The Strike Double Lift, my way

My take on the strike double. I don't do it perfectly and never have. Still a work in progress after (gasp) 50 years! I've worked hard enough on it that I think I have some tips to offer, ones that I wish I had had when beginning to learn the sleight.

[@nightwines]

Superb, very well done.

[@TedsCards]

Glad you’re doing well.

[@charlescarter2072]

Reminds me of one by Derek Dingle

[@profrt]

Me too, though my first encounter with this type of lift was Ken Krenzel's Drag Double Lift from Lorayne's The Card Classics of Ken Krenzel, I later saw the Dingle lift in the Kaufman book and frankly, I could do neither version. I think the main difference between Dingle and Krenzel on the one hand and this version on the other is the technique of turning the deck away from the pivoting card which has the double benefit of facilitating the turnover of the pivoting double with the left thumb and getting those damned left fingers out of the way. For years I tried lifting the pivoting cords over the fingers until the ah ha moment when I figured out that it works better to get the deck out of the way the card than to get the card out of the way of the deck. If this video has anything to offer, that's it, as I see it.

[@charlescarter2072]

@@profrt nice

[@apostatereacts]

The double lift is so overused these days, I think it should be finessed to disguise it a little. It's not that thumb-counting off two cards isn't still deceptive, just that it shows more artistry to not telegraph it to those who already know it. 🤷‍♂️

[@profrt]

When you say "overused," you raise a red flag for me. Sure, a LOT of magic depends on imperceptibly switching cards and there are MANY methods used, depending on the circumstances. The audience should be totally unaware of the techniques involved and the value of the trick as entertainment shouldn't depend on method. Sure, an audience of magicians might roll their eyes with a condescending "oh that old thing" but for the lay audience, the choice of double lift versus some novel sleight is not only a non-issue, it's absolutely non-existent. You do remind me of the first time I did a trick for magicians using Lorayne's Ultra-Move. They couldn't have been less interested in the trick - a good one I thought - but they INSISTED I teach them the then-novel technique.
By the way, the point of a striike double lift is to avoid the thumb count as well as getting a break. I like this lift because there's a logical reason, given the display position of the face-up double, to turn the card face down on the deck before dealing it off. For most double lifts, turning the card face down before dealing it is an awkward necessity, not a logical continuation of the handling.

[@apostatereacts]

@@profrt Oh I totally get your perspective, and was not trying to start an argument! All I can say in response is that yes, we shouldn't lose the lay perspective on our work. Moves that make fellow practitioners yawn, are still powerful to our target audience. That said, my go-to tabled force - which involves slowly thumbing off cards with one hand into a messy tabled spread until I'm told "that one!" - is actually bottom dealing into a double lift (!) under cover of the larger movement of holding up the card, then using one hand to thumb it off onto the table, before genuinely losing the indifferent card in the deck. I was at a magic conference in Warwickshire, and totally floored another magician with this simultaneous force and top control. I personally enjoy methods that baffle even other magicians, and that's an artistic choice, not a requirement.
Using the Curry turnover switch/change as a force is also a favourite. With the spread packet in the dominant hand as shade for getting the fingers in place, it's invisible.