Comments on: Plunger Control

By: Jeff Stone

Jeff Stone — Sun, 25 Aug 2013 01:28:09 +0000

@Emory – I hear what you’re saying, but I’m not sure I agree 100%. There really is no “extra” manipulation after the tap home. It’s just a simple “gesture” as you place the cards on the table. As you said, it’s very casual.

By: Emory Kimbrough

Emory Kimbrough — Sat, 24 Aug 2013 20:46:29 +0000

Interesting – I learned a tap-in control many years ago where you insert the card almost all the way, with only about a border-width or even less protruding. You then give the card a rather sharp slap into the deck, and it will overshoot rather than squaring up. You now have a perfect half-border injog.

The key variable is how far the card protrudes when you do the slap-in or tap-in. With the card protruding significantly, your plunger control results. With the card protruding very little, the single-card injog results.

There are pros and cons for both. The single-card overshooting is obviously a far more direct path to the desired result, but you have to practice not appearing too studious when inserting the card ALMOST flush. And then you have to change gears to give a pronounced slap – something that might call attention to itself if not disguised as a slightly affected emphatic mannerism or justified with patter. Your plunger can be done more casually, as the insertion depth isn’t as finicky and the tap-in is gentler, but at the cost of more manipulation after the insertion.

By: Grandpa Chet

Grandpa Chet — Tue, 20 Aug 2013 21:09:52 +0000

In reply to Jeff Stone. Thank you for the location of the origination documentation. Even Mr Braue may not have realized its usefulness!

By: Jeff Stone

Jeff Stone — Tue, 20 Aug 2013 20:41:15 +0000

In reply to Grandpa Chet. @Chetly - thanks for the comment. Keep in mind that the real plunger principle is a bit different from what I'm offering. This is a way I've come up with that allows you to control the card. The original plunger idea was for a rising card effect by Fred Braue. You are correct about where it is written up. It's in Part 4, Tricks With Cards, Chapter 1, The Rising Cards in Expert Card Technique. It's page 209 in the Dover edition.

By: Grandpa Chet

Grandpa Chet — Tue, 20 Aug 2013 19:55:36 +0000

Have not seen an issue for awhile, and I suspect they slipped by me during my hospital stays. (Just got away from the pokey again last night. Don’t tell them!) This was a delightful return!

Can’t remember where I first learned this Plunger Principle (not by that name) though it was probably Expert Card Techniques. Since almost 75% of all magic books were written by either Hugard or Gibson, it has to be one of their books or articles. Or an issue of the Shadow.

I am so grateful that you shared not only the principle, but photos. (Since I’ve been told by many magicians that “I can’t learn from reading.”) There are just so many ways this can be used, even by a ten-thumbed person such as I, that this very easy sleight is right up there (IMHO) with the double-lift.

Maybe it’s unseemly to write a comment that’s as long or longer than the article, but I would really like to see more people take advantage of this sleight.

Now if only I could remember where I learned it or what I’ve called it all these millenia.

PS: Thank you for not forcing us to use Facebook to log in! No need to make things that much easier for the NSA and the IRS.