How to Fan a Deck of Cards

May it be performed as a part of a magic trick, a subtle psychological intimidation to opponents in a card game, or just a plain trick to impress others, fanning a deck of cards can be a very useful skill to master.

            It is actually very easy to fan a deck of cards. All you need to have is the perfect technique and some time to perfect it. In this article, I will give you some tips and instructions on how to master this.

Instructions

1. The secret in performing a perfect fan is the starting grip. You should need to know how much and exactly where to apply the pressure on your cards. Also, the condition and brand of the deck of cards plays a role too in pulling off a perfect fan. It is said that the newer the cards are, the easier and better it is to fan.
2. Holding the deck of cards in the palm of your dominant hand, position it so that the back of the cards are facing you. For beginners, it is easier to do a card fanning with a lesser number of cards first. You can choose to start practicing with a five-card hand first.
3. With your thumb, apply a slight pressure to the outer edge of the card that is nearest to you, with the middle and forefinger supporting the deck of cards. While you’re doing this, your ring finger and pinkie should not be touching the cards, instead curling into the palm.
4. With a motion similar to snapping your fingers, firmly and rapidly arc your thumb to the outside, while simultaneously curling your pinkie and ring finger into your palm.
5. This movement will therefore show the aforementioned card that is nearest to you its suit or image to those who’re watching you.
6. You can choose to show all your cards at once or do it slowly. If you choose to do the latter, twist the thumb so as to apply the pressure to the next card. The challenge here, admittedly, is how to stop the first revealed card from moving while you move the next card, and so on until you reveal the entire cards.

Tips:

To help you in fanning cards better, you can buy a fanning powder. Apply this to your deck of cards before performance and you will have a very successful result.

If you want to create the perfect fan of deck of cards, you should do the fanning as quickly and with more pressure.

Another tip from card handlers is instead of curling the ring finger into the palm, you add it to support the deck of cards.

As with almost all new skills, do not expect to master this skill quickly. As I’ve said before, you need to have the patience and determination to do this. So, don’t get discouraged if you have cards thrown all over the floor while you practice this.