Help to understand/find a trick

Struggling with an effect? Any tips (without giving too much away!) you'd like to share?

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Help to understand/find a trick

Postby Liam57 » Sep 22nd, '16, 13:23



I recently watched Ben Hanlin at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and as very impressed. He done a trick where every seat had an envelope with 4 flyers in it (everybody had the same 4 flyers in the same order) he got everyone to rip them in half then put one half of a flyer in their pocket and then mix the rest up pass left pass right etc and eventually you were left with one half which then matched the half you had in your pocket?

Can anyone name this trick or even better explain to me how it is done?

Thanks

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Re: Help to understand/find a trick

Postby Mandrake » Sep 22nd, '16, 21:52

We can't tell you how it's done as such but if you follow the instructions using your own flyers, pictures or playing cards you'll see it should work every time.

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Re: Help to understand/find a trick

Postby bmat » Sep 23rd, '16, 20:10

To be honest it sounds like one of a thousand variations of a pretty standard effect. How long have you been involved in magic? I'm not about to go searching as I am not that interested in it. But there are most likely variations of the effect in Tarbel course in Magic as well as 13 steps to mentalism to name two. But you would have to read between the lines because the presentation is going to be different.

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Re: Help to understand/find a trick

Postby Mandrake » Sep 23rd, '16, 23:37

Luis de Matos presented a version of this, using pictures of famous magicians, on stage in London not too long ago and I believe someone else's version has caused a bit of controversy regarding copying. Penn and Teller also did a version using playing cards on Fool Us - YouTube has it in all it's glory!

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Re: Help to understand/find a trick

Postby Liam57 » Sep 24th, '16, 21:21

Thanks for the reply guys. And bmat i have only been involved in magic a few months, i have joined my local magic society and also going through books and lectures and videos online to improve my magic.

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Re: Help to understand/find a trick

Postby mr invisible » Sep 25th, '16, 16:21

Liam57 wrote:Thanks for the reply guys. And bmat i have only been involved in magic a few months, i have joined my local magic society and also going through books and lectures and videos online to improve my magic.
Joining a local magic society is the best thing for you.. I'm sure the trick you was asking about should be known by the senior magicians ?
Regards Garry. 8)

MEMBER OF THE SHEFFIELD CIRCLE OF MAGICIANS.
Is magic really real ??
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Re: Help to understand/find a trick

Postby Liam57 » Sep 25th, '16, 22:38

I've found the trick i was after in the book 'A Book In English' by Woody Aragon. Downloaded it in PDF format. Thanks for the advice to me it seems a good opening trick as it interacts with all the audience and if the patter is good then it should naturally be a crowd pleaser.

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Re: Help to understand/find a trick

Postby kevmundo » Sep 25th, '16, 22:39

Liam57 wrote:I recently watched Ben Hanlin at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and as very impressed. He done a trick where every seat had an envelope with 4 flyers in it (everybody had the same 4 flyers in the same order) he got everyone to rip them in half then put one half of a flyer in their pocket and then mix the rest up pass left pass right etc and eventually you were left with one half which then matched the half you had in your pocket?

Can anyone name this trick or even better explain to me how it is done?

Thanks


I would describe the effect as a "Chair test." Maybe other magi will disagree?? Chair tests are where 4, 5, 6 spectators are brought on stage, sit on a chair each, are handed envelopes with numbers, names, or whatever. They then swap seats, swap envelopes, swap everything and then in the end the performer can name everything correctly. The methods are as myriad as the presentation. The Chapters of Marc Spellman DVD has an absolutely baffling chair test on it which I thoroughly recommend. Andy Nyman also has a good one, albeit cheap and cheerful on his Get Nyman DVD. Chair tests are a staple of mentalism.

The more magic you learn, particularly of a mentalism variety, the more you will see the methods needed to complete chair tests. Once you now the methods, you're only limited by your imagination.

Hope this helps!!

Kevmundo the Great :D

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Re: Help to understand/find a trick

Postby Lady of Mystery » Sep 26th, '16, 12:55

Marc Spellman's chair test is great, so is Colin Mcleod's. I'd also really recomend having a hunt on YouTube for David Berglas' chair test if you really want to see how it should be done :). I'm not sure I'd use on as an opener though, they can be a little too drawn out in my opinion but great as a mid set routine or a closer.

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Re: Help to understand/find a trick

Postby kevmundo » Sep 26th, '16, 22:30

Lady of Mystery wrote:Marc Spellman's chair test is great, so is Colin Mcleod's. I'd also really recomend having a hunt on YouTube for David Berglas' chair test if you really want to see how it should be done :). I'm not sure I'd use on as an opener though, they can be a little too drawn out in my opinion but great as a mid set routine or a closer.



I looked up his chair test on your advice......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCBdhuLG2sw


I am now in a state of complete magical paralysis! That is THE greatest chair test I've ever seen. I can't even begin to think how it's done. Stooges? Some sympathetic camera work??? I'm now studying that routine until I work it out! To quote the Bard - you have murdered sleep!!!!

Kevmundo the not so great!

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Re: Help to understand/find a trick

Postby Lady of Mystery » Sep 27th, '16, 13:52

No stooges and the camera doesn't miss anything important. :) I love just about anything of David Berglas' but that routine is one of my favourites.

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Re: Help to understand/find a trick

Postby kevmundo » Sep 28th, '16, 17:06

Lady of Mystery wrote:No stooges and the camera doesn't miss anything important. :) I love just about anything of David Berglas' but that routine is one of my favourites.


I get how he gets the correct numbering, but the backs of the chairs is still a mystery. I'm thinking mxxxxxxe oxxxs but I can't see any moves. Maybe he was just lucky. It does happen every now and then. I'll need to spend a bit more time on it methinks!!

K :D

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Re: Help to understand/find a trick

Postby Lady of Mystery » Sep 29th, '16, 09:36

kevmundo wrote:Maybe he was just lucky. It does happen every now and then.


That reminds me of a chair test I did once, random people from the audience all picked an envelope and went to sat at a chair of their choice. I couldn't believe it as I watched them each choose exactly the chair that I needed them to with no funny business. Let me skip the shuffling about that usually happens and really ham up the routine. Afterwards I had a couple of magicians who were in the audience come up to me and ask to buy my method, according them it was the cleanest and most hands off method they'd ever seen. I just smiled and kept quiet. :)

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Re: Help to understand/find a trick

Postby isb » Oct 25th, '16, 13:55

Liam57 wrote:I've found the trick i was after in the book 'A Book In English' by Woody Aragon. Downloaded it in PDF format.


Liam
I didn't know you could get this on PDF - where did you find it?
Thanks
Ian

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Re: Help to understand/find a trick

Postby bmat » Oct 26th, '16, 17:41

Liam57 wrote:I've found the trick i was after in the book 'A Book In English' by Woody Aragon. Downloaded it in PDF format. Thanks for the advice to me it seems a good opening trick as it interacts with all the audience and if the patter is good then it should naturally be a crowd pleaser.



No trick is a crowd pleaser. And especially not a 'natural' crowd pleaser. Your presentation is the crowd pleaser, you are the crowd pleaser. Or not.

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