I've download the free pdf. file and I'm planning to study the book but some stuff is pretty useless there, anyway I know there are many people that have learned everything in the book so I would really appreciate if some of you guys could list the most useful stuff that a card magician can use there since many great card magicians are experts on Erdnase, book must be really good however the English is not my first or even second Language and the text itself isn't easy to read would prefer not to waste time on reading something that is not useless, so again the listing of the most useful stuff there would be very much appreciated...
Expert at the Card Table
- Thread starter Reakan
- Start date
1. It is unethical and hurts our art for you to be downloading free pdf's of this. I understand that is now technically public domain, but you should still buy the book, its like 12 bucks anyway.
2. In a way you are right, there is a lot of things in the book that you will never use, BUT you should still read through everything. for example, you will NEVER use one of the shifts ( I cant remember which one, but there is no way in hell you will use it), but reading the description and understanding the psychology behind it will help you with your 2 handed shift a.k.a the classic pass. So in summary, read everything.
2. In a way you are right, there is a lot of things in the book that you will never use, BUT you should still read through everything. for example, you will NEVER use one of the shifts ( I cant remember which one, but there is no way in hell you will use it), but reading the description and understanding the psychology behind it will help you with your 2 handed shift a.k.a the classic pass. So in summary, read everything.
It's a good book to look for certain things when someone else is doing "hidden" moves. I love being able to watch a video and figure out how they did it because they are using an old Erdnase move. If you like his work check out some of the stuff that Cardini has done as well as paul LePaul.
Oh and I agree with holo, I don't like the free material like this (I did purchase my copy), but it isnt like Erdnase would be getting money from it anymore anyway...
Oh and I agree with holo, I don't like the free material like this (I did purchase my copy), but it isnt like Erdnase would be getting money from it anymore anyway...
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Yeah, I also don't support stuff like that but it seemed 100% legal so why not get something for free if you know you've got it not violating the law...
EDIT: Oh and I am ok with reading all the stuff but I just want to know which sleights are the ones that are worthy of being learned and which are not.
EDIT (2): If not willing to list at least it would be nice if you guys could tell the today's names of sleights because there is stuff that is called different today than it was 100 years ago like Charlie's shift, today it is known as Charlier cut or Two handed shift, today the classic/basic pass...
EDIT: Oh and I am ok with reading all the stuff but I just want to know which sleights are the ones that are worthy of being learned and which are not.
EDIT (2): If not willing to list at least it would be nice if you guys could tell the today's names of sleights because there is stuff that is called different today than it was 100 years ago like Charlie's shift, today it is known as Charlier cut or Two handed shift, today the classic/basic pass...
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downloading the pdf is completely fine because it is public domain now, the pdf is even being hosted on http://www.erdnase.com/search.html .. i myself got the pdf a while back, i also have both the bible edition of the book and the GBC edition. because its always good to have a hard copy of the book that you can carry with you to read and not have to be at a computer like with the pdf.
as for the material to read .. its all good on there perhaps not all the moves are up to par with moves from today but the small tips that are scattered through out the booki are helpful for all moves, new AND old.
oh and FYI, erdnase has been published in other languages.. Japanese, German, French, Italian and Spanish, so if you speak any of these languages you could try to track down one of those editions instead.
-Abe
as for the material to read .. its all good on there perhaps not all the moves are up to par with moves from today but the small tips that are scattered through out the booki are helpful for all moves, new AND old.
oh and FYI, erdnase has been published in other languages.. Japanese, German, French, Italian and Spanish, so if you speak any of these languages you could try to track down one of those editions instead.
-Abe
Well my I'm in a very bad situation... My first language is Latvian and obviously the book hasn't been published there, My second is Russian, because my mother is Russian but I can barely read Russian since they don't have a roman alphabet, the next best language for me is English, even though I am a good English speaker( Because in my childhood I watched cartons on an English channel) the text is still not easy to read...
Reakan,
I highly advise that you take each and every move from Erdnase and at least try it a few times. There are reasons for those moves beyond the sleight itself. Valuable ideas, theories and more are hidden within the simple explanation of even the most seemingly worthless sleights.
However, I will also give you my short list of moves that I feel are best learned from Erdnase.
The Erdnase System of Blind Shuffles (every shuffle lends itself to great use for the card worker)
The Two-Handed Shift (known today as a Classic Pass)
The Bottom Deal (Erdnase's grip and method is still one of the best)
The Second Deal (now known as a strike second)
To Indicate the Location of the Cut (great work on crimps, jogs and more)
Beating the Cut (many terrific techniques that can be applied all throughout your magic)
Erdnase System of Palming (while I no longer use these methods, they are a great foundation)
Three Card Monte (a classic)
Changes (This covers everything from the Top Change to palm switches)
Transformations (where the Erdnase change comes from)
The Slide (Glide)
The following are also my personal favorite magic routines from the book as well.
The Exclusive Coterie (an early, early "assembly" routine)
The Divining Rod (a card stab)
Invisible Flight (a transposition)
The Acrobatic Jacks
As you can no doubt see, there is a massive amount of amazing material in this text. Again I encourage you to read and try it all so that you may learn the lessons that only come from experimentation.
Feel free to PM me if you need any help.
C
I highly advise that you take each and every move from Erdnase and at least try it a few times. There are reasons for those moves beyond the sleight itself. Valuable ideas, theories and more are hidden within the simple explanation of even the most seemingly worthless sleights.
However, I will also give you my short list of moves that I feel are best learned from Erdnase.
The Erdnase System of Blind Shuffles (every shuffle lends itself to great use for the card worker)
The Two-Handed Shift (known today as a Classic Pass)
The Bottom Deal (Erdnase's grip and method is still one of the best)
The Second Deal (now known as a strike second)
To Indicate the Location of the Cut (great work on crimps, jogs and more)
Beating the Cut (many terrific techniques that can be applied all throughout your magic)
Erdnase System of Palming (while I no longer use these methods, they are a great foundation)
Three Card Monte (a classic)
Changes (This covers everything from the Top Change to palm switches)
Transformations (where the Erdnase change comes from)
The Slide (Glide)
The following are also my personal favorite magic routines from the book as well.
The Exclusive Coterie (an early, early "assembly" routine)
The Divining Rod (a card stab)
Invisible Flight (a transposition)
The Acrobatic Jacks
As you can no doubt see, there is a massive amount of amazing material in this text. Again I encourage you to read and try it all so that you may learn the lessons that only come from experimentation.
Feel free to PM me if you need any help.
C
I largely agree with Mr Bumgardner above, in that even if you aren't going to use the particular moves as described by Erdnase, you can still find a wealth of thinking about how moves should be used, thinking that can aid in designing your own techniques and routines. For example, I don't really know a trick in which the Open Shift would give much added value over using a classic pass/two-hand shift. It has more of an open, relaxed grip, and doesn't require the deck to be repositioned as the hands come together, but for people who've spent ages practicing the classic pass, it would probably make more sense to continue using that. However, learning Erdnase's various shifts, picking through the descriptions and analysing the finger positions and the various forces involved in each one will definitely improve all your shifts.
Oh, and Mr Bumgardner, just one other thing I wanted to pick up. Neither of the second deals taught in Erdnase are a strike variety. They both involve a push-off, even if the take on his first method does bear some similarity to a strike.
Oh, and Mr Bumgardner, just one other thing I wanted to pick up. Neither of the second deals taught in Erdnase are a strike variety. They both involve a push-off, even if the take on his first method does bear some similarity to a strike.
Hmm, I fail to see how it differs greatly from the Strike Second in Expert Card Technique.
C
It speaks in a very old type of english. However this book is probably the best yet in card magic. it may be hard to learn, but it's very much worth it. There's almost nothing in the book you couldn't use. Everything in the book has an application for something.
I'll PM you, because I think some people might take issue with me describing the move in detail on here.