Palming

Palming is a technique for holding or concealing an object in the palm of the hand. It is used frequently by magicians to conceal the presence of a card, coin, or other object. When done skillfully, the hand containing the palmed object appears to be completely empty.

Methods

Methods for palming differ depending on the object intended to be concealed. The most commonly concealed objects by close-up magicians are coins and playing cards.

Coins

To palm a coin, the coin should be held between the muscle which forms the base of the thumb, and the fleshy portion of the side of the palm beneath the little finger. Slight lateral pressure should be used to hold the coin in place. From most angles, the hand should appear to be in a natural, relaxed position.

With practice, one can easily palm coins (and similarly shaped objects) of varying sizes. Smaller objects take more practice to palm naturally, however, and many people prefer to learn using the American half dollar coin.

Playing Cards

Due to their size, playing cards are considerably more challenging to palm effectively than coins. Because of this, several different methods have been devised. Below are some of the more common methods.

The Classic Palm is most often used for removing the top or bottom card from a deck or packet of cards. The hand holding the deck slightly raises or offsets the top card, which is briefly covered by the other hand. This hand is held slightly cupped, with the fingers tight together. Pressure is applied to the short edge of the card with the tips of the fingers, around the first knuckle. The pressure causes the opposite end of the card to rise up into the palm of the hand, where it can be held in place by slight pressure from the fingers. As the hand concealing the card is now in a somewhat unnatural position, misdirection is especially important here.
The Gambler's Cop is perhaps the easiest, and can be used to conceal several cards at once. However, it does not conceal them well, and is not particularly inconspicuous. In the Gambler's Cop, the card (or cards) are held with one corner between the middle and ring fingers, with the short edge of the card pointing towards the thumb, where that corner is held by the base of the thumb. When viewed from the front, it appears as a closed fist.
The Tenkai Palm allows for a much cleaner and less conspicuous concealment, but is very sensitive to the angle at which it is being viewed. One corner of the card is placed in the flesh between the middle and ring fingers, and the card is held perpendicular to the palm of the hand, with the long edge resting along the palm. It is held in place by the tip of the thumb, which rests lightly on the corner directly above the one held near the middle and ring fingers.
The Back Palm is commonly used to vanish and produce a card. The card is held by the two corners of one of the short edges between the index and middle finger, and the ring finger and pinky behind the hand. All the fingers are tightly closed to prevent accidental showing of the card.

Uses

Palming an object generally allows for one of three effects to take place.

Vanishing an object can be achieved by palming it. Used properly, the object will seem to have disappeared completely, and the performer's hands will appear to be empty. The palmed object can then be skillfully transferred to the opposite hand, or secretly disposed of, allowing the performer's hands to be shown as actually empty.
Producing an object can also be achieved by palming it out of sight of the viewer, or after the object has been "vanished" into the palm. Proper handling can give the appearance of two empty hands, and can conceal the origin of the item.
Transposing two different objects can be achieved by simultaneously releasing one item from a palm grip, while inserting another. In this way, a card or coin can be made to appear to change into a different type or color.