8 Mind-Boggling Hand and Finger Tricks (Beginner-Friendly)

Impress your friends with these hand magic tricks

Co-authored by Eric McClure

Last Updated: November 1, 2025 References

Magic doesn’t need tanks of water or sawed-in-half assistants to be impressive. In fact, you may be more likely to get a gasp from your audience with simpler tricks in a more intimate setting! In this article, we’ll break down the easiest (and most iconic) magic tricks you can perform with only your hands. Just keep in mind that magic takes practice, so don’t give up on a trick if you don’t get it right the first time!

1

The Severed Finger

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Tuck the ring finger on your dominant hand into your palm and wrap your middle finger, index, and pinky on top so that you just see the top knuckle sticking out by your thumb. On your other hand, bend your ring finger down. Hold the dominant ring finger on top of the nub, and it’ll look like you’re holding your finger normally! From there, you “bend” the finger backwards or even pull the nub “off” like your finger is in two pieces.
- Wiggling the “severed” finger while slightly moving the “nub” finger is really essential to getting
- You can also do this with your thumb, but it’s a little bit easier to learn the trick using your ring finger. Once you master the ring finger, give the thumb a shot!

2

Stopping Your Pulse

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Grab a tennis ball, golf ball, or some other round, firm object, and secretly tuck it underneath your left armpit, but don’t apply any pressure. Hold your left hand out and encourage someone to take your pulse. Once they confirm your pulse is normal, explain you’re going to stop your pulse and close your eyes like you’re trying really hard to focus. Without drawing attention to it, slowly apply pressure to the ball. Once you feel your arm go a touch tingly, ask them to check your pulse again. It’ll be gone!^{[1]
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- This works because there’s an artery running from your heart to your wrist, and that artery runs just below your armpit. By applying pressure to that artery, you’ll slow your pulse enough that people won’t be able to detect it by hand.

3

The “Four Finger Hand”

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You can do this with either your pinky or index finger, depending on which one you find easier. Hold your hand out and wiggle all of your fingers. Turn your palm over several times to show the audience you have all five fingers. Then, as you flip your hand over so your palm faces down, quickly tuck your pinky (or index) into your palm and wrap your remaining three fingers over it while turning your palm right-side up. It’ll look like you’ve only got four fingers!^{[2]
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- Warning: If you aren’t super flexible, this one might hurt. Don’t push it if you feel like your fingers can’t bend that way!

4

Mind Control

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Ask an audience member to interlock their fingers with their palms together, and explain that you’re going to control their mind. Once their palms are touching and their fingers are interlocked, ask them to raise their index fingers straight up. Then, say something like, “I will now focus on bringing your fingers together.” Act like you’re mentally fighting really hard while focusing on their fingers. After a few moments, their fingers will touch!
- This works because it’s actually very hard to hold your index fingers up straight with your hands in this position. You naturally want to rest your fingers together in this position. Give it a shot yourself!

5

The Jumping Rubber Band

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All this trick requires is a thin rubber band. Explain to the audience that you can make a rubber band jump from one side of your hand to the other. Start by sticking the band in between your middle and ring fingers, with the loop leading up over your pointer. Stretch the band to show that it’s positioned correctly, but only show the backside of your palm. Then, show them the rubber band one last time while curling your finger’s knuckles. While they’re looking at the top of the band, quickly wrap the band around your curled fingers and let it drop as it “snaps” to the bottom of your hand!^{[3]
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- This trick really relies on you selling the “showing the rubber band” part of the trick. You have to distract people while you’re raising the band up the last time and quickly uncurl your fingers.

6

The Coin from the Ear

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The coin from the ear trick is a classic. Take a quarter and tuck it in between your thumb and index finger so that you can’t see the coin from the top of your hand. Move your hands around a bit, hold them out, and act like everything is normal. Then, look at an audience member’s ear and reach behind it, saying something like, “Ah, you’ve got something back there!” Reach behind their ear and transfer the coin to your palm and pull it out like it appeared from nowhere!^{[4]
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- You can make the trick even more impressive by showing people the coin ahead of time, acting like it’s in your left hand, and quickly transferring it to your other hand before pulling it out of their ear.

7

The Hand Pass-Through

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Hold your left hand out with open fingers so the palm is facing the audience. Put your right hand behind it and repeatedly move it back and forth against the back of your left hand, interlacing your right-hand fingers in the gaps between your left-hand fingers each time. Keep your left hand still! On the very last move, don’t interlace your right-hand fingers—keep them still—and bend the fingers on your left hand while pulling your right hand away. If you time it right, it will look like your hands passed through one another!^{[5]
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- This trick is all about speed. You must bend your left hand’s fingers at the same speed you were interlacing your right hand’s fingers.

8

The Crayon Trick

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Get a box of crayons and hold them behind your back. Ask an audience member to pick a crayon and put it in your left palm (still behind your back). Have them stand in front of you and pretend to “read their mind.” Before you do that, though, scrape the tip of the crayon with your right fingernail. As you wave your right hand over their head, look at the color on your nail! Reveal the color they chose and watch their face light up.^{[6]
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