Card flourish
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Flourish" redirects here. For other uses, see Flourish (disambiguation).
Card flourish is a magic jargon term for a visual display of skill performed with playing cards to show the skill and manual dexterity of a magician. Card flourishes are more akin to juggling than magic. Flourishes are visually fascinating to watch, look difficult to do, and they often are. [1]
Card flourishes for magicians can be divided into many genres: one handed cuts, spreads, two handed cuts, fanning, aerials, and springs. The art of card flourishing is not for magic use only. The art of doing only the flashy manipulation of playing cards as its own art form is also known as "Cardistry" or "Extreme Card Manipulation"[citation needed]. Flourishes are used to fan the deck for a "pick a card" trick, or to cut the deck in a fancy way.
[edit] Terminology
- Packet - Any amount of cards separate from the rest of the deck, the word "packet" can also mean the deck itself.
- Card cut - Any move that cuts the cards, which means to switch or re-arrange the positions of two or more packets of cards.
- Card shuffle - Any move that mixes the cards thoroughly, this is different from a card cut because a card cut mixes larger packets of cards, but a shuffle usually mixes 1-2 cards on top of another all the way through the deck.
- Grip - The way you hold the deck in your hand.
- Long sides of the deck - The sides of the deck that are longer than the other sides.
- Short sides of the deck - The sides of the deck that are shorter than the other sides.
- Mechanic's Grip - A way of holding the deck where it lies across your palm, and the index finger is on one short side of the deck, the other fingers are on the long side next to it, and the thumb is lying across the other long side of the deck.
- Dealer's Grip - A way of holding the deck where it lies across your palm, while the four fingers are on one side of the deck and the thumb on the opposite long side.
[edit] References
- ^ Tarr, Bill [1976]. Now you see it, now you don't! Lessons in sleight of hand. Vintage Books. ISBN 0-394-72202-7.Flourishes, pp. 59-89.
