Awimagic,

The beauty of teaching difficult sleight of hand technique is that you often don't have to hold anything back. The only people who could capitalize on your information are the ones that are dedicated enough to put in the thousands of hours necessary to perfect the move.

That said, I assure you, not everything I know about the bottom deal went into that 30 minute video. But, the stuff I "held back" was omitted not for the sake of secrecy, but for the sake of time and staying within the abilities of the target audience.

Jason

PS: C-Taylor, look at my "PS" to Dave Egleston!

Ha, that's what I get for not reading everything..

Hi guys, newbie here though not so new to the world of gambling sleights. Just bought and dl'd Jason's video and it was fantastic. Easily the best instructional video I've ever seen on the subject. Great job Jason! Highly recommended to anyone that's on the fence about purchasing it.

I was just lookign at this. I'm so so with bottom deals, but the fact that it shows 4 different grips just got my attention. Been sticking to the erdnase and masters grip.. horrible with masters.. so so with erdnase.

I also saw the push through shuffle preview.. WOW. It's CLEAN. I haven't seen a pushthrough that clean before. Mine's a slow shuffle, where I push through, riffle the back, and then strip out for an up the ladder, but that's just beautiful. I knew what he was doing, and didn't see a thing.
Very nicely done Mr. England!

Hi, I just got this as part if his Foundations DVD.

I have a question regarding the grips and diagonal pressure, especially with the mechanics grip. In the video, Jason can turn over his hand with just the index finger on the outer edge and the thumb base making contact with the deck. It looks impossible to do for me, and I'm not sure if it has to do with my small hand size or whether it is a knacky/muscle-development sort of thing.

It seems a bit easier with the Erdnase grip because the second finger makes contact with the outer right corner, but still cumbersome because the cards have to sit a lot more forward in my hand.

Any tips?

I had the same issue learning the Gene Maze deal. Keep trying, it will come to you.

Just to let you all know I have received a fresh run of notes on both the second deal and the bottom deal (separate notes) from the printers.

If anyone would like a set, please contact me at: jasonengland1971@yahoo.com

The notes are $25 each or $45 for both. Postage is: $5.00 in the US, $9.00 to Canada, and $13.00 overseas. Note: This reflects current postage rates. I had an earlier post that listed cheaper rates, as I didn't know the US Post Office raised their rates back in May.

Jason

You should all go ahead and buy those notes by the way, they're very good.

Hi Dave,
Sorry for the late reply. I didn't mean anything negative by my statement. All I was meant was that you can find this elsewhere (Erdnase, Lessons in Dishonesty) for a lot cheaper.

BUT

There is no one better to teach you this than Jason. It wasn't a knock against him.

I agree. I bought the Second Deal notes from Jason about 5 years ago. These notes cover every single thing you need on the second deal. You even get every resource possible in print and video within these notes.

*EDIT
I would also like to add that I was ignorant in regards to Jason's T11 Bottom Deal video. I thought he only covered one version of the bottom. But from his notes, I should have known better. The details he covered, there was nothing he could have missed as I'm sure is the same with the video.

To expand a little on my previous comment:

I'd say you can get an excellent bottom/second deal from these notes in a relatively short amount of time (provided you put in the work, of course). All the information you need is in there. Probably the best written descriptions you'll find and cover all the bases (dead thumb, dead hand, emerging angle, sound etc).

Of course you'll want to look up other sources and read around, and you'll find a complete list of sources in the back of the notes. How handy.

I purchased and watched the video about 15-minutes ago. It was well worth the $15.

Until 15-minutes ago, I learned the bottom deal completely from books. Watching the video by Jason injected renewed motivation into my practice.

It's hard to say why watching the video improved my morale. It might be that the video showed that I am not doing anything wrong. It might be that Jason emphasizes the difficulty of the move. Maybe it was that the exposed angles in the video show that even expert bottom deals look awful from some angles. In any case, the path of practice to proficiency that Jason explained helped to renew my commitment to this often disheartening technique.

Thank you Jason for putting this video out there and making it reasonably priced.

https://store.theory11.com/products/bott......-england

Jason I also have your video on the bottom. There is one thing I have not seen by anyone teaching the sleight and that is hand preparation I have dry skin any recommendation of a prep that you think is good?

Cbharrelson,

I have commented on skin dryness and the problems it causes anyone trying to perform false deals in other places, but not on that video. There's no one-size fits all solution, but my general recommendation is to try a variety of lotions and cremes until you find one you like. The ones I've had success with are Neutrogena Norwegian Formula and also O'Keefe's Working Hands creme. Both are available at most pharmacies in the U.S. I can use either one, but probably prefer O'Keefe's by a slim margin. Neutrogena has one thing going for it: I can occasionally find it in very small travel size squeeze bottles. They fit right in my pocket and are very convenient. O'Keefe's typically only comes in a large tub the shape of a hockey puck or a large squeeze bottle. Either are great for your home practice area (or to keep one in the car or something), but are a bit too large for most pockets.

Jason

Thank you Jason. I appreciate your advice. Keep up the good work on the videos.

For the past several weeks, I had been practicing the bottom deal with an old deck. Today, I started practicing with a brand new deck. Doing a bottom deal with an old deck is much different than doing one with a new deck. The new deck tends to break apart in my hands. Also, the push off is different with a new deck, as the third finger has less friction with it and the cards are stiffer.

@ Shaun
Are you doing Erdnase grip or mechanics grip?
I'm still in the erdnase grip stage. One thing I found with this grip dealing new deck is that positioning the second finger slightly towards the right edge instead on the outer right corner helps preventing the deck from slipping apart.

Simon, I am using a modified Erdnase grip. Indeed, a little more wrap around with
the second finger provides more control. Also, I've found that more hooking
pressure with the first finger also helps. For me, a newer deck requires a firmer
grip whereas an older deck affords a looser one.

This is the current, unabashed state of my technique:



There remains a lot of areas to improve:

1. Decrease the finger flash.
2. Make the take sound the same as a normal take.
3. Rhythm...
4. Make the take consistent.
5. Make the sail accurate.
6. Make thee spin of the sail consistent.

P.S. In due course, mister England, I will send you a PM, to ask the board certified
specialist for practice suggestions. In the meantime, exploring the technique with
first-year medical school students provides a sense of belonging and community.

P.P.S. This year, in addition to maintenance, I am working on two new items:

* the Bottom Deal,
* the Slow Motion Aces

I've a l-o-n-g road ahead of me.