http://card-tricks.21ace.com/Tom_Ace.php en http://backend.userland.com/rss092 There were two decks at every table. One blue and one red backed Bicycle deck. What surprised me was that every player got hold of one of the decks. If the dealer was dealing a round with the blue backed deck, another player would take the red backed deck and shuffle it in advance so that the dealer could deal the next round even faster. I found this was totally unnessesary and risky. I've tried different techniques while I was at that table: Stacking: -milk build shuffle Because everyone could shuffle a deck at a particular time of the game it was not hard to stack the deck with the "milk build shuffle". Overhand shuffling is very common here in the Netherlands, that is why I also used that method for stacking. And to be honest, riffle shuffle stacking is still, for me, almost impossible to do unnoticed. I'd rather keep it easy while I can. The dealer did re-shuffle my deck casually after I stacked it, but I also noticed that most of the time he didn't re-shuflle the decks at all. So stacking is not 100% sure. But there is a great chance that the dealer just starts out dealing a stacked deck. Palming / lapping -Gambler's cop Again, when you get hand of the deck it's a good opportunity for a card cheat to palm a card. At a particular moment, I had palmed two Queens while another one appeared at the flop with an eight of diamonds. I also had an eight spot in the pocket so a Full House was made. Palming is great for this and your chances of winn ..]]> http://card-tricks.21ace.com/post/Tom_Ace/14/Poker-Tournament ) My interests are gambling, magic in general and dice stacking. I will be sharing my thoughts about this, and more, with you. It is possible that I write a new "topic" (is it called "topic" ? ) everyday, but it's also very possible that I write a new one once a week. It varies from the experiences I had, and if I think it's worhty enough to share with you all. Because it will take you some precious minutes of you're wonderful life to read the stuff I have to say, so I'd better make it interesting for you to read. Therefore, I hope you will enjoy it and comments are always more than welcome. Regards, Tom. ps: If my sentences do not match the English/American grammar, please feel free to correct me. Also, for the sake of clearity, I asume that all the made up spectators and magicians are males. It is easier to type he instead of he/she every time. -Flourishing- "The art of manipulation with cards" I think this will suit the term flourishing. If you're thinking: well, what about it? you're right. This has almost nothing to do with my interests I listed above. But somehow you're interested, otherwise you wouldn't have clicked on my blog in the first place. I like flourishes, I'm not a master in it but I like to perform a few once in a while. Recently, at a Dutch forum, someone asked an cunning question about performing flourishes in front of an audience. Is it good to show your skills with a deck of cards by doing fancy things? Is it better to act like you have no such quallity's and make the magic more believable? If you're thinking that I have the answer, than I have to disappoint you. It's a matter of style, and especially, personal preferences. One can peform a magic show in front of an audience and mainly show his dexterity with cards. The audience, most lik ..]]> http://card-tricks.21ace.com/post/Tom_Ace/6/Flourishing