False Cut

False cut is a generic term for any way to openly cut a deck that concludes with at least some portion in its original state and position. A full-deck false cut maintains the order of the entire deck, while a partial false cut typically maintains either the top or bottom stock.

Also referred to as a Blind Cut by S W Erdnase in Expert at the Card Table.

The style and aesthetics of false cuts vary depending on the context and conditions for which they're designed. Tabled false cuts are more typically employed in gambling demonstrations, while strolling (a.k.a. walkaround) magicians tend to favor in-the-hands false cuts.

Some Tabled False Cuts in Print

• Le Passe-coupe in Les Tricheries des grecs dévoilées by Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin (1863)

• Butt Cut (Gary Ouellet), a hands-to-table single-cut false cut (full deck) published in Finger on the Card (second edition), (Ouellet, 1986)
• One-Two False Cut (Frank Garcia), a false cut on the table designed to conclude a series of false shuffles. Published in Super Subtle Card Miracles (Garcia, 1973).
• Very Best Tabled False Cut (Martin Nash), a multi-cut full-deck false cut published in Genii, December, 1994

Some In-The-Hands False Cuts in Print

• L'Enjambage in Les Tricheries des grecs dévoilées by Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin (1863).
• F.T. Cut (Frank Thompson), a multi-packet full-deck false cut published in Super Subtle Card Miracles (Garcia, 1973).
• Meir Mix, The (Meir Yedid), a multi-packet full-deck false cut published in Incredible Close-Up Magic (Ouellet, 1982)