Soaping a deck of cards as an alternative to fanning powder
Jonathan Kamm
Here is a little tutorial on how to effectively apply the soap across the back of the cards in order to make them fan and spread more evenly.
Fanning powder gives the deck a very different feel then soaping a deck. I’m not saying soaping a deck is better or worse then any other technique. I personally always use a new deck so I would never use either technique in my professional work.
The best part about this guide is that it works on cheap “gas station” finish playing cards. See for yourself.
Why does this work?
Sodium stearate (a main component of most soaps) and Zinc stearate (the main if not only ingredient of “fanning powder”) are both soaps chemically speaking and have a similar structure, it’s logical that they might both decrease friction between cards.
Recommended soap
If you want to try this it’s recommended that you get yourself a “Cashmere Bouquet” soap. This brand of soap is a bit hard to find in retail stores but you can get them from eBay for about 3 dollars, shipped.
Credits
This technique appears in Gary Ouellet’s book “Close Up Illusion’s” .
