The One Handed Drop Cut is a simple way to cut a deck of cards with one hand. This card trick might often be called by the simpler name of the “one handed cut.” The trick only has four steps and is very easy to learn.

Tutorial

The deck of cars is held along the long edges with your thumb on one edge and the fingers on the other side. Release half of the cards with your thumb and they will drop down into your palm.

Remove your index finger from the deck, move it below the dropped cards, and push up on those cards until they come in contact with you thumb. Once you reach this point, keep pushing and your thumb will release from the original cards.

These cards will drop down onto the fingernail and knuckle of your index finger. Lower the index finger so that the cards are resting on the fingers.

Move the thumb towards your finger tips, placing the cards held by your thumb on top of the other cards.

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The One Handed Lift Split Cut is very similar to the One Handed Drop Cut with some variations to spice it up a bit.

Tutorial

Hold a deck of cards in your fingers so that the finger tips wrap just over the edge of the deck.

Use your thumb to lift up half of the deck. The other side of these cards is held by the middle, ring, and pinky fingers.

Slide your index finger underneath the half of the desk which was left in place. Push up on the cards with your finger until they come in contact with your thumb. This should happen just below the spot where your thumb is holding the other half of the deck.

Use your thumb to put a bit of pressure on about half of cards you just pushed up with your index finger. This holds those cards in place. Drop your index finger slowly so that the cards you didn’t put pressure on with your thumb fall down to their original location.

Move your thumb back towards the wrist, letting go of the cards which were lifted in the first stop of the card trick. These cards will fall back on top of the other cards laying flat. Now move your thumb towards your finger tips, causing the remaining cards to lower on top of the rest of the deck.

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The One Handed Twirl Cut is a neat looking card trick. It is performed by twirling or twisting half of the deck of cards around and to the back of the other half.

Tutorial

To start the card trick, hold a deck of cards in your right hand. The thumb and middle finger are placed on the short edges of the cards. The index finger is held on a long edge of the cards and is about 1/3 of the length of the card away from the edge held by the middle finger. The ring finger is held in the middle of the other long edge of the cards.

Move the thumb to the lower corner of the edge it is holding. Separate half of cards from the deck with your thumb by lifting those cards up towards the top corner of this short edge.

Continue to raise the half deck up, using the index finger as an axis. As you do this, your pinky finger comes up to brace the corner of the edge being held by your ring finger.

Rotate your index finger as you lift the cards with your thumb, until you have the two halves of the deck side by side with the index finger in between the two halves.

Slide the top knuckle of your index finger along the edge of the left half of cards. You are really attempting to move the index finger behind these cards, but you need to slide it along so that the cards do not fall over. Once the knuckle passes to the back of the cards you can bring the other half of the cards (being held by the index finger and thumb) down and behind the original location of the whole deck. The middle finger releases from the left half of cards, which are now balancing on top of the index finger and being held in place by the ring and pinky fingers.

Move the index finger out of the way and use your thumb to move the cards all the way behind the original deck.

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