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So the holidays times is over, and as with the holidays season I found myself with some extra cash to spend on my addiction (gift money from the family, and some money from my first paid mentalism gig!).
So I was thinking on getting myself a nice book or DVD with some good mentalism material, but I have no idea what to go for.

I will give you some directions of what I'm looking for:
1)Not material that is based on suggestion, advanced cold reading and the likes. Right now I'm more into surefire things that relay more on magic skills and slights.
2)things that can play big (for stages) or things that can be converted into stage routines.
3)little to no card based material
4)Original and visual material. (Not only things that revolve around boards, pads and envelopes).
5)I like effects that are maybe a bit on the bizarre side and can freak a person out (not in a gross way, but in an "OMG how did you do that" way), but not séance like effects please.


Also, I'm looking for a nail writer/boon swami gimmick that can be used with carbon paper (like an inkless ball tip writer), I only found regular writers on online magic shops.

Hope you can help.

Well, one suggestion I have would be Allen Zingg's 'Master Billet Course'. I've only watched the first 2 volumes but they have some good information in them. Billet work is often feared but can deliver a strong impact if done correctly.

I think I have had more people honestly fear me using the Zen Billet Peek (Peek Encores, Richard Busch) and Banachek's "Brain Game" (I believe is mentioned in Wonder Words) together. (It was wrapped around the ideology found in The Destiny Response.)

If you don't have any of the Peek series by RB, it is a must as well. Also The Destiny Response is very good too.

I don't know if that helps. But I hope it does!

Naturally Corinda's 13 Steps should be your first choice. Pretty much follow what Craig Browning has said numerous times (there's a sticky on the forums for becoming a mentalist).

I also highly recommend the following:

SAD (Simple and Direct) - Looch - This is one of my favorite purchases of all time. The stuff in here is exactly what the title implies. Aside from one effect that requires a rather expensive investment, every effect is immediately workable.

Osterlind - Easy to Master Mental Miracles DVD's, as well as his Mind Mysteries DVD set.

Banachek's Psi Series - I recently purchased these and have found MANY wonderful effects on here.

It should be noted (mostly to avoid a verbal thrashing from Mr. Browning) that these DVD's center more around mental magic than mentalism - but if you're still early in your studies, I think they're a great place to start. However, if you don't have Corinda - you should definitely pick it up.

Also - Anemmann's Practical Mental Magic is a wonderful start.

Personally, I wouldn't completely disregard card-based effects. However, I can see reasons for wanting to move away from them. There are quite a few that center on cards which can be stretched into a wonderful routine in and of itself. PM me if you're interested.

Excellent recommendations from Demitri there... in the words of Krusty the Klown, "I heartily endorse the above mentioned product and/or service"!

Osterlind is great, because he's fairly no nonsense. He amazes people, but the methods are quite simple and he has no qualms about just barebones deception!
There is another point I'd like to make too; I'm inviting the wrath of Mr. Browning here, I know it, but I'm going to say it anyway for variation of opinion...! It's at the forefront of my mind because we were discussing it at the magic shop sessions i go to when I can.

If you read some of the more theoretical books on mentalism, Knepper, Banachek, Docc Hillford - they all have great ideas and some great effects. But they bang on and on about suggestion, Derren and his NLP, all this sort of thing, flashing your hands in funny ways to give "mental impressions". Yet if you see them perform, they mostly just "do" the effect! Yes, they perform it incredibly well, but at the end of the day if you watched the Derren performance the other night, the methods he used were surefire and almost mechanical in workings. He threw in a few bits during the performance so he could refer back to them for his pseudo-explanation, but it was deception, cold and simple. And yet because - hey - "it's Derren", experienced magi and mentalists who should know better are making asses of themselves, asking how he did an effect that you can buy at an average magic shop for £15, because they too believe that it's all NLP-type stuff. But in the words of one magician the other morning, "you're performing in front of a paying audience of thousands... you're NOT going to leave things to "suggestion"!"

Now, I'm not saying don't read the books, or don't take their advice on presentation or bits of suggestion here and there. My point is that if you read some of the books that are "all the rage" and supposedly highly regarded in the field of mentalism, you'd be forgiven for thinking that "the big guys" go out on stage with nothing up their sleeve other than a knowledge of NLP, and the audience are putty in their hands. Not so. Many of them use classic effects that you can go right out and buy - it's absolutely great that they work it and milk it and use it to amaze the audience, but still - it's billet switches, gimmicked blindfolds, force bags. Don't be discouraged and made to feel that because you can't psychologically force a card on someone 9/10, that you're a poor mentalist. Using very cunning but still quite simple methods as detailed in Corinda and presented properly, I believe you can put on a show every bit as effective as one riddled with funny phrases and wavy hands.
Which is why I like and would highly recommend Osterlind's material. Great presentation, great effects, zero BS!

Now it's time to run and hide

Marc Spelman has a great routine for a stage effect on one of his dvds, but unfortunatley i dont know the name of the effect. The effect involves four numbers, four envelopes, four chairs and four spectators and they all come up and swap numbers and envelopes as much as they want and when there all open all the envelopes match the numbers and all the numbers match all the chairs which are numbered as well but the spectators dont know about the numbers on the chair until the end. I havent got this but ive seen it performed twice so i dont know what the rest of the dvds are like but im sure someone else will come along and give you some more information about these if you want it. Hope this helps.

iummydd wrote:So the holidays times is over, and as with the holidays season I found myself with some extra cash to spend on my addiction (gift money from the family, and some money from my first paid mentalism gig!).
So I was thinking on getting myself a nice book or DVD with some good mentalism material, but I have no idea what to go for.

I will give you some directions of what I'm looking for:
1)Not material that is based on suggestion, advanced cold reading and the likes. Right now I'm more into surefire things that relay more on magic skills and slights.
2)things that can play big (for stages) or things that can be converted into stage routines.
3)little to no card based material
4)Original and visual material. (Not only things that revolve around boards, pads and envelopes).
5)I like effects that are maybe a bit on the bizarre side and can freak a person out (not in a gross way, but in an "OMG how did you do that" way), but not séance like effects please.

Also, I'm looking for a nail writer/boon swami gimmick that can be used with carbon paper (like an inkless ball tip writer), I only found regular writers on online magic shops.

Hope you can help.

Ok, brace yourself for a small blast first... it's not entirely directed to you but more at the situation.

What is your experience level when it comes to working in pure Mentalism? Are you just someone that dabbles because it's the current cool thing to do or are you a serious "Mentalism only" kind of guy?

How versed are you in the foundation materials associated with Mentalism and/or Bizarre Magick?

When we ask for suggestions we frequently forget that most of the people reading our post know little to nothing about us and sadly, most folks don't fill out their profiles let alone telling US about who they are in their introductions e.g. it makes it very difficult for someone that wants to help YOU get your hands on the kind of material you are probably ready for.

I know this sounds like a "control" thing, but it is one of the great advantages of the yesteryear brick & mortar world of magic and how the student "earned" his/her way into the newer knowledge and were, for lack of a better term, guided and "molded" by the older, more seasoned "pros".


Now as to your actual questions...

1)Not material that is based on suggestion, advanced cold reading and the likes. Right now I'm more into surefire things that relay more on magic skills and slights.

Then why are you asking about Mentalism?

A "Mentalist" depends greatly on the psychological tools of this craft in order to pull off his work i.e. psychological suggestions, forces, anagrams as well as communication techniques such as you will find in the works of Kenton Knepper and others.

When it comes to the "Cold Reading" issue... well, if you've read Ian Rowland and/or Brad Henderson's books you have seen what most would call "Advanced" Cold Reading... I see both as part of one's second or third year study but most certain NEVER part of a first year look... far too much misinformation or "misconstrewn" information in both texts and without direct experience, you wouldn't catch it.

MAGICIANS do tricks that work each and every time. If you want to do Mentalism you must learn how to embrace the idea of risk and possible failure... there's actually a thread or two around here that covers this issue and when it comes to being seen and believed by your audience, the occasional miss or near hit is far more effective than being 100% on the mark every time. You may find value in a bit contributed to Banachek's new PS2 book by Gregg Arce entitled "The Six Degrees of Separation with a Swami"


2)things that can play big (for stages) or things that can be converted into stage routines.

When it comes to Mentalism it is YOU that must learn the stage management skills for being alone on a huge stage and psychologically making it feel as if you are filling the entire arena. This ability comes with experience and study of other successful performers who do this very thing consistently for decades at a time... study live concert footage of stand up comics or, when it comes to Mentalism, people like Kreskin, Karges and Banachek... they all create the feel that they've taken over the whole stage when in truth they work mainly one small ten by ten area for the most part.


3)little to no card based material

Applause, Applause!

Too many people do card tricks and think themselves a "Mentalist"

I have about three bits I do with a physical deck of cards and I only do them occasionally. Plus, I have about three or four bits that I do using an Imaginary deck... THAT'S IT!

The reasoning is very simple; 99% of the people that see you using a deck of playing cards will refer to what you do as being a "Card Trick" vs. a demonstration in PSI ability. Magicians hate hearing this, but anyone that opens their ears post show will hear the audience making such observations... not complaint, just judgments on the fact that "the card trick thing was rather disappointing..." simply because they want to believe you are real.


4)Original and visual material. (Not only things that revolve around boards, pads and envelopes).

Ok... firstly, if you want "original" anything, you better have some serious dollars to go with your dreams... I've seen three sheets of paper, handwritten, with instructions on a non-commercial book test sell for several thousand dollars... this is how you get "Original" material that is different from what everyone else is doing UNLESS you develop that material yourself (which is the preferred way of doing it).

As one that does a fairly large stage show at times I can tell you up front that it is rare that I have more than an artist's easel on stage to hold my Movie Poster deal (see UNDERGROUND COLLECTIVE -- Sensory Projection) about the only other thing I have are a few envelopes in my pocket, some golf pencils, and about a dozen billets Plus, two writing pads and a couple of Sharpie markers... that's about it!

Fact of the matter is, the more "Props" you have, the more you look like a magician and the less money people are willing to pay you... especially if you are B.S.ing them in the idea that you are "Psychic" or "Special" even when they can see your devices.

Books, Clipboards, Slips of Paper/Business Cards, Pens/Pencils, Writing & Drawing Pads... all of these items are the standard tools of the Mentalist. When you start stepping beyond these parameters you begin creating greater difficulties for yourself when it comes to "selling" the idea that what you are doing may be real.

I featured Ted Lesley's Bending Wine Glass in my show for about two years but as more and more others started doing it, I started hearing something from my audiences I didn't want to hear... how they "love that trick with the glass..." You see, in Mentalism you never want them to accuse you of doing "tricks" So you keep it simple and you keep it as clean as you possibly can.


5)I like effects that are maybe a bit on the bizarre side and can freak a person out (not in a gross way, but in an "OMG how did you do that" way), but not séance like effects please.

Ok... start with Rick Maue's BOOK OF HAUNTED MAGICK. His Demon Ring routine has been one of the greatest show stoppers I've ever employed... literally causing people to beg me to stop the show it frightens them so much. BUT, you're not me... you may not get those reactions in that any effect can accomplish this IF the performer has what it takes to sell it... it's not the trick or effect it is YOU!

The DragonSkull sight has a small plethora of free effect ideas and routines available to its members, you might also look into a mailing list known as The Shadow Network and look up all you can find on the late Gene Poinc, the works of Ed Solomon and Roni Shachnaey or even Docc Hilford's stuff... "Mephisto's Journey" has allowed me to soil more clean clothes worn by my spectators than I could count.


Also, I'm looking for a nail writer/boon swami gimmick that can be used with carbon paper (like an inkless ball tip writer), I only found regular writers on online magic shops.

You make them!

Get a banjo finger pick and glue a shaped piece of hard plastic to it and voila! That's what I've used for decades and it cost a whopping $3.00 vs. the $25.00+ you'll pay at a magic shop.


SUGGESTION: Read this thread carefully and meditate on what it says and what your objectives are. http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic11429.php