on the face of the revealed card.
Practice your mechanics, perfect your presentation, and the performance will take care of itself.
~The Asian
When it comes to the double lift there are a couple of things to keep in mind. I'd venture to say it's the move we use more than any other in our cardwork. The problem is that people tend to take the move for granted and end up practicing the tricks using the double lift and not the double lift itself.
Personally I use a pushoff double and make it a point to practice the move for at least two hours a day. I figure if I'm going to perform a double lift all the time then it should look as good as possible.
l u k e
Personally I use a pushoff double and make it a point to practice the move for at least two hours a day. I figure if I'm going to perform a double lift all the time then it should look as good as possible.
l u k e
Diving board double.
I think the diving board double is the best double lift. it is hard but if you practice it it looks really good.
I think the diving board double is the best double lift. it is hard but if you practice it it looks really good.
i still reckon the snap double because you can use it for single, double and triple lifts with it staying the same action it is used by some of the elite magicians such as dayrl and jennings
It really comes down to how you handle cards, which is based on your performance persona.
If you're presenting mentalism with a deck of cards and what to appear to have no card handling ability whatsoever, then something mundane looking would be best. However, if your routines are flashy and flourishy and prove you to be an expert card handler, it would be perfectly consistent for you to turn over a card in a more ostentatious way, even using a different technique each time you turn over a card. I think it's a fallacy to argue that a flashy double lift always draws undue attention and makes the turnover look suspicious. If your audience are marvelling at your dexterity, they won't be thinking about the possibility that you turned more than one card over. A demonstration of expertise gives you authority.
If you're presenting mentalism with a deck of cards and what to appear to have no card handling ability whatsoever, then something mundane looking would be best. However, if your routines are flashy and flourishy and prove you to be an expert card handler, it would be perfectly consistent for you to turn over a card in a more ostentatious way, even using a different technique each time you turn over a card. I think it's a fallacy to argue that a flashy double lift always draws undue attention and makes the turnover look suspicious. If your audience are marvelling at your dexterity, they won't be thinking about the possibility that you turned more than one card over. A demonstration of expertise gives you authority.