Herb Zarrow first came up with the shuffle that now bears his name in 1952. It subsequently made its way into print a few years later in 1957 in Jay Marshall’s The New Phoenix No 346, 1957. Since then it has been republished numerous times, including many incorrect and incomplete descriptions. An invisible Zarrow shuffle today is almost as mythical as an invisible pass. Neither exist in its truest form. The advantages of a Zarrow lies in its finality. The false actions are completed as soon as the deck is squared, as opposed to its cousins, the strip-out and push-through shuffles. 

A correct and complete description of the original Zarrow Shuffle technique was finally published in 2008 in Zarrow: A Lifetime of Magic by David Ben, including an extensive essay on false shuffles and the origin of the Zarrow shuffle. An additional resource is Herb Zarrow’s video on the shuffle. David Ben on the Genii forum advised students to “listen” to the video carefully as Zarrow states that he knows what needs to be done but he is well past his prime and can no longer do the shuffle as intended.

A few important points on the original technique: - both hands must move simultaneously.  - very little fanning is needed to provide cover for the unlacing action.  - the left hand releases its top cover packet as a unit.  - the left thumb is used to provide friction as the packets are pushed in. 

The original shuffle allows for many technical variations outlined in the book. A good practice is to alternate Zarrow shuffles with a strip-out or pull-through to try to align the actions toward uniformity.

Gary Plants’ On the Zarrow Shuffle published in 2004 was the first treatise to deconstruct the shuffle since its original publication. Gary’s technique retained the conceptual goal of the Zarrow but does so through a different method. It look exceptional in his hands but requires one to adopt a very specific way of shuffling cards that is likely foreign to most magicians. In particular, the cards are held with the fingers almost perpendicular to the floor. The de-interlace is covered with the forefingers and the “safety position” achieved soon after. While different, it is still a marvel of engineering and deserves its due study.