Charlie Miller Classic Pass

Paul Chosse Magic Café Columnist Boston 2390 Posts

Posted: Nov 30, 2005 10:10pm

This is a description of the standard pass from the master himself, Charlie Miller. I quote: "Fan out the cards in the usual manner for a selection. After the card has been noted you divide the fan simply by lifting off the fanned portion ABOVE where the card was chosen. You naturally do this with your right hand. The right fingers are under the fan." "Have the chosen card placed on the packet in the left hand. Put the fanned portion on top but hold a break with your left little finger. Close up the fan but leave it unsquared." "Now follow very closely. The fact that there are a few cards unsquared in or on the pack gives you a tacit reason for squaring up the pack. Your left hand adjusts the pack so that it is high on the heel of the left thumb. You can work into this position in the act of closing the fan. Use the assistance of the right hand as little as possible." "The right fingers should be well over the pack. The more that the right fingers screen the pack, the better and the right hand may even be held down so low that the right index finger tip can partly curl around the bottom of the pack. ALL DURING THIS TIME THE LEFT INDEX FINGER IS AROUND THE OUTER END OF THE PACK. The right fingers should rest on the left index finger. These right fingers never leave this position. The fingers of the right hand remain stationed on the index finger of the left hand. This is very important, furthermore this is one of the important details never explained before in any description of the pass that I have ever read." "The left thumb must be across the edge of the pack and this position is very important. See that the edge of the pack rests exactly between the creases of the joints of the thumb. " "The left little finger straightens out. Naturally the left hand fingers have

to straighten out with it. The lower packet is clipped between the left little finger and the ring finger. If this action did not take place the upper portion of the deck would tend to spin or twist upwards and the packet might be dropped. Again, this is a point that, at least to my knowledge, has never been explained." "The right thumb is about half an inch from the edge of the deck and is on the lower end. If the thumb were to be held at the extreme corner there would be no pivot point. " "The upper packet has been tilted outward and this action has been done under cover of the right hand. Here again I think that C. Lang Niel states that the packet is opened AS the right hand approaches whereas I delay this action until the pack is covered by the right hand." "An instant after the lower packet straightens out the LEFT THUMB pushes downward toward the left palm. This exerts pressure on the left edge of the LOWER packet and causes the packet to pivot on its edges to a horizontal position." "The very instant that the two packets clear each other the right hand relaxes and the two packets close together quite silently. DO NOT MOVE THE RIGHT HAND UNTIL THE PACKETS ARE COMPLETELY TOGETHER." "This is the entire description in a nutshell. It takes much more practice to keep from lifting the under packet and to maintain the position of the hands. There should be no movement whatever of the right hand as the shift or pass is made. The two packets should transpose with a minimum of space." "The usual faults are that the right hand simply holds onto the lower portion while the upper packet is brought around it." "The right fingers tend to lift the under portion and this must not happen. The right fingers should remain dead still and the right hand acts as a screen or cover. The bad angle is at the magicians' left as there is no way to cover this movement of the upper packet as it makes its change. There are of course ways of doing the pass before one person

where angles are taken care of. I have never used these subterfuges. I usually drop my hand to the side still holding the break with my little finger. I take good care to make the break not show on the thumb side. A little pressure is exerted here. My hand drops to my side. It does not remain in front of my body. This is another important point as it tends to relieve any anticipation on the part of the watchers. The main thing is to execute the pass quickly and noiselessly and NEVER NEVER look at the hands as this would be disasterous." "Perhaps the best advice for misdirection while using the pass was that given by the late T. Nelson Downs, "Do it when they are not looking." One last comment. Don't worry about the size of your hands. It doesn't seem to make much difference." This is from Magicana series #76, March of 1971. I have been doing the pass based on this advice and a lesson or two from Charlie since the mid seventies. The most useful point in this is the idea of the right hand remaining motionless, and the left thumb pushing down on the left edge of the lower packet. When the lower packet is pushed in this way it pivots between the right thumb and middle finger, and assists the upper packet in moving around the lower packet. If you strive to keep the packets in constant contact with one another as the upper revolves around the lower, you will diminish the room neccessary for the shift to work, significantly. Hope this helps... Best, PSC