Curry Turn Over Change

[Guest]

This is one of those moves that always struck me as dangerous. In my opinion, I think that a lay person might suspect that somehow you switched the tabled card for a different card. Even if they do not see the mechanics, using the same hand that is holding the deck to turn over the card may give them a slight clue as to where the card could have come from. I also know that Harry Lorayne devoted an entire chapter on effects using this sleight in Close Up Card Magic.

My question is, does anyone out there use this particular sleight, and if so, have you ever performed it for lay audiences?

(There is a Larry Jennings effect in "The Cardwright" that I was told uses this sleight and the effect is strong because the change actually occurs way before the audience believes it does).

Just curious as to what you may have experienced or what you might think.

[Guest]

I only use the Curry change in one context, and because of the cover, it is perfectly natural and hidden.

The magician removes four "prediction" cards from the deck, and a volunteer freely riffles up the outer edge and cuts off a portion of the deck. The four prediction cards are turned over, and their values all add to the number of cards in the spectator's hand.

Incomplete method: the four prediction cards are placed in a vertical line and they are turned over with both hands simultaneously. A stacked deck and the option of which of the prediciton cards is to be switched out makes the result quite baffling.

[Guest]

I actually use the Curry change as the very first sleight in my ambitious card routine. I spread the cards out face-up, ask someone to name one, slide the selection out, and gather the remaining deck in the left hand, prepping for the sleight.

I comment on the selection and ask the spectator if that card has any special significance for her. The eye contact during this exchange provides sufficient misdirection as I execute the sleight. I immediately spread the deck (with the chosen card at its face) face down and slide the "chosen" (actually indifferent) card into the middle of the spread. And proceed from there.

I know that this violates the cardinal rule of the turnover change -- to have something else important going on in the right hand to justify turning the card with the left. Still, I've never been challenged on the move. In part, that's because this is the very first sleight at the very opening of my card work. People know I'm going to do card magic but don't yet have a sense that I'll be wowing them with sleight-of-hand. If the Ambitious Card came later in my sequence of routines, I probably wouldn't open with such a barefaced execution of Curry's move.

Also, I'm an amateur performing card magic in informal settings. If I were a pro with a reputation for card dexterity, they'd be burning my hands from the start, and I'd leave the turnover change out or give it more cover.
--Ralph

[David Moore]

Larry Jennings uses of his version of the Curry turnover in Synchronicity from "The Classic Magic of Larry Jennings".

Both he and the spectator are holding a packet of cards in their hands and since Larry has to turn over both cards on the table at the same time, the move is perfectly covered.

If you can do this change smoothly, it will never be noticed. By the way, this is one of the best tricks in the book.

[Richard Kaufman]

Long before Paul Curry invented his "Curry Turnover Change," which involves somewhat awkwardly shoving a great deal of your third finger into the deck, gamblers used a similar sleight that involved a flesh break and was much smoother. The Jennings technique is an improvement on the Curry original in one sense, because the first finger rather than the third is inserted into the deck. However, the Jennings technique is quite angly--and is wide open to anyone who can see the outer end of the deck.
Don't get me wrong. The Curry Turnover Change is a good sleight that does work--if done well no laymen will be suspicious (particularly if you are doing something with BOTH hands). It is, however, awkward to get into and the unpublished gambler's handling is superior in every way.

[Richard James]

It is, however, awkward to get into and the unpublished gambler's handling is superior in every way.

Gordon Bruce has a superb handling for 'getting into the move' He does it one handed AS you reach for the card!

IF he ever publishes it, check it out as it improves the move no end. It is by no means easy though! It was shown to me by his good friend Marc Caplan.

[Pete McCabe]

A related change appears in "Rip-Off Reverse," in "The Magic of Paul Harris" and "The Art of Astonishment." Basically you lay a double card face up on the table, then steal the card off the face in turning the card down.

You obviously can't substitute this in every situation that requires the Curry turnover change, but when you can it is IMO both much easier to learn and cleaner of execution, since you don't need any break on the top card at all.

You could certainly use it in the Ambitious Card handling Ralph Bonheim gave, for example.

[Pete McCabe]

Forgot the main thing I was going to say.

The turnover change is much more dangerous when used to turn a face down card face up than to turn a face up card face down.

So if you put a card on the table face down and use the move to change the card while turning face up, the heat will be very much on as everyone is waiting to see what the card will be when it's turned up.

If you put a card on the table face up and turn it face down, there's much less attention. Nobody is waiting to see what the back of the card looks like.

[Steve Ehlers]

One of the best tricks with the Curry turnover change is the Al Koran trick Perfection Do as I Do. The turnover change is perfect for this routine. I used to practice this sleight religiously and was never busted on the move. However I now use the gamblers switch Richard mentions. Steve Forte demos it on one of his Gambling Protection tapes. It is much easier to do and doesn't leave the telltale bend in the middle of the card as does the Curry Change.

Steve Ehlers

[Rick Franceschin]

I've seen both Harry Lorayne and Gene Maze do the Curry Move. In their hands the move looks really natural. In addition Gene Maze could do it on his or another person's hand, again, really wonderful. I believe that both Maze and Lorayne use the Curry technique, so it can be done well. I am actually a big fan of Marlo's Breakless Curry Change. Only after learning it did I apreciate how good it is. No get ready - no warped cards. Done properly, your fingers won't flail at the end of the change, which frequently tips that something has happenned. In addition, the card seems to turn over and land where it's supposed to, giving the action a sleightly retentive (don't know if I'm using that word the right way here) quality. The move is described, beautifully, in Hierophant.

[Guest]

Thanks to Peter for the suggested alternative Ambitious Card handling. Also, I very much agree with the comment about the added danger of using the sleight to turn a card face-up vs face-down.

In addition to the heightened spectator interest, there's the risk of flashing the tabled card momentarily in the course of the switch, especially for spectators on your left. This can be minimized by contriving to have the tabled card be the mate of the card it's being switched for. If they momentarily glimpse the 9 of clubs which, when fully "turned over" is the 9 of spades, that causes a lot less subliminal cognitive dissonance than if the initial glimpsed card is the ace of hearts.
--ralph

[Van]

The Curry Change done in the spectator's hand described in HL's Close Up Card Magic I use almost every time I perform for non-magicians. Gets a gasp every time.

[Pete Biro]

If you read the way Mr. Curry did it in his newly released book, you will find the misdirection employed covers it perfectly.

Check it out.

[Bill Duncan]

Originally posted by Pete Biro:
If you read the way Mr. Curry did it in his newly released book, you will find the misdirection employed covers it perfectly.

Check it out.

Just heard from Steven that the Curry book is at the printer for it's second printing! The first run has already sold out. It's good to know that cleverness and guile never go out of style.

:D

[Brad Jeffers]

I would like more details on that unpublished gambler's technique. Sounds interesting. Jenning's also used the Curry change in a trick called "First Impression" (on the Paris Session tapes). He turns the card from face down, to face up, on the spectator's hand. I love the look on the woman's face. Genuine astonishment!

[Richard Kaufman]

Brad,
Marlo's Breakless Curry Change published in "The Heirophant" is VERY close to one of the gamblers' techniques. It doesn't take much thought, working backward from Curry's technique, to figure out a way to get the second card out without having to shove your third finger so far into the deck. The trick is loosening it so that it can fall out at the right moment.

[Philippe Noël]

Hi guys,
I think the move that you are talking about can be found in the volume 7 of Encyclopedia of Card Sleights(The Curry Turnover Change AND Variations) by Daryl.

Philippe Nol

[Guest]

For my own purposes (working on a low coffee table or a living room floor), the need to shove the ring finger deeply under the bottom card has never been a problem, in terms of either execution or angles. I get into position easily while gathering a face-up spread and turning it face down in the left hand. And a slight forward tilt of the deck hides what the ring finger is up to. However, I can see why working at a card table would require the more stealthy, finessed alternatives.

[Rick Franceschin]

So it seems that the Curry move, along with it variants, is a perfectly workable move. Getting back to the originally posed Larry Jennings routine, "First Impressions", is that routine a viable solution to think-a- card? Is the bluff reason for respreading the deck strong enough to pass? Can any additional touches or approaches be invoked to insure success?

[Guest]

Originally posted by Richard Kaufman:
Brad,
Marlo's Breakless Curry Change published in "The Heirophant" is VERY close to one of the gamblers' techniques. It doesn't take much thought to figure out a way to get the second card out without having to shove your third finger so far into the deck. The trick is loosening it so that it can fall out at the right moment.

A good method is published by Dustin D. Marks in his book, "Cheating at Blackjack Squared" p. 66-70.

Is this the gambler's technique you're referring to?

Ken