talkmagic.co.uk

I have a favourite routine that climaxes with a spec's palm being read and their chosen card divined through the reading. This is a very powerful routine, and always floors the spec.

I recently thought up a way of improving the routine. Following the palm reading and the correct divination of the card, I would then have the spec look through the deck and find their card upside down in the deck. "Wow!" I thought. "This will turn a powerful routine into a mind-blowing one!" So at my next engagement I happily began my new improved routine. The spec smiled nicely but there was no blowing of the mind. "Oh well," I thought, "you can't please everyone." So I tried again with my next spec. Again there was happiness but no mind blowing reaction. I couldn't understand it. So with my next spec I reverted to the old routine. The spec was blown away. I couldn't understand what was going on. Then I realised.

The original routine had the palm reading, and through the palm reading the card was divined. To the spec the palm reading was genuine (which it is) and the card divination was achieved through psychic ability aided by the reading.

The new routine had the card then discovered upside down in the deck. A card being found upside down in the deck has to be a trick. With all the psychic ability in the world, you cannot turn a card upside down in a deck without it being a trick of some kind. Therefore, the whole routine was no more than a trick. No psychic ability, no authentic palm reading - just a trick. Therefore the spec could smile happily at the clever trick, but their world wasn't shaken by witnessing something inexplicable. Sometimes we're too clever for our own good.

The routine has now reverted back to its old ways. The specs are happy and I am too.

"Sometimes we're too clever for our own good. "

Very true...even as i was reading your post i was thinking...hmmm what about some kind of haunted deck instead...but even that would be over egging something more subtle...

we often forget subtle...

i've got a new little effect some keeps a card, we put it back in the deck, and its cut in two...we hold hands (aaahhhh) and i find it with my pendulum, each time wittling the two halves down, eliminating one, then cutting the kept half into two again, until we're down to just a few...then the spectator finds it herself...no bells and whistles on top...

just a strange human contact and an unusual object (not me, the pendulum)...

I remember someone's sig saying something like many a good trick has been ruined by improving it. Very true!

I remember someone saying (many, many times) that bringing cards into mentalism is tantamount to heresy. (Where is he these days?). I don't agree with that, but you do need to be careful about how you combine cards and mentalism.

K.I.S.S. A. T.I.T.
Keep It Simple, Stupid And Think It Through

Mandrake wrote:K.I.S.S. A. T.I.T.
Keep It Simple, Stupid And Think It Through

I'm guessing you've done that on many occasions.

On the topic of your trick, magicwand, I think the phrase "Too many cooks spoil the soup" is somewhat applicable here.

monker59 wrote:On the topic of your trick, magicwand, I think the phrase "Too many cooks spoil the soup" is somewhat applicable here.

Hmm, I'd say - to coin a phrase - "Apples an omelet don't make"

But yes, it is indeed a valuable lesson. Ortiz covers some of these kinds of opinions in his book 'Designing Miracles'. In this instance of course the revelation of the reversed card negates the revelation of the card itself.

Charles Calthrop wrote:I remember someone saying (many, many times) that bringing cards into mentalism is tantamount to heresy. (Where is he these days?). I don't agree with that, but you do need to be careful about how you combine cards and mentalism.

I never said any such thing... what I've said is that too many of us depend on playing cards way too much and believe 20 minutes of card tricks mixed with quasi-cold Reading is what Mentalism is all about. Paul's routine making my skin crawl... it not only insults mentalism it takes a healthy dump on my day job.

I'm sorry, but there are "right" and "wrongs" to it all and in the case of playing cards with mentalism I've always said MODERATION, not the complete abandon of them. I've also told people to think through what their goals are before tossing in the latest cool card trick just to be in with the "in crowd" @ E.

I use playing cards but in specific ways and where possible, without using a physical deck. The contention most cardaholics have is that "everyone recognizes them" e.g. you don't need the real thing in hand if that's the truth... figure out how to use what we assume people know without the masturbatory element and you'll be getting much closer to creating miracles over tricks and in so doing, sustaining the idea of being a Mind Master vs. a freak'n magician yanking the publics' chain with B.S. lines about why you're using the cards.

Cards = Trick as far as the public is concerned I've yet to see any performer not escape that truth of association. As a mentalist my job is not to do tricks, it's to deliver to my patrons a Psychic Encounter... it's theatrical and they know that, but it is "real" from before the time the show begins forward. My obligation is to leave them dumbfounded and uncertain and possibly leaning a bit closer to believing I'm genuine vs. the classic jerk magician that's riding the current trend-wave.

I'm not the first to say that most magicians are addicted to their card tricks, I'm not the first to point out that 99% of those calling themselves "Mentalists" are nowhere close to it (and barely come in as being "Magicians" -- my meaning being that few that learn about tricks really know what it means to be a "Magician" -- how to no longer do "tricks" and instead, create the miraculous >>check out this video and you'll see one how a simple Cup & Ball routine (no gaffed cups -- pure slight) turns into something truly entertaining and MORE than a trick -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xV30vPxEhZo <<)

Less is more, that's all I can say...

Here we go again...

Craig - if you believe that "20 minutes of card tricks followed by a quasi-cold reading" is what I'm all about, then you're sadly mistaken. I only do card tricks for 15 minutes, not 20.

Only joking.

Seriously, I do find the assumption that my palm reading would be "quasi-cold reading" somewhat insulting. Firstly, the reading is (IMHO) authentic and genuine. In itself it is often stronger than the card revelation that follows. Secondly, as someone who also works professionally as a reader I have no intention of "dumping" on anyone's day job. It's my day job too.

Anyway, let's not get into all this again. I've been away for a few months, and on my first day back I get "Craig-ed"! Feels like I've never been away!

Breaking away from you two comparing wand sizes that clip is brilliant and a superb example of truly entertaining magic.

themagicwand wrote:Here we go again...

Craig - if you believe that "20 minutes of card tricks followed by a quasi-cold reading" is what I'm all about, then you're sadly mistaken. I only do card tricks for 15 minutes, not 20.

Only joking.

Seriously, I do find the assumption that my palm reading would be "quasi-cold reading" somewhat insulting. Firstly, the reading is (IMHO) authentic and genuine. In itself it is often stronger than the card revelation that follows. Secondly, as someone who also works professionally as a reader I have no intention of "dumping" on anyone's day job. It's my day job too.

Anyway, let's not get into all this again. I've been away for a few months, and on my first day back I get "Craig-ed"! Feels like I've never been away!

Paul... I may have misread what you are doing and it is likewise a thing that must be seen for best understanding... I just hate the idea that you are doing a Palm Reading and apparently divining the identity of the card via said approach... though it may play well for parties and so forth, I've just seen too much "bad" versions of such things... you know I recognize the "exceptions to the rule" and though I may sound like I'm placing everyone under the same umbrella, that's really not so... but then we have a lot of folks that simply categorize anyone that does a Reading under certain headings and you know what I mean by that.

Presented well, the "ID" can be a wonderful example of mentalism. It can be pitched as NLP, or as "face reading", or as a deep understanding of the "kind of person" your spec is which influences their choice of card. many possibilities.

I like to use a M****d Deck for my "lie detector" routine. just a simple example of having the spec freely select a card without the need for a force, then narrow down the possibilities having them repeat "my card is red... my card is black" etc on the basis i can detect the lie and ultimately predict the card.

however, in respect to my use of the cards... it is a very secondary part of the effect. i sell it on the basis that i am just learning how to do this so it is easier if i confine the possibilities to "52 options"... eventually i will be able to tell you the "food, song, color, number your thinking of etc".

finally, I can imagine that as I become more skilled in this area, I will use cards for mentalism less. Right now (for me at least) they are a helpful tool to make up for my relative inexperience.

It is just my opinion, but whilst I get good reactions with an ACR... compared to "linking" then remembering 30 words freely selected by a group of specs, being able to recite them forwards, backwards, pick anyword and identify the word immediately before or after... now THAT just floors people.

sleight of hand is great but "sleight of mind" is fantastic.

Craig Browning wrote:I never said any such thing... what I've said is that too many of us depend on playing cards way too much

Apologies for getting that wrong, Craig.

funnily enough, last night in a bar, me and a mate were talking about tarot readings, i showed him my very basic cartomancy lay out and method...and i did him a small reading...

he's devoutly against tarot, yet after we were finished, he insisted on keeping my deck of cards and wanted to learn my system...

i dont do any CR, just a quick and easy system i stick to, and i never accept any "well, thats kinda true...", its discounted immediately...

but this fella, he's always going on about the spread now...yet is still very wary of tarot, but loved what i did cos it was a normal set of cards...

nowt as wierd as folk...