The Houdini Card Mystery

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The Houdini Card Mystery

Postby roman59 » Oct 6th, '03, 16:15



Effect

A freely selected-signed card is returned to the deck. The deck is placed in the card box. There are 2 half-inch holes drilled through the deck and card case.

Two rubber bands are placed around the card case around its width & also around its length.

The spectator threads a ribbon through the 1st hole holds onto the ends and the performer places a bolt through the hole in the middle of the deck. A nut is then tightened onto the bolt.

Spectator covers the performer's hands momentarily with a handkerchief and the performer brings out one card from underneath the handkerchief. It is the signed card.

Performer lifts the handkerchief to show that the bolt is still securing the card case and every card is still threaded onto the ribbon.

Another winner by Charles Gauci, the deck is freely shuffled by the spectator, any card can be selected & signed.

Instant reset, perfect for table hopping & close up.

The only thing you have to watch with this is not to mess up the orientation of the 2 holes drilled through the deck (it takes an age to put them back in order!)

Again it really plays big, has a nice patter line about Houdini escaping etc,
not a cheap effect but very commercial it can be purchased direct from its creator Charles Gauci.

Cheers
:P

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roman59
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Postby seige » Jul 6th, '04, 10:11

Roman... hows about a where/how much/rating etc. to keep the review in line with the other reviews??? ;)

Anyway, fab review... fab effect...

It plays EXACTLY as it is described...

1. A card is freely selected from a regular deck, which has two holes drilled right the way through it.

2. The card is signed.

3. The card is returned to the deck.

4. Without any palming or funny business, the deck is placed in it's box, which has holes corresponding to the holes in the deck.

5. The spectator passes an inspected ribbon through hole one—which passes through the box, through the entire deck, and out of the box.

6. A large heavy bolt, which is proven to be solid, is passed through hole two, and an inspected nut is threaded onto the bolt. It is tightened up by several turns.

7. In the blink of an eye, the deck is covered, and the magician retrieves the selected card! The bolt and ribbon are still through the whole deck!


The deck is REALLY drilled. The bolt REALLY goes through, so does the ribbon.

Oh, and the hanky is of no relevance... you can use a borrowed napkin, or anything. In fact, a nice twist is to let two speccys hold the ribbon as you lower the deck beneath the table for a split second.

The signed card REALLY DOES go back in the deck. And get this... the SOLID SHAFT of the bolt REALLY IS through the card.

My only gripe with this effect is the fact that to follow the 'signed' plot, which I consider to be essential to the effect, you destroy a card each time. Plus, mine came in a Tally Ho deck—however, I will be making a Bicycle version soon. Yes—it's easy... the deck is TOTALLY ungimmicked.

The reactions to this effect are great. It's a real treat to watch the spectator's faces as you reach in and remove the card. It really is a Houdini escape on a small scale.

Wonderful!

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Houdini Card Mystery

Postby roman59 » Jul 6th, '04, 10:19

I was a bit dubious about having the card signed at first!

I saw & met Charles Gauchi last year on his lecture tour & asked him the same question, his comment was that it makes the cards more individual & also the more signatures you have on the cards shows the specs that you perform a lot if you catch my drift!

Also I picked up an alternative handling for Eye To Eye pm me for more details if you like?

Cheers

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Postby Alan Jackson » Aug 13th, '04, 13:31

I saw Charles Gauci demonstrate this last year. It is very deceptive and comes with a very clever gimmick. Some of his other products are described here: http://www.charlesgauci.com/

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