I wanted to share a principle I try to keep in mind when I practice and perform sleight of hand magic. I don’t mean to be boastful, but this tip really took the moves that I do to a whole new level. I thought to write about this concept when I came across this video on Instagram. Give it a watch before you continue reading.

I really don’t mean to pick on this magician; he seems like a perfectly nice, friendly guy that performs some stellar effects (hell, even David Blaine commented “Incredible” on it). He just did something in this video that we all do, a bad habit we all have. You might’ve guessed already knowing the title of this post, but it’s the little repositioning he does with the coin before he gets into the effect. It’s what I (and many others) call “the get-ready”. It’s that little action that puts the object in one’s hands into the needed position to execute the sleight of hand.

The get-ready move could be an array of different actions, depending on what effect you’re performing, what sleight you want to do and what object you’re using. That repositioning, although very subtle, is a tell. Another example where you’ll usually see the get-ready is for any false deal.

You’ll see people grab the deck and nestle it into their hands, until it’s into their preferred dealing grip. Look up bottom or second deal videos on YouTube, you’ll see tons of get-ready. I’ve practiced bottom dealing for over a decade (which is still a rookie number in the world of the false dealers), and I’m consistently complimented on the zero get-ready by some very well-respected names. It’s something they pointed out to me makes my bottom deal quite the remarkable one. My bottom deal is probably one reason why the Editor took me seriously when we first met.

So you’ve done some reflecting on the moves and realize you’re a serial get-ready-er. It’s simple to get rid of. You simply have to practice picking up the item so that it is in the correct position, so that there is no repositioning is required. If it’s picking up a coin, memorize what lines on your fingers or palm it touches when it’s in the correct position.

Drop the coin and pick it up again. How close are you to a completely ready position? Repeat this practice until you can confidently get the coin there first try.

Then try to do it without looking at your hands.

Do it until you can be completely relaxed and nonchalant about it. What I did for my bottom dealing was just take the deck off the table and drop it into my hand (aiming for it to land perfectly in dealing grip). I’d repeat that process until I was able to drop it perfectly into dealing grip. This sounds like an arduous process but I promise you, it’s surprisingly easy to do.

Instead of learning to do something which is usually way harder, you’re learning to simply not do something. It’s just free fat to trim off your sleights.

I was talking to a friend about this concept in preparation for this post and he said that he wants his sleights to be a bit messy, rather than super polished. I get what he was trying to say. It’s the approach Lennart Green popularized, being seemingly messy and unskilled with the objects your handling, making it theoretically less likely people will think you’re using sleight of hand.

In this case though, I think this is different. Removing the get-ready is to aid your naturalness, not make you look like a FISM maestro. It’d be more natural for you to simply pick up the deck, drop it in your hand and start dealing, right? It’s not about looking good, it’s about removing an actual tell to the moves you do.

Tape yourself performing some of your favorite sleights and see if there’s any get-ready you can get rid of. The key is in those transitions, those moments between each move, between each time you set something down or pick it up again. The smoother, or better yet more nonexistent, those transitions are, the more slick your moves will be.

Editor-in-chief’s note: Ben Earl is a good person to study if you want to eliminate the get-ready. The Oracle recommended him as a point of mention in this article without knowing that Drew is already highly studied in Ben Earl’s teachings.

Editor-in-chief’s second note: I am known as the editor-in-chief as of Lisbeth’s joining and no longer just the Editor, since there are two other editors now. (Lisbeth and Sisyphus, who will be introduced later and has the most appropriate name of all of us.) Let it be known.