Recently I purchased a copy of "Sam the Bellhop" by Bill Malone. One the tape Bill teaches (briefly) the Zarrow shuffle to control the whole deck. I was wondering if it would be worth it to purchase the Zarrow video to assist me in learning the shuffle.

Malone give a very basic treatment to the mechanics of the move but I'm not sure all of the subtle nuances come through. I want to master this move - but would spending an additional $30 give me that much added benifit? Please help!

Thanks in advance...

Yes, do yourself a favor and get the Zarrow shuffle video. There are alot of magician who "hack" this shuffle up because they didnt learn from the master.
Herb Zarrow is the master. This video will teach you tons of thing you simply will not learn from other people. Listen to Herb when he says you should never do the Zarrow under just one card. If you really want this shuffle to be deceptive get the "real work" from Herb himself. Just an opinion,
Brent Braun
http://www.braunmagic.com

Not the most exciting video to watch, but tons of great info on the shuffle - things that I certainly didn't think of in relation to the shuffle.

I do not have the video. I do have "Doug Edwards Packs A Wallop" and that book has a great method for teaching the Zarrow. Plus a whole lot more.

The video is boring as h*** (3 old men talking about the good old days and the Zarrow) but you will learn the Zarrow if you spend enough time with it.

The Zarrow if far, far better, than a push through. There is no cut at the end of the move. In addition it looks like the same things the casinos use to lay. If you learn it PLEASE do us all a favor do it justice. We all have put in some real work on it as should you. If you need cut or shuffles drop me a post.

If you do it like Doug Edwards demonstrates in his book, no other shuffles or cuts are needed whatsoever. Just square up the deck and away you go.

I think the Zarrow DVD is a solid buy. It will teach you what you should practice.

The thing is that the Zarrow takes a LOT (!!!!!!!) of practice to make it look good.

Many "big names" do it very poorly, which is a shame. It can look extremely good.

Does the Zarrow look flashy or does it look like a normal poker shuffle?

wikiro,
correctly performed, the Zarrow looks like a regular riffle shuffle. But it will take a lot of practice to perfect it. IMHO the best way to do it, is to avoid the popular initial slip cut. You'll find an excellent discussion of the Zarrow Principle in Roberto Giobbi's Card College Books. Or buy the video.

Wiriko, it looks like a regular casino shuffle, which no one does outside the casino table.

Check out Derek Dingle's or Darwin Ortiz's variations; doing it under a slug - rather than a single card - is a little more deceptive.

One touch I got from Juan Tamirez, is, after you weave the cards together, just as you do the move, look up and make a relevant comment, or joke. They'll look at your face, and the sleight goes unnoticed.

Ideal for us magicians who are less than masters...like me!!

Happy to completely disagree. Standard procedure is shuffle, then cut. To say that a Zarrow is "far, far better" than a push-through or other strip-out has no particular basis in fact.

There are many completely deceptive shuffles t o choose from, both tabled and in the hands. To ignore the strip-out genre of shuffles serves only to limit yourself.

I think the strip out shuffle is far more deceptive than the Zarrow shuffle, especially when you want to do a Triumph effect. You can shuffle face up and face down and use the selection as a top block transfer card.

If you watch any of Darwin Ortiz's videos, you will see him perform a strip out with top block transfer (also on Andrew Wimhurst's tape) and there is no doubt in anyones mind that the cards are being shuffled together.

The Zarrow shuffle is a great false shuffle, but it has its limitations.

I thought the most elegant and deceptive false shuffling sequence on the DVD was the approach of using 2 Zarrow shuffles followed by a cut. This is a thing of beauty and ends with the deck completely restored, but requires no slip cut or even getting a break. You just have to be able to hold back a few cards and then hold back those same cards a moment later.

I personally prefer that sequence to any other false riffle shuffle sequence.

JMT

A perfectly executed push-through immediately followed by a few up-the-ladder cuts is the most convincing false mixing of cards extant.

You don't have to act or pretend; the cards really are shuffled. Fortunately, they are unshuffled in a split second; the work you do during that one split second takes practice but is much preferred to all the hincky schminky the Zarrow requires.

I'm proud to be a one trick pony when it comes to false shuffles.

Thank you all for your wonderful comments. I have taken the enlightened advice from those who have worked with the Zarrow Shuffle and purchased the video. I can't wait for it to arrive!

Thanks again...