How to Throw Playing Cards

Last Updated: October 24, 2022 Approved

Whether you want to channel your inner Gambit, live out a film noir scene, or end a poker game in style, throwing cards is a great little skill to learn. It takes a lot of practice, but learning a few different techniques to see what works best for you will have you throwing accurately in no time. See Step 1 for more information.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Throwing Frisbee Style

1
Grip the card correctly. Hold the card parallel to the ground and grip the bottom of the short side of the card on the corner farthest away from you between your index and middle finger, or your middle and ring finger. This is sometimes called "The Ferguson Grip," named after a famous card player.^{[1]
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Research source} Alternate finger grips for the basic throw include:
- For the Thurston grip, place the short side of a card between your middle and index finger so that the side runs parallel with the two fingers all the way through. This is perhaps the most common, if not the most accurate grip on the card.^{[2]
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- For the Hermann grip, hold the card between your thumb and your middle finger, letting the index finger reach all the way to the opposite corner.
- For the Ricky Jay grip, place your index finger on a corner and place your thumb on top of the card with your three remaining fingers along the bottom of the long side of the card. Your thumb on top should be right around on top of your middle finger.
2
Curl the card back into your wrist. The opposite corner of the card (top corner, closest to you) from where you're gripping it should come back and touch the inside of your wrist to cock it for the throw. Most of the power comes from the flick of your wrist, not from arm strength, so it's important to curl it back like this.^{[3]
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3
Flick your wrist forward. Unwind, keeping your arm as straight and level as possible relative to the ground to keep the card from wobbling side to side, and snap your wrist forward to throw the card.^{[4]
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4
Release the card. When your fingertips are pointing at the target you want to hit, let go.
5
Keep it in the wrist. There should be almost no arm movement whatsoever when you first start out, to get the mechanics of the spin right. To practice, grab a hold of your arm and practice launching the cards with wrist movement alone.^{[5]
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- After practicing and being able to throw cards without missing, you could try moving your arms for extra speed.
6
Practice by aiming at a target. Set up a potato or a banana and throw cards at it. Experienced card throwers can stick a playing card into a potato from several paces away. Practice tossing until you can get the corner to stick in firmly.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Throwing Overhand

1
Grip the card correctly for an overhand toss. How you hold the card for an overhand toss is up to you: you can grip by card by the corner, Ferguson style as with the Frisbee toss, or you can hold the entire long side of a card between your middle and ring finger. Experiment some with different grips to see what works best for you.^{[6]
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2
Curve your wrist and wind your arm up over your shoulder. To get started, don't put your arm into it, but perform the same basic motion as the Frisbee toss, just having rotated your wrist up and down, rather than side-to-side. When you've gotten used to it, bring the card up beside your head to put more power into your tosses. It's all in the wrist.
3
Snap your wrist forward. In one fast, smooth motion, swing your arm over shoulder and step into throw like throwing a baseball. At the end of that motion, curve your wrist out and spread your middle and ring finger slightly, releasing the card.
4
Keep practicing. Practice the motion, try to get it as smooth as possible, getting a clean release of the card. Keeping the motion as smooth as possible is the key to getting the card to spin and not cut through the air, rather than floating on it and moving everywhere.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Using Your Thumb

1
Hold the entire deck parallel to the ground. If you want to throw cards straight off the deck, hustler-style, grip the deck firmly with the long side of the cards in the palm of your hand, the short sides perpendicular with your body.
2
Place your thumb on the top of the deck. It can be helpful to lick your thumb to get a bit of grip on the top card and slide it off more easily.
3
Snap your thumb forward rapidly, launching the card. It'll take some practice to get the motion firm enough to send the card, but light enough not to launch off the top several cards. Your thumb should come up off the deck slightly, launching them out and away, rather than down. A bit of wetness on the pad of your thumb should help.
4
Go into rapid fire mode. Once the card is launched, draw thumb back quickly, being careful not to touch the top of the deck, so you can keep shooting off cards like mad. It's fun!

Community Q&A

Question

Will the card go through a foam plate?

Alexis Albright

Community Answer

If you throw the card fast enough and hard enough it can. Most likely it will take a lot of time and practice, though.
Question

Is there a game that involves throwing cards?

Community Answer

Yes, you can use this skill for playing a game called Horsemen. First, you build a card castle or house. Then, with the help of a single card, you try to takle the castle from a distance. The best part is betting about which floor or which line in the castle of cards will fall and which will remain and throwing the card accordingly. To learn more, watch the film 'Now You See Me'.
Question

Can you use UNO cards?

Daniel Howell

Community Answer

Yes. The heavier the weight of the card, the faster/farther it will go.

Warnings

Wear eye protection when having card throwing wars with others.

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The card can get damaged if it hits a hard object such as the edge of a door.

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If you can throw hard enough to knock down light items, make sure and watch out for picture frames or pottery.^{[7]
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