The S.W.E. Shift

Excerpt from "Expert at the Card Table" by S.W. Erdnase

This is a move that I spent way to much time on as a kid.

We have not dubbed the following process with our initials because we wish to appear "big on the bills," but merely to give it a name. Still, we must confess to some satisfaction in having originated what we believe to be the most rapid, and, for certain purposes, the most perfect shift ever devised. The method is practically the same as the "Longitudinal," but as the deck is held crosswise it is much more rapid. The position is open and natural, and the shift possesses many advantages for conjuring purposes.

Hold the deck in the left hand, face down, first joint of the thumb against middle of one end, second, third and little fingers against the opposite or lower end, little finger holding a break between the two packets at end, by the corner of the lower packet being between the little and third fingers, the little finger lying partially across the corner of the under packet. (See Fig. 71.)

This position, like that of the "Longitudinal," allows the tips of the second, third and little fingers to appear over the top of the deck, and the fact that there is a break is not apparent to a spectator. The first finger is curled up against the bottom. The break is held only at the lower end, and at the inside, the other fingers and thumb holding the packet firmly together. Now bring the right hand over the lower or right-hand end of the deck, and seize the sides close as possible to the lower corners, between the second and third fingertips and thumb, the first finger curled up on top out of the way. This leaves at least two-thirds of the deck in view. (See Fig. 72.)

To make the shift raise the right thumb to the edge of the side, draw the top packet in and down with the left thumb and little finger, and press the lower packet out and down, between the right second and third finger tips and the left first finger which is curled up underneath; the left second finger at the end helps to control the lower packet as it is pressed out. This action will tilt the opposite sides of both packets upwards, and as they clear each other the right thumb tip catches the under packet, and the left third finger catches the upper packet and it is brought back underneath. (See Fig. 73.)

When the shift is mastered the entire action is accomplished by a pressure in opposite directions on the lower packet, and the packets reverse like a flash, but of course it must be practiced slowly until the knack is obtained. The positions of the hands may be taken with easy deliberation, as there is no indication that a shift is meditated. It may be made with the hands stationary without exposing the action. With the deck face up it makes an instantaneous "Transformation," and the position of the deck permits the operator to get a glimpse of the index without being observed.

The shift may be made with the right hand almost entirely covering the deck, but this alters the whole character and aim of the process, the main endeavor is to make it as open and free from concealment as possible.