talkmagic.co.uk

We've all got one, some of us love it, some of us hate it. I use to dislike it myself but for some reason I started using it again the other night and I'm staring to like it again.
Now, for those of you who do the "here's an ID of cards.... shuffle it.... turn one over....yadda yadda" type of story to it... How do you go from having an "invisible" deck to having a visible one? I've never liked the idea of having someone shuffle the invisible one then just pull out a regular deck. Does anyone use some kind of deck production to make it seem like the deck has actually become visible?

my pitch is to put my ID out on the table. then to discuss how everything that happens from this moment foward is part of my "mind manipulation" experiment.

I then go through a... "work with me on this..." preamble that has the spec take an "ID" off the top of my ID. remove the cards from the box, throw in some humour about remembering where they put the box because it's hard to find...

ultimately the spec returns the "ID" on top of my ID deck, at which point I establish their selected card, all before i touch my ID.

my other routine is to declare i am going to perform an example of NLP.

babble as long as you feel necessary/comfortable with, drop a few "corny" hints and clues, then have your spec say their card, show it's the ONLY card reversed in your deck, hence a successful example of NLP.

return the "reversed card to your I.D. the "correct way around", put your I.D. deck back in it's box and in your pocket in readiness for the switch with your M.D.

allow the debate to simmer a little, how you did what you did with the I.D. ??? etc, inject a few red herrings including "perhaps it was the word's fastest sleight" etc.

OK, now remove your M.D. and suggest your specs watch a little closer this time. place your M.D. on a table and invite a spec to take a seat next to you, suggest they open the box and mix the cards themselves. at NO stage do YOU touch the cards... a fact you take great delight in reminding everyone of...

once they are satisfied the deck is sufficiently mixed, invite the spec to spread the cards out infront of both of you. ask them to "reach in" and "touch" a card, as they do, ask them to move that card forward, away from the others (toward you somewhat if possible).

ask them to gather the other cards and make a neat stack, then ask them to glimps their selected card (which you now know the identity of) and place it on top of the stack.

request your spec now sit up nice and straight... facing you, relax... get them to practice very deep and consistant breathing, be sure to remind everyone you still have never touched the cards... when you're ready, take your spec's hand and hold it in your hands.

next you declare... that unless in the unlikely event they selected the joker... their card will either be red or black. ask them to repeat... red/black/red/black and when your ready, smile and announce the answer. lets say it was red... next you say that since the card was "red"... it is either a heart or a diamond, have the spec repeat this again before you once again demonstrate your amazing "powers". then go high card/low card etc... be sure to look "deeply" into their eyes, maybe ask them to relax and go through the breathing again etc...

the rest is obvious.

i find this plays out extremely well with the I.D. and the M.D. complimenting eachother very well as different ways of achieving a similar "outcome". in the first case with the I.D you are "planting" thoughts in your spec's minds. in the second case with the M.D. you are now reading those thoughts.

i find this much more powerful than doing just one or the other... you can read minds AND influence them at will...

I can't remember the name, but there is something like an appearing deck of cards? where you show a blank card box template, "print" it, fold it into a box and there is a deck of cards magically inside. Saw it done by pete firman the other week, and have seen it on here, but can't for the life of me figure out what it's called. I think that would be a good way of introducing the deck though, nice and visual and an extra cheeky little bonus for the spec.

Personally, I use a brainwave deck (similar workings and effect to the ID if I am to understand correctly) I like to present it by asking a spec to think of a card, then pull out the disappearing card case, pull out the card inside, ask if it's theirs. When they inevitably say no (if they say yes.... trick done) I tell them that it is my magical box that will find their card by reading their minds, so I slide the deck in, give it a tap or a magical wave, then give a confused look as I flip the case over and it is empty, poking my finger through the hole apparently trying to find the deck whilst sealing into their minds that it is definitely gone. "that was weird" I'll say, "never mind" then I pull out my brainwave deck, ask what their card was, and hey presto, there it is flipped over in the deck.

As long as the brainwave is playing ball that night (it does seem to be a little temperemental) there's not a lot that can go wrong with this, and gets a nice strong reaction

Yup, Schwen - I also agree that Dave Regal's 'Sudden Deck 2' would be an ideal solution for our ball-balancing mate

i palm the deck and aske them to hand them me the ID as i say imagine it becoming real at the time they put it in my hand it looks real,

click on fay's website and click on media videos to see what im going on about

http://www.faypresto.com/

it does look good honestly

I've never liked the original handling. Remember that Dynamo/Wyclife Jean clip? I hated it! So I use different approaches depending on the situation:

"I woke up this morning and I wondered who I'd meet and what their card would be"

"You think of a card, I'll go outside and turn one over and we'll see if they match."

"That might have felt like a free choice, however did anyone spot the very subtle suggestions?"

Actually, it might be a good idea to put together a list of plausible ID patters for different situations.

If you want to go with handling Lawrence mentioned then maybe just a little flash paper and produce the deck ala David Stone (I'm pretty sure it's in Real Secrets of Magic somewhere).

The way I do it is after the spec looks at their "card", I take the invisble deck and then push it into the side of the real box. I tell them the box makes invisible things visible and then I open the box to reveal the ID. I then proceed to end the effect as usual.

I couldn't find a convincing way to make the deck look as if it had suddenly appeared without making it then look too suspicious.

My preferred routine with the ID is to use it with a second deck of an opposite colour, and use the magicians choice/force to ensure that the spec gets the normal deck. This gives the ID the appearance of being normal.

I never touch the normal deck and they can shuffle before cutting away the cards in half each time and handing me one half back. When they are left with about four or five they select one at random which is the one in the ID.

Always gets great reactions.

im not sue what the 'technical' term is, as iv never seen/heard of anyone else doing it, but what i basically do is an 'inside pocket, to armpit, to sleeve, to elbow, to flash paper production' thats what i call it in my head anyway. tis a great method, and its basically two 'wow's' in one.

I really always thought of the whole "invisible" thing as just a routine suggestion. I've always felt that the whole "magic" lies in you having PREDICTED what card they would choose. The whole shuffling of the ID just becomes a humourous way of them picking a card... you could say "think of a card", but with the ID handling it builds up suspense and makes the revelation that much more powerful.

So it's actually not about an ID becomeing visible... it's about you predicting something or having power over a deck of cards while still in the box or whatever.

...About the "suspense-building".... I find it hits so much harder that way because as you go through the invisible shuffling, etc, etc... everybody's thinking "Ok what the heck is going on here - what kind of a joke is this?" and their defences are lowered. and that's why it hits so much harder.

I put the pretend ID into my pocket that contains the actual ID, clap my hands together and say, oh look the deck appeared, acting as if this is truly magical. This usually gets a laugh!

kitaristi0 wrote:If you want to go with handling Lawrence mentioned then maybe just a little flash paper and produce the deck ala David Stone (I'm pretty sure it's in Real Secrets of Magic somewhere).

yeah, looked into this, it's the kind of thing I'm looking for. Now, to get me some flash paper!

I have to agree with azraelws6. When I was much younger I used to use the invisble routine with all the "no, take them out of the box then shuffle them" gags. But as I performed more I decided that this would be a knock out effect if you took the comedy out of it.
The reveal part lasts just a few seconds of my routine(s). There's one with load of alleged NLP, and another one where I utilise it as part of a one ahead routine.
I think the actual "invisble" deck has been gathering dust with some CUPS for a while.