by jdcarr » Jun 7th, '07, 13:49
Hello,
Sorry for resurrecting this already well-covered thread, but Strange Travellers is an effect I love and now have some experience performing. Recently I've been using it at the end of a poker routine, under the guise of explaining how I managed to get the best hands - i.e. having the spectator "will" any of the cards from your hand of ten into his. I find it's a nice kicker ending and dealing the twenty cards from the bottom of a deck you have been using and handling makes everything seem very fair.
Now, at risk of being shouted at loudly, here's the controversial bit...
I've ditched the "smaller" gimmick.
(Replaced it with another of the "larger" gimmicks. Hope that makes sense.)
There, I've said it. Now, I know, I know, it's a very clever and well-made addition. When I first got the trick I loved its elegance and simplicity. But now I find it unnecessary. First of all, I don't count MY ten cards anymore - I find it attracts attention to a part of the trick I don't want any attention on. I just count twenty cards off the deck, note they are all different, gather together "about half", count them as ten and hand them to the spec. Removing the small gimmick gives me confidence to simply spread out the cards without worry or awkwardness (I found the gimmick spaced too closely together anyway). After all, if you're not counting the cards, what's the point?
Secondly, one of the widely-accepted problems with this effect is performing for a group. There are, indeed, some visual discrepencies. How I combat this is to spread my cards fairly swiftly and ask the spec to look down and remember one (a la DB's "Smoke"). Then I have him concentrate intensely on that one card, imagining it's the one card he needs during a game of poker, or whatever. Finally, after much mental effort, I have him reveal what card he was focussing on. I then have all of the other spectators help him concentrate on that one card, saying it to themselves, seeing it in their minds... Point is, when I show my hand again, they are now only looking for the spec's thought-of card, and not another one they might casually have remembered themselves. The spec's card is gone and so attention shifts to HIS hand of cards.
I realise it's nice not to have the card named at all, but it's no less clean or impossible and, in my opinion, provides nice misdirection when performing for many sets of wandering eyes.
Cheers,
John