Blog Posting #74, August 29, 2009

Chess Instead of Checkers

Aren’t you amazed at card tricks? How do those magicians do it? One of the best card trick artists I have ever seen is Bob Weiss. That name rings a bell, doesn’t it? Most remember Weiss as a basketball player for the Chicago Bulls, but did you know he was a member of the NBA champion Philadelphia 76ers in 1967? Bob was a pretty good NBA guard but he’s a superstar with cards. When I played for the Clippers, he was assistant coach. One year, I had the players and coaches over for a Christmas party. Bob pulled out his cards and truly amazed us all. 

A few days later, I asked him to show me a trick and he did. He asked me to select a card, not to show him, and put it on top of the deck. After using a “riffle” or “dovetail” shuffle, he cut the cards, in his hands, about a dozen times, followed by two more riffle shuffles. I was sure my card was lost, somewhere in the middle of the deck. He handed me the deck and asked me to find my card. I couldn’t; it wasn’t there. He said, “Are you sure? Keep looking and I’ll try to think of the card.” While I was looking through the deck he said, “I’ve got it on my mind.” I looked up and my card was stuck to his forehead. 

Like most magic tricks, success depends on skill and deception. Bob told me it would take hours of practice to perfect the deceptive shuffling technique (so the chosen card would remain on the top of the deck) and to perfect diverting the attention of the audience so I could quickly lick the back of the card and stick it on my forehead. I’m pretty good at the trick and perform it at most of my “Swen Nater’s Play Post Like the Pros” clinics.

You ask, “Why in the world would you show a card trick at a post clinic?” Because, to be able to score and rebound against the best players in the world, you must also be highly “skilled” and very “deceptive.” Once high school and college post players understand this, they work hard at the fundamentals and become extremely creative. At the end of my six-hour camp, most have turned into post players that are skilled and down-right hard to predict and handle. 

A “Swen Nater’s Play Post Like the Pros” at your school
I am about to start putting my fall and spring schedules together. Please e-mail me to request detailed information on how to have a clinic in your area (snater@comcast.net). It’s first come, first served and I anticipate filling up fast. Please call (253-670-3763) if you have questions or want to reserve a date. 

Conclusion
Bob Weiss showed me how to take playing with cards to another level—card tricks. In the same way, I show post players how to play Chess instead of Checkers.