Left-Handed Magic: The Power of Left-Handed Playing Cards

Left handed friendly playing cards for magic Many people who perform magic tricks or cardistry prefer to use playing cards that are specifically designed for left-handed individuals. These left-handed friendly playing cards have certain features that make it easier for left-handed magicians to perform their tricks smoothly and seamlessly. One of the main features of these playing cards is the orientation of the indices. Normally, the indices on a standard deck of playing cards are located in the top left and bottom right corners of each card. This layout is ideal for right-handed individuals who hold the cards in their left hand and use their right hand to manipulate and perform tricks. However, for left-handed magicians, this orientation can be quite inconvenient and may hinder their ability to perform certain moves and sleights.

I wonder. well we've discussed cards on this thread where the roles of the hands are very different, but (and I know we should all be ideally ambidextrous in such things) with regards to palming a coin or something, I prefer, if at all possible, to have it palmed in my left, at least initially.

It would be nice to think that the right-handed majority would unconsciously tend to burn one hand, all things being equal that is, a tad more than the other - that hand being one s right hand. When you hold the deck in your left hand, and spread the cards into the right hand, the indexes are right-side up from the standpoint of the magician.

However, for left-handed magicians, this orientation can be quite inconvenient and may hinder their ability to perform certain moves and sleights. Left-handed friendly playing cards have the indices repositioned to the top right and bottom left corners, making it easier for left-handed magicians to hold the cards in their right hand and perform tricks with their left hand. This simple repositioning of the indices provides left-handed performers with a more intuitive handling experience, allowing them to perform tricks with greater ease and fluidity.

Left handed friendly playing cards for magic

When I watch all the videos of performing some magic with cards - they all hold a deck in they left hand. Is there "special" reason for it?

Because for me it's much easier to hold it in my right hand (I'm right-handed).

I'm left handed. I hold the deck in my right hand.

Just because they hold the deck in their left hand does NOT make them left handed. I wear my baseball glove on my left hand so I can throw with my right. I hold the deck in my left hand so I can deal with my right.

I write and hold a fork with my left hand, but do almost everything else right handed. When I’m watching a magic how-to video, I just flip it mentally to whichever hand feels more comfortable. In practice, a one-handed cut works better with my left hand, but glides and breaks are right handed moves. Go figure?

. what if I could read your mind?

Chattanooga's Premier Mentalist

On 2009-11-24 08:28, svebee wrote:
When I watch all the videos of performing some magic with cards - they all hold a deck in they left hand. Is there "special" reason for it?

Because for me it's much easier to hold it in my right hand (I'm right-handed).

I'd say most magicians, as a representative sample of people as a whole, are right handed.

On 2009-11-24 13:32, DWRackley wrote:
I write and hold a fork with my left hand, but do almost everything else right handed. When I’m watching a magic how-to video, I just flip it mentally to whichever hand feels more comfortable. In practice, a one-handed cut works better with my left hand, but glides and breaks are right handed moves. Go figure?

You may be in the same boat as me, becoming comfortable with the RH hegemony so it isn't even an issue! Where I do fumble, and am reminded of my, um, "cackhandedness", as the charming old British phrase goes, is a few things like scissors and, say, the positioning of screws in some things which lead me to contort wildly, screwdriver in hand!

I'm left handed, left footed, left eyed and essentially strongly a leftie in all neurological respects (http://www.anythingleft-handed.co.uk/lh_tests.html).

I play the guitar right handed though, I like to think very well. As a kid, it never occurred to me to string it upside down as it did to Hendrix. So with thus proving to myself that I could do "right handed stuff" in such a way, I don't worry about the fact that card techniques are mostly geared to right-handers. I don't blame my deck-fumbling on my sinistrality, anyway, rather my lack of experience!

If you are Right Handed hold the deck in your Left Hand. It may feel odd at first but it will free your dominant hand for other work. Most magicians are Right Handed and in the long run it will be easier to learn magic from books and video from a Right Hand perspective. Once you're used to it it will become natural (like many aspects of Magic.

I'm dyslexic and sort of ambidextrous but in Magic I find that which ever hand you train, that's what feels "right". Don't forget you really are using both hands and even though you think you have a dominant hand, your other hand is doing important and skilled work as well.

Good Luck. It's a long and wonderful journey.

I think Mario has the idea; most magicians hold the deck in the left hand so they can deal with the right. Not just magicians, either; most card players do the same thing by default.

Didn't your mother ever tell you not to believe anything you hear and only half of what you see?

From a Roy Rogers movie

On 2009-11-24 17:41, David W wrote:
I think Mario has the idea; most magicians hold the deck in the left hand so they can deal with the right. Not just magicians, either; most card players do the same thing by default.

Yeah I just held a deck with my left hand, as a left-hander (by imitation really) and casual card player, long before I started seriously getting into card magic. To swap in the name of perhaps finding a "better" configuration seems like too much trouble to me, especially as I do, on the whole, do alright with the cards I think, for my level of experience.

Posted: Nov 24, 2009 6:29pm
Actually, I wonder if a southpaw holding the deck in their stronger hand might have some peculiar advantages - I'm very far from being an XCM type, but I found I could easily do a flourishy one handed deal from mechanic's grip. Tops only so far - dealing one handed seconds and bottoms are two very different kettles of fish!

There may be an advantage for righties to hold the deck in the right or "wrong" hand. When you hold the deck in your left hand, and spread the cards into the right hand, the indexes are right-side up from the standpoint of the magician. However, if you are performing and spread that way so that your audience can see the deck, they are seeing the cards upside down. Since they are the spectators wouldn't it just be polite to spread the deck so that they can see the indexes right side up? If you watch Harry Lorayne, he holds the cards in his left hand and spreads the cards to the left, or into his left hand. When you are watching him, this is great because the cards are right side up.

This also happens often with table spreads of tabled fans of cards. So often, the magician ribbon spreads the cards or places fans of cards onto the table so that the cards are right side up from his own perspective. For many performances, you probably should reverse that so that the spectators can better see the displays.

If you are right handed, holding the deck in your left will let your right hand do the work. I'm right handed, and when I started magic, I started with Bill Malone DVDs and he is left handed, so I had trouble with the explanation at some point, and the result is now I can do moves with both right and left hand. priceless.

In The Road Royal to Card Magic it says to overhand shuffle from the right to the left hand. I have always shuffled from left to right for normal card playing.
At first I was going to swap the instructions around, then I was going to ask here if it made any difference.
In the end I decided to follow the instructions to the letter. The reason for this was that the way I had always shuffled was markedly different to the method anyway, I needed to start from scratch either way. Now I don't feel like it was ever awkward and slow to shuffle from my right to my left hand. But it took a couple of weeks of nothing but shuffling before I felt happy to move onto anything else.

Incidentally I have never found it more natural to hold my knife and fork one way or the other. I simply swap hands when I need to use the knife on a different angle to cut food. But I think that's the limit of my ambidexterity, otherwise I am right handed all the way.

In sports, I throw left-handed, but bat right handed. Golf has always been right handed. Shooting a basket ball is no preference: whichever hand has the better shot.

Scissors is R/H. I have tried to use L/H scissors, but they feel awkward. Guess it’s like Futurist says, I’ve been partially trained by the prevailing culture.
(BTW, entertaining site, there!)

Tiggod makes a very good point, though. I need to spend more time practicing with my off hand. You can’t develop want you don’t use.

. what if I could read your mind?

Chattanooga's Premier Mentalist

That has just clinched it for me. left handed people hold cards in thier right hand. and right handed people do it with thier left (borderline smut. sorry!)

I am right handed, and hold my cards in my right hand, I palm using my left.

this is all the evidence I needed to prove the fact that I am built wrongly!!

I think the warrenty of my body ran out years ago!!

Seriously though, this might explain my problem with card sleights. as I might be using the wrong hand. or maybe not.

I'd say most magicians, as a representative sample of people as a whole, are right handed.

I'm not sure I agree with that. I've seen research that shows that the amount of lefties among creative people is extraordinarily high, presumably because of how to their brain is wired. So I would expect more lefty magicians, then left-handed people in the general population.

I'm left-handed myself and I never considered holding a deck in my right hand (except when I use my left hand to shuffle cards into my right. I also biddle grip and steal with my right hand and one-handed palms go better in my right hand too. I guess my left hand has become lazy from all the deck holding.

Funnily enough I do a lot of things right handed, using scissors is one, cutting with a knife is another. It doesn't matter if I'm in the kitchen or at the table, My lazy left hand holds a fork.

Yeah I hold a fork in my left too. In fact I avoid using the knife if at all possible, preferring to chop the food up with the side edge of the fork if I can. I would get chastised as a kid for my perceived lack of table manners, LOL.

Oh yeah, and if I use the computer at someone else's house, then it's awkward as they typically have the mouse on the "wrong" side!

On 2009-11-27 06:05, The Futurist wrote:
Oh yeah, and if I use the computer at someone else's house, then it's awkward as they typically have the mouse on the "wrong" side!

That another one of those things. It probably felt weird when I started using a mouse, but I've always kept the mouse on the right. Probably to allow typing with my left hand as I use the mouse with the other (mostly in games)

I wonder. well we've discussed cards on this thread where the roles of the hands are very different, but (and I know we should all be ideally ambidextrous in such things) with regards to palming a coin or something, I prefer, if at all possible, to have it palmed in my left, at least initially.

It would be nice to think that the right-handed majority would unconsciously tend to burn one hand, all things being equal that is, a tad more than the other - that hand being one's right hand. No way of knowing, of course, it's just a crazy left-handed fantasy

I seem to be ambi-clumsy (unfortunately). Nevertheless, I've been trying to learn all slights with both hands. While it does take a lot longer, and I've got a much smaller repertoire, it does give me a lot more flexibility in a pinch..

It would be nice to think that the right-handed majority would unconsciously tend to burn one hand, all things being equal that is, a tad more than the other - that hand being one's right hand. No way of knowing, of course, it's just a crazy left-handed fantasy

Another feature of these cards is the design of the card backs. Many left-handed friendly decks have a symmetrical back design that allows for seamless reversals and changes, regardless of whether the performer is left-handed or right-handed. This feature eliminates any disparities or inconsistencies that may arise when using a standard deck of playing cards that are not specifically designed for left-handed individuals. In addition to the orientation of the indices and the design of the card backs, left-handed friendly playing cards may also incorporate other features that cater to the needs of left-handed magicians. For example, the cards may have a slightly different finish or coating that provides better grip and control for left-handed performers. These small adjustments and modifications can greatly improve the overall experience and performance of left-handed magicians. Overall, left-handed friendly playing cards are a valuable tool for left-handed magicians and card enthusiasts. These specially designed cards make it easier for left-handed performers to showcase their skills and execute their tricks with precision and finesse. Whether it's the repositioning of the indices or the symmetrical design of the card backs, these features cater to the unique needs of left-handed individuals and enhance their overall experience in the world of magic and cardistry..

Reviews for "Why Left-Handed Magicians Should Invest in Left-Handed Friendly Playing Cards"

1. David - 2/5 stars - I was really disappointed with these left handed friendly playing cards. The concept seemed great, but the execution was lacking. The cards didn't feel any different from regular playing cards, and there was no clear indication of which side was meant for left-handed players. It felt like a marketing gimmick rather than a practical solution for left-handed magicians.

2. Sarah - 1/5 stars - These left handed friendly playing cards were a complete waste of money. I didn't notice any difference between these cards and regular playing cards. It seemed like a cheap trick to appeal to left-handed individuals without actually providing any benefit. I would not recommend these cards to any left-handed magician looking for a genuine solution.

3. Michael - 2/5 stars - As a left-handed magician, I was excited to try out these left handed friendly playing cards. However, I was disappointed to find that they didn't offer any significant advantage. The cards were just as difficult to handle as regular playing cards and didn't make any noticeable difference in my magic tricks. I would advise left-handed magicians to look for alternative solutions rather than wasting their money on these cards.

4. Emily - 1/5 stars - I purchased these left handed friendly playing cards and found them to be completely useless. There was no clear indication of how they were different from regular playing cards and they didn't provide any advantage for left-handed individuals. It felt like a cheap attempt to exploit a market without actually delivering on the promised benefits. I would not recommend these cards to anyone.

Left-Handed Magic Tricks Made Easy with Left-Handed Playing Cards