talkmagic.co.uk

ok, my thread, my rules, or i shall hunt you down and cover you in salt...

no cussing, tantrums or name calling...
no peeing, pooing or gobbing...
no mention of criss angel/derren/blaine...
if you dont like it, dont comment, or start yer own thread...dont pee in my pool!

right then, I'm rather fond of the cup and balls, i own (and reviewed on here somewhere)
http://www.stevensmagic.com/shopping/sh ... sp?id=7628

thankfully, mine came in a red and black bag...dont like gold...anyway...

i like to weave a little story, mine's based on a zen buddhist thing, that there is only "the now", what's gone is gone, the ball represents the oneness of being, and how enlightment reveals everything, and yet nothing...

there's some tasty little books at cards4magic on the cup and balls, and chop cups, they even flog the balls alone...

other ideas i've thought about are (but not done):
using glass eyes, with a pair of specs as a final load
finger bones, slowly joining up into a complete finger
maybe boiled eggs? with maybe a final load of a raw egg, but tied in with that Hatchling effect as a double finish? the spec to handle the egg at the start, they feel the weight of the egg being boiled, then its cracked at end to reveal the coin?

EDIT: whats your experience of performing with them? what do you like/dislike about them?

Cups and balls is a classic magic effect ! Despite what some may think the cups and balls still fool people around the world when performed well.

i have a few sets of cups varying from cheap aluminium to copper to brass and have fooled people many times. final loads can be anything from fruit, balls, livestock and even sand/salt/hundreds&thousands the only limit is the performers imagination!

it can be presented as a gambling effect (ala 3 shells) a serious magic effect or a comedy effect and can be performed anywhere theres a flat surface or in certain cases even a spectators hand. it can be done with polystyrene cups found in a cafe or hand spun cups made from expensive metals. Another point to note is that many of the false transfers/false takes etc were originated in this routine so without the humble cups and balls a lot of sleights wouldnt exist either.

the greats of magic have all had their own versions of the cups and balls... Dai Vernon..Michael Ammar...Tommy Wonder (his 2 cup routine is incredible) and many more besides.

The real test of a classic is how long its lasted for. in the case of the cups and balls its been thousands of years... how many gimmicked card/coin effects can say the same thing?

http://www.magicshop.co.uk/crazy-ball-b ... -2199.html

i agree mog...i remember a penn and teller show (the round the world one on sky travel) - where you can see heiroglyphics of someone performing the cup and balls...

my dad was in the royal navy in the 50s and 60s, he's got 8mm footage of some real gali gali men doing it too...

I love cups and balls, its not something I've gotten into myself as I have enough on my plate at the minute. But I love to watch routines of this nature.

Maybe down the line I'll get the time to have a go with them.

[quote="abraxus"]
other ideas i've thought about are (but not done):
using glass eyes, with a pair of specs as a final load
finger bones, slowly joining up into a complete finger
maybe boiled eggs? with maybe a final load of a raw egg, but tied in with that Hatchling effect as a double finish? the spec to handle the egg at the start, they feel the weight of the egg being boiled, then its cracked at end to reveal the coin?
quote]

If you do the effect with Hatching, i think that would be so cool! I regularly talk to Nefesh (the creator of hatching) and im sure that hed love to see it done

i remember a penn and teller show (the round the world one on sky travel) - where you can see heiroglyphics of someone performing the cup and balls...

Tread lightly here...The historians are split on exactly what those Hieroglyphs represent. It is suggested that it is also bread being baked and NOT cups and balls. To date, there is no definitive answer.

Personally, I like to believe that it is, in fact, a cup and ball presentation. I even use the fact that that is exactly what it is in my own cup and ball presentation when explaining just how venerable the trick really is. But don't fall prey to claiming the reality of what those Hieroglyphs represent, because we don't honestly know for sure...

Mike.

Unlike some other routines, cups and balls can be performed with very little patter when performed well. As Mog said, it's one of the all time classics and rightly so.

If you watch a skilled magician performing cups and balls then it's one of the few routines that will still entertain other magicians as well as the lay person. Almost every magician that performs cups and balls wants to watch anothers cups and balls routine, possible as a yardstick for their own routine.

I saw another Penn & Teller show a few years back where they did the cups and balls with rolled up tinfoil (alluminum foil for those in the US) and clear cups and despite them telling you EXACTLY what they were doing you still couldn't keep up. It was one of the most memorable magic routines that I've seen to date.

Was it this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPyvAtQYVok

ITS A POTATO!!!

That's the routine although it was on a different show.

Thanks for the link - can't stop watching it

No worries I knew the routine you were talking about as soon as I read tin foil

I saw a clip of Teller talking about an Egyptian magician performing the cup and balls, he was amazed, look it up on youtube its great

Teller was talking? That's a rare treat. Beautiful tenor voice he's got, though!

Hi,

didn't want to start a new thread but does anyone have any idea wher eyou can buy some mini footballs or basket balls as a load for this? instead of the usual crotchet balls?

Cheers

Mini footballs/soccer balls were available at Sainsbury's - they were in the party favours area last year.

the teller talking thing is on youtube some where.....he watches the guy doing cups n balls and plays the sucker. He basically is about to look amazed when all the balls are under the middle cup, even tho he thinks hes seen all the moves there is still a ball under each cup...all the lay people watching thought what a rubbish trick.....teller nearly falls off his seat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgtgOs_OkTU


and there it is....have a watch its great