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Bob G Inner circle 2831 Posts |
P. P. S. For me, at least, one of the keys is to swing the upper packet quite far to the left. That seems to diminish the friction between the two halves, thus keeping the bottom cards from spreading. But -- a side effect is that the bottom card is even farther out of alignment with the rest of the deck when I complete the cut.
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magicfish Inner circle 7006 Posts |
Bob, have you read the original description in Rimshots? Viewed the original illustrations?
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Bob G Inner circle 2831 Posts |
Hi Magicfish,
Nice to hear from you. No, I haven't. I read the description in Best of Friends II, and will soon be viewing Harry's teaching of it on his Best Ever DVD vol. I. I looked into purchasing Rimshots, but very few copies were availalbe and they were all quite expensive. If Rimshots gives the best description and would solve my difficulties then I'd love to own a copy -- but I also have to watch my budget. Do you feel that Rimshots is the best place from which to learn the sleight? |
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kShepher Elite user Washington, DC 470 Posts |
Watch the DVD. It's exactly what he says on it....find your sweet spot. I sat down for about two hours and just did it over and over. That paid off and it's perfect now. Good luck.
Kevin |
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Bob G Inner circle 2831 Posts |
Thanks, Kevin. That's encouraging news! I'll give it a try when the disk arives.
Bob |
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kShepher Elite user Washington, DC 470 Posts |
Bob...I found the foolproof secret. Mine started to fail again and I watched the dvd again, advancing it frame by frame. What I suspect you are doing, like me, was laying the deck in the left palm like the dealer grip and starting the kick cut. That caused friction and cards were spreading. On the dvd, Harry brings his left hand up at a 45 degree angle and just lays the deck along the top of the left index finger. By making that change it is now absolutely 100% perfect.
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Bob G Inner circle 2831 Posts |
Interesting! Thanks so much, kShepher. I *really* want to get this move down because I've adapted Trost's effect to be a sort of Arabian Nights story, and I'm eager to perform it for my family and friends. I haven't yet received the DVD and am looking forward to watching it carefully, as you have done. I'l pay close attention to your tip.
And congratulations on getting the move down! Bob |
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Bob G Inner circle 2831 Posts |
Hi Kevin,
How's your HaLo cut holding up? -- still working like a charm, I hope. I'm following your directions very carefully, with inconsistent results. If I move the cards slooowly I still get spreading, but it isn't that bad (usually). Occasionally the bottom card moves about half an inch to the right, but *only* that card -- which isn't bad, but it's still more visible than I'd like to be. I may have to do what you did, and follow the dvd frame by frame. I was hoping I could avoid that because you had done the work for me! That sweet spot seems awfully elusive. There are so many places you can lay the deck on your hands (I know you recommended just laying it on the left index finger), and so many varying amounts of pressure one can put on different cards that it seems like an unsolvable problem. I read in one of Harry's works that he considers his hands to be small. I'd say mine are large -- not gigantic, but large. That may make a difference in where I place the pack on my index finger. I've also purchased Rim Shots and read the description carefully, and tried Harry's practice routine. The very fact that he *includes* such a routine is evidence of what a good teacher he is. But so far I haven't had that Eureka moment. It may sound like I'm venting, but I'm just giving as much info as I can in case someone might have a futher suggestion. |
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kShepher Elite user Washington, DC 470 Posts |
I get the bottom card misaligned, but I don't care about that. I use my left fingers to immediately align it as I put the pile down. One thing I noticed is that I don't pinch the bottom card and top packet together, rather I have a firm grip on the top packet between my thumb and index finger, and the bottom card basically sticks to that sweet spot area. Also, I noticed that the angle you remove the bottom packet makes a difference, ie. straight out, slightly angled up, etc. I just played around with it. I've even seen some of Harry's bottom cards not perfectly aligned, but he immediately gets them aligned.
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Bob G Inner circle 2831 Posts |
Thanks, Kevin -- that gives me more stuff to try.
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Harry Lorayne 1926 - 2023 New York City 8558 Posts |
I really should stay out of this 'cause I think I may confuse you even more. The fact that the bottom card doesn't align perfectly as you do my HaLo Cut is NOT a problem - please stop making it one. As you complete the cut your left hand simply squares its cards as the right-half drops or is placed onto it - and go one with your effect. I believe I've mentioned it before - you're creating problems where none exist.
Now - to confuse you even more...the fact that that bottom card doesn't align perfectly is a GOOD thing. At least it is for me. Because - it enables me to catch a left little finger tip break above it easily and IMMEDIATELY as I square. I've written up quite a few ideas that take advantage of that. Like getting that kept-at-bottom card into a gambler's cop immediately. Or being in position to double cut it to top immediately. Or being able to lap it easily and immediately. Plus quite a few other actions made sooooo much easier because of that card not aligning that I've taught over the decades - even way back in APOCALYPSE. Sorry - if I've added to your confusion!!
[email]harrylorayne@earthlink.net[/email]
http://www.harrylorayne.com http://www.harryloraynemagic.com |
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Bob G Inner circle 2831 Posts |
Thanks, Harry -- your contributions are much appreciated. I see what you're saying: if the bottom card isn't completely square, that can actually be an advantage, e. g., for picking up a little finger break.
It just occurred to me that I haven't practiced your cut in the mirror. I need to do that, because if the "unalignment" is invisible to my audience, or flashes for just an instant, then, as you say, who cares? No one's going to be staring at my hand thinking, "Hmmm, I wonder if he's about to do a HaLo cut?" -- at least not the people I'd perform for! It means a lot to me that you're spending this much time helping out a beginner. I bought Rim Shots and your Best Of 1 DVD, and the explanations were clear as usual. One thing I've learned about myself is that I'm not that great at visualzing three-dimensional space in my mind's eye. *Maybe* that makes some sleights hard for me to learn, making it difficult for me to translate 2-dimensional pictures into three-dimensional understanding-- who knows? During my career as a mathematician I've stayed away from areas that require 3D-thinking. Regards, Bob |
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Harry Lorayne 1926 - 2023 New York City 8558 Posts |
Didn't know you were a mathematician. You might want to delve a bit into a different kind of magic - perhaps something that you'll just love and that you'll understand immediately - pick up a copy of my book, MATHEMATICAL WIZARDRY. You can learn more about it at harryloraynemagic.com. Not trying to sell you anything (although I'm told that I'm a pretty good salesman!!) But, to repeat, you may just love it.
[email]harrylorayne@earthlink.net[/email]
http://www.harrylorayne.com http://www.harryloraynemagic.com |
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Bob G Inner circle 2831 Posts |
Thanks, Harry. I'll look into it. One of my favorite books is Martin Gardner's Mathematics, Magic, and Mystery.
Bob |
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Harry Lorayne 1926 - 2023 New York City 8558 Posts |
Martin was a friend - we spent quite a bit of time together; I used to give him stuff for his write-ups in a magazine he was doing articles for way back then. And - I fooled the heck out of him with some of the math effects that I eventually published in MATHEMATICAL WIZARDRY.
[email]harrylorayne@earthlink.net[/email]
http://www.harrylorayne.com http://www.harryloraynemagic.com |
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Bob G Inner circle 2831 Posts |
Wow, I love hearing that. Was the magazine Scientific American? For many years he wrote the Mathematical Games column in Sci. Am. It was wonderful -- interesting math, with a touch of mystery that made the math seem especially exotic. He was amazingly diverse, as you probably know, writing about math, science, pseudo-science, philosophy... He even wrote a novel (haven't read it) about a man trying to come to terms with his ideas about religion.
It wasn't until a year ago, when I got seriously interested in magic, that I realized that he was also a serious magician with his own published books. In my reading (which is way ahead of my practice) I've seen several magicians refer admiringly to his ideas. Do you have any favorite memories of him? |
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Harry Lorayne 1926 - 2023 New York City 8558 Posts |
Yes; it was Scientific American. One "favorite" memory - I did a math thing for him (difficult to explain - has to do with a spectator giving any 3-digit number - then that number is multiplied by another spec-chosen 3-digit number - plus - and as I look at the two multiplication problems for a couple of second - I write something on a piece of paper. He then does the actual math - and checks what I've written - it's the correct answer.) When he looked at my answer he stood up and smacked the tabletop hard with his open hand - and walked away. Came back in a couple of second and we both had a good laugh. He said that it was one of the best math "tricks" of all those he knew. As I said, we had a good laugh over it. Incidentally, I've done the thing for a few math professors and they all thought I was some kind of mathematical genius! Always surprised that they didn't "see" it. Anyway...
[email]harrylorayne@earthlink.net[/email]
http://www.harrylorayne.com http://www.harryloraynemagic.com |
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Bob G Inner circle 2831 Posts |
Nice story, Harry. Interesting what you said about the math profs not understanding your method. I think some people have an uncanny number sense that doesn't always go along with talent in abstract math, although sometimes it does. A famous exception was the great 19th century German mathematician, Karl Friederich Gauss. When he was ten, his schoolteacher punished his class by making them add up all the numbers from 1 to 100. (Great idea, no? -- punishing kids by making them do math. Sigh.) Anyway, everyone except Karl was furiously doing arithmetic on their slates, while Karl just sat there doing nothing. Eventually, before the others had finished, he wrote a single number on his slate: 5050. And that turns out to be the right answer.
His method: He imagined the problems 1 + 2 + ... + 100 and 100 + 99 + ... + 1, one under the other, and noticed that the columns always added up to the same number, namely, 101. So twice the total that the teacher had demanded was 100 * 101 = 10,100 and thus the total was 5050. I can't imagine thinking of something like that on my own at any age, let alone ten. And of course he did it all in his head. He was also a lightning calculator. As a grown-up, Gauss invented whole new fields of math, and his ability to calculate with extreme rapidity helped him. He compiled logarithm tables and tables of prime numbers in his head and discovered from them a startling relationship between primes and the logarithm function. His theorem, which no one, including him, was able to prove correct until many decades later, is now one of the most famous pieces of mathematics, the Prime Number Theorem. |
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Harry Lorayne 1926 - 2023 New York City 8558 Posts |
All interesting. However, the point of MATHEMATICAL WIZARDRY is to make everyone think you're a mathematical genius when you're NOT. And you don't need to be "good" at math. There are a few testimonials from known people on the rear cover - Woody Allen, Steve Martin, Johnny Carson ... and directly to the point, Mel Brooks says:
"I was never good at arithmetic. Then I read Harry Lorayne's Mathematical Wizardry. Now, unbelievably, I can amaze my friends with my fantastic lightning calculation tricks - and more! Thank you, Harry."
[email]harrylorayne@earthlink.net[/email]
http://www.harrylorayne.com http://www.harryloraynemagic.com |
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