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Name- Psi Series vol.1 (of 4)- Mentalism for the casual performer part 1.

By-Steve 'Banachek' Shaw

From- You can buy it direct from Banachek here:www.magicinspirations.net
You can buy all 4 DVDs for $110
Or all 4 DVDs and the thought reading book for $140

Publisher-L&L

Out of 10-9

Effects and thoughts:

This 'n that- The performer shows four cards each one has a letter on it. The first one has a M, second I, third N and fourth D. The performer asks someone to name any of the letters. They do and are offered the chance to change their minds. Whatever they do the card is taken and held face down. The other cards on by one are turned over and each says 'That card' on the back. Their freely chosen card is turned over and says 'This card'.

This one is very quick and very very simple. No force or secret writing. It shall be one of two outcomes, but both outcomes are clean and practically the same. Very good opener.

Loraynes buck- A few dollar bills are borrowed and all are folded serial number inwards by the spectators. Any one is chosen and that is put into a envelope. The performer then has them sign the front of the envelope and it is mixed with three others (the signature is left facing upwards). The performer turns around and say they are to mix them when he says 'mix'. They do and without turning around he can tell them where it not is. This repeated until only their envelope is left on the table. The performer has found the envelope with out turning round. The spec then takes out the bill and looks at the serial number. The performer then names the serial number!

This one is fantastic. It just makes sense! Instead of taking a bill and then handing it back and then having them look at the serial number, you play a little mind game first. This relies purely on math and is very easy. The only 'move' in the effect is practically self working and goes back to Annemann. Their is a brilliant subtlety in this, that you would think spoils the math but it is quickly reversed. Wonderful effect.

Add a number- The performer shows a envelope and places it onto the table. He takes some index cards and ask people for a three digit number. He writes this down and does this three times (can be four etc.) The numbers are then added up by another spectator and the cards are shown to the people who wrote the numbers then the person who added them up and they both confirm that these are the numbers that they saw. The envelope is opened up by a spec and the number inside matched the total of the random numbers.

This is very simple, and the gaff can be made up in minutes. It is the basic working of the original add a number but the gimmicked index cards are what makes this original. Very easy and the subtlety Banachek puts into this eliantes any switches or 'dodgyness'.

ESP card opener- The performer shows a card which has all the ESP symobls on them. The performer asks the spec to think of any of the symobls and he tells them not only what symbol they are thinking of but also the one they nearly thought of. He then circles any of the symbols and shows the five esp cards he has in his hands. They see that they are all different and they can choose anyone. It does, of course, match the symbol the performer circled.

The first part is purely psychological and Banachek teaches you how to do this and many subtleties make this work. This will work and he also tells you what to do when it goes wrong! The second part could be done with a NW but Banachek uses a simple principle which is clearly taught.

PK writing- the performer asks someone to think of a word seven letters or less. They write it down and fold the piece of paper up. The performer takes the paper and writes the letter ABCD on the front. He asks them to put a lone through anyone of them. They do and the piece of paper is turned round and it matches the letter that they put a line through. The performer then takes the paper and rips it up and then hands it to the spec to carry on ripping it up. The performer takes out a notepad and gets some inspirations about what they wrote. He then lays a silk (piece of cloth etc.) on the table and puts the blank pad along with the oen into the center. He folds it up and the center of the cloth starts to rise! THe pen is writing! It is opened up and the word is scrawled on in ghostly writing. The pieces can be examined and nothing is misiing.

This is a lovely effect! very simple and some parts are very subtle and some are very bold and daring. The ABCD test is most interesting (for me). Banachek says he does this not only bacuse its impressive but also to get there minds of the billet and get them used to him touching it.

Loco logo- The performer shows a pack of cards. And on these cards are symbols of major companys (nike, you could have BBC symbol or cola etc.). The performer also shows a envelope and inside is a mini palying card. The envelope is re sealed and and a aduience member can call out any of the symbol. Lets say they call out 'Nike!'. Well the performer re-opens the envelope and tips out the mini card. It has the Nike symbol on it. They can name any of the companys, they dont choose one when it is face down they call ot any one.

This is so simple and I just laughed when I saw the method. This can be used with playing cards, esp cards and at the moment I am making the deck for Beer names. It doesn't have to be a mini playing card that are in the envelope, it can be folded paper or pieces of card etc.
The pack is gimmicked in a very clever and subtle way!

Picture dup- Someone draws a picture and the cards is placed face down onto a stack of the cards. The performer ask them to think of the picture and starts to describe it and can also describe what the spec is thinking of at that very second (as in 'You just thought of a animals face'). The performer eventually names what they drew.

This is not a drwing dup. You do not duplicate the drwaing, you describe it and eventually name it. It is very simple and it is the psychology that Banachek gives you that makes this effect.

Number dup- similair toabove except with a number. The performer holds his hand palm up and talks about how the lines can sometimes move. He asks if they can see them move and they say yes! He then says that the lines are starting to form a number and then names the number that they wrote down.

Very simple. You could combine this with Luke Jermays 'Twisted palm'. But id you want to do it the way Banachek does it, it is a lot easier.

Final comments- The DVD is wonderfully produced and the box is....umm.. nice! Banacheks performance is excellent and he truly does know what people are thinking. He has a lot of psychological subtleties in his work and knows what he is doing. The effects are easy and their is something for everyone here.

Another note, Scott Wells and Banacheks company (magicinspirations) is very helpful and Scott personaly replied to all my messages and keeped me informed of my order. Very fast delivery, highly recommended!

Great review, Steve, many thanks!

Ahhh. I was waiting for these to be reviewed, if you hadn't have done I would have (in time).

Excellent review Mind_Reader. This set of DVD's look like becoming as revered as the incredible Richard Osterlind Mind Mysteries set.

Great review...

The other 3 volumes are equally as awe-inspiring. Especially the Muscle Reading volume, which, in my opinion, is REAL mentalism.

As far as the Osterlind reference goes... personally, I'd favour the Osterlind stuff in terms of 'off the shelf' workability, but the Banachek stuff is far more inspirational for those of you who wish to explore mentalism's subtelties and building blocks.

I'm on my second run through of the Psi series... on Volume 2 now (more of the same as on vol. 1).

My only criticism thus far is, and this is just my opinion, is that Scott as a 'sidekick' and commentary becomes VERY VERY annoying after a while. It's almost like watching Blue Peter at times.

However, a great review. Personally, I'd not find fault enough NOT to give this volume 10 out of 10. It's well thought out, well structured, and well produced.

Love it!

I have to agree that this is an excellant set of DVDs. However, I don't think that you should just jump in and buy them as a 'first mentalism' purchase. Go for the Osterlind set or even Max Maven's Videomind series first, see how you get on with those and then progress up to these!!!

I really like these dvd's. The amount of information is going to keep me busy for a long time. I was origionally going to just buy the metal bending stuff, but I decided to just get the whole set - and it was a really good descision.

I disagree with saying that this is not a thing to buy if you are just starting mentalism. I had been interested in magic for years, and when I decided to move into mentalism, Psycokenetic Silverware and the PSI series were the first two things I bought on the subject and I think they are brilliant. The effects are produced using such easy and simple methods but have maximum effect. In my opinion this series is a must for any mentalist.

On one of the videos Banachek says something about his partner almost got him killed. I believe it was when he was talking about buried alive. Is the partner he's talking about Gerry.

I want to get volume 3 of this series. Because I am interested in muscle reading but i was wondering if it is a good buy for someone new in this area? Another thing is it hard to perform?

Never purchase these if you are new to mentalism. This is advanced stuff

I bought these DVD's a couple of weeks ago and I've watched them a few times already. Am really impressed with the effects and explanations on them.

I disagree with others saying don't buy them cause its too advanced etc I think its just because they have a lot of information on them that they don't want you to know about. The other DVD's in the series are worth buying - Volume 2 is a continuation of volume 1, volume 3 is mind reading and volume 4 is psychokinesis. Volume one starts you out with some nice simple mentalism effects and the other volumes builds on that until you can get up to bending spoons although the other effects like muscle reading need quite a bit of practise.

There is a lot of information on them so I suggest you watch them over and over again to fully ingest all the material. I agree with Seige about Scott Wells helping Banachek out with some of the effects he looks quite miserable and uninterested and bored.

I recommend these DVD's as other than the performance and explanations you get personal interviews and basically everything you need to get started in mentalism like what Scott Wells says at the beginning of volume one. This is basically a crash course in mentalism.

I have thought about this dvd's because from reading about them and hearing about them. They didn't sound what I thought they were going to be so I won't be getting them.

I am new to this forum and I have one quick question about the dvds. On a scale of 1-10 how hard is the PK writing to preform. This effect is what has got me interested into mentalism.

Wow! Very nice review, very extensive. The only thing that concerns me is the price. Is it really worth it?

Also, Moyz, you might want to introduce yourself properly before you post. Welcome to the forum though!

sorry about that, I am Moyz a new member from Canada and i was just wondering about the PK writing on this series.