the right forefinger curled on top of deck as in Figure 15. Also note in this case the right second fingertip will be touching the tip of left thumb.
2. From here proceed as explained by jogging the peeked card with the left fourth finger. Then raise the deck into the Two Hand Square Up Position and square the sides of the deck.
During this action the right hand holds the card at its lower left corner with the tip of the right thumb and its upper right corner with the tip of the right fourth finger. The right hand swings downward slightly to cover the deck on the right side just before the steal. The pack is lowered into the left thumb crotch. The right hand moves to the right at same time the performer turns to his left seemingly to square the ends but actually to move the card out until it is clear of deck as in Figure
This shows the right forefinger still curled even though the card is out.
From the right side the audience sus-pects nothing.
3. The card is now moved back onto deck until it is flush with the left side of the deck. Then the right hand lifts up the pack so that the left hand may assume the square up position from below resulting in the Square Up Position as already shown in Figure 4. The deck is eventually lowered into left hand into dealing position.
In order to emphasize the importance of the right hand pivoting to the right in the Deliberate Side-Steal either with or without the right forefinger being curled, we have shown a right side view of what the audience would see without the downward pivot. The right hand can pivot to the right or the left hand can pivot deck upwards but in either case the pivot points are the upper right corner of the card pressed by the right forefinger and lower left corner pressed by the left thumb and this pressure is not released at any time during the pivoting action or later.
Now, Figure 18 shows the view if the Pivot Action is not used and Figure 19 shows the view when the Pivot Action is used. The importance of the Pivot Action will be also apparent in other Side Steal Moves to be explained later.
Figure
Figure 19
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THE SIDE STEAL
The Bold Steal
At times this device of ours has proven to be more effective than the Side Steal.
The previous to what we
call a strip out, are similar to that of the Technical Side Steal. A description of the Steal will be given followed by a few practical uses.
1. Follow all the Steps, from 1 to 8 of the Technical Side Steal. This will bring the hands into the position of Figure 5 with the peeked card only slightly angled and the right hand holding onto the corners of the card.
2. The left hand now pinches the lower left corner of the pack in its left thumb crotch while the right holding onto the projecting corners of the card, strips the card out towards the right.
This is similar in action to Figure 6.
3. Once the card is clear of the pack the right hand moves upwards, back of the card towards spectator. At the same time the right forefinger curls on top of the card as in Figure 20 which shows the stolen card's distance in relation to the pack.
Figure 20
4. The strip-out of the peeked card is covered by saying, "Your card could not be the top card." The right hand places the card on top of deck, at the same time taking the deck and turning it
face up. Continuing, "And, of it couldn't be the bottom card."
Naturally, any effect in which the card has to be brought to the top, can be used from here on; however, there are two more handlings of a specialized sort that will fit into certain routines only, although the mechanics are basi-cally the same.
Second Handling:
Follow all the Steps necessary to get the peeked card into the Strip-Out Position.
2. State that for this effect you will need ten cards.
3. Strip out the peeked toss it face down on the table as you count
"One". Immediately the left thumb pushes over the top card, which the right hand takes from above and tosses it on the first card counting "Two." The count is continued until ten cards are counted onto the table.
4. A number between one and ten is asked for as the packet is picked up and squared. The selected card is sub-sequently produced at the desired number by means of a bottom deal.
Obviously, the above effect is nothing t r e m e n d o u s and is used only to demonstrate how the Bold Steal can be made while seeming to count off a few cards from the top of the pack.
Third Handling:
A fairly good effect will be used to show the possibility of this third handling of the Bold Steal. During the routine the performer should be seated at a table for best results although this is not entirely necessary.
Remove the four Aces from a pack of cards. Show them freely, square them up, then place them face down in front of you near the edge of the table.
81 THE BOLD STEAL
2. Have a card peeked at and get it into the strip-out position. The hands, at this stage, should be above the tabled packet and off to the left as in Figure 21.
Figure
3, Right hand strips out the peeked card and immediately comes down to the tabled Aces, scooping them up in the process. The left hand, simultane-ous with the moves to the left turning palm downwards at the same time. The action is shown in Figure 22.
that the above moves are made as a single unit.
Figure 22
4. The left hand leaves the pack face up on the left side of the table, then aids the right hand in the secondary showing of the Aces. The selected card is, of course, on top of the packet.
Spread the four Aces face up and transfer three of them to the back of the packet to bring the selected card fourth from the top.
6. Turn the packet face down, saying you will once more show the Aces one
at a time providing they can call out their order. They will not be able to do this; therefore, after a slight reprimand, say you will show them once more but they must remember the order.
7. Flip the top Ace, face up, flush onto the top of the packet. Deal it, still face up, onto the table. The Ace is taken with the right fingers by the upper right corner.
8. Continue in this way for the second Ace, dealing it face up onto the first one. On the third Ace being shown, the Buckle Count is made thus the select-ed card will be taken, back to back, with the Ace.
9. The last Ace is flipped face up, then placed on the others. The peeked at card is now reversed between the Aces.
10. The Aces are turned face down and held at the upper end by the right thumb on top and fingers below. The left hand holds onto the pack on the left of the table while the right hand runs the lower end of Ace packet thru the face up deck. To facilitate the Aces being run thru, the left thumb lifts up the right side of deck at the upper right corner.
Right hand now tosses the Ace packet, face up, onto the table and spreads the packet to disclose a face down card between the Aces.
12. Have the selected card named.
Remove the face down card and slowly turn it face up for the Climax.
As had been mentioned, the various effects in connection with the Bold Steal are not to be taken as sensational but rather to show a practical applica-tion of the move.
At times when the angles are right the following technique for the Bold Steal will be found very disarming.
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THE SIDE STEAL
Fourth Handling:
1. Proceed to get the card into position for the Bold Steal but at this point instead of actually stealing out the card, your right hand moves it to the right as for the Technical Side Steal but does not remove it completely from the deck. In other words, the card will be in a position similar to Figure 6, almost out of the deck but not quite.
2. At this point, with the card almost out of the deck, the right hand lifts the deck so as to enable the left hand to once again square the sides of deck.
Naturally the left fingers run along side of the deck but under the projecting card.
To further enhance the illusion the right forefinger can curl on top of the deck near the outer right corner. The right second finger will be holding the deck by the outer right corner while the right thumb holds it at its inner right corner.
From here the deck is lowered into left hand dealing position while the right hand easily adds the stolen card to a tabled packet or cards previously dealt onto the table.
The Bottom Bold Steal
It is just as easy to steal the bottom card of a deck, or packet, using the same technique of angling the card with the left fourth finger so that the corners of the angled card can be grasped by the right hand, as already detailed. Then the card is either added to another packet or merely lifted up to be looked at as shown in Figure 20.
Using this last approach, we see how it can be effectively applied to a Stop Effect.
The Bold Stop Effect
1. Let us assume you have a selected card at the fifth position from the top of the deck. Let us also assume that
psy-chologically you have timed the deal so that nine times out of ten they will stop you at that fifth card. Let us keep on assuming that one day that tenth time comes along and the assisting specta-tor lets you deal merrily away past that fifth card, what then? Well, the Bold Steal in this case will get you out of an embarrassing difficulty.
2. If the spectator does not stop you at the selection, just remember to that card as you deal it onto the others on a table. From here all cards are now dealt haphazardly, thus covering the card until spectator calls 3. Place the deck aside. Now place the right first finger on the right side of the packet and move it off the table to the left and into the waiting left hand which receives it.
4. Once the packet is in the left hand the right hand comes over the packet as if to push the cards flush. Actually the right t h u m b , in back, locates injogged pulls upwards on it, then pushes the cards flush as left fourth finger easily obtains a break under the selected card.
5. The left fourth fingers angles the selected card at same time the packet is lifted so that left fingers and thumb can square the sides as you say,
"Remember, you could have stopped me at any time."
6. The packet is lowered and immedi-ately the right hand steals out the card as already explained and shown in Figure 20 as you finish the sentence by saying, "And you stopped me at this card." The card is not shown but mere-ly replaced on top of the packet. Now ask what the selected card was. Take off the actual top card holding it in a manner similar to the Bold Steal as you say, "This is the card you stopped at - the (name the letting the
83
PINCH TECHNIQUE card snap off the right thumb so it
winds up being held between the first and second fingers of the right hand with the face of the card towards audi-ence.
Method:
This procedure is exactly the same except that the spectator does the deal-ing into the performer's hand. All the performer does while receiving the dealt cards is to keep a break on the selected card in case it is passed by.
From here proceed as in the First Method.
Third Method:
This method is preferred by Carmen and makes use of the Bottom Bold Steal. The spectator can do the dealing and stop at any time. No breaks need be held as the top or first card dealt off is the selection. After the spectator stops dealing the same proce-dure is used as in the First Method except in this case the bottom card is the one stolen.
A Slight Difference
A slight difference in the Bottom Bold Steal technique, especially with a small packet, should be explained. Call it the Pinch Technique using left thumb and base of left forefinger.
1. It is not required to place the deck or packet into the thumb crotch but rather the packet should be held as in Figure 23, which is almost a dealing position. Here the left thumb is at the outer left corner pressing on it to keep the packet in position during the moment the right hand steals out the bottom angled card.
This same position is good for the Bold Steal when making the steal from the center of a small packet. It also can be used with a full deck if such is found necessary for certain deceptions.
Figure 23
Also the angling of the bottom card can be made while the deck or packet is in the position shown in Figure 23. In other words that position need not change, say, as in the Third Method Stop Effect, from the time the spectator deals the last card into your hand.
Instead the right hand can come over as if to take the top card while the bot-tom card is immediately angled. The right hand, of course, does the Bold Steal Moves as in Figure 6.
Standard Side Steal
There are those who work for the public and have to maintain a certain tempo. To them it is immaterial if there is a slight movement of the fin-gers in a Side Steal as long as the method is practical and fast. They are solely interested in getting that selected card surely, and quickly to enable them to continue with the effect at hand. For them the Standard Side Steal will fill their needs.
1. Bevel the pack, as instructed in the Technical Side Steal, Step
2. Once the pack is beveled it is placed in the identical position shown in Figure
3. Have a card peeked at and maintain the break with the fourth left finger as outlined in Step 3 of the Technical Side Steal.
4. At this stage the Side Steal differs in that when the right hand is placed over
84
THE SIDE STEAL
the pack, as shown in Figure 2, the right hand more or less hugs the deck.
This is done so that the right four fin-gers will come down lower thus giving more cover to the front end of the pack.
5. When the hands are in the above position, the left fingers can swing downwards, opening the whole right side of the deck up to the break. This forms a sort of horizontal V opening which will be hidden by the right fin-gers in front. Only the bottom portion should be moved downwards while the top should remain motionless.
6. The left third finger now digs into the break as far as it can reach and presses upward and forward on the peeked card. The card will pivot at the outer end moving quickly to the right and into the right palm. Only the right thumb and right first finger should be pressing on the upper and lower left corners of the pack as this insures an easy pivoting of the peeked card.
7. The right hand now moves slightly to the right, in a squaring motion, to get the upper left corner of the card from the center of the deck. Once the corner is free the right hand moves towards the left continuing the simulated squaring movement.
8. The right hand with the palmed card can be dropped to the side or it can be immediately brought to the top by using any one of the Palm Replacements discussed in Action Palms or those described here.
On The Left Side
During the Standard Side Steal and replacement to the top of the deck, the most vulnerable angle is the left side.
In other words Figure 24 shows what is usually seen on the left side during a side steal. This left side can be covered and with the method here described the can actually do a Side Steal with the spectator on his left. At
the same time it will be covered from the front and right side.
Figure 24
The secret consists of merely tilting the hands to the right, at a slight angle so that the spectator on the left can not see the back of the deck. Figure 25 shows what the left side will look like during the actual stealing and replac-ing of the card to the top of the deck.
Figure 25
Naturally the action is still covered from the right side, as well as the front.
The pack is tilted to the right only a horizontal plane. Be sure not to bring the hands upwards during the tilt. Just keep the outer and inner ends of the deck in the same plane.
Multiple Holdout
Usually, when it is desired to have four or five cards selected using the specta-tor peek and Side Steal, it is necessary to also make just as many replace-ments. For such occasions we devised a method whereby only one replace-ment move need be made to get all the
85
LEFT HAND STEAL peeked cards on top. What is more,
they are always in their proper order from the top down. That is to say the first selection is on top, the second is below that, etc., up to as many cards as were noted.
The process consists of simply holding in the palm each succeeding card until
The process consists of simply holding in the palm each succeeding card until