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Sleight of hand, also known as prestidigitation ('quick fingers') or legerdemain (pronounced in French, from 'lightness of hand' or deformation of 'le jeu de main' i.e. 'playing with the hand'), is the set of techniques used by a magician (or card sharp) to manipulate objects such as cards and coins secretly. Sleight of hand is not a branch of magic, but rather the means used by a magician to achieve magical effects. The techniques involved are sometimes difficult and may need months or years of practice before they can be performed proficiently. Sleight of hand is mostly employed in close-up magic, but it can also be used in stage magic.
Close-up magic is performed with the audience close to the magician, possibly in physical contact. It usually makes use of everyday items as props, such as cards and coins (see Coin magic). Exponents of close-up magic include Michael Ammar, Jay Sankey, Bill Malone, Jerry Sadowitz, Dean Dill *, Kai Liao and Ricky Jay. The guiding principle of sleight-of-hand, articulated by legendary close-up magician Dai Vernon, is "be natural." A well-performed sleight looks like an ordinary, natural and completely unsuspicious change in hand position or body posture.
It is commonly believed that sleight of hand works because “the hand is quicker than the eye” but this is usually not the case (generally you are looking at the wrong hand). In addition to manual dexterity, sleight of hand depends on the use of psychology, misdirection and natural choreography in accomplishing a magical effect. Misdirection is perhaps the most important component of the art of sleight of hand. Using misdirection, the skillful magician choreographs every movement in a routine so even the most critical and observant spectators are compelled to look where the magician wants them to. Misdirection is a misnomer, since the magician actually directs the attention of the audience away from a secret move as it is executed right under their noses.
Sleight-of-hand techniques can also be used to cheat in gambling games, in street con games such as the three-shell game, to steal, or, in some cases, to claim supernatural powers, as in the performances of 19th Century and early 20th Century spirit mediums. For this reason the term "sleight of hand" frequently carries negative associations of dishonesty and deceit, and is also used metaphorically outside the above contexts. However, the techniques used by gamblers are very different from those employed by magicians; similarly, the techniques used by self-proclaimed psychics or spirit mediums are often different from those found in "straight" close-up magic and mentalism. However, the differences are due to the different working conditions and the different degrees of proximity between spectators and performer; the same basic techniques and approaches are common in all the areas of deception mentioned.
Some of the most influential figures on the scene of close up card sleights have been Dai Vernon, Ed Marlo and Larry Jennings. There are hundreds of different card sleights at the operator's disposal, but they can generally all be classified into groups: switches, changes, passes, false dealing, double lifts, false shuffles, etc.
"Sleight of hand"