I hate to break it to you, but when you make something vanish and reappear… it does not really vanish. You just have to have somewhere else for it to go. Quite often “palming” is used – either to hide the object, or to get the object in a more permanent hiding spot.
Types of Palming
There are numerous palming techniques but today we will stick to the basics: classic palm, finger palm, thumb palm, finger clips, finger copping, and palming a card. This is not an exhaustive list, but is a good foundation for palming. The size, and the material, of the object will help you determine which palming technique is right for each item.
Selecting The Right Size Coin
You need to practice with multiple size objects, and practice palming with both hands, but to start… let’s use your dominant hand, and a proper sized coin for your hand. I am right-handed, so I do palm better with my right hand. My hands are fairly large so a US 50 cent piece would be the best size coin for me to use. The problem is that although I am old & retired, I never saw a 50 cent piece in actual use while growing up. I only saw them in coin collections and magician’s hands. To me the 50 cent piece is a suspicious coin – it is just too uncommon for me to accept as something you just happened to have with you. Also, you cannot borrow a 50 cent piece, if no one else carries them. So, I used the US quarter while learning to palm.
The US quarter is a little small for my hands, but it is common. If you have smaller hands, the quarter may be just right for you. I retired to the Philippines and our old 5 peso coin is about the size of a US quarter. Unfortunately, they just came out with a new 5 peso coin that is a little smaller, and a lot lighter. It is very hard to work with for me.
You will need to play with a few coins to find the right fit for you. I am starting to use the new 20 peso Filipino coin. A little larger, and a lot heavier, than a US quarter. Not quite 50 cent piece sized, but still a very nice feel. Best of all – it is a common coin.
The US quarter is probably a good size for most people to learn with.
Classic Palm
The classic palm (fig 1) is probably the most important palm technique you need to learn. This palm allows for some of the most convincing palming, and you can palm multiple coins in the classic palm.
Place the coin in the center of your palm, and grip it with the ball your hand, and the meaty part of your thumb. It is just a slight muscle contraction needed to hold it.
To hold a coin in classic palm, you merely grip it with the muscles of your hand, and try to keep a relaxed look. With practice, it is not too hard. When gripping the coin do not squeeze your hand from top to bottom (fig 2), rather grip it from side to side (fig 3).
If you hold your hand flat, palm down, the coin should stay in place – but if you lightly tap the back of your hand, the coin should fall out. You do not need to grip it as tight as you probably think you do.
The confidence to grip it loosely will come with practice.
To hide the squeezing of your hand, you will need to curve your fingers somewhat. Be careful not to curve them too much. It is hard to look natural, but that will come with practice (fig 4). To make your hand seem more natural you should try to mirror your hands. If one is out and moving around very animated, and the other is clasped to your chest in an unnatural twist… it will look like you are hiding something. You are in fact hiding something, but we do not want to look like we are. Keep both hands in similar positions, and curve the fingers of both hands about the same. Also, since you need to curl your fingers, and you want some misdirection, use your wand (fig 5). When you hold the wand you have a reason to keep the hand closed.
And you use the wand to point elsewhere as a misdirection. Either at your other hand, or perhaps another prop.
Finger Palm
The finger palm is similar to the classicpalm, as you are squeezing your hand to hold the coin. But the finger palm is just in the fingers. Set the coin at the base of your 2 middle fingers (fig 6), and slightly curl the fingers to secure the coin.
As you can see in Fig 7 it is more difficult to make this palm look natural from the top, but if you hang your hand down naturally, it will look very normal.
Thumb Palm
The thumb palm is easier to learn, but also easier to flash. Put the object in the base of your thumb and grip it against the side of your palm. The fingers can be straight – or even spread open – so it looks more natural than some of the other palming techniques. Keep your thumb slightly curved and alongside your fingers.
This can be a very effective palm. and is fairly easy to learn. As with all the palming types be careful you do not flash to the audience. The thumb palm is more prone to angle issues than the classic palm. But it is easier to get into, and easier to hold for a while.
The thumb palm and the finger clips look very natural from the front.
Finger Clip
A simple finger clip is also a quick & easy way to palm an item. You can hold it between whichever fingers are comfortable. I find the middle fingers to be more resistant to flashing. Clipping in the first two fingers is a good way to get in and out of a thumb palm.
Finger Cop
The finger cop is simply curving your finger a little and holding an item. It is not gripped so your hand movement is limited. But it is fast & easy to get into, and allows you to move an object quickly. I use if I am going to dump an item, or a quick move to somewhere else.
The finger cop is also good for odd items that are more difficult to hold in a normal palm. More about that down below.
Sponges
I love sponge magic, and get great reactions with it. Too many magicians underestimate the appeal of sponges. Because they are so squishy they are very easy to palm. Usually you will clip them in a thumb palm or finger clip. During a routine you can just quickly compress it and clip it. To get into a routine, I like to fold the ball in quarters, then clip it. This way it is much smaller and easier to move around.
You can actually bring out two balls, start your routine, and then introduce the ball that was clipped the entire time. This is a great way to stay one ahead on the sponge balls.
Odd Items
Some items do not lend themselves to palming very well. The ball from a cup & ball set is one such item. Some of them can be a slick material that will not go into a classic palm easily. You can use a thumb palm for these, or put them in a deep finger clip. On some of these odd items I find the finger cop to be the easiest and most effective palm.
Palming Cards
The card palm is one of the most requested lessons, but also one of the scariest to do. When you first hold a card in your palm you just know it is too large and will be seen.
Actually the card palm is one of the easiest to learn, and you will be surprised at how much you can get away with. If your hand is big enough to hold the card – you can palm it. I have seen people with hands too small to completely cover the card still do really good card palms (with smaller hands it is more angle prone, but can still be done).
You will hold the card with one corner against the meaty part of your thumb, and the opposite corner in the first knuckle of your pinky finger.
To get into the card palm you need to out-jog the top card just a little. Put the corner of the card in the first knuckle bend of your pinky finger.
Press with the base of hand, just a little, and the card will literally jump into your hand. It really is that easy.
Make sure you do not spread your fingers, because the card back will be very visible.
As large as the card is, and as bad as this palm technique feels, it is actually a very good method. With practice you can get in and out of this palm quickly. It is surprisingly easy to make your hand look natural. If your hand is moving around it is even harder to spot this palm. This is very useful if you are doing card to wallet, card to envelope etc.
Classic Palm Bonus
Once you get good with the classic palming of one coin – try multiple coins. The other palming techniques do not allow multiple coins as cleanly as the classic palm. I have worked up to palming 4 coins at one time.
You place the first coin a little higher on the hand than the standard one coin palm. Then spread the coins a little towards your wrist. You grip the multiple coins in much the same way as gripping one coin.
As you relax your grip slowly, you can drop the coins out of your hand one at a time. Quite a nice way to show some vanished coins coming from an “empty” hand.
It is harder to make this look relaxed, but generally you do not do this palm for long. For example you show your coin box empty… then the coins simply start falling one by one out of your open hand.
In the YouTube video (link below) I show 4 coins dropping out of my palm.
Practice, Practice, Practice
To get proficient in palming the three most important things you can do is practice, practice, and practice. At first you will want to practice in front of a mirror to make sure you get the angles right. For more about the 3-way practice mirror see this post.
After you start to get better at the palm techniques you can practice in front of the TV. While watching YouTube, Netflix, whatever, just use a coin and run through all the different palms. Practice going from one to another, from a finger clip, move it to a thumb palm, then into a classic palm… just run through them all to build up your muscle memory.
Check out the video for examples of each palming technique – https://youtu.be/Fcwg_5lhcL8
