# I. To Retain Bottom Stock. Top Losing One Card

Seize the deck with left hand at sides, near end, between second finger and thumb, the first finger tip pressing on top. Seize the upper portion of deck with the right hand, at sides, near end, between the second finger and thumb. Raise the deck slightly with both hands and pull out the upper portion with the right hand, but retain the top card in the left hand by pressing on it with the left first finger tip. (See Fig. 11.) Immediately drop the left-hand packet on the table and bring the right-hand packet down on top with a slight swing, and square up.

The action is very simple and easy to execute, the movements are perfectly natural and regular, and, if performed gracefully, is very deceiving. The process displaces the top card, sending it to the middle, and if this blind is used when the top stock is to be retained, an extra card is placed there during the shuffle.
