How Not to do the Classic Pass #3: Don’t frame up

Assuming you intend to do a classic pass as a sleight, not as a color change, visual vanish or appearance, you’ll want to avoid this common error.

What’s wrong with this picture? We’ve all done it, trying to master the ‘fast’, invisible pass that so many card men seek. This is the ‘frame up’ – and whether or not you think it makes your pass look better, it almost certainly makes it feel worse. It doesn’t matter what you say, do, or where you attempt to focus the attention of your audience. If your hands are tensed and ‘framed up’ this way, your audience will focus on the source of all that tension – your hands. Remember, if you want to do a natural, unsuspicious pass – stay loose!

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How NOT to do the Classic Pass #2: Don’t flash your break.

 

 

When Vernon said the shift must be accomplished at the very moment your hands come together at the pack, he meant it.

Many shift workers spend countless hours working on a pass which might be called invisible, and next to no time working on ways to ensure the success of their labor in actual performance.

Check out the photos – if your set out for the pass looks this way, you don’t stand a chance. The moment the audience can see a line or a break, if they even know there are two packets in play, you’ve lost all hope of making the shift without suspicion.

Does your pass make use of an ultra clean break? Let me know. We’d all love to know your thoughts, so tell us!

 

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