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Flourishes

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Definition: Flourishes are flashy, attention-getting moves that magicians often perform as part of a routine. Most flourishes are performed with playing cards and include: fancy cuts and shuffles, card fans and more. Beginning magic books often include lessons for a few basic flourishes.

A branch of magic known as XCM, which stands for extreme card manipulation, is dedicated to the performance of difficult card flourishes. The best known XCM artists include: The Buck Twins, Jerry Cestkowski, De'vo and Brian Tudor.

Examples:
The magician captured the audience's attention with a series of flourishes with playing cards.

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