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- Path: sparky!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!uwm.edu!psuvax1!psuvm!hcm100
- Organization: Penn State University
- Date: Sat, 23 Jan 1993 22:43:57 EST
- From: Sleight of Hans <HCM100@psuvm.psu.edu>
- Message-ID: <93023.224357HCM100@psuvm.psu.edu>
- Newsgroups: alt.magic
- Subject: Re: Faro Shuffle??!?
- References: <1993Jan23.210010.23618@nmsu.edu>
- Lines: 57
-
- In article <1993Jan23.210010.23618@nmsu.edu>, tnielson@kirk (THORIN NIELSON)
- says:
- >
- >Question:
- >
- >I've seen a lot of literature, routines, etc. having to do with the Faro
- >shuffle (from Ed Marlo, Brother Hamman). And I have begun to learn how to
- >do the shuffle. But I must admit that I'm missing some important skill as
- >I can't do very many perfectly, (problems cutting, sticky cards, problems
- >abound).
-
- Welcome to what *I* consider to be the hardest shuffle in sleight-of-hand
- magic. It is exactly because of the fact that you need to have a near
- perfect deck of cards that few people learn the faro. It's a neat shuffle,
- but I almost never use routines with it because of this exact problem.
-
- >
- >I want to know,
- >
- >IS IT WORTH THE TROUBLE???
-
- For an understanding of all aspects of the art? Yes.
- For use in routines and professional work? Probably not.
-
- >
- >Do any of you have any advice as to how I might go about mastering this
- >shuffle? Do any of you make Faro routines a big part of your act? Are
- >these tricks so effective that it would warrant my exploration into the
- >Faro phenomena?
-
- Most of the routines that I use a faro for do not require a perfect
- faro shuffle. I do a couple of variations on the Oil/Water deck where
- you split the deck into black and red piles, (faro) shuffle them together,
- cut the deck, and the cards are all back in order again. John Bannon has
- a decent routine in his SMIKE AND MIRRORS book that uses this principle
- and a faro that doesn't have to be perfect.
-
- I like John's concept of useing a side-jogged faro and a pressure spread
- to show only one color of card in the deck. Square it up, give it a shake,
- and you've got both colors mixed through the deck. Check it out if you
- want to use a faro.
-
- I learned to faro on an 8 hour bus trip. If you've got that amount of time
- to practice just to get the basic action down, go for it. If not, spend
- your time practicing more essential sleights like side steals and such. :-)
-
- Just my $0.02 worth.
-
- >
- >Thorin Nielson -
- >
- | O | | O |
- | | Hans C. Masing "By all means marry: If you get a good | |
- | O | HCM100 @ PSUVM.psu.edu wife, you'll become happy; if you get | O |
- | | HCM100 @ CBA1.psu.edu a bad one, you'll become a philosopher." | |
- | O | Penn State MIS Dept. - Socrates | O |
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