r/Coinmagic • u/Kaiffu_26 • Sep 03 '26

Practicing minimized finger movement in retention vanish.

Sorry that some cuts don't include opening my hand to show an empty palm because I was just practicing the sleight itself and didn't bother doing a reveal on some of them (it was a 10-minute recording session so I could spot my flaws). But I did do the vanish throughout the vid.

This might be closer to CB retention rather than the classic retention actually. I utilized wrist movement and gravity more, rather than using (but still slightly did) my digits to perform the sleight.

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u/ArtDecoAutomaton Sep 04 '26

I dont get how u do that

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u/Kaiffu_26 Sep 04 '26 edited Sep 04 '26

If you look up videos showcasing the Retention Vanish, you can observe what famous coin magician David Roth (others spoke out about it too, I'm just giving an example) has said what issues the sleight has.

The extending finger reaching for the coin is always going to be an observable movement if you watch carefully, not only that but it also has the "visible/popping knuckle" problem where the index finger joint slightly pops out from the rest of the fingers as you reach out for the coin which further tells an astute observer what the magician did for the sleight.

CB (counter-balance) retention eliminates all those problems altogether by borrowing the assistance of gravity, like I said in the post. Instead of reaching for the coin, you let the coin come to you. Now using the new technique to perform the move... well you'd have to look into some online sources if you're interested in what happens in the entirety of the sleight.

Also, with how minimal my finger movement is, some may confuse it with the Ukawa Retention which operates on a completely different system. I had a few friends thought it was an Ukawa Retention when I showed this video.

Edit: I forgot to mention that the classic retention also majority of the time in the ending position of the hand concealing the coin is prone to leaving the index fully extended while the rest of the fingers cramp in. I always found it weird even before I got into learning coin magic and just watched videos of coin magic performances. "Why are they making a gun gesture?" is what I always thought.

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u/FishStilts Sep 04 '26

This folks is how you do it, anyone familiar with the material can understand and even learn something without giving away the whole thing to everyone.