talkmagic.co.uk

Hello!
Just would like to start my "mentalist" career.
I am looking for an easy but astonishing ESP card trick.

Which is the best one in your opinion?
Thank all in advance!

Any card trick, can be classed as an esp card trick.

broken down, Having a spectator look at, or freely chose one playing card, from 52,only for you to tell them what it is, is a very powerfull "esp" effect.

Assuming you are referring to the Zener deck of ESP symbols, there are so many effects out there I don't know where to start!

First of all, get yourself an ESP deck; I would recommend Beyond ESP 2 by Magicbox. Bicycle also have their own version, as does Piatnik. Royal Magic ESP cards are quite nice and inexpensive.

As for ESP effects, one of my personal favourites is Zennerism by David Britland. There are also several on the Submodalities DVD, which is well worth getting. There is a booklet called Magic with an ESP Deck by Sam Dalal, which is excellent. Looch describes his highly regarded ESP effect in his book, Simple and Direct Mentalism; the same effect also appears in his DVD, Your Thoughts are Mine! Doug Dyment also has a couple of books which include his fine work on ESP effects and stacks. There are also a few ESP effects in Mind, Myth and Magick by T. A. Waters.

I'm just brainstorming there, and no doubt there are many more sources for ESP effects. But those are the ones that spring to mind right now. Most of the material I've mentioned above has been reviewed, either here at TM, Magic Bunny or The Magic Cafe (not to mention other forums and websites). Do a little digging around and research; there is a world of ESP material out there, with plenty of reviews to be read.

To answer your question and get you started with the minimum of fuss, try David Britland's excellent Zennerism effect...

http://cardopolis.blogspot.com/search?q=zennerism

I'll agree with Replicant here. Get the Beyond ESP 2 deck and the Submodalities DVD (both from Magicbox). Between the book that comes with the deck, and the additional effects on the DVD, you're bound to find something that suits you exactly. A wide variety of styles and difficulty levels.

Robbie wrote:...Get the Beyond ESP 2 deck ....

+100

Check it here:
http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic6406.php

Though I do like the idea behind the Zenner pack "Beyond ESP" being discussed I will warn you, it requires a very good set of eyes to work. The subtlety around the design is probably the biggest draw-back over it's getting used more in that those in their latter 30s and up have growing difficulty in detecting the control.

I love the pack for its subtle and nearly hidden secret, but that's from a technician's perspective. As a performer I need something that more readily applicable given my poor eyesight and tendency to work in lighting that is not all that brilliant (rose colored room lighting is normal for me).

Just my two cents worth

Craig makes a good point; I personally don't have any trouble reading the BESP2 cards, but it is possibly the only weakness of the deck for others. (If I was a native American, my name would be Eagle Eye ).

A good alternative to BESP2 is the Royal Magic ESP deck; you still need good eyesight to read the marks, but it is easier and also takes less time to read than BESP2. Or you do what I did; get the Bicycle ESP deck and mark them yourself. Out of these three decks, my Bicycle one is probably the easiest and quickest to read, but I'm so used to my BESP2 deck that I use that most of the time. Besides, I don't think playing card backs are ideal for an ESP deck, but that's just me.

Even if you don't use the cards with Beyond ESP the routines included are all solid. I've also found the positioning of the markings on the cards has been an issue with a number of routines.

I would also recommend hidden in plain sight by Kirk Charles. It is designed for marked playing cards, but as most esp decks available to magicians are marked you would be able to use a lot of the routines and advice.

http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic25061.php

I have never owned a Beyond ESP deck, mainly because I don't like the look of the black-backed cards.

They receive rave reviews, so I'm sure that the markings are well hidden, but personally the black-with-white-border sets off alarm bells for me, I'm not sure why.

The Royal Cards I hate. The markings are fine, and the price is right, but the backs have this horrible star pattern - I can't imagine any professor of parapsychology, or other scientist using the cards, which (for me) blows any "realistic" angle. Your opinion may vary.

My favourite ESP cards are the Piatnik deck (I got mine from cards4magic) - you end up with 25 unmarked cards in five colours, two sets of 5 marked cards, 5 blank backs and a load of double facers. Very useful.

I generally carry the 10 marked cards in an envelope in my wallet so I'm set to do a simple one-ahead effect which is apparently similar to David Britland's - above.

I actually find it's pretty easy to get a basic psychological force going with ESP cards - it's only a one in five after all. I was running around a party last night up to the usual nefarious deeds and I was hitting the right symbol first time in about 50% of cases.

The other effect I think very highly of is in The Alchemical Tools by Paul Brook. It's an incredible book anyway, but the ESP card reading in there is pretty stunning.

I got my set of royal esp cards with "entertaining esp" by Patrick Page & Ken-de Courcy. While I do agree the cards backs are unsuitable for creating the right atmosphere the markings are very easy and can be seen in most varieties of spreads. The entertaining esp booklet was worth getting. If I remember rightly it was only about £8 for a good number of tricks plus the deck of cards.

Jobasha, if you like Entertaining ESP then you should get Sam Dalal's Magic with an ESP Deck; it is far superior, in my opinion. The effects are in a different class to EE.

I'm confused here Dominic in that my BESP Decks... one black and the other red... the idea of the solid back detouring from the idea (in the mind of the laity) that anything questionable is happening... as I said, there is a weakness to them for those of us suffering from AGE but the system, to my mind at least, seems rather sound and far less suspicious or corny than the original Zenner Cards that are ungaffed.

i like the beyond esp2 cards because of the plain backs...

but i agree with the piatnik comment - they are great, and superb value..plus, good enough for basil horwitz...good enough for me...

i would like some blank backed esp cards though, but im not going to pay a fiver for 5 of 'em...and i want something a little more durable than business card stock...so at the moment, im using those self-sealing laminated...

saying all this - took delivery of a very strange deck of esp cards today - 6 per set of designs (30 in total) like a mini-deck of playing card size...

interesting colours, includes a triangle (which is handy) and the backs have a wonderful 50s/60s design on the back..and they're marked..no instructions, and it did take me ten minutes to rumble the markings...

pricey - but worth it...from cards4magic - £13.50....

Cards4Magic have increased the price of their Vernet ESP Testing Deck from £20 to £25! Must be a mistake, surely?!

The "Protocols" serie either in a X-mentalism or Vampiric concept are my favorite ESP effects.
Alas, the serie is explained in French in Compendium Sortilégionis and are highly technical.
I also use only Beyond ESP 2 cards even if the serie can be done with any deck of ESP cards.