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Cagliostro Inner circle 2478 Posts |
I have mentioned a few times that the Zarrow Shuffle in its original form is one of the worst card table moves imaginable. Flawed on several levels it is routinely murdered by magicians and demonstrators as they fool themselves looking down at their hands as they perform the shuffle.
However, in my lifelong quest for the perfect Zarrow, I believe I have not only found the cleverest way to perform the Zarrow shuffle but as an added bonus make it not only undetectable but absolutely imperceptible. Taking an idea from the Walter Scott's blindfold deal, in which he used a scratch/punched deck to deal himself winning hands while blindfolded, I thought to myself, "Why should the performer be blindfolded? Why not blindfold the deck instead?" Eureka! A brilliant masterstroke of genius if I must say so myself. By placing a heavy duty opaque cloth over the cards, one can now perform an imperceptible Zarrow shuffle with no fear of detection. As an added bonus, one can even use the AMcD Erdnase Method 2 Riffle Shuffle grip for added deception. So now we have combined AMcD's favorite false shuffle with his preferred riffle shuffle grip, the best of both worlds so to speak and devised a move that cannot be detected. This may be my crowing achievement in riffle shuffle chicanery and in all modesty I can safely say that I sometimes astound myself with my ingeniousness. With this technique, finally everyone can now perform an undetectable Zarrow Shuffle, even those who have struggled for years with this move. Sigh... |
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AMcD Inner circle stacking for food! 3078 Posts |
My favourite false shuffle is the push-thru. I have never understood why not every cardman consider it as the ultimate weapon in terms of false shuffling. Versatility, deceptiveness, credibility, it has it all. But no, magician prefer (to butcher) the Zarrow.
Go figure... |
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MarcoLostSomething Regular user 144 Posts |
That moment when you realize at some point of the post that you have being #Cagliostroed! That was a fun one
But the beginning was interesting, expecially the part where the performer fools himself when looking down. I feel that my push through is a bit slow, expecially on the pushing action, I can't figure out a good rhythm. |
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tommy Eternal Order Devil's Island 16544 Posts |
A false shuffle is a false shuffle to a magician, to a sharp it is all about the application. You sound like a bunch of magicians to me.
If there is a single truth about Magic, it is that nothing on earth so efficiently evades it.
Tommy |
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TH10111 Regular user 155 Posts |
Curious that you would explore unconventional uses of the blindfold. I too have experimented briefly with such ideas, however I found that blindfolding the audience had the greatest effect. Not one of them saw the cards come off the bottom...
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Cagliostro Inner circle 2478 Posts |
Quote:
On Feb 7, 2017, TH10111 wrote: ***. Why didn’t I think of that? Well, I can see that I am not the only one on this board that has occasional lapses of sanity. |
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Cagliostro Inner circle 2478 Posts |
Quote:
On Feb 7, 2017, AMcD wrote: The push-thru takes skill, ability and practice to do deceptively. That is too much work for most who pretend to be masters of card table chicanery. It is much easier to fool oneself thinking he is doing a deceptive Zarrow. After all, isn't the Zarrow the one move that moved from the magic table to the gaming table and is coveted by the top level of professional cardsharps, or so the story goes? |
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tommy Eternal Order Devil's Island 16544 Posts |
Well, you lot can carry on with your quest for perfect moves and I will carry on with my quest for the perfect applications of imperfect moves. Then next Sunday you can stand on your pile of money and I will stand mine and will see who is the tallest.
If there is a single truth about Magic, it is that nothing on earth so efficiently evades it.
Tommy |
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Cagliostro Inner circle 2478 Posts |
Quote:
On Feb 7, 2017, tommy wrote: Wow. I'll bet you have a really big, big pile and probably need a ladder to get to the top of that humongous heap. Oh, wait a minute. Are you talking about money...a pile of money? My mistake. I thought you were offering to stand on top of a different kind of pile. |
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tommy Eternal Order Devil's Island 16544 Posts |
I guess it was too complex for the old man.
If there is a single truth about Magic, it is that nothing on earth so efficiently evades it.
Tommy |
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MarcoLostSomething Regular user 144 Posts |
Quote:
On Feb 7, 2017, tommy wrote: Why not both? I don't think they are mutually exclusive |
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ULockJustice Loyal user Columbus, OH 201 Posts |
Really, almost any move is destroyed by looking at the hands, though I imagine that goes without saying amongst this group. I've been training myself to not look at my heads by practicing while watching old episodes of the Friends spinoff Joey. If I can keep my eyes on the screen and pay attention to the plot the entire time and still execute card moves then it is both a success as a practice session and a a form of self mutilation. I do suffer for me art.
This is the profile of Comedian + Magician Erik Tait. A self-promoting sleight of hand artist who thinks he is the cat's meow.
PM for beard tips. |
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tommy Eternal Order Devil's Island 16544 Posts |
Alexander, stepping back, called out, "What does it matter how I loose it?" With that, he drew his sword, and in one powerful stroke severed the knot.
If there is a single truth about Magic, it is that nothing on earth so efficiently evades it.
Tommy |
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Cagliostro Inner circle 2478 Posts |
Quote:
On Feb 7, 2017, tommy wrote: Actually my original post on this thread describes a concept that goes beyond the quest for the perfect application of an imperfect move. The Zarrow is an imperfect move, in fact quite imperfect. Blindfolding the deck is a proactive approach to CREATING the perfect application . After all, if one were to wait for the perfect application to occur (the deck blindfolding itself), the wait might be quite long. However, by proactively blindfolding the deck, the perfect application has been achieved and the long wait negated. This is an example of the difference between lineal/simplistic thinking and more complex problem solving. |
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Peterson Regular user 159 Posts |
Why bother to shuffle at all? Just put deck underneath the table and say: "You may not see it, but I am actually shuffling the deck". After that you can carry on with your game or demonstration ABOVE the table.
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Artie Fufkin Special user 853 Posts |
The Zarrow, when done poorly, is like any false shuffle done poorly ... a crappy false shuffle.
But the Zarrow when done well, is as deceptive as any false shuffle in existence. Horses for courses, and the absence of profoundly definitive (and probably incorrect) statements related to false shuffles remain my personal mantra. |
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Cagliostro Inner circle 2478 Posts |
Quote:
On Feb 8, 2017, Peterson wrote: That would work but you would have to have a way of simulating the sound of the riffle shuffle. Perhaps running one's fingers up the edge of the deck to create the sound or having a tape recorder attached under the table with the sound pre-recorded. However, the purpose of this thread is to actually perform the Zarrow shuffle but make it undetectable. You have taken the concept to a higher level by not using a move at all. This is the professional approach of using subterfuge rather than a manipulative move. The creativity of thought on this thread is mind boggling. |
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tommy Eternal Order Devil's Island 16544 Posts |
If the Tran organization couldn’t perfect it then what chance have you bunch of magicians got?
If there is a single truth about Magic, it is that nothing on earth so efficiently evades it.
Tommy |
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Cagliostro Inner circle 2478 Posts |
Quote:
On Feb 8, 2017, Artie Fufkin wrote: I would have to disagree with that subject to further clarification. The Zarrow shuffle as originally presented by Herb Zarrow is an open shuffle. In my opinion, it cannot be performed deceptively, especially the squaring up action itself if performed as originally designed. There are angles that make it deceptive, namely looking down from the top or from the top down at an angle, but looking at it across the table make it obvious what is happening to a close observer. There are variations of the Zarrow which are still called the "Zarrow" shuffle which mitigate some of its deficiencies, namely covering the cards more on the square up and concealing the breakout action. Indeed if you completely conceal the break out action with the fingers, it becomes more deceptive but a good break out shuffle will accomplish the same thing much more quickly and efficiently. It is usually not necessary to control the entire deck which shuffling, but a good pull-through is hard to beat for that purpose. Second best would be a breakout shuffle with proper cover. Of course, that is just my opinion but the Zarrow, while it has some limited use in gaming, is more of a magician move. |
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necro555 Veteran user 335 Posts |
At Magic Live 2015, Bill Malone asked if Steve Forte and Ron Conley had ever seen a Zarrow Shuffle used in a game. They both mentioned that a zarrow is very rarely used at the card table. That being said, Steve did proceed to demo some zarrow shuffles and stated that one of the best Zarrow Shuffles he's seen was where the cards were shuffled from the long side of the deck. Not sure how common riffle shuffling cards from the long side of the deck is in a card came.
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