How to Do the Thumb Card Fan

The Thumb Card fan is a type of flourish used to fan out the cards when asking someone to pick a card in magic tricks. Use your thumb to fan out the cards and your fingers to close up the fan.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Deck of cards

1. Hold the deck of cards neatly in your left hand in between your thumb and the base of your pointer finger. The bottom of the cards should be parallel to the base of your pointer finger.
2. Place the thumb of your right hand onto the far edge of the cards in the middle of the edge.
3. Drag the cards out with your thumb until the cards spread out into a wide fan.
4. Rotate the fingers of your right hand around the fan of cards until your palm is facing downward.
5. Grab the edges of the cards with the fingers of your right and close the fan back into the deck of cards, back into your left hand.

Tips & Warnings

• You can also fan out the cards with the pointer finger of your right hand instead of your thumb, which is a little harder to do. When doing so, use the back of your fingers to close the fan.
• Try to get the fan as evenly spaced as possible. You want the top of the fan to be even and as perfectly circular as you can.
• Practice the thumb card fan until you can get it to look effortless.