8 Copyright 1983, 2004 Michael Ammar. All Rights Reserved.
Table of Contents
Flash Coins 1
The Name Is The Same 3
Klause’s Bill Switch 6
Featuring Four Professional Presentations 8
Yeast Card 12
Action Change 18
All-American Reverse Matrix 20
Absent Minded Miracle 23
Beenie Weenie 25
Two Dollar Bill Tear 29
Cards Into Case 33
Magical Change 36
Two Dollars To Four Halves 38
The Gallo Pitch 39
Professional Applications of the Gallo Pitch 43
Silver Sponge 46
Tie Tack 50
Card on Ceiling 52
Sponge Ball Up The Sleeve 56
The Repeat 60
Coins Through Silk 61
Bravos 69 INTRODUCTION
You could probably make a living performing close up magic just with the material in this book. I’ve done just that for over a decade, and while I also depend heavily on the material from The Topit Book, the back bone of my close up work is found in Encore 3.
When I first began to consider publishing the COMMAND PERFORMANCE SERIES,
there was a common saying inside the magic field. Over and over 1 heard people say ‘if you only get one good idea out of a book, it was worth the price.’ This is, of course, a true statement, but unfortunately, I think too many authors saw this as the objective, instead of the safety net that saves a book from being worthless. I made a vow to myself that if 1 ever wrote a book, you would never have to resort to this cliche to justify it’s worth.
Several things have happened as a result of that vow. First, it caused a strain on some of my friendships, as I had to explain why some of the material contributed would never appear between these covers. I simply refused to print material that didn’t live up to the standards, even if the person offering it was an established ‘name.’ The second result, is that this series has become something of the ‘Gold Standard’ of the industry. Many of my friends who have printed books during the ‘80’s have confided that they privately compared their offering against Encore 3.
One way you can judge the value of a book is by how well its information remains relevant to the field it covers. In this respect, Encore 3 does particularly well. As the per- forming arenas for close up magic continue to crystallize, some of the performing styles are being left by the wayside as being irrelevant or impractical. On the other hand, the material contained here is more valuable than ever to the stand up, walk around per- former. Whether you are working trade shows, cocktail parties, hospitality suites, or restaurants, you’ll find this material to be as powerful as it is practical.
Finally, it is only fair to point out that without the contributions of my friends, THE COMMAND PERFORMANCE SERIES would only be a shadow of what it is now. The support of my friends has added value to everything I’ve done, but never more ob- viously than in this book. Look closely at the Table Of Contents, and you’ll understand how justified my gratitude is to each of those people who gave such hard hitting perfor- mance material. Flash Coins (Michael Ammar)
EFFECT: A lighter is shown, and lit. One at a time, three coins are plucked from the flame of the lighter. Going back to the lighter a forth time, it fails to light. Finally, the lighter itself is changed into a fourth coin.
COMMENTS: This is the opening effect from the award winning act I presented at F1SM in 1982. I followed this with THE FABULOUS FOUR COIN ROUTINE from THE TOPIT BOOK, and then went on to THE COINS THROUGH SILK, which you will find in this book. Next came my handling of THE FLOATING BILL, then VISUALLY YOURS followed by THE DECK VANISH, also from THE TOPIT BOOK.
I knew that international-competition judges would not be impressed by standard effects, so I
had to come up with the flashiest possible way to introduce the coins I would be working with. Although my motivations were centered around magic competition, this particular procedure is excellent for any situation.
The average layman is still fascinated by flashes of fire, but I didn’t want to just burn fancy paper. I wanted to remove the flame visibly from the lighter, and change it into a coin. I worked on sev- eral versions, but with some suggestions and feedback from John Carney, I settled on this one for competition.
I confess, however, that this is too much work for the average restaurant worker. Producing all four coins this way over and over is too much of a pain. So for the high repeat work, I suggest producing only one coin this way, then move on.
SET-UP: You’ll need a single piece of flash paper from a flash pad (2 1/4 by 3 inches), four sil- ver dollars, and a good cigarette lighter. It can be done with a Bic-type lighter, but the handling is a lot easier if you don’t have to keep your thumb on a butane tab to keep it lit. An expensive push- button electric is ideal, but I hope you have better luck with yours than I did with mine. I had to click it over and over to get it to work, and it shattered my macho magic image. Also, you’ll need a small amount of magician’s wax and a Topit in the left side of your coat.
Tear the piece of flash paper in half, then fold both halves in half along the width three times. This will give you two strips about 1 1/2 inches long, and about 1/4 inch wide. Accordion pleat these two pieces into sections of about 1/4 of an inch each, and add these to two of the coins with a small amount of wax. One of the strips should go near the edge of one coin so that it hangs out over the edge, and the other should go onto the middle of the second coin. The accordion pleat will cause the flash paper to protrude away from the coin for easy lighting.
Finger palm two coins in the right hand. The coin with the flash paper on its center will be the top coin. The flash paper will be pointing away from the hand, where it will be easy to light. The left hand also finger palms two coins which are slightly overlapped. The outside coin will have the flash paper pointing out and down. See Ill. 1. 1 PROCEDURES: Remove the lighter with the right hand from a vest or coat pocket, and light it (Can you see now why it will be easier if you don’t have to keep the butane depressed?) The left hand comes up with the left thumb just beginning to go underneath the upper, flash-papered coin. Ill. 2. As you see, the flash paper is pointed down and out to make it easier to light.
Touch the paper to the flame, as you lever the coin out towards the audience. Ill. 3. You want to avoid creating the impression that you are just “lighting” something. Be sure to mime a “plucking” action, since you are apparently taking the flames from the lighter and changing them to coins. By pivoting the flaming side of the coin towards the viewers, they will see the burst of flame fade into a coin. By extinguishing the lighter as soon as the flash paper is lit, you remain true to the premise of plucking the flame from the lighter.
Set the first coin down, take the lighter into the left hand and light it. The right hand approaches, and grabs for the flame with a little more ambition. As the hand closes around the flame, light the flash paper on the second coin. Immediately toss both coins into the air as the flash paper is burning.
2 The illusion is that your grabbed twice as much flame, which changed into two coins in mid-air. Catch these coins in the right hand as they come down. Again, the left hand should have extinguished the lighter as soon as the flash paper is lit. This is a very pretty illusion, but it will take a little practice to catch the coins. Also, it is obvious that you’ll need flash paper that burns quickly, so that it will be out before the coins fall back into your hand. Test your flash paper to see just how long it takes to burn.
For the last coin (which is still finger palmed in the left hand), you will use a different approach. With a little acting, we lock in our premise, while setting ourselves up to magically overcome an apparent problem.
Changing the lighter into the last coin is a good way to end, but you want to make sure it is clearly mo- tivated. If you do it just because the routine flows better without having to put the lighter away, it would be like killing the goose that laid the golden egg. To motivate the action, as the lighter is transferred from one hand to the other, the butane is turned off. Now as you go to produce the last coin, you are left clicking away at a lighter that won’t light. A very common experience.
Pause, allowing the moment to register, then with a shrug, the right hand takes the lighter and makes an upwards swing to the left, illustrations 4 and 5. You will be taking the lighter upwards, in a semi-circle that will pass the right hand along the left edge of the coat. As soon as the right hand is even with your Topit, release the lighter, letting it fly into the coat.
Continue your upward swing, then bring the right hand down, slapping it against the left hand, which has moved up a little to meet it. Slowly separate your hands to show that the lighter itself has changed into the fourth coin. This is motivated magic - a pretty opening with an effective closing.
The Name is the Same
(Roger Klause)
EFFECT: An impromptu transposition of two borrowed, marked dollar bills under “test conditions.”
COMMENTS: I can’t tell you how pleased I am to be able to offer this effect to the magic fraternity. It is terrific! It has superb construction, and the method is beyond reproach. Roger has been holding this back for quite some time. In the body of this routine is his handling of the $100 bill switch. This switch is also explained in THE LECTURE NOTES OF ROGER KLAUSE. To put it simply, I’m a big fan of Rogers. As with all the things he prints, this is a lesson in magic.
THE HUNDRED DOLLAR BILL SWITCH by Mike Kozlowski is a manuscript that caused quite a stir in the magic field when it was released in 1977. The concept itself goes past both Mike and Roger to a Cossack circus performer. The handlings that Mike and Roger developed independently are along the same lines, with only a few of the folds being different. Mike’s manuscript describes his two handlings of the switch (one without a thumb tip) in incredible detail, so the true student should also study this work. This effect, as well as the original $1 to $100 bill effect would certainly make that research worth- while. 3 Roger has been fooling magicians with his switch, which I will explain separately, for several years. As you read it, notice the total lack of thumb-tip type moves. This is so good that even well-versed magicians will have no idea that a thumb tip is being used.
Roger offers us a highly usable transposition that will undoubtedly find its way into the repertoires of work- ing magicians. Most transpositions require: (1) a duplicate, either whole or shell, or (2) a secret switch to get one ahead. This routine uses neither in the true sense! Only the two borrowed objects are used, with an open and visually deceptive switch to cause the transformation.
PROCEDURES: You will need a thumb tip, a felt-tip marking pen, a spectator worth at least two dollar bills and a pack of cigarettes. With the tip on the right thumb, pick up the spectator’s pack of cigs as you say “May I?” Shake out two or three cigarettes from the pack to leave enough room to load the thumb tip into the opening. Place these in front of the spectator saying, “Thank you, please keep a couple for yourself!” Secretly load the tip into the pack opening as you transfer it from the right hand to the left hand, see Ill.1. Depending on the size of your thumb tip, you may have to tear the foil slightly to insert the tip. Now place the pack on top of a drinking glass, with the opening towards you. Ill. 2. Not only does this lend importance to the pack, but it also discourages anyone from grabbing.
Borrow two one dollar bills from a spectator. Don’t touch them at this point! Hand the spectator the marker and ask that he print or write his first, last, or full name in very large letters across the bill on either side he selects. This is bill number one. Next, ask that he duplicate his actions on the remaining bill, only this time using the performer’s name. (What a wonderful way to make sure they remember you!) This is bill number two. At this stage you should point out the impossibility of duplicates, etc...
Pick up the bill with your name on it and hold it with your name facing the spectator. Ask that he do the same with his bill. Have the spectator duplicate your actions as you fold your bill into sixteenths as in the $100 bill switch. Roger’s handling is at the end of the routine, but it is important to mention something very subtle here. No matter what method is used for the bill switch, the technique is easier to execute if the bills have been pre-folded and creased for the switch. Notice that Roger is having the spectator himself pre-fold his own bill in order to facilitate the switch to come!
4 To eliminate the possibility of slight of hand, I will place MY bill inside your cig pack.” Illustration 3 shows how you cleanly insert bill number two into the pack, and thus into the thumb tip. In order for the switch to work out correctly, the bill must go into the tip in a certain way: with the open part of the folded packet point- ing upward, the ball of the thumb is placed on the right three fourths of the bill. Leaving the left one-fourth of the bill exposed as it is placed into the thumb tip will insure that no part of the bill is visible as the thumb moves away with the tip. Place the pack back onto the glass as you show both hands empty in a natural gesture.
Now build up the fact that you will cause the bills to change places. Have the spectator touch his bill to the cig pack. “Did you feel it? Now the hard part is to make it change back!” You can, of course, use all the usual “bits o’ business” at this point to milk the effect.
Have the spectator open his bill completely, where he will discover his own name. Show your hands empty in a natural manner, and take the bill from the spectator with your left hand. Now, in a very slow, deliberate fashion, perform Roger’s bill switch. It is truly a knockout effect, as you unfold the bill to reveal that his name has changed into your name!
You’ll want to hold this moment, allowing the effect to sink in. Display the bill for a full five beats, then let the bill float to the table from a height of eight or ten inches. Do not move your thumbs! Keep your hands open, with your thumbs pointing towards the spectators - dramatically punctuating the effect as well as showing the hands empty.
Illustration 4 shows the right hand reaching for the pack, taking it with the right thumb below, and the forefinger above. Note the position of the right second finger in this drawing. This finger, being right at the open end of the thumb tip, will prevent the bill from being withdrawn with the thumb as it clears the tip.
Take the pack (and tip) in the left hand as in Ill. 5. The left thumb is below, holding onto the tip from the side, and the fingers are above. Illustration 6 shows the perfect illusion of the bill being shaken from the pack. Have the spectator open the bill to confirm his signature. As he does so you conveniently clean up by stealing the tip back onto the thumb as the pack is transferred to the right hand to place it near the spectator. 5 Roger has researched most of the obvious variations, both in terms of containers for the bill as well as the “left field” endings. You could substitute wallets, coin purses, salt shakers, etc... for the cig pack, but hundreds of performances sold Roger on the above handling. You could, of course, load the tip back into the pack before the final production, but Roger has found it quicker and cleaner to load the outside of the pack.
Lastly, Roger advises against having the spectator pick up the pack to discover it empty, then picking up one of the cigs to produce the bill from it as in the Dingle bill to cig handling. Part of the beauty of Roger’s magic is his clear-cut, straight- forward effects.
Klause’s Bill Switch (Roger Klause)
Before going into the technical description, I should begin by pointing out that in Roger’s hands this looks like real magic. The putting on and taking off of the tip is naturally covered by the folding and unfolding of the bill. When it is done correctly it should look as if the bill were simply folded into a small packet and then unfolded. Take care not to completely cover the bill from view at any time. I’ll explain it as if you were changing a one into a hundred.
Begin by folding the Hundred as shown in illustration 1. This is the same fold that you will use on the one as you perform, so I will explain it as though you were holding the bill between your hands, with the face of the bill towards the spectator. Begin by folding the bill in half, pushing the left half of the bill forward with the left hand. Then, using the index fingers of both hands, fold the top half of the bill forward and down, then crease. Try to make the folds as even and sharp as possible. Continuing, fold the left half of the quartered bill forward and crease, so that the bill is now in eight, even sections. Now fold the top half of the bill forward and down and you are ready to begin. Place the bill into the thumb tip with the open end up and with the ball of the thumb covering the right three fourths of the bill. Ill. 2. 6 To execute the switch, take the second bill and fold it in half by pushing the left half forward and crease. Then use the index fingers to fold the top half down. The bill is now in quarters, Ill. 3. During the third fold, as the left hand folds the left half of the bill forward, the left thumb pulls the tip from the right thumb into the left curled fingers. See Ill. 4 and 5.
7 This leaves the folded Hundred behind the One which is now folded into eighths. The Hundred, one half the height of the One, is held flush with the bottom edge of the One. (This is so the extra bill won’t be seen when the dollar in front is folded again.) Using the index fingers of both hands, fold the top half of the One forward and down, making it the same size as the Hundred concealed behind it. Ill. 6.
The open edge of the Hundred is pointing up, and the open edge of the One is pointing down. The actual switch of the bills takes place during the first phase of the unfolding. This is probably the most important difference be- tween Roger’s handling and the Koslowski handling. In the Koslowski handling, the switch is actually executed during the last fold, instead of during the first unfold.
The right fingers reach into the opening of the Hundred to open it forward and down. Ill. 7. This pivoting down section of the Hundred moves the still folded One back behind the Hundred. The One, now half the size of the Hundred, is left completely folded so that can fit into the thumb tip as the Hundred originally did.
As the left hand reaches to the right edge of the hundred to unfold it, the right thumb moves the folded. One into the thumb tip. Ill. 8. This is actually a combination of the base of the left fingers moving the tip to the right and the right thumb moving the bill a bit to the left. Once the visible bill unfolds into quarters, the left thumb acts as a stop as the right thumb firmly pushes the bill into the tip. Ill. 9. Continue unfolding the bill to display the change.
As you perform this, make certain that the shoulders and arms are relaxed. Your body language should be loose and in line with the simply folding and unfolding of a bill. There should be no indication that a technically de- manding switch is taking place, so move naturally, with a relaxed attitude.
Also, don’t look at the back of the bill as you are switching one bill for another. Spectators can see where you are looking, and if you focus too much on the procedures on your side of the bill, they will notice it. Just casu- ally glance at the bill now and then, without undue attention.
Now that you have learned the technique for switching one bill for another, remember that many incredible ef- fects are possible with this ability - not just changing a $1 into a $100. Roger’s Name Is The Same is, of course, a perfect example. Now let’s look at more ways we can make this technique work for us. What follows are three professional presentations for turning a $1 into a $100, as well as yet another wonderful effect made possible by this switch.
PRESENTATION 1, MICHAEL AMMAR: Something I always try to look for is a “hook” of some sort, that will create genuine interest on the part of the viewers. One way to go beyond demonstrating tricks is to find something about the effect that has meaning to the people who see it. Dai Vernon once told me that only a very few of the effects performed today would ever be done by someone who was really “magic.” We both agreed, however, that turning a One into a Hundred is one of the few effects that would be performed by someone who was really “magic.”
Several years ago, I noticed a familiar pattern whenever I would borrow a bill in order to do The Floating Bill. As they would hand me a One, people would always say, “Why don’t you turn it into a hundred, Hah Hah!” It was such an automatic response, that I decided to work it into my presentation. After all, if someone asked me to turn a One dollar bill into a One Hundred dollar bill, and I did it, then I’ve just performed a miracle! It was very simple to work out a routine so that when they posed the effect as a challenge to me, and I did, in fact, per- form it. It seemed like a spontaneous reaction. 8 The results were so satisfying, I crystallized this thinking into a performance theory. I called it The Theory of Impromptu Miracles, and to this day it still influences much of the performing I do socially. According to my theory, the impact of certain effects is in direct proportion to how spontaneous, unprepared, and unplanned the effect seems to be. For example, if you change a One into a Hundred in the natural flow of your scheduled per- formance, it is obviously a premeditated event, and as such, there is a limit as to how much impact it will have on an audience. However, if you seem to be caught without your wallet at the checkout counter, and seem to be stuck for money, and then you change a One into a Hundred, the effect has a great impact.
I can safely say that every time you combine this theory with Henning Nelms’ advice to add meaning to your magic, you will end up with a reputation-making effect. What follows is the simple wording that insures the technique you have worked so hard on is rewarded with a hard-hitting effect.
“If I can borrow just $1, I’ll show the first magic trick I ever learned. You see, I was born and raised in West Virginia, and we didn’t have any magic shops there. So the first trick I ever learned, I learned on the back of a box of Cheerios. It’s the one where you fold a bill four times, and when you unfold it, it’s upside down! Hummm. That’s the reaction it used to get. It used to bother me - and I’d think to myself: ‘Maybe they eat Cheerios, too..... But that wasn’t it. The problem was, it was just a trick, and tricks are just for kids. But...now I do it differ- ently. Let me ask you, if I were really magic, and I could do anything in the world, what would you like me to do to this bill?” (Notice that you don’t ask what to do ‘with’ the bill. You get widely varying responses as a result of that one word difference!)
This introduction serves you in several ways. First, it allows me to convey some background as to who I am, where I came from, and why I do the type of magic I do. Then it allows me to pre-fold the bill while establish- ing the folding procedures.
Usually, about 90% of the people will respond with “Turn it into a Hundred!” Sometimes they ask for a Thou- sand, or a Twenty, but the end desire is almost always the same - make it multiply. Five percent or so will make the request as soon as they give you the bill, which is a good sign because that usually means that your audience feels free to communicate with you. In any case, your most difficult task is now at hand - you have to act genu- inely surprised at their ‘clever remark.’
“Well...so much for what you want!” When this is said with a little bit of charm, it gets a good laugh. Then as you continue to fold, this time actually doing the switch, decide to change your mind and actually perform what they requested. Slowly unfold the bill to show that you actually have changed the bill into a $100.
As you show it around, be careful who you allow to take the bill. In my early days of performing this, I had a scene where someone didn’t want to give the bill back, and it really puts a crimp into a performance. Now, I use the fact that I never let go of the bill as a bit of business. As you show it around to prove that it really is a $100, use your peripheral vision to see when someone is reaching for it, and then pull it out of their reach just as they are about to snag it. If you time it so that it seems unintentional, it is quite a funny sight to see someone keep reaching for a bill that they never get!
“I’ll bet you wish that you were the one that loaned me the bill now! You know, sometimes I don’t even go out of my house -1 just stay home, folding up ones! But you can have this...I make them all the time.” Just as you seem to be handing the bill back, you hit on the idea to show them something else. “But wait, let me show you just one more trick. This is the one where you fold up a $100, and when you unfold it...ahh heck. You end up with what you started with. We should have quit when we were ahead!”
9 I used the above presentation for years, with very satisfying success. However, the very thing that makes it a great effect is the very thing that makes it stupid: inherent human greed! Of course, it is a great idea to turn a One into a Hundred, but who in their right mind would turn a Hundred into a One?! I’ll tell you who would - a magician who just switched the One for the Hundred, who can’t afford to lose $99 every time he does the effect, that’s who!
I was aware of this discrepancy as I performed it, and thought there was no way around the problem short of losing money every time I performed the effect, until Jamy lan Swiss wrote me a long letter following the original print- ing of ENCORE 3. In this letter Jamy unfolded page after page of thoughts concerning the material in ENCORE 3, and to this day it stands out as one of the most delightful letters I have ever received. It may have been the first time I knew someone cared enough about my writing to think - really think - about it. In this letter he gave me a simple set-up line for the $100 bill switch that took all the discrepancies out, and for the first time, justified the switching of the Hundred back into the One. Finally, I was able to turn a $100 bill into a $1 bill and have it look clever and witty, instead of stupid.
All you need to do to set yourself up, is assure the person that loans you the bill that he will get it back. Simple enough! Word it something like this: “Say, you look a little worried about loaning me this dollar. Maybe you’ve seen magicians play jokes on people, where they burn their money, or tear it up, or something like that. I’ll tell you what, I give you my word of honor that I will return this bill in the exact condition I borrowed it. Fair enough?”
Now perform the switch, and begin to return the bill to the spectator, only to hesitate at the last second. “But wait a minute, I said I would return your bill in the exact same condition, and it wasn’t a Hundred when you loaned it to me, was it?” About this time, the person will realize what is coming, and will begin to assure you that it is OK for you not to keep your word! But you insist that you have witnesses, so continue by saying, “Oh no, I’m a man of my word. All I have to do is fold it four times, give it a squeeze, and it returns to it’s exact original condition - let’s give him a hand!”
Now it all makes sense, it contains an air of spontaneity, and you give the spectators latitude for interaction. I was grateful that Jamy took the time to write me his letter years ago, and every time I perform the Hundred Dollar Bill Switch using this key piece of logic, my gratitude grows!
PRESENTATION 2, GAETON BLOOM: I deeply respect the ideas that Gaeton develops. He is truly a unique mind in magic. I saw him perform this at a European convention for a room full of magicians. Of course they were fooled, but more importantly they were entertained.
What interested me was the fact that his presentation of this traditionally “close-up” effect played for 200-300 people. Other important points: (1) The effect had meaning. (2) He did not have to borrow the bill. (3) Since the bill was not borrowed, he did not have to perform the illogical portion of the effect - where you change it back to a $1. I am very happy that I am able to share with you these two ideas which come from the working repertoire of one of Europe’s top professionals.
Gaeton begins by reaching into his pocket and pulling out the $1 and a cigarette. Gaeton uses a cigarette in both his presentations, because he feels that the smoke lends a certain aura to the effect. He lights the cigarette and leaves it in his mouth, and just blows smoke on the bill each time it is being folded. He urges you never to touch the cigarette during the entire folding sequence because he has often been accused of actually switching the bills in his mouth. When people are completely fooled they will reach for any explanation!
In this presentation, a message is apparently written on the bill for Gaeton. You can really write the message on the bill, or you can fake it. It is up to you.
10 “Hummm...this is a cigarette and a bill from the manager. It has a message written on it. It says ‘I just wanted you to know how much we love your act!’ Well, of course! ‘I am sorry to be in such a rush, but I won’t be around to thank you after the show, so we decided to thank you DIRECTLY ON YOUR FEE!’ Well—two weeks salary in advance, I guess I should be happier! Wait, I am a magician, watch.”
Light the cigarette and place it into your mouth. Plainly show the bill all around, and begin to do the switch. During each fold of the bill, blow smoke onto it. Unfold the bill to show that you have changed the $1 into a $100, fold it up and place it away!
PRESENTATION THREE, GAETON BLOOM: “I’d like to begin by borrowing a cigarette and a $1 bill.” After this lead in, Gaeton says that he almost always has a cigarette offered before the bill is offered. This outcome can be influenced by the way that you word the opening sentence, and when this happens look closely at the cigarette and say, “I always seem to get the cigarette first...”
When the bill is offered, reach into your pocket and give the spectator two dollars worth of change in exchange for his bill.
“I want to make certain that everyone knows that I have given you two dollars in return for your one dollar before anything happened.” This strange opening will certainly grab their attention, and arouse interest in what will happen to the bill. Slowly do the switch, while blowing smoke on the bill as before. Open the bill to show that it has changed into a $100, and happily place it away saying, “Now you know why 1 gave you $2 for your $1 before I did the trick!”
As you perform this effect often, you will be amazed at how frequently it will be requested. As Gaeton is asked this question, he smiles and says “Yes, of course, if you have any $100s you would like me to change for you, I’d be more than happy!”
In the mid-80’s, Doug Henning hired me as a consultant for some of his close up work. The Hundred Dollar Bill Switch became one of his favorite effects, and he went on to use Gaeton’s presentation on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. (The only part he left out was the smoking of the cigarette.) The response was so strong, that Doug later traveled with six foot screens, so he could perform the effect on stage. Even now, as we go into the 90’s, David Copperfield - with the very same six foot screens that once belonged to Doug Henning - is performing the Hundred Dollar bill Switch daily.
PRESENTATION FOUR, TONY MILLER: This is a simple idea with the interesting side effect of making a male spectator with a date look like a hero.
Begin by folding a dollar bill into a finger ring. This is explained in FOLDING MONEY, published by Magic, Inc. Place this into the thumb rip in the same way that you would the $100 bill.
Perform the switch as described, up until the point where the ring bill is hidden behind the $1 that is twice its size. Instead of switching the ring in during the unfolding sequence, you will need to switch it in during the final fold of the $1. (That is a lot easier to follow with the bills in hand.)
At this point, you cannot load their $1 into your tip during the unfolding of the switched in bill. To cover the load into the tip, act as if you are placing the folded bill onto the left palm. As the left hand turns palm up, the tip is pushed onto the right thumb.
After the tip is on the right thumb, the right hand moves to take the girl’s wrist Lift her hand up as the left hand pops open the ring and slides it onto one of her fingers!
11 Yeast Card (Michael Ammar)
EFFECT: A card is selected and signed. Over and over it is placed into the middle of the deck, only to rise - like yeast - to the top of the pack. The spectator himself is allowed to shuffle the card into the deck, which he places on top of a drinking glass. In order to help the yeast card rise, a match is struck, for heat. In the end, the heat really did draw the card, as the spectator finds his signed card inside the book of matches!
COMMENTS: A positively identified card vanishes, and reappears in an impossible location.
Simple, direct, and one of the strongest plots in card magic. The problem is coming up with an ‘im- possible location’ that is both convenient and logical. Even the classic Card To Wallet is less effec- tive if the wallet has nothing to do with the routine. (And what do you do when you don’t have your wallet?)
In working on the concept of an impossible location, I reasoned that the more impossible the lo- cation seemed to be, the better the effect would be. This line of thinking resulted in ‘The Iceman Cometh’ and ‘Card Cubes’ from by now out of print earlier books, and which are reprinted in the book L & L Publishing released.
While these two effects fall into the category of the impossible, they are, unfortunately, impracti- cal. It slowly dawned on me, that a location doesn’t have to be impractical to be impossible. There can be many reasons why a location would seem impossible. For example, if you have been staring intently at a container, it would seem impossible for something to appear inside of that container.
At the time I was thinking these thoughts, I was reading THE MAGIC OF MATT SCHULIEN (What a delightful book!) It was here that I learned Matt’s Card in Matchbook. The more I per- formed the Card in Matchbook, the more I liked it. Finally, I began using it as a closer for my Am- bitious Card routine. All that was left was a line of logic that would hold the routine together. That’s where the Yeast Card presentation comes in.
To say ‘The Yeast Card’ to magicians sounds strange, because they are used to hearing performers say ‘The Ambitious Card.’ But to laymen, calling a card ‘Ambitious’ sounds just as bizarre as call- ing it a ‘Yeast card. Now, using the Yeast line, you have a line of logic for introducing the matches into the picture, and explain - in a magical sort of way - why the card is eventually drawn to the pack of matches.
All things being considered, this discovery was a gold mine for my stand-up, walk-around perform- ing. This is a perfectly natural ‘Impossible Location’ for almost every situation and any type of dress. If all this sounds good to you, after you read this I recommend you look up Jamy Swiss’s ver- sion of The Card In Matchbook. If I hadn’t been locked into my own handling for all these years,
12 I would have jumped on Jamy’s version. As you might expect, it is strongly structured and completely thought out.
PROCEDURES: To set up, all you need do is tear a slight notch into the flap of the matchbook. This notch has to line up with one of the matches in the center of the pack, and can even be done in front of the spectators. Also, as the first illustration shows, bend this match out a little to make it easy to bend down when the proper moment comes. Hand the pack out to be shuffled and begin with the opening lines.
“After you shuffle, I’d like you to look through the pack, and pull out a card at random. Well, isn’t that inter- esting! Out of all the cards in the pack, you’ve chosen the very one - the ONLY one - that I wanted to tell you about. Have you ever heard of The Yeast Card? You haven’t? Well, strangely enough, the card you have selected is the one, the ONLY, Yeast Card.
“Sometimes, people think I’m kidding. They think 1 have several Yeast Cards just like that one -but 1 don’t. To make sure YOU believe me, I want you to write your name on this one. The Yeast Card, you see, can do some- thing absolutely amazing - but you have got to know that there is one, and ONLY one, Yeast Card.
“If I place the Yeast Card back into the middle, all I would have to do is riffle, and it would rise -like Yeast - to the top. Now - a lot of people don’t catch that the first time. They didn’t know what was going to happen, so they didn’t know what to look for. But - now you know. I’m going to put your card into the middle, I’ll riffle the deck, and once again it’s back on top.”
As the patter indicates, a card is selected and signed by the spectator. While the card is being signed, secretly reverse the top two cards of the deck. You’ll need to hold the deck with its face against the left palm, but be sure to naturally tilt the top of the deck toward you, so that the reversed cards are not detected. Pick up the signed selection with the right hand, and place it face up, on top of the deck. If you time the left hand turning palm up with the replacement of the selection, there should be no flash of the face up cards.
At this point, you will have three cards face up on top of the pack, but the audience will only be aware of one. Basically, you are halfway through a triple lift, with the hardest part over! This places you way ahead for the Ambitious Card before they know what is going to happen. With this lead in, I can now very fairly cause the Yeast Card to rise to the top of the deck after being placed into the middle.
If you would like extra cover for the first triple lift, look the spectator in the eye as you ask “Do you know why your card is called the Yeast Card?” As they look up, turn over the three cards as one and place the top card into the center of the deck. Before you push it flush, you want to be way ahead for the double lift to come. So spread through the cards to show that the Yeast Card is “about 30 cards down into the deck.” As you do so, pick up your two card break for the lift to come.
“It is called the Yeast Card because whenever I place it into the deck, all I have lo do is snap my fingers and the card rises to the top! I’ll do it again. I place it into the deck, this time about in the middle, and still it rises like yeast to come to the top.”
As the patter indicates, you repeat the sequence until you are left with a single card face up on top. Depending on the situation, I might go into a number of other sequences, but to end, I set them up for a change in proce- dures. The change in procedures is motivated by a sucker bit Tommy Wonder taught me years ago. (Every time I’m around him I seem to learn something!)
13 1
2 3
5 4
7 6
14 To lead into the sucker sequence, turn the signed card face down on top of the deck, and once again you’ll seem to place it into the deck. Only this time, pick up two cards as one to place them into the deck. But before we continue, let’s look at what must be going through the viewers mind: the first couple of times you place the card into the pack, they may think they weren’t paying attention. With each phase, they should be more and more interested in how this could be possible. Finally, almost everyone will tell themselves you can’t possibly be putting the card into the middle. Not everyone comes to this conclusion at the same time, but you can, through your choice of sequences, help lead them to that conclusion.
If the spectators start to think, ‘Hummm.....I’ll bet that’s not my card...’, they are in the perfect posi- tion psychologically for this bluff. Since you will be holding two cards as one, with the top card of the two being the selected card, ‘accidentally’ flash the face of the indifferent card to the spectators. In most cases, when they see you are NOT putting the signed card into the deck they will howl!
However, once the two cards are half way into the pack, push the bottom card into the deck under cover of the selected card. This action is perfectly covered from the top, and if you leave the selection half way out of the deck, they will swear it wasn’t their card! If they are too polite to interrupt, simply ask the spectator “Wouldn’t it be amazing if your signed card were to rise invisibly to the top once again?” If asked directly, they will usually say they caught you. If they do, turn the pack, showing the face of the still protruding selection, saying “You don’t trust me!” You’ll be surprised at the reaction to this simple bit of business. Sometimes it gets a chuckle, but at other times, the subtlety of it hits them hard, and the reaction stops the show.
Another thought is to flash the face of the indifferent card only to a spectator who is giving you a particularly hard time. When he calls you on the fact that you aren’t placing the signed card into the deck, you can point out that it is, in fact, the original card. This will make him hesitate before calling your hand in the future!
“If you don’t trust me, you’ll surely trust him, won’t you? Do you shuffle? Please mix the Yeast Card into the deck so that nobody could know where it is.”
The reason for drawing attention to one of the spectators, is so that attention is removed from the deck. Under this cover, you will side steal the card into the right hand classic palm.
One of the keys to a good side steal, in my opinion, is for the entire deck to stay flush except for the card being stolen. There should be no large breaks or gaps in the pack, and the only card that should move out from the pack should be the selected card.
The position of the right thumb during the steal is very important. By placing the right thumb exactly at the back left corner of the pack, it can act as a register, making certain only one card moves when the left little finger pushes up and out. The card above the left little finger break isn’t pushed straight out. It is more of a pivoting action, with the upper right corner being braced against the right little finger.
By curling the index finger on top, and placing the middle, third and little finger across the front of the pack, you can conceal any hint of a break in the pack from the front. The left thumb should be along the left long side, concealing any break there.
15 16 When the card is angled out, the right hand starts to move to the right, in a squaring action. As the right thumb drags across the short back edge of the deck, the card is moved to the right. Since the card is at an angle, you don’t need to have a large break in the deck in order to have enough access to the card to move it. Since you don’t have to cover a break in the packet, the left thumb can move from the left long side, to the top of the pack. As the card is being stolen from the pack, pulled by it’s upper right and lower left corners, the left thumb will be holding the deck in place by pinching it between itself and the base of the left index finger.
During the initial pushout of the selected card, if the right thumb is across the back short edge of the pack, instead of the exact corner, the card won’t move out of the pack at an angle. It can’t move out at an angle if the lower left corner can’t protrude out the back. If the right thumb prevents the lower corner from moving out the back, then the card has to be pushed straight out towards the right. If you have to push it straight to the right, you will need to open the deck like a book, with the right long edge pivoting open so the left fingers can push the card out. This method requires much more cover than a method that doesn’t require opening the deck like a book.
Those who don’t do the side steal can easily substitute the top palm by simply returning the signed card to the top of the deck after the sucker bit. Take care not to lose the momentum of the misdirection that the gag has offered you, however.
As the spectator is shuffling the deck, you will now do the one- handed card fold described in EXPERT CARD TECHNIQUE. Illustrations 3-7 show how the first third of the card is folded down by the fingers, then the base of the thumb pushes up the bottom third. Once the fingers crease these first two folds, the thumb comes up to bend the folded card in the middle, leaving the card folded into sixths. This can be done very quickly, and a slight body turn will easily cover you. When performed sitting, this is very easy to do under the table or behind a leg. (Of course, some may want to control the card to the bottom of the packet, where you can perform the Mercury Fold, also from EXPERT CARD TECHNIQUE).
After the card is folded into this “V” shape, hold it in the right finger palm with the “V” pointing away from the fingers. Pick up the book of matches with the left hand and open it up. The right hand moves to pull down the match that corresponds with the notch you have torn in the cover. As this is done, the bot- tom of the “V” slides down behind the rest of the matches. Illustrations 8 and 9 show this taking place. Do NOT remove the match from the pack - just bend it down and close the cover of the matches behind it. It is necessary to allow the cover to close with the card inside, along with the match being bent out.
“Now that you have shuffled the signed card into the deck, it will be a lot more difficult to cause it to rise to the top. So in this case, we will have to add a little heat to the deck to cause that Yeast Card to rise.”
Have the spectator place the deck on top of a glass to lend importance to what is about to happen. Illustra- tions 10 and 11 show how you bend the match around in order to strike it. After the match is lit, bend it back around so that it points away from the book at a right angle. Laying the matches down, with the one lit match sticking up from it, you will get an impromptu candelabra. Place this on top of the deck as in il- lustration 12.
Look at the situation you are now in! The spectator believes he has just shuffled the signed card into the deck - yet you have secretly loaded it into a book of matches that everyone is now staring at. They are so fascinated by the burning match, they never notice that the book of matches is a little thicker than it should be. Depending on how accurate your folds were, how firmly you creased
17 those folds, and how big your book of matches are, parts of the folded card might be visible from the sides. You’ll want to be aware of this as you position the book of matches on the pack.
“With the addition of heat to the deck, the Yeast Card will rise all the way to the top of the pack, in spite of be- ing shuffled into the pack by you.” Add as much meaningful patter as necessary to allow the match to extinguish itself by burning all the way down. Ask the spectator to look for the Yeast Card on top of the deck, and some- thing very satisfying will happen - they will take the book of matches from the deck and turn over the top card. (Now, it will happen in their hands!) Look disappointed, and ask him to check the next card. Then say, “It al- ways turns out that the Yeast Card rises to the top. What was on top? No, not the card, but the book of matches! Look inside.”
When they open the matches they are holding to discover the card inside, it gets a shocking reaction!
Not only can restaurant workers use this with the house matches, but working magicians can use this with their own advertising matches. Trade show workers will also find this useful in helping to promote certain compa- nies.
Action Change (Yoshio Hirose)
EFFECT: Four jokers are shown one at a time, but as soon as they are thrown face up onto the table they change into four jacks!
COMMENTS: Yoshio Hirose, who lives in Osaka, Japan, performs stage as well as close-up magic. I met him during my lecture tour of Japan in November of 1980. This change looked terrific in his hands, and he was kind enough to allow me to print it here. It is not that difficult, but it does require a “knack” to perform it consistent- ly. The key move is Marlo’s Triple Buckle, which is an extension of Herb Zarrow’s Double Buckle.
PROCEDURE: All you need is any four of a kind, and an odd card. In this explanation, we will use the four jacks and a joker. Holding the packet face down, the joker is fourth from the top.
To show four jokers, buckle the bottom card and flip the top four over as one. Let the joker land flush with the bottom card to conceal the fact that it is actually four cards. Repeat the buckle to flip the four card back down. Take the top card into the right hand where it will serve as cover for the next block turnover. The right fingers, under the card they hold, flip over the packet of three cards face up, apparently showing another joker. Again, the left index finger buckles the bottom card to facilitate this. Once more, flip the packet back down while still holding the first card in the right hand. Take the current top card under the card in the right hand, and repeat the buckle and showing of the joker. After flipping the “third” joker back down, again take the top card under the two in the right hand. This now leaves the left hand holding two cards as one, the top card being the joker that has been seen three times so far. Place these two cards on top of the three in the right hand and square up. Now turn over the top card to show a fourth joker. 18 Illustration 1 shows the five cards being held in the left hand. The top card of this face down packet is the joker. The left index finger buckles the bottom card, the left middle finger buckles the now exposed second- from-the-bottom card, and the left third finger buckles the third card from the bottom. The double card on top is not buckled at all, so that these two cards will land together as one card.
Illustrations 2 and 3 show the left hand turning palm down to toss the triple-buckled packet to the table. With a very slight flick of the wrist, let go of the packet a few inches above the table. When dropped properly, the two cards that were on top of the packet will land face up as one card. The other three jacks, because of the slight flick of the wrist, will land spread out giving the impression that the change of the jok- ers into the jacks was both instant and visual. For a further description of the Triple Buckle, check Marlo’s THE CARDIGAN, page 97.
19 All-American Reverse Matrix (Harry Levine)
EFFECT: A reverse Matrix using four different coins which uses no extra coins!
COMMENTS: Once again this proves the benefits of being well read.
Here Harry effectively combines David Arthur’s SeeSaw ‘Sembly from Kaufman’s COIN MAGIC and Scott Drake’s Drake-Trix from John Mendoza’s BOOK OF JOHN with some ideas of his own. The result is a truly impressive piece of magic. This will take practice to perform smoothly, but the extra work allows you to get tremendous mileage from a limited number of props. The skills you acquire allowing you to perform with a new level of directness. Of all the incredible variations developed from the original Matrix concept, this is one of the few which retains Al Schneider’s original premise of the coins almost jumping visibly across.
PROCEDURES: You will require one penny, one nickel, one dime, one quarter and four playing cards. Arrange the coins in the standard square formation as illustration 1 shows.
The left hand holds the four cards face down, spread a little to the right from the top. The grip is important be- cause of the steal that occurs later. You’ll need to be able to support the cards with just the left thumb, first and little fingers, so hold the cards as in illustration 2. This will allow the second and third fingers to clip the coins.
Cover the penny at the upper left corner by dealing the top card down with the right hand. Now approach the nickel at the lower left corner. It is here that the first steal will take place using a move by David Arthur. Several things will happen as you apparently cover the coin with the card. Illustrations 3-7 show what actually takes place. Time the approach of the right hand so that its second fingertip is near the coin when the right long side of the fan is about to cover the coin. See Ill.3.
As your left hand moves to the right to cover the coin, your right second fingertip kicks the coin to the left (illustration 4) with a quick straightening action. Illustration 5 is an excellent shot of what happens. The coin, with a little practice, goes right between your left second and third fingertips, as the action in illustration 6 takes place. Your third finger presses down on the coin’s inner edge, tilting the outer end upward so your second fin- ger can slip beneath it.
20 4
These fingers clip the coin as the action continues as in illustration 7. Your left hand moves to the left with the stolen coin beneath the two cards it still holds as you table the right- hand card. This steal is beautifully decep- tive if properly done, with the left fingers seeming to be nowhere near the tabled coin.
Here there is a slight break in the rhythm which must be covered by a meaningful comment, as you come over to “adjust” the two remaining cards. As this is done, the right second finger aids in the transfer of the coin so that it is clipped by only the left second finger.
21 Now go to the lower right corner as if to cover the dime in that position. You are now going to repeat the steal described earlier with illustrations 3-7, only this time the nickel is left behind in place of the dime. The last card with the concealed dime is placed over the quarter at the upper right corner. Later, things will be easier if you slightly reposition the cards to facilitate the Pickup Moves about to be done. Angle the upper, inner corners of the cards toward the center, as in illustration 8. As you do this, your thumbs will contact the coins beneath the cards, making sure they are in the right spot for the Pickup Move.
Before the magic happens, the right hand does the Pickup Move with the dime in the upper right-hand corner to show the quarter. Comment that the coins will join the quarter in numerical order, starting with the dime.
Replace the card/dime over the quarter with the right hand, then immediately do the Pickup Move at the lower right corner with the left hand to show that the dime has vanished. Simultaneously, the right hand snaps up its card to show the dime has joined the quarter. Place the right-hand card aside, while the left-hand card with the concealed nickel is placed over the dime and quarter.
Do your movement to make the magic happen, and then snap up the lower left card and upper right card to show that the nickel has traveled. The cards can be freely shown during a gesture since no coins are con- cealed at this point. Cover the upper right coins with one of the cards and place the other aside.
Snap up the card covering the penny to emphasize that it has yet to travel. Gather all the cards in the left hand as you explain, “The penny is the hardest because with the dime you didn’t know if I could do what I said I would do, and with the nickel you didn’t know if I would do it again. Now you know what’s going to happen - but sometimes it backfires.”
As you say this, cover the penny as before. Now move the cards over to cover the assembled coins, stealing the nickel in the process of setting a card down at the upper right. The left hand now holds two cards, with a nickel secretly beneath them. Move one card to the lower left hand position, taking the nickel with it, and place the final card in the lower right position.
As you say, “But sometimes it backfires,” your right hand grasps the upper right card as the left hand moves to the upper left. Both are snapped up simultaneously, the right hand doing the Pick Up Move with the dime. Both hands, with a card in each, descend on the lower two cards to snap them up, the right hand executing the Paglia Load Move, to show all the coins have returned to their starting places.
22 The Paglia Load Move is a wonderful idea from Kaufman’s COIN MAGIC. Illustrations 9-11 show the action. With the coin clipped under the card with the right thumb, the card in the hand is slipped underneath the card at the lower right. Slide this card under until it is exactly in the position of the lower right card, and lift the cards leaving the concealed coin on the table. It will seem that you simply lifted the cards to show the coin underneath.
Absent Minded Miracle
(Doug Bennett)
EFFECT: The four aces are dealt from a brand new pack of cards. What makes this a miracle is the fact that the deck is still in the sealed card case!
COMMENTS: You’ve got to admit that Doug’s concept is very strong! I’ll give you another presentation at the end that will enable you to demonstrate this concept very effectively without having to use a new deck each time. A particularly important point is the fact that many magicians rehearse the bottom deal until they are fa- miliar with the sleight, but few have solid uses for the technique once they master it. As a general rule, the only way they are able to get mileage out of it from laymen is to expose it! The following idea is both commercial and attainable.
PROCEDURES: Carefully steam open a new deck of cards. Remove the deck from the case and remove the four aces and one of the jokers from the deck. Place the deck back in the case and reglue the seal. Place the aces and joker in your left coat pocket. The deck is placed in your outside coat pocket, and you are ready to begin.
Toss the unopened pack of cards onto the table as you take a seat and invite the spectators in on a friendly little game of poker. The left hand steals its packet of cards from the left coat pocket, or if you have time to prepare in advance, from your lap. The left hand holds the packet in a Gambler’s Cop at the edge of the table. Ill. 1.
The right hand places the deck onto the cards secretly held in the left hand. Place the pack into the left hand with the side of the case bearing the printed back design on top. The packet in the left hand is easily loaded un- derneath the card case, which in this routine will be held as if it were a loose pack of cards. The card printed on the case will help to create the illusion that the cards to be dealt are actually “melting” through the case. 23 Those of you who do bottom deals will find it an easy matter to deal the aces and the joker onto the table with only the most minor change in technique. The only difference will be that the left thumb does not have a top card to push over to aid in the illusion.
Basically what happens is that the right hand approaches the deck as if to deal a card from the top. The right thumb goes to the top of the case as if to take that card, and the right middle finger goes beneath the case to press upward on the bottom card. As the hand moves to the right, the right second finger goes between the left first and second fingers, drawing out the bottom card. This is a real bare-bones description, but when properly performed, it is impossible to tell where the card comes from.
After dealing the four aces and joker onto the table, act as if you just noticed that the deck is still in the case! Emphasize that since jokers are wild, you have a hard hand to beat anyway! Toss the case onto the table and invite a spectator to remove the cards. Call attention to the fact that he has to break the seal to do so. The specta- tor looks through the deck, confirming that only those five cards are out of place.
ALTERNATE PRESENTATION: State that your hands are so well trained, that you now have to go to ex- tremes to challenge your manipulations. Lately, in order to amuse yourself, you have been making it a little more difficult by doing all of your sleights with the cards still in the case. Offering to demonstrate this, the four aces are apparently lost in the deck. Actually, control them to the bottom of the deck and bottom palm them as you hand the deck to a spectator. Ask him to cut the cards, and place them into the case. Place the aces in your lap while you sell what is about to take place.
“One of the most useful things a magician can do is what we call a false shuffle. It looks like we shuffle the deck, but none of the cards change positions. Here is what a false shuffle looks like.” Take the deck (still in the box) into the right hand, and simulate doing an overhand shuffle into the left hand. Then take the cards from the case and ribbon spread them face up as you say, “See, all the cards are in the same position! Place them back into the case and I’ll show you something else.” This is all done tongue in cheek, of course. As the spectator is inserting the deck again, the left hand takes the aces into a Gamblers Cop as before.
“Probably the hardest thing to do is the legendary center deal. This is where the gambler deals cards from any position in the deck as easily as if they came from the top. It’s a lot harder to do when the cards are still in the case, but I love a challenge!” Proceed as explained above, by dealing the four aces from what seems to be the side of the case. This is a very novel idea, and the presentations given here will give those who have “paid the price” something to show for it. 24 Beenie Weenie (Michael Ammar)
EFFECT: A ball is magically removed from a Beenie Weenie can, and caused to magically return to the mouth down can. Even when placed into the pocket, the ball returns to the can. This sequence of events is made even more puzzling when the performer shows the can also contains two pieces of fruit, each of which would entirely fill the can! For the big finish, the performer then reveals the fact that the hermetical lid, as well as the Beenie Weenies, have reappeared in the can!
COMMENTS: The idea of using a can for a solid cup type ending was first put forth by Paul Harris in his clas- sic book LAS VEGAS CLOSE UP. I’m printing this variation because it contains several features that the origi- nal routine did not. I’ve kept the routine short and to the point, so as not to clutter the end effect. I performed this for years with great success, and in fact, it was one of the effects I used for one of my Merv Griffin Show appearances.
PROCEDURES: You will need a small, unopened can. I personally use cans of Beenie Weenies. You also need a plastic lid to cover the mouth of the can, a small ball, a wand, and two pieces of fruit you can conceal in your hand. To set up, place the lid onto the unopened can, one piece of fruit into the right pocket, one into the left pocket, and finger palm the small ball in the left hand.
“I seem to think about magic all the time. Just yesterday I thought of a trick while I was eating lunch. It has a real simple plot using a small cork ball.”
Take the can into the left hand with the tab on the lid pointing to the right. Illustration 1 shows the left little finger holding the ball, ready to release it. Illustration 2 shows the right hand removing the lid as the left hand allows the ball to drop. The right hand pulls down on the lid until it is free from the can, and pulls it to the right. As soon as you clear the ball in the left hand, allow it to fall to the table. The natural implication is that the ball was locked in the can by the lid. Place the lid to the upper right, just off the working surface, with the mouth of the lid pointing up and the tab pointing to the right This sets you up to quickly place the lid onto the can in the right position later in the routine.
25 “The ball is either going to be inside the can or it will be outside the can. Simple. But whenever it happens, it will happen by magic.” As you say this, you will apparently put the ball into the can and kick it back out. Since it isn’t good psychology to say, “Look, the can is empty,” we have to prove it indirectly. To do this, the right hand simply tilts the can forward as in illustration 3. Notice that the front edge of the can is still on the table surface. This provides the cover necessary to prevent exposing the move. Illustration 4 shows the left thumb and middle finger pinching the ball, propelling it across the width of the can, and into the right hand finger palm. It is similar to the Pumpkin Seed Coin Vanish, and I came up with it to get around having to fake putting the ball under the can by means of a false hand-to-hand transfer of the ball.
After a brief pause in which the hands move away from the can, the right hand seems to kick the ball back out of the can. Illustration 5 shows this Basic Move taking place. Simply lower the hand so the finger palmed ball rests on the table. Then pick up the can and flick your wrist to the left. This causes the ball to travel to the left as if the inside right edge of the can had knocked the ball out. This is all done as you say that the ball will either be inside or outside the can.
26 ‘To show you what I mean, lei’s place the ball into the can. To magically remove the ball, all I have to do is touch the can with the wand, and the ball comes out - leaving the can empty.” Illustrations 6, 7, and 8 show the simple production of the ball from the wand. The ball is in the right hand fin- ger palm as the right hand touches the wand to the can. Then place the left end of the wand into the left hand as the right hand produces the ball from the right end of the wand. Then lift the can to show that it is “empty.”
“Of course, the rule works both ways. To cause the ball to travel magically back, all I have to do is touch the ball with the wand, and it will travel instantly and invisibly back to the can.” My favorite move at this point is David Williamson’s Striking Vanish from ENCORE II. Briefly, the ball is shown on the open left palm as the wand is held by the end in the right hand. The right hand swings the wand up at the wrist to strike the left palm, as the left hand tosses the ball into the right hand. This is a very bare description of this incredible vanish, so be sure to check the original explanation. You can substitute a vanish of your own here if you like - all you need to do is make the ball vanish from the left hand, while keeping it concealed in the right hand. The ball is then shown to have returned to the can by using the Basic Move shown in Ill. 5.
27 “To make it even more difficult, I’ll place the ball into the pocket - yet still it returns lo the can. I can place the lid back onto the can, and the ball into the pocket, and still the ball returns - Wait! That’s not our ball!”
As you say the above, do a false transfer that leaves the ball in the right hand as the left hand goes into its pocket to steal the first load. Show that the ball has returned to the can by using the Basic Move shown in illus- tration 5. Before placing the can down after kicking the little ball out, place the lid back onto the can by pushing the can down onto it. This will be easy because of the positioning done earlier, and the tab will be pointing in the right direction also.
Place the can into the left hand over the load as in illustration 9. The load is held deep in the left hand, and the can is held between the left thumb and first and second fingers.
You are now set for the revelation of the first load, while setting yourself up for the second load. Take the little ball with the right hand and place it into the right pocket, stealing the second load as you do so. As mentioned earlier, this should be a load that can easily be concealed in your hand. The right hand, as in the opening move, then removes the lid as in illustration 10, allowing the load to fall to the table as if it were coming from the in- side of the can. Immediately place the can into the right hand, covering the second load.
“What confuses me is how this second one fits inside!” Take the load from the table with the left hand and tap the top of the can with it as in illustration 11, allowing the second load to fall from the can.
“But after all that, here’s my favorite part. This is where I snap my fingers, wave my hand, and the hermetical lid - as well as the (shaking the can) weenies inside - return to the can. Proving it’s not only a good trick, but a decent meal!” The actions follow the patter to conclude a terrific routine for restaurants, trade shows, and many other stand-up performing situations. The closing patter line comes from Paul Harris, and is a perfect wrap up for this routine.
28 Two Dollar Bill Tear (Michael Ammar)
EFFECT: A two dollar bill is shown very openly, and folded slowly into eighths. The performer then VISIBLY tears it into two one dollar bills which are shown on both sides. Then the two ones are pushed together and shaken, only to change back into the original two dollar bill!
COMMENTS: This effect is not original with me. It first appeared in Jerry Mentzer’s CLOSE-UP CAVALCADE. However, Two Dollar Bills were no longer in circulation, the effect had almost vanished from the magic scene when I began playing with it in the mid- seventies. During this phase of my development, I tried to add some touch to everything 1 played with, so I tried to add visual impact to the original handling. To a certain extent, I feel I re-popu- larized the effect - and since this version was printed, several other handlings have been developed. Some versions are now being sold as separate effects, but of all the versions I’ve seen, this one is both the most visual, and closest in plot to what 1 was reaching for.
In this version, there is no doubt that a large bill is visibly torn into two smaller ones, and then the two smaller bills are shaken back into the original bill.
My set-up differs somewhat from the one I originally learned, allowing the effect to be done with a minimum of ef- fort. This has proven itself to be the perfect walk-around effect for me for every situation in which I might be paid to perform. It automatically resets, it doesn’t require a table or a spectator’s hand, and it contains the natural appeal of money. I recommend you make one of these, and carry it with you everywhere.
PROCEDURES: You will need a two dollar bill, two one dollar bills and some rubber cement Get new bills from the bank to make sure your bills are crisp and in similar condition. Trim one of the One Dollar Bills a little around all four sides. Just a fraction - maybe 1/32 of an inch - is all you need take off each edge. By doing this, you make certain that the One folded inside of the second One won’t protrude noticeably.
Place all three bills onto the table with the faces toward you. You will now fold each bill individually, but in the exact same way. As you do this, make sure that the folds are sharp, and that the edges all match up exactly. Illustrations 1 and 2 show the first fold, where the right side folds in half to the left. Fold it in half again to the left, and then fold this packet in half from the top down. The three folds are left, left, and down. This folds the bills into eighths.
Using rubber cement, attach the untrimmed One to the Two Dollar Bill. Glue the lower left eighth of the One to the upper left eighth of the Two. Illustration 3 shows the Two from behind, where the One is attached to the upper right corner. Take care that the edges of the bills line up as closely as possible. Refold the Two.
29 Turn the packet over so that you are looking at one eighth of the One. You will fold under the corner of the top, single layer of this bill. This will facilitate the left thumb going under this layer later on. To complete the set up, place the folded, trimmed bill under the outside (folded down) layer of the glued One. See illustration 4. Now you can see how trimming this inserted bill helps prevent it’s edges from showing when you turn all this over.
In the handling of this gimmick, there is one thing in particular you have to be cautious about, and that is showing two edges where there should only be one. To prevent this, cover the front edge with your right index finger, as in illustration 5. This is where the one and two have been glued together to form an extra edge. You don’t need to worry about the other edges because there are supposed to be multiple edges showing along there anyway, and it is unlikely that anyone will notice a few more than usual. Make certain the front double edge is concealed, and you’ll have no problems.
“Does anyone have a two dollar bill I can borrow? No? Well, I have one, but if you should happen to get one you should hold on to it The government has stopped printing them, and people have started hoarding them. Do you want to know why they stopped printing them?”
As you say this, show the bill as in illustration 5, and use the right thumb to slowly unfold it. Do the unfolding as they are watching because this gives the impression they have seen the entire back of the Two. Showing them the back this way is casual and natural, and eliminates the need to unnaturally cover that corner as you show the back of the unfolded Two. Hold the Two between the hands as in illustration 6.
“The reason they have stopped making them is that people were taking the Twos and tearing them in half! Only, instead of having two halves of a Two, they now had two One dollar bills! Now personally, I don’t see what the big deal is. You can’t call it counterfeiting, because you still have just two dollars. But they still insisted this caused them problems.”
30 To perform the visual tear, fold the Two back into eighths, again letting them see the back of the Two. When the bill returns to the position shown in Ill. 5, you will execute a couple of movements at once. You will turn the packet over, inserting the left thumb under the single layer of the top One, which is made easier by the folded- down corner. Ill. 7. Continue turning the bill over, inserting the thumb, and guarding the upper edge of the Two/ One with the right index finger. See illustration 8. Pull out the trimmed one with the left thumb, as the hands make a tearing motion. Illustration 9 shows the right hand tearing downwards as the left hand moves upwards.
These actions only take an instant, and flow very smoothly from the folding up of the Two right on into the tear- ing action. If the situation is right, ask a spectator to unfold the trimmed One as you unfold the One/Two. Other- wise, simply unfold them both yourself to show that you now have two Ones. The Two is now on the lower left corner of one of the Ones, and this is kept safely in the left hand. To show both sides of both Ones, simply turn the trimmed bill face down, and place it underneath the other One. Illustration 10 shows how the bills overlap so that the only portion of the bills covered is where the Two is glued on. You can now casually show the bills on all sides.
“The obvious solution to all this was to slowly push the bills together, give them a shake, nope, just a little more. There! They go back into a Two! So, like I said, if you ever run into a Two Dollar Bill, hold onto it!”
31 Saying this, fold the Ones back into eighths, and slowly push the trimmed One back into place as in illustration 4. Then flip the bills over into the right hand, Ill. 11, taking care to cover that upper edge. Covering the Two as in illustration 12, shake the bills as if trying to mix them. After a couple of shakes, slowly move the thumb to show the Two, and unfold it to show the Ones have changed back into the Two.
SECOND PRESENTATION: Steve Dobson from Portland, Oregon has used this for quite some time in the close-up work that he does for a living. He shows a Twenty dollar bill and talks about not being able to spend it at gas stations or the 7-11 after 11 o’clock, so the obvious solution was simply to tear the Twenty into two Tens.
THIRD PRESENTATION: With this presentation, you won’t need to go to the trouble of trimming the extra One because you are going to go for the quick effect, and the spectators won’t have the chance to watch too closely. This goes back to the Theory of Impromptu Miracles I talked about in the Hundred Dollar Bill Switch. This should be performed as if it is no big deal and you can do this sort of thing whenever you need to.
When buying something small like a soft drink or a pack of gum, start to pay with the Two (or Twenty, or Ten) and then change your mind. Since it is such a small item, there is no need to use a large bill. Tear the bill in half, and spend the free half! Then place the gimmicked half away to be used again later! This is a terrific way to meet waitresses or cashiers...
FOURTH PRESENTATION: Those with a sense of humor can make use of the terrific fake Three dollar bills that are now available. Make up the bill tear with a Five dollar bill, and tear it into a Two and a Three! Talk about the time you went into a gay bar and asked for change! The right personality could make this very funny, while still not offending anyone.
32 Cards Into Case (Mark Lefler)
EFFECT: The performer fans out a deck of cards for a selection to be made, only to remember that he had for- gotten to take the cards from the box. To the surprise of those watching, the cards constantly appear in the box in the performer’s hand! Removing the cards from the box, the routine is continued.
COMMENTS: I love this type of quick bit. It’s little touches like this that add to the overall appeal of an act Mark showed me this about a year before Paul Harris let out news of his P.H. BREAKTHROUGH, which he sold as a separate effect for $6.00.
Since Mark originally allowed me to print this in Encore 3, I’ve used this twice on The Merv Griffin Show, on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, and on national television in Canada. Does it sound like 1 have faith in this effect?
This handling is simple and to the point, and I’m certain that it will find its way into the repertoires of many of the working cardmen. After I explain the handling Mark has developed, I will include a terrific handling tip from Paul Harris, as well as a presentation line that fits in absolutely perfectly! Following that, I’ll give you a presentation tip worth it’s weight in gold, that Ken Krenzel gave me!
PROCEDURES: Begin with all the cards inside the box except five or six. Open the box, bending the flap of the box all the way back. See illustration 1. Let the deck slide out of the box about 1/2 an inch, place the extra cards on top of the box, and you are ready to go.
Hold the deck fairly deep in the left hand in dealing position so that the base of the thumb and the index finger can conceal the fact that all but a few of the cards are still in the box. The audience doesn’t have any idea what you are about to do, so it doesn’t have to be a perfect illusion.
33 Illustration 2 shows how you push the top cards along as if you are going to have a selection made. Approach a spectator saying, “I’d like you to select a card for this next illusion, oops! I forgot to take the cards from the box!”
As you say this, square the cards in the left hand, holding them from above with the right hand. The right thumb is at the back of the cards, the index finger is curled on top of the cards, and the middle finger is holding them from the front. Illustration 3 shows how the box and cards are lifted up and forward from the back with the right thumb. The pivot point is the base of the left index finger, and it is this contact point that makes certain that the ends of the cards stay flush. Notice that illustrations 3 and 4 show how the flap of the box is held by the left fingers, allowing it to return to its proper position when the deck is flipped around. The fact that the flap of the box appears folded around the ends of the pack helps lock in the illusion that the cards are actually locked in the box.
Illustration 5 shows that as soon as the box and cards have been pivoted forward, and the flap is in place, the deck is immediately given a half turn back towards the body. This is really all one smooth action of squaring up, pivoting forward, and spinning back towards the body. The deck is seen to be fanned out, and the next instant it is seen to be in the box!
34 At this point I straddle the deck in the left hand, with the little finger along the bottom of the box, the thumb at one side, the middle and third fingers at the opposite sides, and the index finger on top. This makes certain the extra cards are squared against the face of the box, which faces the left palm, and also allows me to shake the box. Since there are half a dozen cards separate from the packet, shaking the box creates the clear sound of cards inside the box.
Continue by pulling the flap from around the end of the box, and dumping the cards into the left hand. The cards from inside the box coalesce with those against the face of the box, as you place the box aside without comment!
PAUL HARRIS HANDLING AND PRESENTATION: The set up for this is slightly different than just described. Instead of having the cards protruding from out of the box, they are all the way inside. This way, you can give the top six cards a quick overhand shuffle before putting them back on top of the box. Do this quick shuffling sequence as you say “I am sometimes asked what is the most common mistake that beginning magicians make. Some people think that it might be the clumsy way that beginners shuffle the cards, but nope, it’s not that!” Once again thumb over the top few cards.
“The most common mistake isn’t even the way they square the cards. Oddly enough, the most common mistake is that they never even take the cards out of the box!” As you say this, do the square up, and the pivoting forward that puts the cards back into the box. I can easily see these quick presentations and han- dlings of this idea working their way into an opening position for any series of card effects. The impact that such a simply thing can create will probably surprise you
Ken Krenzel’s Suggestion: The only problem I’ve ever encountered with this effect, is that it would sometime catch the viewers unaware, and they would miss the entire effect. Ken gave me a great tip to make certain they know the cards were outside the pack before reappearing back inside. I begin by hav- ing the pack inside my breast coat pocket, set up as described earlier. The left hand brings the pack from the pocket, as you give the top six cards a quick overhand shuffle, before putting them back on top of the box. Then spread over the top few cards, offering them for selection.
“Would you select a card please? Wait, I’m sorry, let me give them one more quick shuffle. I don’t want you to think I’d cheat you. Now select one.... No, I’m sorry. It’s not your fault - it’s my memory. I forgot to take the cards out of the box!”
After the first offering of the pack, draw back and give them one more quick overhand shuffle. Offer the cards one more time before finally executing the technique to put them back into the pack. By drawing back for a second shuffle, and commenting on the fact that you are shuffling it a second time, you’ll be able to sell the effect to a much larger audience than you could if you depended on them actually seeing the effect up close.
35 Magical Change (Michael Gallo)
EFFECT: A silver dollar is changed by a wave of the hand into two half dollars. A second wave changes the halves back into the silver dollar, and for a “kicker” another wave changes the silver dollar into four quarters!
COMMENTS: Michael tells me that the concept of changing a dollar into halves, then into quarters, is his favorite sequence in all of coin magic. When I see him do this I understand why! The concept itself was first in- troduced by Japan’s master magician, Sawa. This quick piece of magic isn’t easy - in fact, it’s a bit of a knuckle buster! But... it sure looks beautiful when Michael does it. If you are one of the few who will master this, you too will be adding a wonderful piece of magic to your repertoire!
PROCEDURES: Begin by classic palming four quarters in the right hand, and finger palm two half dollars in the right hand also. Show the silver dollar in the left hand in Spellbound position. Illustrations 1 and 2 show the first sequence. The right hand approaches the left, and the silver dollar is allowed to drop into the left-hand finger palm as the two half dollars are taken, spread out, in it’s place.
With only an instant’s pause, you will be seen to turn the left hand over to show the halves and an empty hand. Illustrations 3 and 4 show what actually takes place. As the hand is turning, the right thumb simply pulls the silver dollar into the right hand. Illustration 5 shows the left hand displaying the halves as the right hand moves away.
Immediately continue by bringing the right hand back over and placing the silver dollar back into the Spell- bound position. This time, don’t drop the coins at the left fingertips into the left hand. Instead, square up both half dollars behind the dollar. See illustration 6. Pause for an instant to allow this effect to sink in before you throw the “kicker” in!
36 To change the dollar into four quarters, the right hand approaches the left and takes the dollar and halves direct- ly into the right hand thumb palm. See illustration 7. Open the left hand out as the right hand brushes over the left palm, leaving the four quarters along the hand as it does so. Illustration 8 shows this.
To clean up, the four quarters are displayed on the left palm as the right hand moves to the edge of the table. Drop the four quarters to the table as the right hand drops its hidden coins. In order for the sound misdirection to be effective, the distance of the left hand from the table top must be exactly the same distance as the right hand is from the lap. In this way, the falling coins will land at the same instant.
37 Two Dollars to Four Halves (Michael Gallo)
EFFECT: A silver dollar is shown in each hand, and the coins immediately turn into four halves!
COMMENTS: I love this! Many will overlook it because of its simplicity, but that is the strength of this idea. It really is very deceptive, especially when the Topit is used to clean up, and it is a perfect way to lead into any routine needing four halves. There are two ways to go into this, one being easier than the other. When Mike first showed me the difficult way, I thought it might be too a bit too demanding for most to attempt. However, since it is so effective, and since many savor the technical challenges, I’ll record both versions. I can’t thank Mike and his father, Lou, enough for sharing this, and their other concepts, with the magic fraternity.
PROCEDURES: I’ll explain the more difficult version first. All you will need are four half dollars and a single silver dollar. Classic palm one half dollar in the right hand, and either classic palm or finger palm two halves in the left hand. I personally prefer the finger palm, while Mike finds it quite easy to use the classic palm. It is due to the versatility of the Gallo Pitch that you are able to use either grip in the left hand. The fourth half dollar is held along with the silver dollar against the right fingers by the right thumb. The dollar is nearest the fingers. See illustration 1.
The right thumb moves up and down, rubbing the half against the dollar without exposing what the hand con- tains. “If you can guess what I have in my hand, I’ll show you a trick. Coins? Yes. To be specific, I have two sil- ver dollars.” The rubbing of the coins implies that two coins are being used. As you say you have two coins, the left hand takes the silver dollar, slightly exposing it as it does. Illustration 2 shows how the right hand exposes an edge of its half as the left hand exposes a larger portion of the silver dollar. Just a brief flash of the coins over the edge of the fingers will help visually confirm what you have said.
“If I take a dollar into each hand and just squeeze, nothing happens and we are left with just a dollar in each hand.” This is your motivation for reshowing what each hand contains. You will use the Gallo Pitch and the one silver dollar you have to seem to show both hands contain a silver dollar.
38 As the left hand tosses its coin onto the table, the right hand classic palms the second half dollar onto the first. If no mat is being used, the half should be classic palmed as the silver dollar hits the table for sound cover. In any case, if you gently slide the second half along the base of the thumb onto the half already palmed, there should be no problems with noise. Pick up the dollar with the left hand and perform the Pitch to show that each hand appar- ently contains a silver dollar.
“That leaves us with two dollars total, but if I wiggle my fingers, the magic happens. We still have two dollars, but now it’s made up of two halves here and two halves here!” As this is said, the right hand can either thumb palm the silver dollar as it sets down the two halves, or it can do a palm-to-palm change to exchange the halves for the dol- lar. The right hand drops it’s two coins onto the two displayed on the left palm, before dropping them to the table.
The clean up for sitting down would simply be to drop the dollar into the lap as the left hand shows the halves. When standing up, it’s very easy to clean up using the Topit. The toss can be covered by a natural gesture, empha- sizing what happened. Allow the coin to drop to the fingertips of the right, and toss it into the coat as both hands gesture and you say, “That’s all!” The throwing of the coin into the Topit is a gesture to emphasize the statement.
SIMPLIFIED HANDLING: Both hands reach into their pockets, the right hand classic palming two halves, and the left hand finger palming two halves. The left hand also brings out the silver dollar. Both hands come out of their pockets closed, as you ask, “Could you guess what I have in my hands?” As you say this, perform the Gallo Pitch to show a silver dollar in each hand, and proceed as in the previous handling.
The Gallo Pitch
(Lou Gallo)
COMMENTS: When I first printed this, 1 began by saying this was the best coin move I had learned in years. Now, seven years later, I can still say the same thing! I’ve shown this to magicians from a dozen different coun- tries, and they all agree the illusion is perfect.
Because it is so versatile, I am going to explain it very carefully, with a great attention to detail. The Pitch first saw print in Richard Kaufman’s RICHARD’S ALMANAC. The serious student will want to study Richard’s concise explanation also, but I am going to try to explain details here that almost a decade of use have uncovered.
One of the reasons I like this so much is that it can be used either sitting or standing, with little or no change in technique. Particularly, I feel it is much more natural for a stand up performer showing coins in both hands than the traditional Han Ping Chien move. When standing, it is unnatural for someone to bend his whole body over the table, slapping his palm to the top of the table to show what is inside. This is a case of “overkill” in terms of sim- ply showing what is in the hand. This is less of a problem for the sit-down worker because the forearms and palms are much closer to the table top and don’t have to unnaturally move to that position for the display to take place. Lou Gallo, who performs this with deadly results, only does it sitting, while I, on the other hand, only perform it standing.
39 Another interesting property of The Pitch is the fact that the coins being retained in the tossing hand can be held there in any of the basic grips. That is to say, you can conveniently hold back coins in either the classic palm, the thumb palm, the finger palm, or the back palm. This amounts to an impressive degree of flexibility in its ap- plication.
But the really disarming property of the Pitch is that the display of the coins can take place so casually. Once the rhythm and “knack” are acquired, the move can easily be done with your full attention focused on the audience. You can actually look at and talk to the audience as the crucial move takes place.
Since I’ve included every detail, the description might seem lengthy. For this reason, you might want to quickly scan the description to get a feel for full details, and then go back through with coins in hand. As you rehearse, keep the arms and shoulders loose, and remember to use a smooth, natural movement.
PROCEDURES: If you allow your arms to swing out naturally while standing up, you’d notice that continu- ing the line of motion of the hands would form an ‘X’ on the table in front of you. The arms move towards each other and the intersection of the ‘X’, as they move forward. This is the way the arms will swing out to show the coins when doing the Gallo Pitch standing. It is also the way the wrist will move while sitting, but the wind up and swing of the arms will be more limited.
When coins are tossed from hands moving along the lower portions of the ‘X’, the coins continue along that line when they leave the hand. In other words, the tossing movement of the hands form the lower portions of the ‘X’, while the coins continue on along their paths to complete the upper portion of the ‘X’.
What makes the move deceptive is that at one point the left hand will be throwing it’s coin “against the grain” of it’s X, in the direction that the coin from the right hand should be traveling. This toss of the left hand’s coin along the path the right hand’s coin should be taking is done under cover of picking up the coin or coins first thrown by the left hand. What the spectators first see is the left hand tossing it’s coin to the table. Then, as the left hand seems to pick up it’s coin, the right hand tosses it’s coin onto the table.
During this opposite-direction throw by the left hand, the right hand will either be: (1) holding back all the coins it is supposed to be throwing, (2) tossing all its coins along with the coins released from the left hand, or (3) holding back some of it’s coins while actually tossing some of it’s coins. In some cases, the right hand may even be empty. In those cases, it simply imitates the tossing action, as the coins are released from the left hand.
I’ll teach the basic move first, and then go on to some of the professional applications. Begin by showing a coin at the fingertips of each hand, as in illustration 1. Both hands turn palm down. The left hand will show its coin first.
Begin by giving a slight backwards “wind up,” and then toss the coin towards the upper right corner, ill. 2. Dur- ing the wind up of the left hand, the right hand classic palms it’s coin. See illustration 3. It adds to the decep- tiveness if the fingers follow through in the direction the coins are being tossed. The hand doesn’t have to turn completely palm up, but it is important that the fingers extend outwards towards the tossed coin. This follow through shouldn’t be exaggerated, and is, in fact, most important for the right fingers, but the left hand will establish the move.
The way this first coin is thrown from the left hand is important. How it is propelled in the opposite direc- tion is also very important. I’ll give more details on this in the final tips, after explaining the basic move.
40 41 The left hand now comes up, PALM DOWN, to retrieve the coin. Ill. 4. The coin will be picked up by allowing the left thumb to slip under the coin, pressing it up against the left fingers. At the same time, this coin is be- ing picked up, the right hand is performing it’s wind up move. Again, the wind up is just a slight backswing of the right wrist in preparation for the apparent toss to the upper left. This slight movement establishes the right hand’s toss an instant before it takes place.
The first coin thrown, just picked up by the left hand, is now going to be tossed to the upper left corner of the mat. This toss to the upper left is done under the cover of closing the left hand, and turning it palm up. There is no flipping or propelling of the coin by the left thumb in any way. That is important. The coin gets it’s momentum from the hand turning palm up, and moving to the left as it closes. See Ill. 5.
Doing this in a loose, natural way is the key to the whole illusion, and the trouble I see most people having is that they try to make too much out of this. The coin is simply allowed to fly out from the partially closed - yet continuing to close - left hand as it turns palm up. The coin actually leaves the hand traveling over the tips of the fingers. Depending on the way you pick up the coin, the coin will either turn over or not during the toss. Mike uses this particular property of the move to great advantage with copper/silver coins.
The right hand times it’s tossing movement toward the upper left to coincide with the coin flying from the left hand. Make certain the fingers follow through in the same direction as the coin being tossed from the left hand, and the illusion that the traveling coin came from the right hand is perfect. See illustration 6. By not turning the right hand completely palm up, you can conceal the coin in classic palm by means of the Kaps Subtlety, as the base of the thumb prevents it from being seen.
After the toss has taken place, the right hand picks up the coin from the upper left in the same way that the left hand did. Move the right hand back to its starting position, make the magic happen, and then open the hands to show the coin from the left hand has magically joined the one in the right.
FINAL TIPS
There are basically four points to be concerned with now that the Gallo Pitch has been technically described:
1. Controlling the bounce of the coins on the table surface, as they are initially thrown from the left hand, as well as when executing the Pitch. 2. Maintaining consistency of actions between the left hand and the right hand. 3. Specifying the motivation for showing the coins again after the initial display. 4. Timing the movements of both hands to correspond to one another as the move takes place.
The key factor in controlling the coins is to keep them flat, and toss them low to the table. Don’t put an arch on the coin, because the coin will bounce, or possibly land on an edge. If you have to chase the coin around the table before moving back to the position for the Pitch, you would be sacrificing the beauty of the natural flow. Particularly during the opening Pitch from the left hand, make sure the coin is tossed low and flat to the table.
Another way to lose control of the coin is to try to propel it from the left hand in some sort of flipping manner. Of course, this is wrong, as the coin should fly from the tips of the left hand as the hand turns over, and you should try to have it land flat to the table as you do.
Consistency of actions is a necessity in performing sleight of hand. In the Gallo Pitch, the actions of the left hand must set up the actions of the right hand. The actions to pay attention to are the slight wind up of the hands before the toss, and the follow through of the fingers after the toss. Also important is the establishment of the
42 direction of the toss from each hand. The ‘X’ factor behind the natural swinging of the arms is set up with the first toss from the left hand.
One important consideration that is often neglected is the motivation for reshowing the coins after they are ini- tially shown as in illustration 1. To close the coins into the hands and then immediately go into the Pitch for no reason would give away the MOMENT the move took place, if not the method itself. A properly planned false move of some sort will arouse curiosity among the viewers as to what might now be in the hands. If you create a desire in the spectator to see what is in the hands, then the move is properly motivated and the deception will be complete.
The last consideration, timing, is all important. The best way to properly teach the correct timing would be for me to influence you to do what you will actually be pretending to do when you perform the Gallo Pitch. Several times, toss the coin in the left hand towards the upper right. Then, as the left hand is picking up the coin just tossed, the right hand should wind up and toss its coin to the upper left. There is a slight overlapping, not in the actual throwing of the coins, but in the picking up of the coin in the left hand and in the wind up of the right hand. After doing this a few times, you will develop the rhythm that is right for you and continues to support the illusion. There is no iron-clad rule on how fast the move should be done because the deceptiveness does not de- pend on speed. What is most important is that the speed of the move be consistent with the way that you would normally toss a coin from each hand. |
Professional Applications of the Gallo Pitch PROFESSIONAL APPLICATIONS: Advanced sleight-of-hand workers learn from experience not to waste time on unusable techniques. Utility moves, such as the Gallo Pitch, can be given top priority learning time because of their versatility. Here you have all the information you need to learn how to do the basic Pitch. Now let’s take a quick look at professional applications for the Pitch. Each of these handlings includes a special touch to add to its effectiveness.
MICHAEL GALLO’S SIX COINS THROUGH THE TABLE: This particular handling is performed while sitting. Six coins and a ring are shown. The left hand takes three coins, while the right hand takes three coins and the ring. After creating a natural excuse for showing the coins again, the left hand tosses its coins towards the upper right. In the meantime, the right hand, holding the ring loosely, has finger palmed the three coins. Af- ter the left hand picks up its coins, you perform the Pitch with three coins, allowing the ring from the right hand to join the three coins being Pitched from the left hand. The right hand picks the coins up along with the ring, goes below the table, and the first passage through the table is revealed.
For the repeat, once again the right hand takes three coins and the ring, and the left hand clearly takes three coins. Bring the hands close together in a suspicious manner, and act as if you sense their suspicion. You are now going to fake doing the Pitch, and in the process provide perfect cover for tossing three coins into your lap. The Gallo’s have done a lot of work on multiple lapping, and Michael does this extremely well.
43 This is a bold move, based on perfect timing, so try to visualize how this would look before you try it. The left hand tosses its coins towards the upper right. As the left hand picks up its coins, the right hand is winding up in preparation for its toss. This time, the right hand will actually toss all three coins, as well as the ring towards the upper left corner. An instant before the right hand tosses, the left hand picks up its coins and is sweeping out of the way to the left. As the left hand moves back, it releases the three coins, allowing them to fall into the lap. The left hand continues out of the way, closing as it moves to the left. The sound of the coins falling into the lap is covered because they are timed to land at the same moment the three coins tossed by the right hand land in the upper left corner. If timed right, not only is the sound covered, but the toss from the right hand provides ter- rific misdirection for the actions of the left hand.
What a bold move! At this point, the right hand, obviously empty except for the three coins and the ring, can go below the table to pick up the three coins in the lap. Dramatically slap the left hand to the table, and reveal the fact that the coins have once again penetrated the table top.
LOU GALLO’S COINS ACROSS: You will need two half dollars, an English penny, and a copper/silver coin. This routine takes advantage of the copper/silver coin in a very subtle way, and is an excellent example of time misdirection.
As you seem to place the three silver coins into the left hand, retain one of them in the right hand. Classic palm this coin in the right hand as you pick up the copper coin. The hands make a motion that indicates the magic has happened, and the left hand tosses its two coins to the upper right. Take care to make certain that the coins are tossed flat, so that the copper/silver doesn’t bounce over. As the left hand picks up the two coins, take the copper/silver coin into the left hand finger palm, and perform the Pitch with the other silver coin as the right hand tosses out the copper coin only. (The other silver coin is left in the right hand classic palm.) As the right hand picks up the two coins following the Pitch, do a palm to palm switch that leaves the copper coin in the right hand classic palm.
Once again indicate that the magic has taken place, and clearly show that you have only one silver coin in the left hand, by tossing it to the upper right corner. Now you will combine the copper/silver coin with the Pitch for a super throw off. As the left hand picks up the coin, perform the Gallo Pitch in such a way that the coin turns over as it travels towards the upper left corner. At the same time, the right hand will appear to be tossing its coins out one at a time, starting with the copper coin.
Here is where the time misdirection comes into play, as the left hand has traveled on out of the action zone be- fore any silver coins are tossed from the right hand. This will eliminate any suspicions that you have added the last silver coin to those in the right hand.
The right hand continues to toss the two silver coins out, one at a time with the same rhythm, leaving the copper coin classic palmed. Pick up the coins, make the magic happen, and turn over the hands (reversing the copper/ silver coin) to reveal that the last coin has traveled.
You will find this routine to be completely deceptive, even to those familiar with traditional techniques. This idea of doing the Pitch as the coins are tossed from the right hand one at a time is my favorite use of the Pitch. The extra rhythm of tossing the coins one at a time, doing the Pitch on the first one, seems to make the move even more deceptive.
MICHAEL AMMAR’S COINS THROUGH THE TABLE: This handling is for the classic four coins through
44 the table plot. The right hand retains one of the coins as it places them into the left hand. The left hand slaps to the table top as the right snaps its coin against the underside of the table, indicating the first passage.
The left hand lifts to show only three coins, and as you pick them up you will prepare one of those coins for the Pitch. The right hand comes from below the table to show its coin. Use a slight time delay here, by first flip- ping the coin in the right hand, and then perform the Pitch. Notice that the coins are not Pitched from the left hand this time, but simply shown on the table and then picked up. However, the left hand does turn palm up as it moves away, which will provide the same action.
The right hand takes the visible coin below the table along with the coin concealed in the classic palm. Once again the left hand slaps to the table as the right hand snaps a coin against the underside of the table. This time, don’t lift the left hand to show the coins, just pick them up and move to the left. The right hand comes from below the table to toss its two coins to the upper left. This toss is just to establish the Pitching action. Now pick up the coins with the right hand as the left tosses its two coins to the upper right.
“That leaves two coins below the table. These two coins will also travel through the table, but I’ll do these a little differently than I did these two coins.” (Perform the Pitch as the second half of that sentence is said.) “Only this time it will be even more impossible. This lime, I won’t even touch the table with the left hand. Just a blow, and the third coin passes through. For the last coin, you actually get to see, AND HEAR, the coin go through the table,”
As mentioned, you will do the Pitch with both coins as you say “I’ll do these coins a little differently than I did these two.” The right hand picks up the two coins from the upper left, keeping its original two coins either in the right hand classic palm, or the finger palm. The left hand stays a foot or so above the table as the right hand goes below. This time the right hand moves one of the coins into a back clip position as it snaps one of the other coins against the underside of the table to indicate the passage of the third coin. Keep the left hand closed as the right hand comes from below the table palm up. Toss the three visible coins onto the table, giving a quick flash of the empty right palm.
The left hand is still closed, apparently holding the fourth coin. The right hand goes below the table, and pre- pares the coin for an excellent touch from Roger Klause. Drag the coin along the bottom of the table as the left hand follows the same path from above, acting as if it contains the coin creating the scraping sound. Once again, snap the coin against the table, and show that the last coin has penetrated. This audible climax combined with a speed up in the pacing for the passage of the last two coins make a strong, definite ending.
45 Silver Sponge (Doug Bennett)
EFFECT: Four half dollars are absorbed by a sponge, then visibly extracted by wringing them out. For a “kicker” which logically fits the presentation, a sterling silver dinner spoon - much larger than the sponge - is visibly wrung out!
COMMENTS: Doug Bennett is incredibly creative, and I was sure that this concept of his would be met by a flood of variations. However, it didn’t seem to happen, perhaps because Doug didn’t make a full time job out of magic, and few people ever saw how good this looks. It’s a shame, I can’t overemphasize how magical the wringing out of the coins from the sponge looks. If you are looking for something different, interesting, and ef- fective, try this out. The routine as described will provide an entirely new concept with coins.
There is a way to gaff the sponge for a very deceptive, visual appearance of a coin, and I will explain this after I explain the routine. However, I am in favor of allowing the spectators to examine the sponge. The wringing ac- tion looks so good that viewers are going to suspect a gimmicked sponge anyway! So I prefer the version with the regular sponge, because it is practical, easy, and deceptive.
PROCEDURES: You will need one small kitchen sponge, measuring about 3”x5”x5/8”. These are very easy to find. You will also need four half dollars and a matching expanded shell. The sponge must be limber during performance, so thoroughly soak it in water and then tightly wring it out before performing. Those performing walk-around magic can store it in a small zip lock bag.
The final requirement is a nice sterling silver dinner spoon. To perform this in stand-up, walk-around situations, you can hang it under the bottom left edge of your coat. Doug secures it by first pinning a large safety pin inside his coat. Attached to the pin is a rubber band, which is wrapped around the upper portion of the spoon handle a few times. This should not be so tight that you have to really tug to release the spoon.
“I had a swinging dinner party the other night, and later while I was doing the dishes I discovered that some of my silverware was missing. After I called some of the guests and made false accusations, I found that the culprit was my kitchen sponge! It’s made from a new type of synthetic material which actually has the ability to absorb metal. I know that sounds hard to believe, so I worked out a way to actually show this to you. Here is the guilty sponge, and I’ll use these four coins to show you what happens.”
As you are introducing the effect, place three of the halves and the shell onto the table as in illustration 1. The fourth coin is secretly finger palmed in the left hand. Have someone handle the sponge so that it is seen to be normal. To absorb the first coin, hold the sponge in the right hand, with the second, third, and fourth fingers on the front long edge and the thumb at the back long edge (illustration 2). Lay the sponge on top of the coins and press down. The right forefinger pushes down as the sponge is slid slightly to the left until you feel the shell cover coin A. Lift the sponge and turn it over to show that a coin has, from all appearances, been absorbed.
46 47 The right forefinger and thumb hold the sponge by one of its narrow ends, allowing a spectator to probe and squeeze (the sponge, of course). Lay the sponge on your palm-up left hand, taking care not to expose the coin there. Poke the sponge with your forefinger, commenting on how porous the new synthetic sponges are.
As you pick the sponge up with the right thumb below and the fingers on top, clip the half dollar beneath the sponge with the thumb as in illustration 3. Holding the sponge flat, take it in the left hand as illustration 4 shows. This gives the sponge a concave bend, which will hold the coin underneath and free the right hand. The right hand re-grips the sponge as in illustration 5, to begin the wringing process. In illustration 6, you will see how the left hand twists the sponge away from you as the right hand twists towards you. This twisting action, performed firmly and quickly, is very easy to do. The coin will work its way out of the sponge to the point shown in illustration 7, where the spectator can either pull it out, or you can relax your grip and allow it to fall from the sponge. This looks terrific. (Doug tells me that advice from Dave Russell helped to develop this “twist revelation”).
Set the coin to one side, and allow the sponge to rest on the open left hand across the fingers. The short ends of the sponge are extending beyond the index and little fingers. Place the coin with the shell over it onto the center of the sponge and press down onto it with the right forefinger as you patter about the properties of the sponge. The right hand now lifts off the shell allowing the coin to remain in posi- tion atop the sponge. At the same instant, the left fingers curl upward causing the coin and sponge to flip over face down on the left palm, the coin being hidden by the sponge. The shell is displayed and placed across the two halves on the table in bridge fashion. The right hand takes the sponge from the left hand, which is concealing the coin in finger palm position.
The sponge is placed on top of the tabled coins as you perform the second absorption, this time the shell falls over coin C. Lift the sponge as before, showing that another coin has been soaked up. Rather than vary the method for the second coin, repeat the reproduction of this coin using the beauti- ful twist revelation shown in illustrations 5,6, and 7. Table this coin next to the first coin, on your right.
You will now attempt to cause one of the two remaining coins (one has the shell over it) to penetrate upward through the sponge. Cover both coins with the sponge and press down. Nothing happens. The left hand now pivots the sponge upwards from the back, making certain that the front edge keeps contact with the table. Slide the regular coin out from under the sponge and lay it on top of the sponge on the left side. Lift the shell from it’s coin and lay it to the right of the coin so that the left edge of the shell overlaps right edge of the coin on top of the sponge. Keeping the front edge of the sponge on the table top conceals the fact that a coin remains on the table.
To accomplish the penetration, the right hand covers the coins with the fingertips, rubbing back and forth a few times as if rubbing one of the coins into the sponge. The shell will slide over onto coin B in the process. Move the hand to show that only one coin now rests on top of the sponge. You will now reveal the results of the penetration, and at the same time set yourself up for a repeat. The right hand takes the shell by the edges as the left hand pivots up the front edge of the sponge to reveal the coin beneath it. This time you must make certain that the back edge of the sponge acts like a hinge connect- ed to the table. The regular coin which you lifted the shell from is concealed atop the tilted sponged. Continuing its action, the left hand flips the sponge completely over and onto the table. This action reveals the coin beneath the sponge - and secretly loads the hidden coin for a second penetration.
48 With the shell in the right fingers, the left hand picks up the regular coin in front of the sponge and transfers it to the right hand. The shell and coin are held at the tips of the fingers in an overlapping position. The fingers of the right hand are pointing down towards the table, about six inches above the sponge. Bring the right hand straight down as if driving a coin through the sponge. When the regular coin contacts the sponge, it will be driven beneath and into the shell. Show that only one coin (?) remains in the hand. Place this coin (and the shell which secretly covers it) next to the others to conveniently remove the gimmick from active play. Lift the sponge to reveal the coin which was supposedly driven through.
Now perform any coin pass which leaves the coin in the left hand, while convincing the viewers that it is ac- tually in the right. The right hand apparently takes the coin at its fingertips and drives it into the center of the sponge. Show that the coin has been absorbed, then pick up the sponge with the forefinger on top, and the right thumb clipping the coin beneath the sponge. This coin is also squeezed from the sponge and placed aside with the other three.
You now lay the sponge atop all four coins stating that you might be able to soak up all four coins at once. The right hand is actually serving as misdirection for the left hand to steal the spoon. As the right hand is pressing on the sponge, the left hand drops to the side and the fingers clip the spoon as in illustration 8. Brad Burt helped Doug develop the following loading sequence:
Your right hand picks up the sponge by one of its narrow ends, fingers on top and thumb below. As all eyes are on the four coins which are to be soaked into the sponge, the right hand swings the sponge over and beneath the spoon, which is still concealed by the left wrist. Ill. 9. Illustration 10 shows how the right hand clips the spoon and pivots it forward in such a way that the spoon ends up behind the sponge which is now facing full frontward. Pause in this position as you call attention to the sponge. The left thumb can pull the spoon to the left enough for the right hand to release its grip for an emphasizing gesture.
State that the coins are not being soaked into the sponge because it seems to be clogged. Re-grip the sponge in the twist position, and twist it once or twice just as you did with the coins. Then rapidly untwist the sponge, allowing the spoon to pop out onto the table. Table the sponge and lay the spoon on top of it so that all can see that the spoon is longer than the sponge.
This makes for a good ending, as you act elated at the appearance of the spoon, explaining that you have been looking for it since your last party!
GAFFED VERSION: It is possible to produce a half dollar or even a larger coin very deceptively from the sponge by preparing the sponge in advance. Slit the sponge along one of the sides to make a secret pocket. It should run along the middle of the narrow edge, just large enough to conceal the coin. This slit is easily con- cealed with a little pressure from the fingers, and now both hands can be shown clearly empty before the pro- duction of the coin. The production is quite visual, but I don’t recommend using the gaffed version where it is likely that the spectators might want to examine the sponge.
49 Tie Tack (Tony Miller)
EFFECT: The performer shows his latest gift from the manager. He had asked for a tie tack, and the managers response was to present him with a small piece of cork and a thumb tack. With a shrug, the performer tacks his tie by putting the cork behind his tie, and pushing the tack into the cork from in front of the tie.
A card is selected, signed and returned to the deck. After brief by-play, the spectators notice that the card has van- ished from the deck, only to have magically appeared tacked to the tie of the performer! The signed card is seen to be impaled with the tack that goes through the tie and into the cork.
COMMENTS: I was delighted when Tony contributed this originally, because I considered it a reputation maker. However, once the book was to the printer I discovered proper credit wasn’t given to Dale Anthony, the person who conceived of the very clever gimmick about to be described. Dale had marketed his idea as “Under Attack”, and what this amounts to is a very novel handling for that gimmick. The gimmick making the effect possible is made from a rare earth magnet. These are very small, powerful magnets that are much easier to find now than ever before. In fact, many such magnets are used in fake pierced ear rings.
PREPARATIONS: You will need a small piece of cork about one inch in diameter and one-half an inch thick. Also, you will need two thumb tacks, a tiny rare earth magnet, glue, and magicians wax. Remove the point from one of the tacks, keeping just the head. Clue the magnet on the inside of the head, where you removed the point. On top of this, add a little magicians wax, or any of the adhesives that are common these days, such as Blue Tac or Fun Tac. (Need- less to say, you must also be wearing a tie.)
PROCEDURES: Place the real tack into the cork and place this into any pocket. The gimmicked tack head must be someplace easy to get to.
“The response to my magic has been so great that the manager presented me with this honorary tie tack. What do you think? He said it would add more class to my act - which doesn’t sound encouraging. But, as you can see, it still works. Oh well, enough about me, would you like to help out with a card trick?”
As you say this, show the real tack and the cork, and attach this to your tie. Have a card selected and signed. If you like, you can have the tack head stuck onto the pen that you have the card signed with, so that you can easily steal it as you hand out the pen. Another solution would be to steal the tack head from inside your pocket as you place the pen away.
After the card is signed, the tack head should be concealed in the right hand, ready to be added to the face of the selected card. Take the signed card, and as you return it to the deck, secretly stick the tack head onto the face of the card. This takes only an instant because of the wax. Until you are familiar with everything, the closer to the center of the card you stick the tack, the easier the attachment to the tie will be.
Of course, with the tack head stuck to the face of the card, you won’t need to control the card, or even hold a break. The card can easily be cut to because of the natural break created by the head of the tack. Cut the card to the top of the deck, and turn the deck face up.
50 “Now that the cards have been mixed, I can’t even guess which half of the deck contains your card. Is it in this half? Of course, if it isn’t there it must be somewhere in this half. Do you see it?”
As you say this, cut the top half of the face up deck onto the table and spread it out so that they can look at the faces for their card. As they are looking at the tabled cards, it is a simple matter to bring the back of the signed card against the tack that is stuck through the tie. The magnet on the other side of the card is so strong that it will immediately attach itself to the head of the tack that is stuck to the cork. As soon as the card is on the tie, which only takes an instant, spread the half of the deck on the table also.
This creates the perfect illusion of the card being penetrated by the tack that goes through the tie and into the cork. It happens so quickly that it takes the spectators a little time to notice that their card is tacked to your tie. Eventually everyone will notice, and you can strengthen the illusion by actually spinning the card. The magnet is strong enough to allow you to spin the card ‘on the tack’ a couple of times, and you can even lift the tie up with the card to show the cork underneath.
Tony points out that the illusion is so strong that there is no doubt in their minds that the card is truly impaled, so he doesn’t even take it off. He either walks away with it still on the tie, or lifts the tie up, so that they see the cork, and pulls the cork away from the ‘proving’ that the tack is through the card.
SECOND HANDLING: This kind of effect is capable of many variations. Another way of performing the ef- fect might be to control the card to second from the top, and perform a double lift to show it. Turn the double face down and deal off the top card, asking the spectator to place his hand on it. Meanwhile, you have kept the tack head concealed on the tip of your right middle finger, so return to the deck and secretly stick the tack to the face of the selected card. Now, continue as before, spreading the two halves of the deck onto the table as you stick the top card to your tie. Have the spectator turn over what he thinks to be his card, only to discover it tacked to your tie!
Some performers will find it a simple matter to palm the selected card off as they hand out the deck to be shuf- fled. Of course, it is just as easy to attach the card directly from the palm, and in the hands of some performers this will prove to be the best method.
For those of you who like the effect but don’t like the idea of using a cork and a thumbtack, you’ll love DRESSED TO KILL, the ultra classy version by Nicholas Night. This version is put out by RFX, and is done with an attractive rhinestone tie pin.
51 Card on Ceiling (Michael Ammar)
EFFECT: A signed card is stuck by magic to a ceiling of any height!
COMMENTS: As of this writing, I have used the Card on Ceiling as my trademark for fourteen years. I began doing it in 1975 at West Virginia University, and by 1976 almost every building in Morgantown, West Virginia had a card on it’s ceiling!
It is hard to say how many cards I’ve stuck to ceilings during my career, but I do know that I have left my mark in at least 22 countries as of this writing. For me, with all things considered, it is probably the best card trick in the world. It has created conversations about me and my magic long after I was gone. I’ve heard people describe the effect to others, adding the wildest exaggerations to the story, and seen one card stay stuck to a ceiling for nine years - becoming a point of interest on a local tour.
I’ve gotten so much mileage from this effect that I’ve tried to explore as many of the valid methods as possible, and while it is difficult to say this without sounding pompous, I’m certain this is the most practical method available. Period.
Of course, several things must be taken into consideration when making statements like this. For example, this method uses Magicians Wax instead of a thumb tack to stick the card to the ceiling. There are other magicians who will argue just as strongly that a thumb tack is the only way to perform the effect, and I’ll admit their argu- ments have merit. They claim the effect is even more impossible if you seem to throw a tack up with the pack. It then appears that the tack found the right card in mid- air, and impaled it to the ceiling! What an effect! They continue by saying that using wax creates a question as to what is keeping the card up there, and if that big a question remains unanswered, then the effect becomes unclear.
So why am I so convinced this is the version you should use? To begin, using a thumb tack limits the number of places you can perform the effect. This, more than anything else, is the reason I use wax. I want to be able to do this everywhere, and if I have to worry about damaging someone’s ceiling - or if the tack won’t stick on tile, or metal, or glass - then the extra effect of having the tack find the card isn’t worth the effort.
Also, having done the effect for so long, I’ve been able to hear what it is about the effect that people like, and I’m convinced that it is a good thing for them not to know what is keeping the card on the ceiling. After all, this is one of the few effects where the end result is more important than the moment of performance. The number of people who see you perform the effect is much, much smaller than the number of people who end up eventu- ally seeing the card on the ceiling. By having a tack visibly holding the card on the ceiling, people who see the card there later simply think someone put it there for some strange reason. When there is no visible means of support for the card, they seem to realize that this is part of some mystery.
52 The higher the ceiling, the longer it stays up. One time I stuck a card to the very high entrance to the Louvre Museum in Paris, France. It lasted at least six months, and was seen by thousands of people every day. (The magician who reported it still on the ceiling after six months, also told me he saw a tourist take a photo of it! Maybe they thought it was art...)
When choosing wax, the only consideration becomes ‘Can I throw the deck high enough to hit the ceiling?’ High ceilings are another consideration altogether, and they further convince me of the value of this method. Clearly, the higher the ceiling the more impressive the effect seems to be, and for good reason. Some ceiling are so high it seems absolutely impossible to stick a card to them. People can’t fathom how you could have thrown the deck so high, much less throw it that high with enough control to stick a specific card there. Those who have tried other methods realize that the higher the ceiling, the greater the danger of failure. However, with the method described here, you can be certain that the selected card will stay with the deck no matter how high the ceiling. All you need worry about is getting the deck there.
Finally, I won’t try to convince you to perform this yourself by saying ‘This is worth the price of the book!’ That statement sounds frivolous when I think about all the things this effect has done for me. But you should give this a shot anyway - it’s fun, it’s easy, and it blows people away.
PROCEDURES: You will need soft Magicians Wax for sticking the card to the ceiling. Other things that might work are Chap Stick, Dental Wax, and Morticians Wax. Hard magicians wax doesn’t stick to anything, and is only good for securing the ends of Invisible Threads. You can make your own soft wax by melting down Bees Wax and adding oil to it until you have a consistency that is soft and sticky, without leaving anything stuck to your fingers. This is the kind of trouble I hate to go to, so you might want to obtain a supply of the wax I use. The Card on the Ceiling wax refill (enough for about 300 performances) is available at our website - www.ammarmagic.com.
The problem of having easy access to the ball of wax that you will use was best solved by Karl Norman and ex- plained in Magician Nightly. In fact, until I read this idea of Karl’s, I was still experimenting with rolls of tape, thumb tacks, etc... in order to stick the card to the ceiling. Having learned of the Card On Ceiling from John Scarne’s book on card magic, I had already given up on trying to stick the card to the ceiling prior to the effect, and was now looking for the best way to perform the effect in real time. It was Karl’s idea of accessing the wax so easily that first swayed me in favor of using wax.
To take advantage of Karl’s idea, obtain a metal Sucrets box, and place a ball of wax about the size of a pea inside. Also place a couple of two-inch rubber bands inside. See illustration 1. Place this into your pocket and you are ready to go. Of course, since I may need to perform this effect fifty times in a single day, I need to prepare more than a single ball of wax the size of a pea. I’ve found 1 can spread out about twenty balls of wax, along with about twenty rubber bands inside a single Sucrets box. This spreads them out enough to allow me to pick a single ball of wax up as I am picking up one of the rubber bands.
Have a card selected and have it signed. I can’t emphasize that point strongly enough. I often lead into this with a series of color changes, before going into an Ambitious Card routine. The color changes combined with the Ambitious Card justify having the card signed, and having the card stick to the ceiling fits into the logic of the Ambitious Card. As we enter the explanation that follows, I am holding the deck face up, showing that the signed card is definitely in the middle. I control the card to the top of the pack secretly as I’m squaring up the pack by means of the Hofzinser Spread Control. If you are unfamiliar with this incredible move, you will want to check the complete explanation in the Arcane issue of The Magical Arts Journal (see the website).
53 “The only difference between magicians and non-magicians - is that the magicians know the secrets. I know the secrets. Would you like to see one? I have some with me .... over here ... yes! Sucrets! That’s how I spell it, anyway.” Taking out the box of Sucrets, I carefully open the box, as if I don’t want anyone to see inside. Then 1 steal out a ball of wax secretly, and I visibly take out one of the rubber bands.
“You know what this is, don’t you? It’s a Variable Tension Gripper. Other people call them rubber bands, but I think you could have sold them for more if you’d called them Variable Tension Grippers. Oh well.”
Place the can away. Pick up the deck face up and add the ball of wax to the back of the card on the bottom of the face up deck. This is the selected card, of course.
“In the days of Vaudeville, it was traditional for the performers to write their names on the walls of the dressing room. That way, they became part of the history of that theater. Now this isn’t Vaudeville - and this clearly isn’t a dressing room - but I have a new way for us to make this little interaction a permanent part of the history of this building. I call your attention to the ceiling. Watch!”
As you say this, you will place the rubber band around the deck in a special way. Hold the deck face down in the left hand dealing position, and stretch the rubber band out with the right fingers. Begin by placing the band under the upper left corner of the face-up deck as illustration 3 shows. As you come down to encircle the tower right-hand corner, the left index finger presses upwards on the upper right-hand corner of the bottom (selected) card. This causes the lower-right corner of the card to buckle out, allowing the rubber band to pass underneath it. See Ill. 4. As far as the audience is concerned, you have simply wrapped the deck from corner to corner with a rubber band. What you have actually done is wrapped the entire deck except for the lower right corner of the signed card.
The move takes a full paragraph to describe, but only a heart beat to execute. Technically it is very simple. But this simple maneuver has removed all the uncertainty behind performing on high ceiling. This simple idea is the key to the this method. With very little practice you’ll be able to do this blindfolded while chewing gum and walking backwards. 54 By leaving one corner underneath the rubber band, you are making certain that the card will make it to the ceil- ing, no matter how high you have to throw the pack. Also, from the front, you can clearly get a flash of the fact that every card is trapped by the rubber band. I don’t make a big deal out of this, but without saying it, I make sure they notice it.
The spinning toss to be described in a moment will allow the trapped corner to easily slip from under the grip of the band at the proper time.
One thing you’ll want to beware of is overlapping too much of that one corner with the rubber band. If you overlap too much, it won’t be able to pull free. Also, if your rubber band is too fat or too strong, you might dis- cover the entire deck sticking to the ceiling! With just a little practice and some common sense, you’ll be able to work it out.
Now let’s take a look at the spinning action which tosses the deck to the ceiling. This spinning action is what makes it possible for the deck to travel upwards in a flat position. Obviously, if you can control a card to the top
55 of the deck, and if you can buckle the bottom card, the next big talent to acquire is the ability to toss the deck to the ceiling while keeping it flat. Fortunately, when you know the right technique, this is also very simple.
Illustration 5 shows how the deck is held just prior to the toss. Balance the deck on the middle finger, and hold it with the thumb on top and wrap the index finger around the front of the pack. An upwards toss, combined with a flick of the wrist, will cause the deck to spin off the index finger as it travels up, ill. 6. When it hits the ceiling, the one corner under the band will pull free, and the card will stick to the ceiling. The fact that the rest of the deck will stay banded together makes this trick suitable for many occasions.
No - this isn’t a self working effect. But with just a little effort you will soon be hitting 40-foot ceilings. Think about the effect, work on it, and maybe the next rime I see you, you’ll be able to say this trick has earned you more repeat bookings than any effect you’ve ever known. That would make us both happy!
Sponge Ball Up Sleeve
(Roger Klause)
EFFECT: A sponge ball disappears only to reappear up the sleeve of the spectator’s coat! Then, incredibly enough, the effect is repeated.
COMMENTS: People such as Steve Spill have used sponge balls in conjunction with a thumb tip before, but I’m particularly happy to print this because of one thing: The Klause Touch. As a way of life, Roger takes the magic that he does and thinks it out to the “nth” degree. Of course, considering the glowing praise I’ve given him in all of my Comments, some may accuse me of becoming a one man Public Relations firm for Roger. What can I say? I’m clearly a fan of his, and I don’t hesitate a second to point it out.
One thing in particular I’d like to point out is the natural way the tip is employed. Notice that there are no moves that would cry “thumb tip,” and that every move is done for a reason.
The repeat, explained here for the first rime, is about as strong an effect as you could ask for. We all know that magic directly involving the spectator leaves a better overall impression. In this particular effect, the spectator doesn’t just help with the effect, he is an intimate part of the effect itself.
In order to make clear the points that Roger considers important, I’ll break the sequence down into five major steps.
PROCEDURES: Begin by placing the thumb tip into the waistband of your trousers. This will allow you quick access to the tip during the course of the routine. If you are right handed place it on the right side. You will need two one-inch sponge balls. Place one in the left pocket where you can quickly get to it for the repeat. Arrange it so the spectator will be standing to your left.
56 Remember: we will be striving for consistency of action, so any time you just place the ball into the left hand be sure to duplicate the actions you will use when the vanish takes place.
Display the sponge ball at the right fingertips, and place it into your left hand. Snap your fingers and wave your right hand over the left. “I’d like you to make this red rubber ball disappear up your sleeve. Here’s how you do it. You snap your fingers, wave your hand, and it happens. Try it.”
Notice that already the spectator is directly involved with the proceedings. Also, the reason Roger refers to the sponge ball as a red RUBBER ball is because it implies solidity to the audience.
As the spectator attempts to vanish the ball, pull up your pants naturally while stealing the thumb tip onto the right thumb. Due to the lead in and the timing of the steal of the tip, no suspicions will be aroused.
POINT ONE: Take the ball back and display it at the right fingertips. You are wearing the rip on your right thumb, and you need to load it into the left hand secretly, yet under the most natural of actions. “No, that wasn’t quite right. You take the ball, snap your fingers and wave your hand, and the ball disappears up your sleeve. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Would you like me to do it for you?”
As you say the above, the left hand closes around the ball and the thumb tip, as seen in illustrations 1,2, and 3. In order for this to be a legitimate “take” as opposed to being a “put,” move the left fist away from the right hand. As soon as the hand clears the fist, snap the fingers and wave the open right hand over the left fist. Ill. 4 shows the position inside of the left hand.
57 POINT TWO: The left hand now has to return the ball to the right hand in a natural fashion. Grip the tip be- tween the thumb and the base of the fingers. See illustration 5. Don’t reach over and pull the ball from the left hand. With a loose left hand, place the ball back into the right fingertips. Ill. 6. The right hand displays the ball, as you ask if he would like you to do it for him.
POINT THREE: Here, Roger provides an excellent lesson in the use of the thumb tip. It may seem minor to the average performer, but it is exactly the type of thing that Roger would never overlook. In placing the ball back into the left hand, there may be a tendency to bring the left hand up already held in a closed fist. However, the hand would not naturally be brought over in a fist. Take care that the left hand approaches the right held loosely, and doesn’t form into a fist until the instant that the ball is placed into the hand. In order to facilitate this, the tip is held as in illustration 5.
POINT FOUR: The right hand allows the sponge ball to go into the tip as in illustrations 7 and 8, as the right thumb follows the ball into the tip, pinching the ball between the pad of the thumb and the tip. Again, the left hand moves away from the right hand as the right fingers immediately snap, as in illustration 9. The snap with the thumb tip on is a convincing touch that the hand is empty. Wave the right hand over the left to cause the vanish to take place. Ill. 10. The loading of the ball into the tip is very smooth and natural. Even those who are familiar with the thumb tip would never suspect that these actions involved the use of a tip.
58 After the ball has vanished, Roger uses a very deceptive display to show both hands empty. It is more con- vincing than simply pointing the right thumb at the viewers. Both hands hold a similar pose as illustration 11 shows. This is a simple gesture as you say, “You know where it went, don’t you? It went up the sleeve, not mine, YOURS!”
POINT FIVE: As the spectator holds up his right arm, you reach for his sleeve with your right hand. This is an- other point that Roger has thought a great deal about. Don’t just poke the right thumb into the sleeve to deposit the tip. As the left hand holds the sleeve, your right thumb and forefinger enter the sleeve, not just the thumb. Both enter the sleeve as if to pinch the ball which has already arrived. The left hand pinches the tip from outside the sleeve. Ill.12. With your right thumb and index finger, pull the ball about half way out of the tip, then have the spectator himself remove the ball the rest of the way from his sleeve.
“Do you have anything else up there?” Saying this, your right hand approaches the sleeve to hold it open for a look, and as it does so, the right thumb re-steals the thumb tip.
59 THE REPEAT
After the ball has been produced, the spectator holds it in his left hand as you steal the thumb tip back onto the right thumb. The left hand casually drops to the side as the right hand reaches to the left to take the ball from the spectator. It is during this covering action and slight body turn that the left hand obtains the extra ball from the pocket.
Both hands come together now, in much the same way they do when secretly loading a ball for the Cups and Balls. The right hand presses it’s ball into the left hand as in Ill. 13, stealing the extra ball as you say, “You mean to tell everyone that you didn’t see this bright red rubber ball jump from here to here?” As you say this, place both balls as one into the spectator’s sleeve. As he comments, you simply remove one ball, leaving the dupli- cate behind. Don’t worry if he isn’t wearing long sleeves because you cannot feel sponge when it is pressed against your skin.
“The reason you didn’t was because you weren’t sure what was going to happen. This time let me stand over here. All I do is snap my fingers and wave my hand, and the ball disappears, just like before. This time you know exactly where it is, don’t you? Look up your sleeve.”
Of course, all you need do is duplicate the vanish of the sponge ball described above before having him look inside his sleeve to discover the ball has returned. I really love this!
This photo was taken at a corporate party in Boca Raton, Florida. That night I had the pleasure of working with Jim Swane, Michael Skinner, Eugene Burger, David Roth, Bill Malone, Derek Dingle, Frank Garcia and Daniel Cros. 60 Coins Through Silk (Michael Ammar)
EFFECT: Three silver dollars are placed into a sheer scarf. The fact that you can see through the scarf allows a perfectly clear view of the coins at all times. There is no question they are inside the scarf, yet one at a time, the coins visibly pass through the material. Finally, the last coin penetrates the material while it is in the closed hand of a spectator.
COMMENTS: I was inspired to develop this routine by reading “Liquid Silver” by Russ Burns, which ap- peared in the April 1981 issue of Apocalypse. Those familiar with the original routine will recognize a consider- able difference in handling and effect.
In 1982, this routine was an important part of the act I used to win the FISM World competition. The effect is visually strong. In fact, it wouldn’t look any different if you were using real magic. The methods are all techni- cally attainable, and are structured to take advantage of what I call ‘progressive routining.’ By this I mean there is a very clear starting point - with three coins inside a see-through scarf. Then, not only do they pass magically through the scarf, but each penetration is progressively more impossible. The middle coin comes out first, the second coin is selected by the spectator, and the final coin passes through the scarf while it is inside the specta- tors hand.
It might interest you to know that winning the FISM competition in 1982 resulted in a 1983 spring lecture tour of European cities. It happened that my lecture in Rome overlapped the Easter weekend, and I was able to spend an extra four days there. As fate would have it, one of the magicians there actually had connections with the Vatican. To make a long story short, I was asked to be on stand-by for a tentative private performance for the Pope. The performance was to last less than five minutes, so the effects I chose had to be strong, unique, and to the point. Due to the Pope’s heavy schedule brought on by the Holy Year, the performance never took place, but the two routines I had selected to perform for him were the Floating Bill and The Coins Through Silk. To this day, this effect reminds me of that amazing ‘almost event’.
The scarf used is crucial to the effect. It is a common ladies scarf made from 100% nylon. The scarf is so sheer it is completely transparent. It’s this property of the silk that makes this effect special, because this means a coin will look the same under two layers of cloth as it does when under just one layer. By using this fact, we can cause some exceedingly deceptive penetrations to take place.
Of course, you can use a regular 24 inch magicians silk to rehearse the effect, but the actual performance is based entirely on the transparent nature of the nylon scarf. I personally would not consider performing the effect without the sheer scarf.
PROCEDURES: Allow the spectators to look closely at the scarf as well as the three coins to be used. While this routine could easily be done with half dollars, 1 find that silver dollars are particularly visual as they pen- etrate the scarf.
61 “I’d like to show you something very special with a ladies’ scarf. This isn’t the type of scarf magicians normally use, but there is a particular reason why I chose to use it now.”
As this is said, the center of the scarf is draped over the left hand as the right hand displays the coins. The coins overlap each other, with the bottom coin being nearest the fingertips. Illustrations 1 and 2 show the right hand turning palm down to dump the coins into the left hand. Notice in illustration 2 that the bottom coin of the stack is retained between the tips of the first and little fingers of the right hand. Silver dollars are the perfect size for this move in my hands. This could just as easily be done from the classic palm, but doing it at the fingertips saves you from making a slight readjustment later.
“Sometimes when I performed people would say, ‘If I could just see things a little clearer, then I’d understand!’ Now, with this scarf, you’ll be able to see everything I do!”
Immediately after dumping two of the coins into the left hand and retaining one at the fingertips, the right hand casually continues up the left arm, to pull the upper part of the silk down over the coins in the left palm. Then the left hand tosses the coins, now trapped in the scarf, back onto the coin that remained in the right hand. The right hand, of course, turns palm up to catch the coins being tossed. Since the coin still at the right fingertips will look the same through both layers of the cloth, all three coins will seem to be inside the scarf. This action is seen in illustrations 3 and 4.
62 “Not only can you hear the coins, but you can see everything at all times.” Fan the coins out through the silk. Illustration 5 shows how you spread out the coins, apparently for a closer look. As you do talk about being able to hear the coins, take the top coin of the three, and tap it against the coin right below it. Since there is no layer of cloth between these two, the sound will be clear. Then take the top coin and place it onto the bottom of the stack. This sets you up for one of the most visual penetrations you could want.
In illustrations 6 and 7, the coin in the center is actually outside the scarf. However, due to the sandwiching of the coins, the right fingers can very fairly flip the coins over for a close-up, all-around inspection immediately before the first penetration. This looks so clean that I should warn you against trying to over prove the point. Just casually show the coins all around without making a big deal over it. Al Baker said ‘Don’t run if no one is chasing you.’ By the same token, if you run long enough, someone will chase you. By overstating what is clearly obvious, you might create undue suspicion.
Display the coins in an overlapped position on the right palm, as the left hand holds the ends of the silk. Just a slight bouncing up and down of the right hand causes the center coin to slowly separate from the other two in a very eerie manner. Ill. 8.
63 This coin is placed aside as the two coins are removed from the silk. Drape the scarf over the left hand as in the beginning. “Whenever that happens people usually ask if they could see it again...so, I’ll do it again so you don’t have to ask!”
In Ill. 9 through 13, you’ll see the sequence of doing a Click Pass, covering the coin actually dropped into the left hand, and then placing that coin inside the scarf back on top of the coin retained in the right hand. It’s all one flowing, natural movement - you dump, cover and then display.
To execute this Click pass, hold the two coins overlapped at the right fingertips, as in Ill. 9. Clip the outer most coin between the third and middle finger as in Ill. 10. This pivots this coin out, so that the upper coin can drop against it as it falls into the cupped left hand. Ill. 11 and 12. The sound creates the illusion that both coins have landed in the hand. In Ill. 13, the right hand has moved back to again cover the coin(s) with the scarf.
64 (This method of taking the two coins out, showing them, and then executing the Click pass in order to set up for the next penetration is the exact method I used for years. However, in Volume 1, Issue 3 of The Magical Arts Journal, Dave Berry printed different methods for setting up the penetrations of both the first coin as well as the second coin. One reason for looking into Dave’s handling, is that you don’t need to take the coins out and show them between penetrations. By comparing Dave’s handling with my own, you might end up with your unique combination of ideas.)
Once the right hand has covered the coin in the left hand, you will need to reload the hidden coin behind the one really in the scarf. To cover this, the left hand will hold onto it’s coin(s) as it turns palm down, while the right hand helps to smooth out the scarf. As Ill. 14 and 15 show, during these actions the left thumb steals the coin clipped conveniently between the right fingers. The right hand then smoothly strokes down the silk.
As the left hand places the two coins onto the right palm, the coin which is closest to the body is outside the silk. As they are set down, an extra fold of cloth is bent back to cover this coin. This is not a big deal, and usu- ally happens automatically as the coins and scarf are placed in the hand. Ill. 15 will give you an idea of what I mean. With this fold of cloth covering the coin actually outside the scarf, you can now display the coins on all sides again as in Ill. 6 and 7.
“It doesn’t mailer which coin comes out next. Which coin would you prefer to pass through the scarf - the one on top, or the one on the bottom?” The wording here is an attempt to stick to our ‘progressive routining.’ Here, they seem to choose which coin penetrates next. Of course, since only one coin is actually outside the scarf, you will need to partially bluff your way through this. I try to have the person answer which coin they want while I am in the process of flipping the coins over and over, apparently to show they are actually inside the scarf. What I’m really trying to do is place the coin actually outside the scarf into the position named by the spectator. A casual attitude will make the handling seem unimportant.
Hold the right hand out flat, showing the two coins, and slightly shake the hand up and down. During this ac- tion, the second coin will appear to melt straight through the silk.
The last coin is removed from the silk as the scarf is shaken out, apparently to more carefully center the silk over the left hand. It’s important that you say something to justify these transition periods between each penetra- tion. 65 I’ll explain two different procedures for setting up (or the final penetration. For the first method, the scarf is draped over the left hand, with the center of the scarf covering the palm. In Ill. 16, the left hand seems to take the coin from the right hand through the scarf. The coin is held between the thumb, first, and second fingers of the right hand, and as the left hand comes over to take the coin, the right thumb moves out of the way. This al- lows the coin to pivot over the middle finger and down into the right hand. The left hand closes as if it contains the coin (Ill. 17), and then shakes the scarf off the arm to cover the coin.
You’ll now need to reload the coin from the right hand back into the left hand. Ill. 18 shows how this is covered by the right hand seeming to smooth out the scarf. The left hand simply pinches the coin behind the two layers of the draped over scarf.
66 The second method for setting up the final coin uses the classic coin through handkerchief move. Here, the coin is really inside the silk to begin with. You are holding the coin itself at the tips of the right fingers, with the cen- ter of the scarf draped over the coin. The right hand, of course, is also covered, with the scarf falling back over the right arm as well as draped over the front of the hand. However, the right thumb also catches a pinch of the cloth between itself and the coin. This makes sure that when the coin comes free of the scarf, a double layer of the scarf will remain draped over the back of the coin, as well as in front of the coin. This double layer of cloth will form the ledge the coin will rest on after the unwinding of the scarf.
You begin by lifting back the layer of cloth falling in front of the coin to show the coin still there, but when you recover the coin you actually pull down both layers of cloth. If you have pinched a piece of the cloth between the pad of the thumb and the back side of the coin, the coin will now be free of the scarf, while seeming to still be inside. This classic move is made even more effective with the transparent nature of the material.
“But now things are different You know what is going to happen, and you know where it is going to happen. So this time, I’m going to be as fair as possible. This time I will completely surround that coin with the scarf. I’ll make it absolutely impossible for anything to come near the edges of the scarf.”
One of the hardest things to do was to work out a good ending for this routine. Considering the two previous penetrations, the spectators are fairly convinced that you can cause the coins to come out if you really want them to. Just to repeat these actions for the last coin would not exactly be a smash ending, so 1 thought a great deal about how to make it seem special. I decided that a well-staged “failure” at this point would increase inter- est and at the same time allow the viewers to convince themselves that the coin really is trapped inside the silk. Follow me carefully now...
In Ill. 19, you’ll see that the right hand takes the coin by it’s bottom edge from in front of the silk, and shakes the scarf out. Holding the coin and silk this way puts a double layer of material both in front of the coin as well as in back of the coin. The double layer in back of the coin extends an extra half inch below the coin. This will be the portion of scarf that will form a ledge for the coin to rest on in a moment.
The left hand grabs the silk just below the coin held by the right hand. The left thumb is pressing just below the back side of the coin, right on that extra half inch of material that extends below the coin. The left hand and thumb firmly holds the coin/scarf in this position as the right hand twists the coin around. By not changing this grip on the scarf, you will insure that when the scarf unwinds, the opening to the coin will still face towards yourself. This will be important later.
The right hand now begins to wrap the coin inside the silk as seen in Ill. 20. If the wrapping is done very tightly, and if the left thumb is in the right place as it starts, the coin will appear to be wrapped in the very center of the scarf. The left hand just rides down the scarf as this wrapping is done, never changing its grip on the silk. Allow the spectators to see the coin on all sides as it is being wrapped in the scarf, because it surely looks like it is inside!
“This time all I do is snap my fingers. That’s all I do, just snap my fingers.”
Continue wrapping the scarf until about six inches are tightly wound up. After an appropriate pause, the right hand releases the coin and the silk rapidly unwinds. As the scarf is unwinding, the right hand dramatically snaps it’s fingers at the moment the scarf unwinds. Due to that extra fold of cloth put around the coin in Ill. 19, the coin will not fall from the silk. The illusion that the coin is still in the center of the freely- hanging silk is per- fect. Actually, the coin is resting on a ledge of nylon that was creased into the scarf during the twisting process.
67 Also, since you never changed the grip of the left hand on the scarf during the wrapping of the coin, the open edge of the scarf - revealing that the coin is not actually in the center but just resting on a ledge of material - will be facing you and not the audience. Pause a beat for the apparent failure to register.
“Well, I didn’t say anything would happen. I just said that I would snap my fingers! Tell me, are you right handed? Good, hold out your right hand. This time I will place everything into your hands.” (Now address- ing the other viewers.) “The coin is in the center of the scarf inside her closed hand. All I need to do is make a magic pass. You hold onto the coin - I will pull the scarf -as it passes straight through the coin leaving it still inside your hand!”
Ill. 21 shows the right hand taking the coin to place it into the spectator’s palm-up hand. As you do this, be sure that no extra folds of material are around the coin which might interfere with the silk’s passage across the coin. Place the coin and silk into her hand with the coin going against the palm and the silk covering it from above. She closes her hand around the coin/silk. You make your pass and then pull the scarf through her hand, leaving the coin behind.
Of course, it is possible that the spectator might feel the coin against her palm, but this has only been an issue for me twice during a performance. What about the rest of the performances? Did they know what was going on, but were too nice to say something? That’s hard to say without being able to read minds, so it becomes a judgment call.
I generally let the size of the audience decide for me. If I am doing this for more than a half dozen people, I will always use the spectators hand for the last coin. I feel they are less likely to comment aloud in a group, so even if they suspect something, they probably won’t say anything. Since they won’t say anything, the audience is convinced everything is as it seems to be.
If, on the other hand, I am performing for just one or two couples, I won’t take the chance of putting the coin into the spectators hand. If they detected something, they would either speak up right then, or they surely would as soon as I left. In these cases I’ll place the draped coin into my own hand, and as dramatically as possible, execute the final penetration.
68 BRAVO...
To those men who make every performance a Command Performance!
Michael Skinner This international star is a veteran in the field of magic, yet he is in a constant state of progression and develop- ment. Michael is a true lover and student of the Art, offering an excellent example in the professional attention he shows to each individual he performs for. So talented and studied is Michael that he can break many standard performing rules, only to strengthen the effect as a result. His continuing habit of research and development has resulted in an incredible repertoire of some of the strongest, and most puzzling effects in the world of magic.
Paul Gertner A crisp, polished professional, combining skill with careful planning and hard work to become great. Not only is Paul technically superlative, but he has a certain rhythm in his performance that gives great appeal to his magic. Effective organization and a sound business sense have resulted in Paul’s being booked sometimes years in advance. His high standard for material he performs has earned this young performer respect for mare than a decade. Paul’s powerful effects often make major strides because of either the concept or the high level of tech- nical requirements necessary for execution.
Richard Kaufman Richard is a self-styled, bold, trend setter. Shrewdly realizing that the best way to profit greatly is to give value for value in his book business, he regularly delivers the magic of the superstars, graced with his legendary il- lustrations, to an eager group of dedicated lovers of the Art. Few can make the claim that they have single-hand- edly changed for the better the look of the literature in their industry. This BRAVO is not only for the clarity of his ‘Pictures that move’ but also for the large volume of high-quality material that he has made available to the serious student.
Daryl One of the most inimitable, charismatic performers of our time. Talent so ingrained, and sleights so second nature to him, that his magnetic personality provides incredibly successful misdirection for his magic. Such enthusiasm, combined with carefully selected, powerful effects, provides knowledgeable magicians as well as laymen a rare glimpse at a deceptive, delightful, portable Disneyland. BRAVO to the perfect blend of powerful technique and a complete grasp of how to please an audience. These things, combined with a bubbling, conta- gious personality, make this Artist an international favorite.
69 When I was putting together magic’s first Cultural Exchange with Russia, there was no question in my mind what source I would use for material. People have told me that ENCORE 3 contains more practical, powerful performance material than any other book of it’s kind.
Reputations have been made from the material in this book, and over a dozen of the items have been used on national television, not only in the United States, but also in Russia, Japan, Canada, Australia, England, France, and Norway. When I put the card on the Kremlin ceiling, Russia became the twenty-fifth country to carry a trademark from the method in this book.
No matter what your current position is in magic, you will find material here you can use with amazing results. When it first came out it was hailed as the book of the decade, and the years prior to this revision have been filled with feedback echoing that claim.
If you own one of the sought after original editions of ENCORE 3, you’ll find this revision enlightening. If you are experiencing these ideas for the first time, prepare yourself for a feast of fun and magic!
When I wrote this book, I was disappointed in my library. I was tired of having books with only one good idea in them. Look closely at the Table of Contents - and you see that virtually every item is strong enough to be that special routine you’ve been looking for...
Ammar’s Flash Coins Mike Gallo’s Magical Change
Coins Through Silk Two Dollar’s to Four Halves Yeast Card Hirose’s Action Change Card On Ceiling Klause’s The Name Is The Same Beenie Weenie Bill Switch (With 4 professional presentations) Two Dollar Bill Tear Sponge Ball Up The Sleeve With Repeat! Bennett’s Absent Minded Miracle Lefler’s Cards Into Case Silver Sponge Levine’s All American Reverse Matrix Lou Gallo’s Gallo Pitch with Professional Applications Miller’s Tie Tack
I’ve rewritten every routine, adding the latest thoughts and handlings. Also, we’ve typeset the text to match those beautiful Kaufman illustrations. This material is audience proven by professionals!
