Core skill · Intermediate
The Double Lift
Turn two cards over as if they were one. The most useful sleight in card magic.
Draft. Awaiting review by our resident magician.
- TODO: Review this basic handling and replace it with the version you teach, if different
- TODO: Add step illustrations
The double lift lets you show a card that isn’t really on top. Your audience sees “the top card,” but you’re holding two cards squared together as one. It powers hundreds of tricks, including the Ambitious Card.
A basic handling
- Hold the deck in the dealing grip in your left hand, with your right hand above it in the end grip.
- With your right thumb, gently lift the inner end of the top cards and let them fall back one at a time until two cards are lifted.
- Keep a small gap beneath those two cards with the tip of your left little finger. This is called a break.
- With your right hand, lift the two cards together as one, by their inner end, keeping them perfectly squared.
- Turn them face up onto the deck, like opening a book. The audience sees one card.
- To turn them back, lift them together as one again, square, and turn them face down.
Common mistakes
- Squeezing too hard, which bends the cards and shows a gap.
- Getting the break too obviously. It should happen while you’re talking, not while everyone watches.
- Changing speed. If your double lift is slower or more careful than a single, people notice.
Where to learn more
Origin. A standard sleight with many published variations.
- Card College, Volume 1 by Roberto Giobbi. Teaches several reliable versions in detail
- The Royal Road to Card Magic by Jean Hugard and Frederick Braue