Hi there,

I recently started working on some flipper techniques as tought by Troy Hooser.
One particular move bothers me.
In one of his 3-fly routines he vanishes a coin by letting the insert flip back. With two hands this is easy, but he uses one hand!
He explaines it very well on the DVD but it does not seem to work for me. Either your thumb is in the way but when you remove the thumb the mechanical force of the closing flipper brings it out of balance.
The move seems a little bit like juggling to me!
Any suggestions would be welcome...

Dan,

I agree that this can feel like juggling, because if you really think about it, there must be a moment when the coin is held in place only be its own inertia, and at that time, the flap is swinging shut, changing the center of mass. My solution, and you'll find this works, is to stop thinking about it. Trust me, the thing works well if you just do it. It may be a litle more difficult with half dollar sized coins, the larger coins are a little more stable.

Trust me, you can do it....

If you're at a stage in a routine where you're apparently holding two coins at the fingertips of one hand, at chest level, you can do this:

Smoothly lower your hand, by straightening your elbow. Your hand ends palm up, at around waist level.

At the same time, let the flipper close; the flap is against your thumb. As your hand comes down, it's easy to get your thumb out of the way, due to the inertia of the coin keeping the coin in place on your fingers.

The spectator sees two coins at your fingertips, then one seems to melt away as you lower your hand. (In effect, not method, this is similar to a phase in Bob Kohler's Ultimate Three Fly.)

You can do a nice two-phase two-coins across routine with this move by following it with the Tenkai Pennies or the Gallo Pitch.

Let me know if the explanation isn't clear, and I'll try again.

Cheers,
Jerry

Hi Folks,

With wet hands, or a bit of wax on the face of the coin, you can have the coin stick to your middle fingertip while your thumb lets go as the flipper flips closed. This happens in about a second from release to regrasp. You might also want to move your hand WITH the motion of the coin as it rotates slightly.

:) -Jon

OK, great responses, thank you.
I'll let the Force flow through me and try them all.
I was just toying with the coins while looking with one eye at Baywatch (ahem), my flipper flew out of my hand again and broke down.
I'll go to sleep now and overthink my sins.
(Curtis you really live there? Man!!!)

Trust me, Dan,after a while you get used to the endless flow of the same bikini-clad babes running up and down the beach. Until then, well, at least the flipper doesn't break when you drop it in the sand.

(And the girls will stop and help you look for it)

Well I guess That's one reason to drop it! .

Best David Neighbors
The Coinjurer

It also helps if you are using a dollar sized flipper as opposed to the half dollar size.

Jon,

The wax idea, above, is fantastic. Thanks.

Now another question. How do you all unfurl the Flipper secretly? I don't love Troy Hooser's method, as taught in his book, lecture notes, and video. To me, it seems to involve some odd extra motion of the hand and arm.

One tip I've tried: Place a piece of tape on the inside surface of the insert or shell. This holds the shell slightly "ajar" and provides a lip that your fingertip can engage, making it easy to open the coin without unnatural motions.

This works quite well, especially if you have a new rubber band and the insert doesn't just flop out easily.

I like to unfurl the Flipper when it's flat on my right-hand fingers along with at least one other coin. My hand tilts slightly toward me as my left hand apparently transfers the coins from that position to the fingertips. In fact, the Flipper opens, by using friction against my right fingers, and one coin remains hidden in right fingerpalm during the final display.

Any thoughts?

Jerry

Just one quick thought for you jerry, though the purists are gonna hate it...You might want to add a small nib to the flipper and cut a groove in the shell. This way the two can act almost like the ball and shell in a billiards set. I suspect the machinists who visit this forum will know what needs to happen. Regards, jon

Interesting ideas guys.
I'm gonna try your unfurl-move Jerry. (yet another word for the vocabulary;-).

I think the Hooser unfurl looks more innocent in a stand up situation than in real close up...

It is taken for granted pretty fast though, maybe because he is the only one who has ever written on the subject?

I use a half dollar flipper -- works fine. I just let the coins rest on my fingertips and then I bring the coins back into display position. The answers come quickly through experimentation, rather than depending on a published solution to appear.

My favorite 3 Fly derivative is by Nate Kranzo. It just looks as if the coins melt together. But, a different gaff is used, instead of a flipper.