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Comment by onychomys | Hacker News Reader

I am not 100% convinced that this isn't just actual magic. The manipulations are pretty amazing and then at the end it's mindblowing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWvRorX0KhQ

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Many of the methods Jay used he learned from Dai Vernon.

This vid explains Vernon’s signature trick.

https://youtu.be/PQpQwLBDQKwP

One key to Jays magic (and really any good mahician) is that NOTHING is coincidence. Every hitch, stumble, and stutter is there for a reason.

The card throwing is just a skill, there is no trickery involved. But what is shown in this video is magic facilitated by extreme skill (as opposed to, say, a gimmicked deck).

He did use gimmicks sometimes, albeit it usually a set deck that he then pretends to false shuffle.

That’s not a gimmick. False shuffles are a skill.

He used marked cards and other speciality decks like stripper decks on occasion.

Sure, every magician does that at one time or another. But that's not what he's doing in this video.

When I was into card magic a few years ago this move by Lennard Green was the one that impressed me most:

https://youtu.be/KnSGHHeFxa0?t=33

Also, at the end of the video his laser routine is really nice.

I've always found card manipulation magic like Ricky Jay did to be some of the most impressive. The flashier magic can be interesting in other ways but card manipulation feels so pure. There aren't any gimmicks, nothing super flashy, it doesn't require any equipment the average person couldn't acquire for a few dollars, it's just the end result of untold thousands of hours of practice.

Modern performance of the same core trick, with a musical and literary delivery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGvbaLl33CY#t=1m50s

Look at the left stack at 2:15-2:20. The cards in the stack move.

The video has been cut and edited.

I think it's maybe a trick card? Nothing else in the scene jumps during the 'edit' (he's moving his arms around at the same time), and you can actually hear the card make a little 'pop' noise as it jumps up a bit.

It's a gimmicked card used to create a break in the deck (for controlling where to cut). Earlier in the video, you can clearly see it (or another gimmicked card) creating a break (gap) in the deck. The pop at 2:15-2:20 is a slight vibration (due to the flipping card) causing the card so slide or pop to become more visible.

good god. that's got to be a dozen separate tricks, and I can't see through a single one of them. granted, the pixels don't help, but sheesh, Ricky was a force.

That's brilliant! I love how he 'sorts' one suit, flashes a smug look at someone off-frame and proceeds to just spread the rest of the deck face-up and sorted!

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