Pop Outs

David Roth

David didn't want to include this because he doesn't use it anymore, and consequently doesn't practice it. It's the type of thing you have to do all the time or not at all. I insisted upon including it because it's one of the few introductory productions I know - it's a way to magically produce a coin or two before going into a routine. It's also an integral part of my Open Travelers routine, which appears in the next to last section.

Classic palm a coin in your right hand and hold your hand palm down about four inches above the table. I'll tell you in advance that this move will seem difficult because you're going to have the urge to do all sorts of little things to try and help this - when you don't have to! You'll be tempted to jerk your wrist, move your fingers, etc., and none of that makes it any easier.

All that happens is this. Briskly move your right hand forward about six inches, relaxing your palm when you reach that point. Your right hand must freeze so that its forward momentum is imparted to the coin - which will fly forward (fig. 59). As the coin flies it'll pass directly beneath your first finger. When it does your first finger must push it downward, jabbing it to the table (fig. 60).

It's going to take some practice before this works consistently - and it has to work every time because there's no out. If you miss it looks lousy. It can work all the time if you give it the practice it deserves. The timing is all that matters: you must learn to stab your first finger downward exactly when the coin passes beneath it.

You can do the move the way it's already been taught, or with your second, third, and pinky fingers curled so it appears as if you point to a spot on the table and a coin magically appears beneath your fingertip (fig. 61). The mechanics are the same.

You don't have to help the coin in any way. Don't jerk your hand forward and back, don't snap your wrist upward, trying to toss the coin outward. just shoot your hand forward, relax your palm, and freeze, jabbing your first finger downward.

It's possible, with a great deal of practice and control, to classic palm a stack of several coins (as many as four) and do the move four times in a row, producing four coins one at a time. Think of the illusion - it just might be worth the work.

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