How to throw a playing card

A card flies straight when it spins. Hold it flat, cock your wrist inward, then flick it outward so the card spins as it leaves your fingers. Add a straightening of the forearm for distance. Practise with an old deck, aim at soft targets, and never throw at people.

Why does a thrown card need spin?

A playing card is light and flat, so it catches the air. Wikipedia explains that a good throw gives the card both forward speed and spin, and that the spin gives gyroscopic stability, so the card stays mostly flat in the direction it travels. Without that, a thrown card “usually will result in it fluttering about and falling to the ground.” Every grip below is a way to make the card spin.

How do you hold the card?

Wikipedia describes two well-known grips.

• The middle-finger grip. Hold the card horizontally at its middle between your thumb and middle finger. Rest your index finger on the corner of the card nearest your hand.
• The two-finger grip. Hold the card between your first and second fingers and throw it the same way. Wikipedia notes this grip was usually used with the left hand.

Our suggestion: start with the middle-finger grip, since the steps below follow it.

How do you throw it?

These steps follow Wikipedia’s description of the middle-finger grip, for a right-handed person.

1. Cock the wrist. Hold the card flat and bend your wrist inward, toward your body, by about 90 degrees.
2. Flick it out. Snap the wrist outward so the card spins as it leaves your fingers. Art of Manliness sums up the same motion: put the card between your fingers, bend the wrist back, and flick forward.
3. Add the arm for distance. For a longer, harder throw, Wikipedia says to straighten the forearm outward from the elbow at the same moment as the wrist flick.

How do you aim?

Wikipedia notes that forceful long throws curve in a spiral on the way to the target, and that the curve is predictable for a given deck. A practised thrower can hit very small targets many metres away. A card can also be thrown very flat and slow, so that it lands in or on something.

Our suggestions for practice:

• Start close. Stand a few steps from a large target, such as a cardboard box or a sofa cushion, and get the card to fly flat before you add power.
• Learn your deck. Since the curve is predictable for a given deck, practise with the same kind of cards and note where they drift.
• Use an old deck. Keep your good decks for card tricks, and read our tips on how to care for playing cards.

Is card throwing safe?

Our suggestion: treat it like any thrown object. Never throw at people, pets or faces, keep breakable things out of the way, and make sure nobody is walking into your throwing line. Throw at soft targets only.

What if it keeps going wrong?

• The card flutters. Our suggestion: it isn’t spinning enough. Focus on the wrist flick rather than on arm power.
• The card flies up or dives. Our suggestion: check the card is level when it leaves your hand.
• You drop the card early. Our suggestion: hold it lightly but firmly, and slow down until the release feels smooth. Our guide on how to practise magic can help.

If you enjoy card flourishes, try the waterfall card flourish next.

What helps you take it further?

• Bicycle Spy Family Playing Cards by the United States Playing Card Company. A custom deck with Loid, Yor and Anya Forger on the court cards, an air cushion finish, made in Erlanger, Kentucky. A fun second deck to keep your favourite one safe.

Find a practice deck in our playing cards collection, or browse more card magic.

Frequently asked questions