#diagonalpalmshift

[swerdnase]

on variations of the diagonal palm shift

Here are some other variations of the diagonal palm shift. Right Hand Steal

The Jinx, Issue 40, 1938, p. 264 / Tom Bowyer Tom Bowyer was one of the first to put a variation of the DPS into print in The Jinx as ‘Indetectable’. Despite being listed as an improvement, the move itself remains rather crude, using an exaggerated diagonal jog via Erdnase to set the card into position for a right handed classic palm. The card is then stolen in a similar action to the side steal.  

Larry Jennings on Card & Coin Handling, 1977, p. 22 / Larry Jennings Larry Jennings published a variant steal in 1977 under LJ Angle Steal that involved using the DPS set up to steal the card into a right modified Tenkai palm or gambler’s palm. After the card is jogged and pulled back, the card is caught between the right thumb and right palm and maneuvered out of the pack. The card lies more forward than a tenkai palm with the outer right corner ending up around the palmer side of the fourth MCP joint. The position is similar to Marlo’s Angle Palm position (The Tabled Palm, 1957, p. 6) or Gene Maze’s Unit Grip (Packet Switches Part Four, 1977, p. 263) 

The Vernon Chronicles Vol 1, 1987, p. 65 / Arthur Finley A more refined right-handed steal from the DPS was described by Stephen Minch in the first Vernon Chronicles. After the card is diagonally jogged, the selection is moved leftward by the actions of the right thumb and left fourth finger under the cover of the right hand. The card is then stolen into right classic palm as the right hand continues its movement left to pull up the left sleeve. A clarification appeared in volume 3 of the Vernon Chronicles (1989, p. 15) and a right steal into gambler’s flat palm is also noted to be Vernon’s preference. Technical Variations 

The Card Magic of LePaul, 1949, p. 61 / Paul LePaul In The Card Magic of LePaul, a technique is described for a left handed steal. While not directly related, the technique has been championed by many as an alternative to the DPS. Briefly: the right fingers straddle the outer left corner of the protruding card, which is the significantly displaced clockwise into left hand palm as it is apparently pushed in the deck. There are however a few drawbacks to this technique: the unnatural placement and squaring actions of the right fingers, and the need for the right hand to change grips during the steal.  

Side Steal, 1957, p 45 / Ed Marlo Ed Marlo published a variation in lieu of the DPS in Side Steal coined ‘The Diagonal Steal’. Similar to LePaul technique, it uses the right second finger on the outer left corner of the card to achieve a similar clockwise rotation of the selection into left palm. The movement of the right fingers is less obvious and the right hand retains its grip using Marlo’s ‘Pinch’ technique.  

Complete Works of Derek Dingle, 1982, p. 105 & 172 / Derek Dingle In Complete Works, Richard Kaufman describes a technique of Derek Dingle’s to steal a peeked card into the left hand. While labelled as the “Peek Twist DPS”, it is more aptly described as a side steal. The move retains neither the diagonal jog nor the rotational action used for the steal. Instead, a peeked card is side-jogged via the classic side steal action and then the entire deck is rotated moving the protruding card into palm position. Also of note is a technique published in the same volume under “Technical Refinement of LJ’s Angle Palm Steal” that uses the left thumb to eliminate the action of the right forefinger. Note that this is similar to Vernon’s technique in Revelations (1984).

Zarrow: A Lifetime of Magic, 2008, p. 347 / Herb Zarrow Most of Zarrow’s work outside of his eponymous shuffle remains largely unknown. In David Ben’s gargantuan tome, his variation of the DPS is recorded. In summary, instead of raising the deck to the fingertips, the shift is performed with the deck held in mechanic’s grip. The fork of the left thumb or the interphalangeal joint is used to catch the right outer corner of the selection and bring it backwards to initiate the steal.   

MagicCon 2010, 2010, p. 8 / Derek Delgaudio Borrowing similar mechanics from Jacob Daley, Derek Delgaudio published an idea in his MagicCon lecture notes where the DPS can be performed from peek with a deck wrapped in an elastic band with no variation in technique.   Multiple Card Handling 

Jack McMillen, 2011, p. 252 / Paul Chosse Doing the DPS with multiple cards poses numerous issues, one of which being that the cards do not remain in alignment throughout the rotation into palm. Charlie Miller used to pose this as a challenge to young magicians. A solution of Paul Chosse’s was posted years ago on the Magic Café and subsequently published in Jack McMillen. Briefly: combining the actions of the Erdnase bottom palm, method one, with the DPS, after the cards and jogged and begin their rotation, when the cards are parallel with the deck, the right fourth finger slides along the right long edge of the deck and pushes the cards backwards, lessening the degree of rotation required for the palm.  

Card Men, 2014, p. 60 / Ricky Smith Taking a different approach, Ricky Smith publishes his variation in Dan and Dave’s Card Men. Without disclosing his technique, the cards are simply displaced during the selection process and stolen together as a block.   Covers 

The Lost Tapes Vol. 2, 1984 / Earl Nelson In Earl Nelson’s technical study of the DPS, he includes an all-around-square-up after the steal as a covering action for the DPS.

Jack McMillen, 2011, p. 252 / Paul Chosse One of Paul Chosse’s covers for the DPS was published in Jack McMillen in 2011. The technique is described in an earlier post, but briefly: after the steal, the deck is given an all-around-square-up. As the former inner end of the pack is rotated to the ceiling, the right thumb riffles the ends to bring attention to the deck and away from the dirty hand.   

Ricky Smith on the Diagonal Palm Shift, 2015 / Dorian Rhodell  In Ricky Smith’s video tutorial on the DPS, he includes an exceedingly clever cover of Dorian Rhodell’s that uses a pen to keep the dirty hand in motion.

[swerdnase]

on history and the diagonal palm shift

Kicking off a series on the Diagonal Palm Shift

On page 137 of The Expert at the Card Table, Erdnase describes a novel technique to steal a card inserted into the deck into the left palm under the guise of handing the deck out for shuffling. He called this the Diagonal Palm Shift (DPS). Since its publication in 1902, it has been championed by many of the giants in card magic and universally acknowledged as one of the finest card techniques ever devised. In the subsequent century, numerous attempts to improve and break down the move have been published and it remains one of the most widely varied techniques in the literature.

The DPS is an amalgamation of two manoeuvres. The first is the use of the diagonal jog to mark the location of an inserted card, and the second is a steal from the center of the deck into palm. As pointed out by Darwin Ortiz in The Annotated Erdnase (1991, p. 162), Erdnase’s disdain for published techniques at the time, notably Edwin Sachs’ ‘The Diagonal Pass’ from Sleight of Hand (1885, p. 96-98) was a likely inspiration for the DPS. In the Expert, Erdnase writes, in reference to the Sachs technique, that “the process is not satisfactory” and his goal was “to improve, or rather to combine the first part of this maneurvre with a process for palming the inserted cards.” (p. 137).

While the concept of stealing a card from the deck into palm is often attributed to T. Nelson Downs and Nate Leipzig (Art of Magic, 1909, p. 144 & p. 221, respectively), its roots can be traced back to the 19th century. August Roterberg described the ‘Excelsior Change’ in New Era Card Tricks (p. 22) in 1897, whom he credits to Adrian Plate. In Roterberg’s description, the bottom card of a double is stolen into the right palm as the card(s) are transferred from the right to left hand. Erdnase was no doubt aware of this source as he describes an almost identical technique in the legerdemain section of the Expert (‘The Palm Change’, p. 149).

The first description of a steal of a single card from the center of the deck is found in Mahatma Magazine Vol 5 No 2 (1901, p. 495) attributed to Walter Peterkin under the stage name Hal Merton, where the left thumb is used to push the top card of the bottom packet rightward as the top packet is replaced. This allows for the card to be stolen into right palm via the classic side steal. A variant of this technique, using the left fingers to push out a replaced card is later described in Mahatma Magazine Vol 8 No 2 (1904, p. 17). 

There are a few factors that make the DPS one of the most technically elegant solutions to the center steal. One, done correctly, there should be no extraneous movements of the fingers – the technique can be done with an absolutely stillness of the left hand. The natural movement of handing the deck out facilitates the diagonal jog and subsequent palm. Notably, the right thumb maintains its grip on the deck as the card is pivoted around it. Compare this to subsequent techniques in the literature for a center steal into left palm such as Paul LePaul’s Diagonal left hand palm (Card Magic of LePaul, 1949, p. 61) and Ed Marlo’s Diagonal steal (Side Steal, 1957, p 45), and the superiority of the DPS becomes evident. Note that in the same book, Marlo simulates the grip by pinching the deck at the front end between the right first and second fingers as the selection is stolen beneath the thumb (Side Steal, 1957, p. 16).

Given the historical context and its contemporaneous peers, the DPS was a monumental technical leap forward. It was also the first technique described to steal a card from center into left palm. Erdnase himself touted its superiority as “silent, rapid, and undetectable if well performed, and takes place under the ordinary movement of passing the deck to be shuffled.” - its obvious superiority evident in that it negates the need to control a card to the top or bottom before stealing it from the deck.

[magic---secrets]

Diagonal Palm Shift: Tutorial by Alex Pandrea

[magic---secrets]

［カード技法］#2 Diagonal palm shift ダイアゴナルパームシフト

[magic---secrets]

【DPS】アウトジョグ不要のダイアゴナルパームシフト【技法】

[magic---secrets]

DPSを頼まれた時に見せるやつ。 Show me your DPS routine.

[swerdnase]

on inserting pauses in the diagonal palm shift

Part 3/3 on making the diagonal palm shift more user-friendly

Let’s look at some ways to insert a ‘pause that convinces’ and change the moment of the diagonal palm shift. Conceptually, there are three points at which a pause can be inserted – by changing the method of insertion, delaying the steal after the card is diagonally jogged, or after the jogged card is pulled back just prior to the pivot.

Expert Card Technique 3rd Edition, 1950, p. 468 / Jacob Daley Expert Card Technique has a colorful history. The third edition includes an appendix of material from Dai Vernon and Jacob Daley. Although not credited as such, in the “Left Hand Side Steal”, Daley describes a technique of doing the DPS from a peek. Essentially, a card is peeked by the spectator in the standard fashion, at which point a break is held. The left fourth finger is then used to diagonally jog the selection and the steal proceeds as described in Erdnase.

Revelations, 1984, p. 138-140 / Dai Vernon After much anticipation, Vernon published his variation on the diagonal palm shift in Revelations in 1984. Commonly referred to as the “double-choke” technique for its dual squaring motion, the technique adds a brief pause after the insertion as you square the long edges of the pack. The goal is to minimize left finger flutter by shifting the left little finger’s pivot point forward on the long edge of the selection (more on this in another post).  

Genii Magazine Vol 47 No 5, 1987, p. 307 / Roger Klause In lieu of a traditional insertion, Roger Klause offers a variation using Paul LePaul’s Automatic Jog Control (Card Magic of Card LePaul, 1949, p. 101) to get into the DPS. Briefly, the selection is inserted into a left-handed thumb fan, resulting in an injog as the fan is closed. The jog is then enlarged and shifted diagonally as the right hand squares the deck and the steal is made as originally described.  

By Forces Unseen, 1993, p. 92 / Ernest Earick In the excellent By Forces Unseen, Stephen Minch describes a handling of Ernest Earick’s where the hands come apart after the selection is diagonally jogged. The right hand taps the outer right corner of the deck on the table to square the cards. The hands are subsequently brought back together and the steal made as described in Erdnase.

Precursor XLIV, 1994, p. 3 / David Ben Taking a similar approach to Roger Klause, David Ben tipped a handling in Precursor where the selection is inserted into a left-handed thumb fan. By angling the selection clockwise during the insertion, the card will be angled left and in palm palm position when the fan is closed. Note that although not described by Ben, if the selection is angled counterclockwise instead, it will be angled right, mimicking the DPS position prior to the pivot, and the standard steal can be carried out.

The New Tops, Vol 33 No 12, 1993, p. 16 / Paul Chosse Probably the best de-construction of the DPS in the published literature. Despite having remained relatively low key in the broader magic community, Paul Chosse is renowned for his DPS and tipped a variation in The New Tops. Chosse’s handling is notable for three details: a method to angle jog the selection from a spread, an added dribble with the card diagonally jogged, and a previously undescribed detail on the trajectory of the right thumb to avoid flashing during the steal.

Note that the description in The New Tops and L.I.N.T. (L.I.N.T. – Pocket stuff for close up magicians, 1997, p. 14) on the dribble is incomplete: the entire deck is not dribbled – rather only the lower half of the deck below the selection. As you are nearing the jogged card, the hands come together and the remainder of the deck simply joins the dribbled packet. This ensures that the selection is not lost during the dribble.  

The Book of Secrets, 2002, p. 66 & 206 / John Carney John Carney offers several ideas for alternate insertions in The Book of Secrets. A rear-jog can be arrived at through a peek, a rear insertion, a front insertion, or an all-around-square-up, and has the advantage of delaying the steal while retaining easy control of the card. Carney also notes that if you hand the deck to a layman and ask them to insert a card, they will do so at all sorts of odd angles and places in the deck. Working with this, if you insert the rear left corner of the card into the right long edge of the deck and square the side of the selection with the deck, this will result in a front jog and the standard DPS is carried out as originally described.

In ‘Leipzig-Skinner Surprise’, taking a cue from Erdnase to change the moment, Carney uses clever construction within a trick to delay the actions of the DPS. Briefly, a card is inserted face up by the spectator into the pack. While pattering, the deck is spread again absentmindedly to display the selection, upjogging the card in the process. The spread is then closed and the hands relax. The steal is made under the guise of squaring the deck.

Revolutionary Card Technique, 2003, Introduction; p. x-xi / David Ben In the introduction to Ed Marlo’s collected Revolutionary Card Technique, David Ben describes a delayed handling of the DPS using a Marlo subtlety. After the card is inserted and diagonally jogged, the deck is apparently squared-up at the fingertips using Marlo’s technique from The Technical Steal (Side Steal, 1957, p. 2). The steal is then carried out as originally described.  

On Palming, 2005 / John Carney In On Palming, John Carney tips a variation of the Arthur Finley Diagonal Palm Shift (The Vernon Chronicles Vol 1, 1987, p. 65). After the card is diagonally jogged and pulled back, it is grasped in gambler’s flat palm as the deck is rotated 90 degrees and grasped in the right hand by its long edges. The cards are cut to the table as the right hand comes away with the stolen card.

Cogitations, 2005 / Andrew Wimhurst In Steven Youell’s short-lived online magazine Cogitations, Andrew Wimhurst offers a simple variant to the DPS. After the card is diagonally jogged and pulled back, a thumb fan is made in the left hand, concealing the jogged selection. The right hand can come away and relax. To proceed – the fan can either be closed clockwise with the selection ending in palm position or the fan closed counter-clockwise and the steal made as originally described.

Nothing as it seems, 2015, p. 42 / Ricky Smith Ricky Smith published two technical variations of the single card steal in his 2015 notes. The Shuffle DPS allows for an in-the-hands riffle shuffle to be made following the diagonal insertion. The steal is then carried out as originally described in Erdnase.  

[swerdnase]

on a sequence for the diagonal palm shift

Part 2/3 on making the diagonal palm shift more user-friendly

Let’s look at the initial insertion phase of the technique. There are two points to be noted. Erdnase writes in the text to: “Allow spectator to insert selected card in outer end of deck” (p. 137). As Paul Chosse points out on the Magic Café, this is crucial because it economizes the actions and eliminates the paradoxical actions of the conjurer taking the card from the spectator only to insert it into the deck themselves. To ensure the spectator does not insert the card flush, two things happen simultaneously as the card is returned - 1/ a gentle pressure is applied at the rear of a deck, and 2/ as soon as the replacement is underway, start to withdraw your arms.

The other point to be aware of is the paradoxical action of having the spectator return the selection only to hand the deck back for them to shuffle. Paul Chosse alludes to this in his solution by having an internal script for the return - The conjurer ‘notices’ that the spectator has not pushed the card flush and returns the pack to the spectator to shuffle in order to remedy his mistake. All this is acted out without directly vocalizing the thoughts. A perhaps simpler solution is to hand the deck to another spectator to distribute the workload or simply setting the deck down.

To facilitate this, here’s a sequence for the DPS using blocking and misdirection to minimize bad the vulnerable angles while seeking to create a ‘pause that convinces’. It is inspired by Tommy Wonder’s Ambi-Tilt sequence from the Books of Wonder Vol 1 (1996, p. 129).

1. Have a spectator on your left remove a card from the deck. While this is happening, address the general audience briefly on whatever shenanigans you are about to pull and offer the deck for the spectator to return their selection.

2. The replacement is treated merely as a bothersome necessity and no attention is drawn to it. DO NOT LOOK AT THE DECK throughout this process. Instead look to your right and ask a spectator on your right to help with shuffling the cards. After the card is replaced, retract the deck and relax the arms. Pause.

3. As you continue to address the audience, look down absentmindedly and “notice” that the selection is protruding from the front of the deck. Tilt the deck upwards slightly as this observation is made, keep the deck tilted and immediately look back up to your right. No interest in drawn to this fact, but let it register in your internal script.

4. Turn to your right as you square the selection and execute the diagonal palm shift. As you do so, point the edge of the cards towards the spectators’ eyes. This is Pat Cook’s advice from The Annotated Erdnase to eliminate any flashing in the vertical axis (The Annotated Erdnase, 1991, p. 248). In the same motion, hand the deck to a spectator on the right to shuffle.

In practice this whole sequence should take only a few seconds to perform. The unsquared selection is treated as an inconvenience and occurs in the backdrop of explaining the premise.