say, the 10th card from the bottom crimped, then doing an Off Center Faro as in Figure 67 but above the crimped card, the 26th and 27th cards cards will definitely become the cards from top and bottom respectively.
7. Further of the Off Center Faro is to get two even packets of cards, that is, the same number of cards in each packet.
8. In this case, cut at 26 and then do an Off Center Faro. Push the packets into each other until the deck is as in Figure 69 where the hands have been omitted.
Figure 69
9. If you have done a table type Faro, then you would cut off the top section to the right. The right thumb then would lift up the balance of the cards.
The bottom packet is then free to be taken by the left hand and placed to the left.
10. If the Faro was done solely in the hands, the right hand would again take off the top packet as the left forefinger presses down on its packet to prevent any other cards coming off with the top packet as it is placed to the right.
The right hand comes back to grasp the remaining interwoven cards. Lifting them up slightly the right hand sepa-rates these cards from the bottom sec-tion which is now easily taken by the left hand and placed to the left.
11. Again, the use of a key at a definite position at either the top or bottom would make for a definite number of cards in each packet.
Once again a reminder that the student will find further uses for the Off Center Faro in Chapter Seven as well as a closely allied idea called the Left Over Faro Shuffle. This is very useful in cases involving an odd n u m b e r of cards. This idea can be used with decks of cards having uneven numbers such as a 53 or a card deck or a 49 card deck and so forth.
It also is very useful in retaining cer-tain sets of cards at either the top or bottom while actually using a Faro Shuffle on all other cards. However, do not confuse the Left Over Faro with the Off Center Faro.
Using the Faro Riffle Shuffle for the Throw-Off, Off Center or Above the Crimp Faro, you proceed in the usual manner to weave the cards except that before the actual riffle is made the large block of cards below the started weave is allowed to fall to the table.
Then the thumbs Faro Riffle Shuffle the cards. Figure 70 shows the bottom block having dropped onto the table.
The weave has been started and, of course, riffling off the thumbs follows immediately.
Figure 70
13. In the case of using the Faro Riffle Shuffle for the Throw Off Faro you would proceed in a manner similar to Figure 70 except that after the shuffle, the packets would be pushed into each other at an angle just as if about to do a Strip Out Shuffle.
Once the angle is obtained, the fingers of the left hand press on the front left
174
THE FARO SHUFFLE corner of the deck thus causing the top
block of cards, above the shuffled to raise up at the back end. The left thumb presses down on the angled cards at the back left corner in order to prevent these from raising with the top cards.
14. The right hand is on the deck's right side, fingers in a position similar to the left hand.
15. With the cards raised at the back the right t h u m b moves in to obtain a break, between it and rest of
at the back right corner.
The left fingers and thumb can now easily square the cards while the right thumb is retaining the break. If you try it any other way the cards will have a tendency to bind.
17. Once the cards are squared, the break is taken over by the left thumb at the back. This leaves the right hand free to do the cutting.
18. As in the Throw Off Faro in the the same rule applies to this on the table. If you wish to make an Out Shuffle, cut to the break, using a series of two cuts or more, sort of a Tabled Double Under Cut. If you want an In Shuffle, then the final cut must also carry the top card with it as in Figure 71 which is the Table Cover Up Cut in action.
Figure 71
19. While the tabled Cover Up Cut have a logical appearance at this stage, it does give the results of an In Shuffle as the packet below the break is placed on top in a final cut.
Again the top card of Figure 71 has been purposely moved over to show the action when it will actually be in line with lower packet.
Now a discussion of a couple of Faro principles is in order at this stage, therefore, the following should be of interest.
Half and Half Principle For any even number of cards what-ever happens to the position of the cards in the top half also happens to the bottom half, but in reverse, during either a perfect In or Out Faro Shuffle.
2. As an example, let's note the top and bottom cards. The top card is number one in the top half but consider the bottom card as number one in the bot-tom half.
3. This principle applies to any even I numbered packet of cards. However, in I this example, assume a full deck of 52 cards is used and would mean 26 cards. Cut the cards exactly in and give it a perfect In Shuffle. Follow by doing alternate In or Out Shuffles each time being sure they are perfect.
4. After any number of the above shuf-fles count down, from the top of the deck, till you come to either noted card, Now, turn the deck face up, down the same number of cards and I you will the other noted card.
5. The two noted cards may
positions from top half to the j half and vice versa but they will always be at identical positions from the top j and bottom regardless of the number of In or Out Shuffles. That is, if one of the cards is from the top, the other I card will be from the bottom.
6. The above applies not only to I cards but also to every card in lower half and every card in the upper half. As an example, you can place ten | known cards on the top of the deck
175 HALF PLUS ONE
and ten known cards on the bottom of the deck. As long as you know their original top and bottom relationship everyone of the original ten top cards will be in a position relative to the bot-tom ten cards.
Another example, say the 7th card from the top wound up in a position of fourth from the then the origi-nal 7th card from the bottom would be fourth from the top, then again the original 4th card from the bottom may become 15th from the top; therefore, the original 4th card from the top would now be the 15th from the examples of the above principle will be found in Chapter Seven.
Half Plus One
1. In any even numbered packet, two cards that are apart half the number of cards in the packet plus one, will mesh or come together if the Faro Shuffle is perfect. This number includes the two cards of course.
2. In the case of 52 cards, any two cards that are apart half that number, plus one will mesh together in a Faro Shuffle. In other any two cards that are twenty-seven cards apart, will come together.
3. It is obvious that with two cards being 27 cards apart one will be in the upper half of the deck, the other in the lower half of the deck.
4. To give an extreme example, the top card and the 27th card will mesh together at the top in a perfect shuffle.
Also the bottom card and the 27th card from the bottom will mesh in a perfect shuffle. It stands to reason then, that every pair of cards that are 27 cards apart will mesh or come together.
5. This principle of Half Plus On" will apply to any even numbered packet of cards. In the case say, 40 cards,
half would be 20 and plus 1 would make it 21; therefore, any two cards cards apart will mesh together.
6. In what order they mesh depends on whether an In or Out Shuffle is given.
A card in the upper half of the deck will mesh above the card in the lower half if the pack is given an Out Shuffle. A card in the lower half will mesh above the card in the upper half if the deck is given an In Shuffle.
7. Any two cards that are 27 cards apart, in the case of a full deck again, will mesh together regardless of how many times the pack is cut as long as the cut at 26 and the Faros are perfect.
8. In the above example, you would not know where the two cards are, but by having one of them marked in some way you would not only know where they are but would also be able to mesh them accordingly. You could con-trol the marked card to either above or below the other, unknown, card.
9. Any two groups of cards can be meshed together providing the first card of one group is 27 cards apart from the first card of the other group.
Naturally, all succeeding cards of each group automatically are also 27 cards apart.
10. Again, if a marker or key is used in either group, you can then Faro mesh the groups into each other in any desired manner.
Combining Shuffles & Faros It is to the operator's advantage to make use of a standard riffle shuffle whenever possible and combine it with the Faro Riffle Shuffle. As an example, suppose you wish to stack the Aces every tenth card. By first using the standard riffle shuffle and stacking the aces every fifth card, then doing a per-fect Faro Riffle Shuffle of the In type, you will have the aces every tenth card.
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THE FARO SHUFFLE In connection with the riffle shuffle
itself, for many years I have used a sys-tem I call the System. The System enables you to use the standard riffle shuffle and yet stack the Aces into a large number of hands, such as six-seven-eight, etc., just as easily as if you were to stack for only three or even two.
Briefly I will give an example of stack-ing the cards, say, into the usual five hands. As you know, you would have to hold back four cards which are even-tually allowed to fall onto one of the aces. In this case, you would hold back only two, then by repeating the shuffle you would hold back two again to thus give you the required four cards above the Ace. Below is the for stacking four Aces into seven hands.
Get the four Aces on top of the deck.
2. Cut the top portion to the right.
3. Riffle Shuffle holding back three cards on the left and three cards on the right.
4. Let the three cards from the left hand fall first followed by the three Aces from the right. Square up in the usual manner.
5. Again cut top portion to right. Riffle, holding back three cards on the left, and again three Aces on the right.
6. Let three cards from the left portion fall first, then the three from the right.
7. Repeat the top cut to the right plus the shuffle being sure that you do not inter-mix cards into the portion of the Aces already stacked as you once more hold back three cards on the left, but this time only two Aces on the right.
Let three cards from the left fall first followed by two Aces from the right.
9. Repeat the shuffle holding back three card on the left and two on the
right letting the left three cards fall first followed by the two on the right.
Repeat the shuffle this time holding three cards on the left but only one Ace on the right and finish accordingly.
Repeat Step 10.
12. Repeat the shuffle, this time hold-ing three cards on the left but none on the right. Three cards from left are allowed to fall on top of the deck.
13. Repeat 12 and the four Aces are stacked every seven cards.
14. Again be sure not to inter-mix cards into those already stacked as you continue the riffles.
15. In dealing with six hands,
five cards go above each Ace. In this case, you would hold back, say, three cards the first time on the left portion but only two cards on the left portion when you repeat the shuffle.
16. Holding back so few cards using the Halfing System, the riffle shuffles can be made by sense of touch alone without so much as glancing at the deck and while carrying on a normal conversation during the whole process thus cutting down on what at first glance appears as a lengthy procedure.
17. Conversation or patter is most important as an aid to the shuffles since it directs attention away from them and they never appear to take very long. If silence prevails the shuf-fles can have a tendency to become monotonous.
This chapter on the Faro Shuffle would not be complete without the inclusion of what I call the
-Reverse or Backward Faro This is the usual process of taking a packet of cards and jogging the cards upwards and downwards as shown in Figure 72.
177 REVERSE FARO
2. Figure 72 shows the beginning of what you may perhaps term a Reverse Faro of the In Shuffle type because the lower packet will later be stripped out and placed on top of the
cards thus losing the original top card.
3. To start a Reverse Faro of the In Shuffle type, begin by normally dealing over the top card with left thumb.
4. The right fingers, thumb on top, take this card by its lower right corner.
5. The right hand, still holding onto its now moves upwards to the front of the deck.
6. The left thumb deals over the second card. This card is taken under the first card, by the right first and second fin-gers, at its upper right corner.
7. The right hand, now grasping two cards, moves down to the back end of deck in order to take a third card under the two thus continuing this up and down process until the whole pack has been dealt with.
8. With half the cards and half outjogged, the right hand strips out the injogged cards and places them on top of the outjogged portion.
9. The practice of stripping out the injogged portion, and placing it on top of the upper, outjogged portion, is always followed. This is because whether the Reverse Faro is an In or Out type depends entirely on how the
Reverse Faro is begun.
10. To get, in effect, a Reverse Faro Out type shuffle, you begin by taking the top card by its upper right then continuing the up and down process in the usual manner.
Upon completion you will that still following the outlined
of stripping out the injogged portion and placing it onto the outjogged cards, that the original top and bottom cards have remained intact thus simulating an Out Shuffle.
12. A Reverse In or Out Shuffle will reverse a previous In or Out Faro Shuffle. This can also be used to pre-pare for an In or Out Faro Shuffle.
Applications for this latter idea will be found in Chapter Seven.
Now, to conclude this chapter with a few capsule observations.
A Faro Shuffle is far superior to any false shuffle when it comes to retaining a full stacked deck in order.
2. In fast company when you have a stacked deck and perform the usual Push Through or Strip Out False Shuffle to retain the order, you are only tipping off your hand to these gents.
On the other hand, a Faro is identical in action and performance whether it is used with a stacked deck or without one. In other words, there is no definite tip-off that you may or may not have a stacked pack.
If you have mastered the Faro you can use it in partial set-ups to even greater advantage.
4. Remember that a Faro Shuffle is in fact actually a fair shuffle if nothing has been, set or prearranged before-hand.
5. After you have mastered the Faro you can take your choice of demon-strating the fact that you can do 8
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