How to do a Basic Ribbon Spread Card Trick

Video Transcript

" Hi everybody! Malik the magic guy for expertvillage.com, teaching you more about flourishes. Now I want to teach you about the ribbon spread, and there is a few steps to this, so I'm going to show you basically how to spread the cards. Again you want some cards that are in pretty decent condition. You are going to hold the cards, I'm holding them mostly with my middle and ring fingers here, and my thumb here, and I'm going to have my first finger riding along the side of the deck here. Now the basic way to ribbon spread is we are going to start on one side. It helps if you have a pad or a cloth. This is a magician's close up pad that I'm using, and these are available in different sizes. But if you are going to practice at home, just find a table with a table cloth or put down a piece of felt and that would help you. Basically what we are going to do is use this finger to kind of regulate the cards coming off the deck, and if you practice enough you can get a nice smooth spread there. They are not always going to be perfectly even. If you use two fingers and you use your... like this that would help you. That is a way to spread cards. Now if you are spreading face up and you do a ribbon spread. The cards are going to be upside down to the audience. So the other thing that I have learn how to do is you can do the ribbon spread sideways, and use these fingers here to regulate the cards coming off, and you can spread like this, and then you get a nice spread with the cards the right way up for the people standing across from you. Now one way to pick up cards is scooping, and you can pick up this card here and you scoop them this way, and that is a nice way to pick up ribbon spread cards. You can also ribbon spread cards in a arch like this, and then when you scoop them up like this it looks kind of neat; it gives you a nice card dealer's flare if you spread them like that. Just kind of practice. So if you find your self a good surface, get yourself some nice plastic coated cards. You won't have a tough time doing the ribbon spread."