A few months ago I found some Obedient Walnut tricks in a bin of junk magic at a magic shop. This is a version of a classic trick where you have an object with a string running through it, in this case it’s a plastic walnut. As the walnut slides down the string, it stops whenever you want it to.
Honestly, from a magic perspective, it’s not really a good trick, it’s pretty obvious how it works. I did pick up three of them out of the junk bin as I had an idea for a routine with them. The routine is an interesting idea, but still a bad trick.
I did it once, it confirmed it’s not the best idea or trick and now I can throw away the Obedient Walnuts.
When you are out performing, I always try to keep an eye out for photo ops. Moments where I can take a picture and it will make good social media content. Once you do this a while you start to have some ones you do often. Things like a dog watching my flea circus or law enforcement playing the three shell game!
Once you have a few “hits” you know what to look for, but don’t get soo blinded by the hits that you aren’t on the look out for new things!
For example the new thing I’m doing where I peel the picture off of the card and stick it onto a kid. This is a great photo op!
Shell game sets are the one thing in magic that I collect. Recently TCC put out a shell game set as part of their 10th anniversary releases. They were only $29 with free shipping, so I picked up a set.
The picture above is the set was sent to me. Here’s the TCC video:
My review is pretty much, for $29 and if you can get them shipped free, they are fine. They aren’t breaking any new ground. They are brass walnut shells, with no added features aside from the weight of them being brass. They are completely workable and do what they are supposed to do.
If I had to choose between the Magic Maker’s gold shells and the TCC ones, I’d go with the TCC shells. However, a better choice would be to save a few more bucks and get a better made shell game set.
One thing that I like about the Three Card Monte is that it automatically engages the entire audience. It’s a game they all can play with being the person playing it. That’s why I think things like the 3 Card Monte or the Three Shell Game are perfect for virtual shows. The level of engagement is great!
Here’s a video from a practice session:
I’m working out the sequence, right now it’s:
Mix and the money card is in a different position
Set aside a non-money card, do the mix and the money card is now the one set aside
cards change so the two non-money cards are now the money card and the money card is now the non-money card
all cards change into jokers
There’s a lot of magic that happens in that sequence. It’s a pretty amazing sequence, and basically using the three card monte premise as a presentation hook for card color changes.
Do you collect magic? Many magicians are hoarders and have boxes of stuff that they buy and almost immediately gets put away. Personally I actively try to not have too much magic kicking around. This is partially because of space, and partially because when I die, it simply becomes garbage. I do collect things, however … Continue reading “Collecting Magic…”
Do you collect magic? Many magicians are hoarders and have boxes of stuff that they buy and almost immediately gets put away. Personally I actively try to not have too much magic kicking around. This is partially because of space, and partially because when I die, it simply becomes garbage.
I do collect things, however it’s a little different than “hoarding” as it’s fairly specific. I collect three shell game sets. Here’s the current collection:
You’ll notice in the bottom center there is a space with no shells. That’s the shell game set that use when I’m out performing. I use Leo Smester’s shell game, and I highly recommend it. The only thing I changed was I don’t use his peas, I use the Perfect Pea made by School For Scoundrels.
Personally I prefer the “bowl” type sets. I had been doing the shells for a little while and found some little bowls in Chinatown when I was a teenager and started doing the shell game with them. Those bowls broke a long time ago, however ever since then I’ve preferred the bowl style.
