How to Fan Cards
Hold the deck of cards loosely between your left thumb and fingers., Angle the cards slightly., Fan the cards with your right thumb., Practice., Flick up your left wrist as you thumb with your right., Practice the one-handed close.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Hold the deck of cards loosely between your left thumb and fingers.
Put your left hand out as though you were holding a cup of water, with your thumb nearest you.
Place the deck of cards in between your thumb and index finger, keeping it flat with the face side down.
Place your index and middle finger against the underside of the deck.
The tip of your middle finger should be against the near right corner of the deck, with your index finger alongside it.
Loosely hold the deck by placing your thumb across the top of the deck, with the tip about halfway across the nearest edge.Being left-handed or right-handed doesn't make too much of a difference, but you can try using your right hand instead if you keep dropping the cards. -
Step 2: Angle the cards slightly.
Shift the top of the deck slightly, so the top cards are very slightly more to the right than the cards beneath them.
This small angle helps the cards fan out more evenly, although this step becomes less important with practice. , Bring your right thumb onto the left edge of the deck, and use it to push the cards into a fan shape, pivoting around your left thumb.
Press down slightly with your thumb as you do this, but keep it gentle enough that the cards spread out in an even fan instead of clumping together in chunks.
Ideally, you should finish the fan with the cards spread out in a full 180º semicircle.
You can use your right fingers instead of your thumb.You can think of this movement as pulling the stack of cards away from the bottom-most card in turn.
If the entire deck moves together, hold it more loosely, or try consciously moving your right thumb at an upward angle as you spread , Magicians make fanning cards look easy, but they've put in many hours of practice.
Keep practicing until you can fan the cards smoothly and evenly.
Speed up your fan as you become more experienced, but don't become so fast that you ruin the grace and fluidity of the fan.
Replace your deck if the cards become more difficult to fan.
Worn cards may not spread as evenly. , Try this advanced technique to increase the speed at which the cards fan out.
With this wrist flick upwards, as you are pulling the cards down with your thumb, you are simultaneously pulling the cards up with your left hand. , It's easy to close the fan again with your free hand, moving the cards in the same direction as the fan to put them back into one stack.
For a more advanced technique, practice using the fingers holding the cards to pull them closed instead.
You may need to "walk" your fingers a few times along the underside of the cards to manage this, and it can take a fair amount of practice before you can do this confidently and without dropping cards. -
Step 3: Fan the cards with your right thumb.
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Step 4: Practice.
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Step 5: Flick up your left wrist as you thumb with your right.
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Step 6: Practice the one-handed close.
Detailed Guide
Put your left hand out as though you were holding a cup of water, with your thumb nearest you.
Place the deck of cards in between your thumb and index finger, keeping it flat with the face side down.
Place your index and middle finger against the underside of the deck.
The tip of your middle finger should be against the near right corner of the deck, with your index finger alongside it.
Loosely hold the deck by placing your thumb across the top of the deck, with the tip about halfway across the nearest edge.Being left-handed or right-handed doesn't make too much of a difference, but you can try using your right hand instead if you keep dropping the cards.
Shift the top of the deck slightly, so the top cards are very slightly more to the right than the cards beneath them.
This small angle helps the cards fan out more evenly, although this step becomes less important with practice. , Bring your right thumb onto the left edge of the deck, and use it to push the cards into a fan shape, pivoting around your left thumb.
Press down slightly with your thumb as you do this, but keep it gentle enough that the cards spread out in an even fan instead of clumping together in chunks.
Ideally, you should finish the fan with the cards spread out in a full 180º semicircle.
You can use your right fingers instead of your thumb.You can think of this movement as pulling the stack of cards away from the bottom-most card in turn.
If the entire deck moves together, hold it more loosely, or try consciously moving your right thumb at an upward angle as you spread , Magicians make fanning cards look easy, but they've put in many hours of practice.
Keep practicing until you can fan the cards smoothly and evenly.
Speed up your fan as you become more experienced, but don't become so fast that you ruin the grace and fluidity of the fan.
Replace your deck if the cards become more difficult to fan.
Worn cards may not spread as evenly. , Try this advanced technique to increase the speed at which the cards fan out.
With this wrist flick upwards, as you are pulling the cards down with your thumb, you are simultaneously pulling the cards up with your left hand. , It's easy to close the fan again with your free hand, moving the cards in the same direction as the fan to put them back into one stack.
For a more advanced technique, practice using the fingers holding the cards to pull them closed instead.
You may need to "walk" your fingers a few times along the underside of the cards to manage this, and it can take a fair amount of practice before you can do this confidently and without dropping cards.
About the Author
Alexis Scott
Creates helpful guides on cooking to inspire and educate readers.
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