Tricks – Page 28 – MagicShow.Tips

Why Jrod Illusion is an A-hole

Sometimes “working” magicians are pieces of sh*t. I posted a video of a trick with bills on TikTok, and Joe Rodiguez (Jrod Illusions) decides to post how he thinks it works. That’s part of TikTok’s game with magic videos for amateur magicians and I understand that and am OK with that. But when a supposed working magician exposes stuff, it’s makes me want to post on all of their videos how they do stuff. I won’t because that gives them engagement, which is TikTok gold.

OK, so here’s the video:

@louiefoxx The Eighty Dollar Trick! #magictrick #money #twenty #magic ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx

Ok, you’ve seen the video, now here’s his comment:

Here’s the problem with his comment…he’s 100% wrong. Like a beginner magician should know there are no magnets involved in the trick…and he calls himself a professional. It really makes me wonder about the quality of the material of his show based on the lack of knowledge displayed in that comment. While I haven’t seen his show, I would suspect it’s pretty much garbage tricks done poorly by someone who doesn’t understand magic. I could be wrong, and that’s just my opinion.

Anyway, those are my thoughts on Joe Rodiguez (Jrod Illusions).

-Louie

Red / Black Separation

I’ve always like red / black separation card effects. I think it’s because when I was a teenager I saw a John Mendoza VHS tape where he did a routine called “the squeeze” or something like that. The effect was a deck was shuffled and kept going back to red/black order.

Over the years I’ve done several versions of this in my close up magic. The other night I was playing with a version that I had come up with as an offshoot of something else I was working on.

Here’s what it looks like:

@louiefoxx Two shuffles, that’s all. #cardtrick #magic #cardmagic #magictrick #cards #shuffle ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx

Then ending where they separate into suits I like, but not sure that to non-magicians that payoff is any better than just red/black. Also I think it needs three phases. The first two could simply be shuffles into red/black. Maybe the second shuffle is a zarrow and up the ladder cut?

I’ll play with it more and actually try it on someone this week to see if it plays well.

– Louie

The Card Clothespin!

Here’s a quick little novelty card reveal that I’ve wanted to do for a while, I just never have a clothes pin:

You can download the instructions on how to make the trick here:

The Card Clothespin Download

If you make one, let me know how it plays for you!

-Louie

Flux vs Espionage

About a month or so ago I had a gig where I was booked specifically as a mentalist. I only added one new thing to what I already do and that was ProMystic’s Flux. I really liked what I could do with it, however the problem is coming up with an out if it fails. The solution that I came to was to have two of them.

Instead of buying a second Flux, I picked up Espionage by Iarvel Magic which is about $50 cheaper than flux. Now having used both of them I decided that Flux is the better of the two and worth the extra money.

First of all both do the exact same thing, they detect a magnet. What I dislike about Espionage is that it’s hard to tell if you turned it on while its in your pocket, where Flux will vibrate when you turn it on. Also the range on Espionage was a little bit shorter than with Flux. Those two things are a big deal when you’re out there performing and to me with the extra money.

-Louie

Packing a 90 Minute Stage Show

I’m always interested in what magicians shows look like when packed up. Here’s what my 90 minute stage show looks like (when travelling by car).

For this gig I packed everything I needed. If I was flying to the gig I wouldn’t bring many things like mic stands that I use for bases for props. I have the venue provide those. Then there are things like the crank organ that I wouldn’t take if I was flying.

That’s a peek into the trunk of my car!

-Louie

Jazzier Aces

A couple of months ago I published Elmsley Plus count in Vanish Magazine. This is a way to do a face up Elmsley Count and not show the same card twice. It’s a little tweak that will make tricks where you have to pass the first and fourth card of the count as different cards hold up better on video.

A good example is Peter Kane’s Jazz Aces.

@louiefoxx Cleaning up an old magic trick! #cardtrick #magic #magictrick #cards #aces #kings #update #vintagemagic ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx

If you post a video there and there’s a discrepancy like showing two of the same card when there shouldn’t be two of them, people will mention that in the comments. The routine above passed the TikTok test with no one noticing the method behind the Elmsley Plus count. I think the reason it works is that the count shows exactly what the audience thinks they should be seeing.

Is using a gaffed card to remove the discrepancy in an Elmsley Count worth it? For recorded video, YES! In a live show I don’t think it’s necessary.

-Louie

Is ACAAN a Boring Effect?

With all the buzz about the Atomic Deck and magicians arguing whether ACAAN is a good trick or not, it got me thinking about why magicians are fascinated by ACAAN.

Here’s my theory why magicians are into it, there’s really only one way to do it and that’s a memorized deck and a displacement. That method isn’t easy to do and beyond the reach of a beginner magician. Most magicians are lazy and don’t want to put in the work, so selling a method that’s “easy” for something that’s beyond most magicians skill level solves a problem and leads to sales.

That’s it, it’ makes the difficult attainable for people who don’t want to put in the work.

The problem is there compromises that are made to make the trick easy that change the trick from an Any Card At Any Number to something else. Usually a Selected Card at a Any Number, or Any Card at Selected Number or combination of the two. There’s nothing specifically wrong with those effects, but they’re not ACAAN.

The things added to make the trick easy take away what makes the trick amazing, and that’s how simple the trick is. Name a card, name a number and boom the card is there. Not name a card, now roll these dice, multiply that by nine and add 13, now deal to the number and your card is there. The added procedure kills the effect. Magicians who think the plot is boring are bored by the added procedure that makes the trick easy.

Magicians love to say, “it’s not the effect it’s the presentation that matters” are the same ones that say ACAAN is boring. Those are the magicians that aren’t putting in the work. The effect matters! What would you rather have:

1: Strong effect with a weak presentation
2: Weak effect with a strong presentation
3: Strong effect with strong presentation

I think we can all agree that number 3 is the goal. That means you need to put in the work!
-Louie

ReaList by Greg Rostami was Down!

If you weren’t aware Inject 2 by Greg Rostami was down for most of January and when it came back up their marquee trick “the Google Peek” wasn’t and still isn’t functioning. One of the workarounds that Greg was pitching was to buy another one of his apps called ReaList and use it with Inject 2.

Well guess what, ReaList was down for a while!

This really highlights why I don’t use magic apps that need the internet. There’s so much out of your control and according to Greg’s statement so much out of the app developer’s control that make apps like ReaList and Inject 2 unreliable (in my opinion). These are all things that there’s really no back up for. Sure you can have an alternate method, but it’s hard to run them at the same time. It won’t work to say, “type this into Google on your phone AND write it on the back of my business card“.

Before using an app, think about is having someone type something into Google really better than writing on the back of your business card? The effect is the same, and one of these methods leaves them with your business card.

-Louie

Magic UnCorked in Portland!

A couple of nights ago I made it out to Magic Uncorked in Portland, OR. It’s a magic show in a wine shop that happens semi regularly. The show features three performers and is a lot of fun!

I’m new to this area, however it seems that magicians are really out there supporting magic, there were about six of us that weren’t performing!

Its a great venue and the performers were John Stevens, Moto, Craig Martin and hosted by Dave, who is a magician and co-owns the wine shop Ora et Labora.

The show started at 6pm with drinks and roving close up magic, then the parlor style show started at 7:30pm and went till just past 9pm. For $35 a ticket that included a drink, it was a great deal!

If you have shows in your area, go out and support them!

-Louie

Magic Trick Request

At a recent gig they requested I do a trick with a donor’s check. I decided to do a Bank Nite type of trick where the check was put into an envelope and mixed with other envelopes. One envelope was selected and the rest were shredded and the selected envelope had the check.

Pretty standard in effect, but I didn’t want to deal with an electric shredder, so I used a manual shredder.

The shredder above says is has a capacity of 2 sheets, however it worked just fine with and envelope with a check sized piece of paper in it. It played fine, and the manual shredder is a great prop to have around. I think this premise is an easy way to customize a trick for an event.

-Louie