Practicing sleights

[coffeeparamedic]

So I am trying to work on improving my skills from beginner to intermediate and have started working on specific "common" sleights and handlings but finding it difficult to get it down.

I am talking about getting a faro shuffle perfect, a tabled riffle shuffle perfect, erdnase change, passes etc etc. I basically work on it and just repeat but not really finding improvements.

For example, how do I get good at splitting a deck perfectly in half by sight for a faro, and then also getting a perfect alternating shuffle in the faro or tabled riffle?
Are there any books or videos on these that I should get? or do i need one on one tutoring? or do I just need to put in more time and practice until it starts working?

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

Well, the first thing I would say is that the idea of 'intermediate' or 'advanced' isn't really helpful. It will likely end up having you spending time on things you'll never use. Figure out which sleights and moves you genuinely need, and focus on those, and just worry about improving your skills from where they were yesterday.

The second thing is, yeah, probably you just need to practice more. But more importantly than that, you need to practice effectively.

Practice isn't just repeating the same thing, it's about figuring out what isn't quite working and fixing that.

So with a Faro shuffle: starting with a deck in NDO (minus ad cards and jokers) when you split the deck in half you should be looking at the King of Clubs, as that's the middle card. If you're not, figure out how many cards you're off, put the deck back together, and try again. Don't even bother trying to Faro the deck until you're consistently splitting the deck perfectly.

Then you work on the weave. With modern Bicycle cards it's easier if they are face up with a new deck due to how they are cut. Do it slowly, watch how the cards weave together, and make tiny adjustments to the amount of pressure you use as well as how you apply the pressure.

Once you make noticeable improvement, repeat it several times, then move on to something else. Generally when I'm working on something, once I can repeat something about 5 times in a row, I'll switch it up. This is because you can over-practice when learning something new. Your brain is building and thickening neural pathways when you learn things, and if you do it too much you basically oversaturate the signals. The key to efficient practice is also giving your brain time to rest and solidify those new connections and pathways.

And always remember: Start slow. Slow is steady, steady is skill, skill is speed.