Learn Business Card Throwing

This is a guide from scratch on throwing business cards, I'm no magic ninja yet but you'd be surprised how quickly you can learn this. 

It's worth noting that I started with a few random sites and built from there.

So I work PR for a club, trust me 4-6 hour shifts of forcing yourself to socialise with passers by can get boring and will turn you in to a sociopath on a miserable day, however our free passes are the size of business cards. 

So I have an unlimited supply of cards, learning to throw them accurately would make work more fun, benefit me, benefit the club and look awesome. 

This can only go well.

 

Step 1 You'll need

There's not much you'll need but getting started necessitates a few things:

 - a decent supply of uniform business cards, they do get wrecked and until you get better consistency is needed in your cards
 - a pretty decent chunk of free time, to get firing cards in a straight line is something you can do overnight, however you forget fast
 - a target of some sort, a piece of soft cardboard is good, even card can chip eggshell paint and makes a fair racket on drywall and thin walls
 - reasonable wrist strength and loose wrists

If you spend all day typing and mousing this is rather good for your wrist, I haven't tried throwing with my left hand yet since my ambidextry is learned and any new skill takes ages to master compared...

Comments

[GASSYPOOTS]

also works wirth cards

[GASSYPOOTS]

i started in 05

[ffsman]

I found a better wrist technique http://howtohacklife101.blogspot.com/2011/05/how-to-throw-playing-card.html

[killerjackalope]

That's uh, pretty much exactly as described here, 'cept the drawings right handed, in the pictures they're all left handed as my SLR can't be operated with a left hand...

[Foaly7]

I've been practicing with a gift card, and I can get some real power behind it. I just need to work on aim.

[Plo Koon]

I love it! I'm throwing a playing card and using a pop can as a target. A variation of Thurston works best for me.

[killerjackalope]

Sweet, cans are great targets however check out the cards in to cups video, wineglasses make the most satisfying noise...

[Plo Koon]

i did watch that.

[killerjackalope]

Cool, I just love the noise they make... Though I have been becoming a nuisance now, everything is a target...

[eyepodd]

k so i took some tin snips and cut out a peaice of thin tin from square Ducting. the size of a hockey card. its kinda heavy for a card to throw but once you get the hang of i you can throw pretty far and stick it into walls and targets.

[overblast]

A kid almost put my eye out doing this. Missed my eye by 1/2 inch, sliced my forehead open.

[killerjackalope]

Idiot... Throwing cards at peoples faces is a dumb plan...

[theaznguy808]

It took me 3 months to learn how to throw playing cards...


3 years later, halfway to world record (215? or so feet, im at 125)


Yay.

[killerjackalope]

That's awesome, I'll have to find somewhere to try really long distances.

[big-jamie]

this is something i could really get into, cant find good thick cards though, mine always bend and split, this is going in my favs for sure =D

[killerjackalope]

The majority of business cards people hand you are fine for it, you can learn to throw playing cards as well using these techniques... Glad you like the instructable, thanks.

[zipzapper859]

how much spin do you need to put on it because it seems the only way to get it going straight is to put a lot of spin on it but then for me it always curves to the side or makes it fly vertically

[killerjackalope]

How are you holding the card? The natural spin from the card pivoting on your fingers as it leaves, if you pull the finger back as it leaves your grip it'll spun harder and arc...

[zipzapper859]

i throw the Herman method usually but sometimes differently, but i think my problem is i use more of the arm than my wrist

[killerjackalope]

Even now I still do that a bit, the arm thing seems natural when throwing things I guess... you need to throw straight forward but not let go too early, it does come easier with repetition...

[zipzapper859]

ok thanks you and since the first post of mine earlier today, i have gotten much better with the business cards going farther and now i just have to work on getting my aim really good

[killerjackalope]

That's great, good luck, aiming them takes a while to get right

[zipzapper859]

ok thanks you

[mr monoply33]

...and bookmarked!

[killerjackalope]

Cheers mr monopoly... or monoply... Single ply then?

[adrian.robb]

+1 :P

[Verga]

Very Nice, I am going to get a couple of decks of cheap playing cards.
I did get to see Ricky jay one time throw through an open window several stories up and that was pretty amazing.
Also goiing in my faves

[killerjackalope]

Thanks, that sounds Awesome... let me know how it goes...

[criggie]

In the video at about 1:17 you can see a bunch of "misses" lying on the foot path, and a dirty look from the passerby.

[jimmyt9574]

What is going on in this picture? Is that like a hundred foot drop into your basement?

[killerjackalope]

My old house, back yard its about forty feet...

[Joekimtkd]

Wow, You are amazing~!
I teach martial arts but I could tell you are so good.

Check my video too in Youtube.com.
Type, "Master Joe Kim" and there will be 2 videos to entertain. ;)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Joe.

[killerjackalope]

That's not my video, haven't got a lend of a camera yet, I'm getting pretty good but not there yet.

I'll have to look them up.

Thanks, merry Christmas and an Awesome new year yourself...

[ventifact]

Club Mono called…

[killerjackalope]

They're ever so subtle...

[Phil B]

Very impressive. I have seen magicians do this on TV. Thank you for sharing.

[killerjackalope]

Cheers Phil, its actually pretty easy...

[Phil B]

I tried it a few times and the cards fluttered up and down in flight. Trajectories were short and changed direction. They were not straight and true, like yours. I will need to work on this.

[killerjackalope]

That's not my video, still waiting on a camera for my own, but a bit of practice at releasing the card smoothly should get them flying straight...

[gmjhowe]

If you had made it to the instructables meet up, you might have been around for the all out card throwing war we had.

We had just finished collating the instructables top trump decks, and we had a box of left overs, then we all came the slow realisation that we had all, at some point in our lifes, taught ourselves to throw cards.

My living room ended up with a thin layer of instructable card goodness.