Addendum

by John Galsworthy
 Addendum
A short postscript to supplement previous efforts concerning
the palming of cards. Two methods.

Copyright 2021 © by John Galsworthy.

All rights reserved. This manuscript may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any format
without the express written permission of the author.

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Give me the luxuries, and anyone can have the necessaries.
O.

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Contents

1. Introduction...................................................................................... 4
2. Touch Palm One – Topping the Deck ............................................ 5
THE LEFT HAND........................................................................ 5
THE RIGHT HAND .................................................................... 6
THE PALM ................................................................................... 7
NOTE............................................................................................. 9
3. Touch Palm Two – Erdnase Bottom Palm .................................... 10
THE RIGHT HAND .................................................................. 10
THE LEFT HAND...................................................................... 11
THE PALM ................................................................................. 12
4. Conclusion...................................................................................... 14
5. References ...................................................................................... 15

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1. Introduction

This brief set of notes serves as an addendum to my previously published book,

Concerning the Palming of Cards, and contains a couple of ideas which didn’t
make it into the final print. This shouldn’t raise doubts about the merit or quality
of the ideas. In putting together the book, certain brutal choices had to be made,
largely owing to time constraints and shipping weights. Some things made it in;
others, unfortunately, didn’t.
The topic at hand, while short, however, does warrant a discussion of its own, and
will be covered in our upcoming lecture. It’s an approach which I’ve come to think
of as Touch Palms.
While most of the palming techniques I’ve presented to date have relied on a
certain amount of coordination between both hands to pivot, rotate and slide the
cards into their necessary positions, the two methods presented here allow for a
card to be palmed simply by touching it with the fingertips. A bold claim, yes, and
likely unoriginal to me, but that is essentially what the techniques boil down to.
Shaving off unnecessary movements in this way, the palms can be executed without
any real get-ready. The compromise, however, is that they are only suited to the
palming of a single card.
Two methods are presented. First, a re-working of Vernon’s ‘Topping the Deck’
for palming the top card. Second, an approach to the bottom palm that began as
an attempt to streamline the Erdnase bottom palm first method.
As ever, I hope you’ll find these notes of value in your journey as a sleight of hand
enthusiast1. Treat them as a beginning, not a destination.
Talk soon.

J. Galsworthy
April 2021

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Or ‘nerd’, ‘geek’, ‘move monkey’ – as you prefer.

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2. Touch Palm One – Topping the Deck

Dai Vernon’s ‘Topping the Deck’ method (Crimmins Jr. & Vernon, 1941), along
with the slight modification given in Further Inner Secrets of Card Magic (Ganson,
1961), was the first serious technique I learned for palming a card1. It’s a solid
method and it very much remains a benchmark in palming technique.
However, as with many standard approaches, I’ve found that the as-written
description didn’t quite suit my hands. As I progressed with palming, I sought to
maintain a lightness and looseness to the palming hand which, despite the
accompanying descriptions in both Vernon books, I couldn’t quite achieve with the
technique given. For me, there has always been a heavy-handedness to the
‘Topping the Deck’ approach. I feel that my right hand has to arch too much above
the cards, covering too much of the deck than is necessary or desirable; and the
pushing movement of the left thumb lying across the top card only serves as an
obstruction.
I don’t claim to have added anything to the Vernon method. Strictly speaking, the
technique here has only removed a few things to achieve a result that suits me
better. Consider it as just another option.
THE LEFT HAND
The deck is held in a standard mechanic’s grip, with the left thumb lying along the
left long edge. The left forefinger can remain extended loosely at the front end of
the deck (as shown), or curled underneath. My preference is that the finger should
remain in whatever position it was in prior to palming to avoid any unnecessary
adjustment. The other left fingers are curled round the right long edge of the deck,
their fingertips slightly protruding above the top card (Fig. 2.1).

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The first trivial technique I learned was whatever the hell The Royal Road to Card Magic teaches.

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 Fig. 2.1

As I said in the Introduction, with touch palms, only the fingertips of the palming
hand play a part in the palming action. With the exception of the left thumb, which
will provide an almost incidental pivot point, the rest of the left fingers don’t do
anything from here. No pushing, no pivoting. Nothing.
THE RIGHT HAND
The right hand approaches from above in Biddle grip – fingers together along the
front end of the deck; thumb at the rear. As with the top palm methods discussed
elsewhere, the right thumb lodges itself into the fleshy base of the left thumb,
contacting the inner left corner of the deck (Fig. 2.2).

Fig. 2.2

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In this way, the fingertip of the right little finger should contact the outer right
corner of the deck (Fig. 2.3). This will be our ‘touch’ point on the palmed card.

Fig. 2.3

Not until after the card is palmed, however, do the right fingers grip the deck.
THE PALM
With the fingertip of the right pinky contacting the outer right corner, the right
hand extends forward slightly (Fig. 2.4). The right thumb remains in its position
throughout. With this forward movement, the top card will begin to rotate counter-
clockwise, pivoting naturally off the left thumb.

Fig. 2.4

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The right hand should extend forward only far enough to allow the inner left corner
of the top card to clear past the right thumb, putting the card in close proximity to
the crotch of the thumb where it can be secured in a palm (Fig. 2.5).

Fig. 2.5

With the card pivoted just enough, then, the right hand can begin to contract, the
fingers curling inwards to take hold of the deck. In doing so, this contraction draws
the top card into the palm proper, the card bending to the contours of the hand.
Be in no rush to curl the right fingers in, though. The goal is to soften any contrast
in the position of the right fingers before and after the palm.
With the card now palmed, the right hand draws lightly to the side, bringing into
view as much of the top of the deck as possible. As with other top palm methods,
the goal is to maintain the pretence as much as possible that the top of the deck is
never fully out of sight. Curling the right index finger at this point is also a good
idea (Fig. 2.6).

Fig. 2.6

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From here, the original Vernon approach of lifting the deck to the left-hand
fingertips is a sensible final step. The entire procedure should be completed with
the intention of squaring or cutting the deck, giving a justifiable reason for bringing
the right hand over the cards.
Seek to maintain a lightness with the right hand. By this I mean avoid any sense of
swiping or pushing the hand across the deck. The motion should be a light brushing
across the cards, with any flexing of the fingers kept to a minimum. The idea with
touch palms is that there are very few moving parts involved. Fewer things that
could go wrong, then.
NOTE
Incidentally, this is the same palming method I use to execute Ed Marlo’s
‘Misdirection Palm’ (Marlo, 1956). In this technique, the top card is palmed under
the action of pushing another card into the centre of the deck. As before, Marlo’s
original description didn’t quite satisfy, with the right hand being brought too far
over the deck.
Instead, the forward movement of the right hand described above is extended far
enough to facilitate pushing the inserted card flush into the deck. All the previous
positions are maintained, with no change to the technique necessary. The covering
action of pushing another card into the deck does a lot to alleviate any sense of guilt
or tension associated with palming (Fig. 2.7).

Fig. 2.7

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3. Touch Palm Two – Erdnase Bottom Palm

With two-handed bottom palm techniques, there’s very little, to my mind, that
beats the first method given in Expert Card Technique (Erdnase, 1902). It avoids
the any tell-tale ‘grabbing’ motions of the left fingers as they fumble to secure the
card. This was something that I struggled with in my early attempts at learning a
bottom palm method.
A couple of years ago, however, I watched Dennis Kim’s Ephemera download,
published by Ellusionist. He approached the Erdnase palm in a novel way,
performing what he called the ‘Knuckle Palm’. This method dispenses with any
need for a get-ready and eliminates movement of the right fingers. It’s a fantastic
technique and a fantastic download that gives us mere mortals an idea of what
sleight of hand technique can look like.
My own approach here with this bottom palm technique shares similarities with the
Kim method, making alterations that suit my hands. The effect given is that the left
fingertips lightly brush against the bottom of the deck, with the bottom card being
drawn away in the palm imperceptibly.
THE RIGHT HAND
The deck is held in right hand Biddle grip, with the index finger curled on top as a
matter of taste. The right hand plays no part in the palming method other than to
hold the deck throughout (Fig. 3.1).

Fig. 3.1

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 THE LEFT HAND
The left hand approaches the bottom of the deck, its fingers broadly in line with
the length of the cards. The left index finger is curled underneath, in a position that
some1 might like to think of as ‘very John Galsworthy’. The left thumb runs along
the left long edge of the deck such that the inner left corner of the bottom card is
contacting its fleshy base (Fig. 3.2).

Fig. 3.2

The only finger of consequence, as it were, is the left pinky finger. This is
positioned such that its fingertip contacts the outer right corner of the bottom card
(Fig. 3.3). The left middle and ring fingers, while aligning themselves to the pinky
finger, try to maintain as much of a relaxed position as possible.

Fig. 3.3

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None

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 THE PALM
With the left hand positioned as described, the left pinky finger contracts inwards,
buckling the bottom card (Fig. 3.4). The buckling need only be small: just enough
to dislodge the bottom card from the balance of the deck. It’s a slight squeezing of
the pinky finger only, with the other fingers flexing to accommodate the movement
of the card.

Fig. 3.4

As soon as the card begins to separate in this way, the left hand can withdraw from
the bottom of the deck. In doing so, the bottom card will be held by diagonal
pressure between the left pinky and the base of the left thumb (Fig. 3.5). To bring
the card into the palm proper, of course, the index finger will have to uncurl and
take its position along the length of the card.

Fig. 3.5

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This and any other adjustments are made as the left hand falls away from the deck
(Fig. 3.6). Indeed, this ‘falling away’ of the left hand is the only real (or at least
perceptible) movement in the palming sequence.

Fig. 3.6

The left hand should only appear to graze the bottom of the deck by its fingertips,
perhaps in a brief squaring action. But it’s an inconsequential movement. The left
hand touches the deck, then separates. And in separating, a card happens to be
palmed.
The deck, carried by the right hand, can be placed on the table for a cut, or handed
to a spectator for shuffling.

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4. Conclusion

I did say it would be brief.

These notes were put together to provide reference for new material to be
discussed at our inaugural Concerning the Palming of Cards lecture in the spring
of 2021. There, we will get into some of the nitty gritty of these and many other
palming methods and miscellany. I hope they provide a useful addition to your
catalogue of Galsworthy material.
If this is your first introduction to the world that concerns the palming of cards, I
trust that your curiosity has been suitably piqued. I’ve every faith that the upcoming
lecture will expand your understanding and answer any questions you’re dying to
ask now. We have so much more to talk about.
It is my intention that this addendum will find its way into a second edition of my
book, sometime later this year. We’ll see.
For now, though, as always, thank you for your continued interest and support. I’m
liking what we’re doing together.
Kind regards.

J.G.

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5. References

These notes describe variations on moves presented in the following key texts:
• Selected Secrets, John Crimmins Jr. & Dai Vernon (1941)
• Expert at the Card Table, S.W. Erdnase (1902)
• Further Inner Secrets of Card Magic, Lewis Ganson (1961)
• Action Palm, Ed Marlo (1956)
In addition, Dennis Kim’s Ephemera download (2019) is available through
Ellusionist.

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