Goldin's Cup & Ball Sleights: The Cup Steal

By Richard Robinson

The ball on the table is covered by the cup. The cup is lifted, the ball has vanished. The cup is set down and lifted again, the ball has returned.
The Cup Steal
Horace Goldin's method of stealing the ball from under the cup is unique in that there is no movement of the fingers as the steal takes place. He describes the move as giving the ball a slight knock with the inside edge of the cup in the action of covering the ball, the cup being placed down at a slight angle, this allows the ball to be driven right into the palm of the hand, making it possible to replace it immediately if necessary.

The cup is brought down so the inside front rim of the cup can contact the ball and send it rolling back. The cup is at a slight angle, exaggerated in the photographs for clarity. The kicked of the ball back must be done so the path of the rolling ball goes directly under the palm of the hand. As soon as the ball is set in motion and clears the back rim of the cup the cup is set down and the ball classic palmed by the hand.

With the ball classic palmed, the cup can be lifted to show the ball is no longer under it. In placing the cup down again the ball can be reloaded under the cup by releasing it from the classic palm with a forward motion so it rolls under the cup as the cup is set down.
Final Loading
Goldin manages the loading and revelation of large balls under the cups in a continuous action where the cup is lifted to show a ball under the cup, the cup is put down and lifted again to show the ball gone, the upright cup is taken by the other hand, turned mouth down, the lifted to reveal a large ball.
Discovering the balls under the cups, I remove them secretly by the above move and twist the cup's mouth upwards on the table showing all clear, boldly bringing the hand containing the ball down flat over the cup I introduce the ball by a little swinging movement, turn the cup over smartly, centrifugal force keeping the ball in.

The ball is vanished from under the cup by using the cup steal described above. After the cup is lifted, the cup is turned mouth up and the hand classic palming the small ball moves away. At the same time, the opposite hand, which has stolen the large ball and palmed it, moves forward over the top of the mouth up cup.

In one continuous action the large ball is dropped into the cup, the cup is revolved in the hand to land mouth down on the table, then immediately lifted to show the large ball.
Performance Notes
From the handling he describes, Goldin appears to change each small ball into a large ball, one after the next, keeping an upbeat tempo rather than pausing after loading all three large balls and then revealing them.
Turning the cup mouth up while classic palming the small ball requires some attention to angles so the ball isn't flashed.