sleight of hand – MagicShow.Tips

Vintage Magic Trick: Ronnay’s Twisting the Jokers

Today’s vintage magic trick is Twisting the Jokers by Ronnay. This trick is very much the vibe of the golden age of packet tricks. It’s a trick where the four cards turn over one at a time, then turn into a different value. During this time that plot was done a ton of different ways, and here’s Ronnay’s version:

@louiefoxx Vintage Magic Trick! Ronnay’s Twisring the Jokers #magictrick #joker #cardtrick #vintage #packettrick #louiefoxx #magiciansoftiktok ♬ 10 minutes, meditation, sleep, mindfulness, night(951759) – Gloveity

The provided patter is garbage, it feels like rip off of the standard Six Card Repeat patter. The problem with this trick’s patter is that it uses a lot of industry terms that make it feel really clunky.

From a technical standpoint this trick is fine and it logically flows, but with a modern trick like NFW which is easier to do and much cleaner, Twisting the Jokers is obsolete…but these types of tricks were steps on the ladder to get to tricks like NFW and they have their place.

– Louie

What Makes a “New” Trick?

This morning I was thinking about what makes a trick different from what has come before it. Especially if it’s derivative trick, build off of an existing effect. I think it was Greg Wilson in a interview said he had a three categories:
Effect – Method – Routine

For a trick to be new, it needs to have changed two of the three of these. I think that’s a good baseline, however things definitely can get murky. Let’s talk about David Roth’s Karate Coin trick. The effect is that you throw a coin in the air and as it falls, you stab your finger through it, leaving it impaled on your finger.

The original version used a coin that had a hole punched out in it. Then at some point Gary Oulette put out the New Karate Coin that hand a coin that hand the center that looked like someone had shot a bullet through it. This only changed the prop and very slightly, the method and routine are unchanged. I will say that this prop is an improvement on the original coin used in the Roth routine, which was simply a coin with hole in it. At the end of the original trick you end up with a coin that magically has no center. The New Karate Coin addresses this, but I’m not sure it makes it a new trick. I guess it’s more like a new prop for an existing trick?

Now, let’s get to another version of the trick which is Doug Bennett’s Lickity Split. The effect and method are the same, the prop has changed. Here’s what it looks like:

@louiefoxx Heads or tails? #coin #halfdollar #coinmagic #cointrick #magic #magician #louiefoxx #licketysplit #dougbennett #headsortails ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx

Is this a new trick because they coin has been impaled sideways, or an new prop for an existing trick?

Honestly I don’t know the answer, I think Doug’s version is very slightly a different trick than Gary’s version. It’s very slight, like you would add a word or two to the description, but don’t think it makes it a new trick.

All of that said, I personally think that both of the versions of the Karate Coin are improvements over the original and have merit, I’m just not sure how to categorize them.

-Louie

Mike Gallo’s The Ball and Vase

When I was a teenager I came across a copy of Michael Skinner’s Intimate Magic book. In it he teaches his legendary Ball and Vase routine. Basically it’s uses the basic ball and vase trick that comes in most beginners magic kits and turns it into a solid magic routine.

Then there’s Mike Gallo’s The Ball and Vase routine, which I think I’ve encountered decades ago, but never really did. I recently found the set for the trick with instructions and learned it.

Here’s what it looks like:

@louiefoxx You wont believe how cool something so simple can be! #simple #cool #magictrick #ball #what #magic #magician #louiefoxx #michaelskinner #mikegallo #easymagic ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx

This trick is fun to do, and I think it’s better than the original Skinner version of the trick. With it having no gimmicks aside from an extra ball, it’s really practical. The only problem for me is that it doesn’t quite fit my close up performing style. also it requires a table, and all of my close up had to be able to be done without a table. Sometimes the non-tabled version of the stuff I do will lack a phase or uses the audience’s hands as a makeshift table. Unfortunately, neither of these is an option for that.

-Louie

Trick from Ginosko

Here’s a trick from the book Ginosko. It’s called Blackjack for Brother John and it’s a packet trick that has a story that has a very 1980’s packet trick feel to it. That’s not a bad thing, but it feels like something Nick Trost or Emerson and West would have put out with novelty cards.

Here’s what it looks like:

@louiefoxx Blackjack for Brother John from the book Ginosko! #blackjack #cardtrick #magicbook #magic #magictrick #closeupmagic #gambling #louiefoxx #ginosko #idahomagic ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx

It’s a great story packet trick, and you only need four cards to do it with. That makes it impromptu, just pull the cards from the pack and you’re good to go. I would probably palm them out and remove the cards from my pocket, as you start by showing four of the same jack.

I recommend you pick up Ginosko, it’s only $25!

-Louie

Ginóskó by David Kuraya – Partial Review

Way back in early June when I was performing in San Francisco I visited Misdirections Magic Shop. Joe mentioned the book Ginóskó to me and said it was really good. I picked it up and finally started going through the book.

I’m only on the third trick in the book and so far I like all three!

The first trick is called Check Yo’ Self and is a production of a deck of card, which I think is fun, but I don’t really have the pocket space for it.

Blackjack For Brother John is the second trick is a packet trick that I’m having fun learning, but it’s not the style. I love learning packet tricks, but I don’t do them. The trick uses four cards, has a fun little blackjack theme and is pretty easy to do. If you’re into packet tricks, you’ll like this one.

The third trick is High Five and a Handshake is one that I really like and while it probably won’t make it into my main close up set, it’s something that I’ve been doing since I read it and it fits my style and gets great reactions! The effect is really simple, the two jokers are put in the middle of the deck and they jump to the top and bottom. It’s got a clear cut effect and David’s routine for it is fun!

Based on the first three tricks in the book, I would highly recommend this book! And at $25, if the rest of the book is junk, it’s still worth it!

-Louie

Working on the O-Korto Coin Box Routine

The O-Korto Coin box routine is a lot of fun to do, however the thing that I don’t like about it is that it uses three boxes (only one lid) and that’s a lot of pocket space and pocket management. In an attempt to streamline it, I’ve eliminated one box and am only using the small box and the Boston Box. This cleans up the pocket management a lot!

The routine plays almost the same as in the O-Korto Coin Box Routine instructions. The middle phase where the coins won’t fit into the box has been moved to the end of the routine. The routine goes:

The coins go into the box and they coins penetrate the hand
The coins go into the box (without lid) and the box penetrates the hand
The coins won’t fit into the box when a spectator tries to put them in
I put the coins into the box – this is a bonus fourth effect

That gives me the same three main effects, but with only two boxes. I’m liking it in my pockets this way a lot more!

-Louie

Twenty Dollar Bill Switch

Many years ago I made a gimmick that can visually turn a one dollar bill into a twenty dollar bill. I use this all the time promotional videos for events and in virtual shows. A while ago when I was on the road, I tried to come up with a lot of different presentations for TikTok with the one gimmick.

Here’s what I came up with:

@louiefoxx Always Tip The Hotel Staff! #tipping #hoteltips #hotel #tips #magic #magician #louiefoxx #moneymagic #twentydollars ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx

@louiefoxx How to make money! #howtomakemoney #makemoney #case ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx

@louiefoxx How to make the big bucks! #bigbucks #twentydollars #onedollar #magictrick #louiefoxx #hotelroom #hotel #moneymagic #sleightofhand ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx

@louiefoxx Dizzy Dollar Trick! #onedollar #dizzy #moneymagic #magictrick #louiefoxx #dollarbill #numismatics #sleightofhand ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx

@louiefoxx Inflation Explained! #inflationexplained #dollarbill #twentydollars #magic #moneymagictrick #sleightofhand #magician #howtoincreasemoney #magictrick ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx

Those five tricks are all essentially the same trick, just presented differently to hopefully give them all a different feel. Those five are in addition to how I do it in virtual shows. I think getting a lot of mileage with a single gimmick is a big advantage with social media, where you can get multiple videos out of a single trick!

-Louie

Happy Birthday USA!

In the USA it’s Independence Day, which is the birthday of the United States. Way back in 1796, which is the country’s bicentennial, there was a trick put out called Happy Birthday USA: The Bi-Centennial Card Trick by Shigeo Futagawa.

This is a card trick where you have cards that all have red and white stripes on the back, and the numbers on the front. The numbers are 1976, and they change into 1776 and then the backs change to make a flag!

Here’s a demo of the trick:

@louiefoxx Fourth of July Vintage Magic Trick! #fourthofjuly #4thofjuly #america #1776 #usa #cardtrick #closeupmagic #vintagemagictrick #antique #louiefoxx #vintage #independenceday ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx

What I thought was interesting is that in a era of Emerson and West packet tricks with confusing instructions, this has very well laid out instructions that are easy to read!

This trick is a good example of capitalizing on an event in the future. I wonder how many of these that were sold, but I also wonder how many were unsold and thrown away on new years day in 1977!

-Louie

Magic Jam!

The Magic Jam that I put together in Seattle on Tuesday was a blast! We had a good turn out of people I knew and magicians I didn’t know!

For me one of the takeaways is that it reminded me that there are soo many different styles of magic out there and there’s not really one right or wrong way to do it! Peoples styles are heavily influenced by where they perform, whether that’s just for their family and friends, busking, corporate shows or whatever. The venue dictates a lot of the material you do.

Thanks to everyone that came out to hang out!

-Louie

Shell Shocked by Giovanni Livera

A bit ago someone mentioned Giovanni Livera’s three shell game routine. I wasn’t aware of this routine, so I tracked down a his book Confessions of an Italian Magician where his Shell Shocked routine is written up.

His routine has an ending that’s unusual, it ends with three production items. The first two are dice and the third is a plastic P. I have all of the props except the plastic P, but that’s where my 3d printer came in handy.

Within about 15 minutes I had made a plastic letter P and had it printed and can now learn the routine!

I’ll get started working on it later today!
-Louie