Tricks – Page 33 – MagicShow.Tips

TCC Card to Wallet…

Recently I picked up the Card To Wallet from TCC’s Magic Wallet Universe. For my close up magic shows, I use the Real Man’s Wallet and love it. I’m not trying to replace it, but looking for something that’s more of an everyday wallet for me to have in my pocket when I’m not performing.

Here’s the video for the wallet:

Ok, so I watched the video before I bought and am aware that it’s a no palm method. Personally I prefer a palming for card to wallet as I think the physical separation of the deck and wallet makes the trick stronger. Also with something like the Real Man’s Wallet the card is in a sealed spot of the wallet, there’s no way you could slip it in there. The TCC wallet lacks both of those points, the strength for me is that it’s a minimalist wallet and something that I would have on me at all times (outside of a paid show where I would have the Real Man’s Wallet).

Just a note, the card can be loaded into the wallet from a palm, but it’s kinda clunky, but possible.

Overall for $20, it’s a decent Card to Wallet, and it’s nice that I’ll have that option on my all the time.

Stage Marked Cards…

I’m working on an idea for a card trick that would be done on the stage…or at least not in a close up context. It uses two banks of cards that are duplicates, however in the course of the trick, they could get mixed up a little bit and I’ll need to sort them for reset.

The cards don’t need to be in a specific order other than the two banks being separate, so the simple solution to sorting them after the trick is marking one half. With these cards being used onstage and never handled by the audience, I can get pretty bold with the marks.

In the picture above I just took a red pen and colored in the face of the birds on half of the cards. After the trick it only takes a few seconds to sort them using the Green Angle Separation move to get the top and bottom halves separated.

It’s an easy solution for a stage routine!

-Louie

What is Magic Exposure?

Oh man, so yesterday I posted a routine for a card split routine. Part of the routine you expose a double envelope and it got me thinking about what is exposure. To me 99% of the magic that’s exposed doesn’t matter…well doesn’t matter in the context it’s exposed. I think magic that’s exposed in the moment it’s being done is the 1% that matters.

Ok, now for some of my general thoughts on exposure. I think magicians are the worst at exposure. They routinely give away “secrets” during their shows without realizing it. How they do it is when they cancel methods. For example, simply saying “no stooges” or “we haven’t prearranged anything” in a mentalism routine exposes a viable method.

Other ways things are exposed unintentionally through cancelling methods are things like, “check out the box, there’s no trap doors, mirrors, hidden assistants…” That tips three methods right there. Or at the end of a prediction when the magician/mentalist tears apart the envelope and says, “there’s nothing else in here” also exposes a method.

In the card split routine that I posted, I’m exposing a double envelope. I’d argue this method is exposed by soo many performers in the context of cancelling methods, it’s really not a secret. Also, it’s a logical method for any audience member to think of, to have an envelope with more than one prediction in it. That’s why it’s a common thing that magicians or mentalists expose to eliminate a method.

If your trick relies simply on an A/B prediction where the mystery hinges upon you simply opening one side or another of an envelope, your trick probably isn’t very magically sound. You need to add a lot more layers to your trick to make it a decent trick.

-Louie

Card Split Routine

Yesterday I posted a video of a method for a “card split” effect. I mentioned I don’t think I’ll ever do it, however last night I thought of a routine for it, or at least a way to give it some context and it’s not just showing an 8 of hearts and turning it into two 4 of hearts.

Here we go:

You start with a prediction envelope on the table and a deck of cards. You drop cards onto the table and someone from the audience stops you at any point and you show the card they stopped at. It’s the eight of hearts.

You open the envelope and take out a card, it’s the four of hearts. You admit you messed up and that it’s a trick envelope and you opened the wrong side. You flip the envelope over and open the other side, but that side also has a four of hearts!

You admit you really screwed up the trick and put the same card in both sides of the envelope! You then realize that an 8 is actually two 4’s, so technically you got it right!

You then rip the eight of hearts in half and each half then turns into a four of hearts!

There’s not much to the routine, just a drop force and a double envelope…well that and the gaffed card for the card split.
-Louie

Card Split

I’m in a text chat group with some magicians and one shared a “card split” idea. What I’m calling a card split is where you take a card and it becomes two cards…but the two cards value equals the value of the original card. For example a two would become two aces. This idea was popularized (created?) by Paul Harris’s Las Vegas Split in his book Super Magic.

Magicians really love this premise, however I think for a general audience it lack connection (in most cases). Yes, there are times when a presentation can have it make sense, like in a Sam, The Bellhop style card routine. However in the majority of cases if you took a joker and turned it into two signed cards, that would hit much harder!

That said, here’s what I came up with after seeing by buddy’s trick:

I feel like this method has to have been done before, if you’ve seen it before, let me know!

-Louie

Card Routine…

I’m playing with a little card sequence where I reveal a selected card three times. The first uses two hands, the second time one hand and the third time is no hands. Here’s an early test version of the current version:

I need to figure out a slightly less clunky way to get into the third card reveal (haunted deck). I’m not sure if there’s going to be a streamlined way due to using the method along with the other two card productions (Piet Forton Pop Out and Daryl’s Hot Shot Cut).

One idea I had was to do this as a multiple selection, however from a method standpoint, I can’t really do the final phase with the card in the deck the whole time. I’d need to take it out.

…well, if I put each selection back into the deck after the reveal, I could switch the second card for the third card, and could set up the Haunted Deck at that point. The drawback is that I visually like the cards staying on the table after each reveal.

I’ll play with it and see how audience like it…

-Louie

Simplifying Show Set Up

I’m trying to carry less stuff with me when I’m on the road with my show. I used to carry a powerbank, USB micro cord, lightning cord and a USB wall adapter. I use this to plug in the show’s iphone that I run my music off of.

Recently someone showed me a powerbank that has the wall adapter and cords built in!

The nice thing is everything folds into the power bank, so I’ve eliminated carrying two cord and a wall adapter. I’m a fan of this, simplifying what I carry to it’s more direct to set up and strike the show. Sure eliminating two cords and a wall adapter isn’t much…but it’s less to haul.

-Louie

Jumbo Card Boxes

For years I’ve been quietly hoarding the old stock Bicycle 8082 Jumbo Cards. These are about twice as thick as what bicycle currently makes. The cards are amazing and super durable, unfortunately the boxes aren’t. I’ve been stockpiling the decks for the boxes, more than for the cards.

In the past Billy Diamond had made a box that you cut out from a giant sheet of plastic that held the Bicycle 8082 Jumbo Cards, and that was an OK solution. However he now makes a fully assembled plastic box for 8082 cards and they’re amazing!

These are a bit price at about $40 a box, but they’re much more durable than the old stock boxes that you’ll pay $40 a deck for. It’s a much better deal to have a box that will last longer and will stay looking sharp!

If you use Jumbo Cards, look into these boxes!
https://brandingentertainers.com/shop/jumbo-deck-plastic-card-boxes/

-Louie

Match Trick Patter

A couple of days ago I wrote a couple of posts about a vanishing and reappearing match trick idea and method. It’s a decent idea for 20 or more years ago when matches were common. Bars don’t give away matches anymore and most smokers have lighters now and not matches, so it’s a trick that missed it’s time.

I wrote out a little script for the trick to try to make it relevant for our current time.

Here’s the routine:

Start with match box in left hand under cover of a handkerchief

“This is the most dangerous trick that I’ve ever done. It’s soo dangerous, I was kicked out of my third grade talent show for doing it when I was 13 years old!

More dangerous than running with scissors or putting honey on my chest to try to breast feed murder hornets…it’s playing with matches!”

Pull the handkerchief off your hand to show the matches.

“I thought I’d be the hottest act”

Strike match and put it into handkerchief covered fist (and into thumb tip)

“but my show went up in smoke”

Squeeze the tip to make a puff of smoke come out.

“Luckily the trick didn’t leave a mark on my permanent record”

Open handkerchief to show the match is gone and not damaged

“The crowd was fired up”

Reproduce the match from the handkerchief

“To this day I can still taste the excitement”

Put the match out on your tongue.

It’s got a little bit of a presentational hook and a couple of chuckles and justifies using the match. I don’t know if I’ll ever do it, but it was fun making the routine.

-Louie

Reappearing match gimmick

Yesterday I posted a video of my vanishing and reappearing lit match. There’s not too much to the gimmick, you just need a thumb tip, match pull and some glue.

I used Yigal Mesika’s Perfect Lite match pull, but I’m going to assume that pretty much any one would work.

Glue the match pull to the back of the thumb tip and the rest should be self explanatory.

Enjoy
-Louie