T

he backslip is an easy and useful sleight in which the pack is cut, and in the action the top card is slipped secretly to the top of the lower portion.

        1. Hold the pack face downwards in the left hand, the thumb extending along one side, the index finger at the outer end, the other fingers at the other side.

2. Grasp the upper half of the pack at the ends with the right fingers and thumb (Fig. 63), and open it in book fashion.

Fig. 63

3. Press against the top card with the tips of the left middle, ring, and little fingers.

4. Lift upwards all the cards held by the right hand except the top card. Fold this card down on the top of the lower portion with the left fingers.

Smoothly performed, the slipping of the card cannot be seen, but care must be taken to make the fall of the card noiseless.

This is the basic sleight. Nate Leipzig, the late great American card conjurer, devised the following procedure to hide the transfer of the card: In making the action in step No. 4, turn both

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