False cuts as utilities, rather than flourishes

[charleychacko]

Here's some tips on how to make false cuts look like real cuts:

1. Don't appear to be concentrating! If you were GENUINELY cutting the cards, would you concentrate? Nope. You'd simply cut the deck. So to add credibility to a false cut, you need to have practiced it well enough to do it fluidly without even looking at the cards.

2. Don't do a run of false cuts! Again, to appear credible, a cut is a cut! Just doing one or two is fine, but don't interrupt the flow of your routine by mesmerising the spectators with a five minute interlude of cuts. (unless, of course, the interlude IS an interlude, and you're just doing a set of flourishes!)

3. NEVER say "This is a GENUINE cut" or make reference that you are really performing a cut. NO! Again, assume it's a genuine cutâ€"you wouldn't draw attention to the fact, would you? In another context, you don't TELL a spectator "Now, I place the coin in my right handâ€"notice that there's no false transfers or palming going on".
It's a mistake I've seen a lot that magician's feel the need to cover their 'guilt' by covering an action with a contradiction! NO NO NO!!! Just do the move...

4. KISS! (No, not me, pervert!). Keep it simple, stupid! Keep your false cuts SIMPLE! In the cases where you USE real cuts, try to make the REAL cuts match the actions of your FALSE cuts. That way, your cuts are consistent, simple and credible.

5. When is a cut not a cut? When using a false cut in the instance of a stacked deck routine, for example... work out "Do I really need to be doing a false cut? Could I simply do a real cut?"
The answer in most cases, I have found, is yes. In this example, a stacked deck CAN be cut repeatedly without disturbing the order of the stack.
I've noticed that sometimes cuts are done just for the sake of it, and have no justifiable effect on the trickâ€"except to raise suspicion. After all, a cut of any kind is extra handling, and keeping handling to a minimum dispels thoughts that you are manipulating the deck.

6. Other motives for a false cut? Yes. There are, including my favouriteâ€"the getting a glimpse of the bottom card. You can also use a false cut to control the attention of the spectators to the table, because as you perform a cut, their eyes follow the deck.
This can be used as a 'rhythm' programming technique, to help pace a routine which may be long and needs chopping into parts.
E.g. if you want the audience to remember a certain aspect of an effect, i.e. 'THE KING OF SPADES IS SHUFFLED INTO THE DECK AND LOST", then speak the words as you rhythmically cut the deck and table it. It's a visual and mental cue point.

7. Can a card be forced using a false cut? YES! Aside from classic slip-cut forces, an even simpler way to force a card is to perform an overhand shuffle, glimpse the bottom card, control it to the top of the deck with ANOTHER overhand shuffle and then false cut the deck and table it. You now know the identity of the top card.
So why not just use a marked deck? Well, this kind of force looks SOOOOO convincing when done with a BORROWED deck!
Again, if done smoothly and fluently (as if you are performing REAL shuffles and cuts), the card selection looks totally random.