Hey, guys!
I just wanted to give a bit of background and info on the shuffle.
Several years ago I went to Las Vegas and was shown an amazing shuffle by Steve Forte. Later that night I went over to Dan and Dave’s house and, while showing them the shuffle, I discovered you could add a “cascade” to it.
I showed it to guys I trust like Chris Kenner, Jason England, Michael Weber, Eric Mead, Bill Malone, Steve Forte, John Lovick, David Williamson, Mike Close, Bob Kohler, Steve Freeman, Gary Plants, and Ricky Jay. There went any chance of a “secret,” but it was a good little secret while it lasted.
To be honest, I never intended to publish it (publishing has not been for me), however, it was already beginning to spread. Still, I struggled with the idea of putting it out and, if so, where. Then at Magic Live 2007, I agreed to give it to Richard Kaufman/Genii. The publishing business being what it is, it came out 14 months later.
It was about that time I started to hear a whisper of the name Ben Earl and his shuffle. I heard from a friend that I had to meet Ben and see his work. Then in December 07, Ben’s Past Midnight came out. Now I didn’t even have to meet him.
I saw Ben’s Past Midnight dvds and thought they were great. Of course, I was surprised to see how similar his Grey Shuffle is to mine. I then had the good fortune of meeting and becoming friends with him. I can honestly say that Ben is one of the most talented card magicians I have ever met. He is technically superlative, his thinking is great and his taste is impeccable. If you haven’t bought Past Midnight, you should.
If you’re really interested in learning an in-the-hands false riffle shuffle, you have many options. Personally, I believe you should experiment with several of them until you find one that suits your hands (and your needs) the best. Try them all. Guy Hollingworth, Ron Wohl, Hank Miller, Ben Earl and Karl Hein have all come up with shuffles worthy of your attention.
It’s all a matter of taste.
After seeing Ben’s shuffle on Past Midnight, and knowing mine had already been submitted to Genii, I was concerned that people would think that I had merely copied Ben’s basic idea and begun the springing action a fraction of a second earlier. However, all of the cardmen who had seen my shuffle in its early days can attest that I was doing it long before meeting Ben or seeing his dvd set. In fact, there are posts on at least one internet magic board that references my shuffle well before the Past Midnight set was released. In the end, the two shuffles are indeed similar, but were created completely independently of one another.
Dan and Dave asked me to do a streaming video with them on the shuffle. They are dear friends and have done so much for me in the past, I couldn't say no. We shot the video several months ago. While putting it together I looked at the credits in Genii and didn't check to see if they were all accurate. So, the Grey Shuffle was credited as the Psychological Shuffle. I learned of this mistake from Ben himself in England last month where he gave me several lashings. However, the error has been correct and will be changed on the video within the next few days.
I hope you found some of the above info useful and I hope the shuffle finds a good home in many of your hands.
All the best,
Derek
I just wanted to give a bit of background and info on the shuffle.
Several years ago I went to Las Vegas and was shown an amazing shuffle by Steve Forte. Later that night I went over to Dan and Dave’s house and, while showing them the shuffle, I discovered you could add a “cascade” to it.
I showed it to guys I trust like Chris Kenner, Jason England, Michael Weber, Eric Mead, Bill Malone, Steve Forte, John Lovick, David Williamson, Mike Close, Bob Kohler, Steve Freeman, Gary Plants, and Ricky Jay. There went any chance of a “secret,” but it was a good little secret while it lasted.
To be honest, I never intended to publish it (publishing has not been for me), however, it was already beginning to spread. Still, I struggled with the idea of putting it out and, if so, where. Then at Magic Live 2007, I agreed to give it to Richard Kaufman/Genii. The publishing business being what it is, it came out 14 months later.
It was about that time I started to hear a whisper of the name Ben Earl and his shuffle. I heard from a friend that I had to meet Ben and see his work. Then in December 07, Ben’s Past Midnight came out. Now I didn’t even have to meet him.
I saw Ben’s Past Midnight dvds and thought they were great. Of course, I was surprised to see how similar his Grey Shuffle is to mine. I then had the good fortune of meeting and becoming friends with him. I can honestly say that Ben is one of the most talented card magicians I have ever met. He is technically superlative, his thinking is great and his taste is impeccable. If you haven’t bought Past Midnight, you should.
If you’re really interested in learning an in-the-hands false riffle shuffle, you have many options. Personally, I believe you should experiment with several of them until you find one that suits your hands (and your needs) the best. Try them all. Guy Hollingworth, Ron Wohl, Hank Miller, Ben Earl and Karl Hein have all come up with shuffles worthy of your attention.
It’s all a matter of taste.
After seeing Ben’s shuffle on Past Midnight, and knowing mine had already been submitted to Genii, I was concerned that people would think that I had merely copied Ben’s basic idea and begun the springing action a fraction of a second earlier. However, all of the cardmen who had seen my shuffle in its early days can attest that I was doing it long before meeting Ben or seeing his dvd set. In fact, there are posts on at least one internet magic board that references my shuffle well before the Past Midnight set was released. In the end, the two shuffles are indeed similar, but were created completely independently of one another.
Dan and Dave asked me to do a streaming video with them on the shuffle. They are dear friends and have done so much for me in the past, I couldn't say no. We shot the video several months ago. While putting it together I looked at the credits in Genii and didn't check to see if they were all accurate. So, the Grey Shuffle was credited as the Psychological Shuffle. I learned of this mistake from Ben himself in England last month where he gave me several lashings. However, the error has been correct and will be changed on the video within the next few days.
I hope you found some of the above info useful and I hope the shuffle finds a good home in many of your hands.
All the best,
Derek
Last edited by a moderator:
