You’ll be adding this “Ribbon Spread” effect to your card tricks in no time. It’s easy, but makes you look like you’ve been doing it forever. This unique handling taught by card expert Ben Salinas has limitless applications. We suggest using it at the beginning of a card routine to show all the cards have different faces and the deck is mixed up. You can also remind the audience that all of the card backs are the same color if you’re doing any color change tricks.

Hold the deck in your right hand with your fingers spread to the short end. Place your index finger across the long end. Apply slight downward pressure as you spread the cards from left to right. When you push the cards on the left up into an arch, pick up the card on the far right. Then press carefully onto the arch with the edge of the single card, miraculously moving the arch back and forth. This doesn’t require any special decks…but we do recommend using a close-up pad so the cards don’t slip around while you’re moving them. Discover more than 60 other card moves in the rest of this series: “Showoff with Cards.”