talkmagic.co.uk

EMERGENCY CASH

Available from Alakazam for £14.99.
http://www.alakazam.co.uk

Difficulty: 2/5. Some basic hidden handling.

They say:

When the spectator's money VANISHES, use your... EMERGENCY CASH!
Effect

The spectator's SIGNED bill VANISHES before their eyes, only to REAPPEAR in an EXAMINED, SEALED nest of 5 envelopes that has been in PLAIN SIGHT the WHOLE TIME!

The spectator knows better than to trust a magician, but they loan you a bill anyway. You tell them not to worry, because if something goes wrong, you will replace their money with your EMERGENCY CASH! You hand them a small, SEALED envelope to look at and hold on to. They SIGN, fold and paperclip the bill, assuring the use of NO DUPLICATES. The envelope is waved over their bill, and the bill immediately VANISHES! The hands are shown empty and the envelope is shown to be UNPREPARED as it is opened, only to reveal another smaller envelope inside. This envelope also has another even smaller envelope within. A nest of FIVE envelopes are opened in this way until the smallest inner envelope is OPENED BY THE SPECTATOR.

And inside?

THE SPECTATOR'S SIGNED BILL!!!

A true MIRACLE!

Stunning! Easy! Self-Contained! Simple reset!

New Automatic Transfer Technology!

No palming! No pocket work! No fake appendages!

Can be done in your birthday suit, completely surrounded!

Comes complete with envelopes, detailed instructions, and everything else needed to perform this money miracle!

I say:
No doubt about it - Steve Shufton produces some quality stuff, you've only got to see his Floating Match to appreciate that. And this is a great effect, surprisingly easy to perform after a few practice sessions to get everything smooth.
Although most of us have learned to be wary of phrases like "Automatic Transfer Technology" (I mean, come on!) and I've yet to try it "in my birthday suit" - a mean form of misdirection I try to avoid - everything plays out as described above. The instructions are clear and concise.

Overall:
A very nice, cleverly designed trick to have sitting in your pocket and adapt to your own style. The reset is indeed simple, making this great for workers and hobbyists alike. This is good stuff - potentially a spec stunner in fact.
Mr Shufton's done it again.

8.5/10.

Good review mate ive been looking at this effect myself but im not sure about it but maybe ive been persuaded.

nice review. you make it sound so tempting it seems that i will have another dilemma of what tricks to get/..

Are you using the vanish as described in the instructions? I think it is a bit obvious to the specs that something has happened even though they probably don't know what. Maybe I just haven't got it smooth enough yet but wondered if you had any other ideas for the bill vanish or switch?

Hobbsy wrote:Are you using the vanish as described in the instructions? Maybe I just haven't got it smooth enough yet but wondered if you had any other ideas for the bill vanish or switch?

I am yeah. Just keeping it nice and casual, with a decent pause between the, er, doings and revealing the vanish.

Hobbsy wrote:I think it is a bit obvious to the specs that something has happened even though they probably don't know what.

Well, that sounds good to me!

Hi Folks,

I've had a lot of requests for a demo, so I finally put one out on my site.

Regards to my friends across the puddle!

-Steve

I bought this ages ago and it gets good reactions.

I must add that I do like effects by Shuftons - I have recently purchased Card Catcher (But not yet tried), Two Little Mistakes and Floating Match (Box version - but broke it after one day through my clumsiness) - all well made and very good effects.

One idea I'll offer is that you could use the effect for a prediction. The envelope is marked 'emergency cash', but you could try to make your own (once you've bought the original effect, of course), or maybe make a joke about them winning your emergency funds if you haven't got the answer right.

I bought this effect precisely because I thought it had potential for a prediction. I haven't used it yet, but there you go!

Damn, damn and double damn. I'm now using every fibre in my body to fight the temptation to get this and card catcher (well, got to capitalise on postage, haven't I?!)

It's this or the goldfish TT...

What's really annoying me is that I've got a good idea of how this works... and it's fairly diabolical... but I'm just struggling to fit the last few pieces together. How can it be shown so cleanly... it's driving me nuts...

You've really done well here Steve!

Part-Timer wrote:One idea I'll offer is that you could use the effect for a prediction. The envelope is marked 'emergency cash', but you could try to make your own (once you've bought the original effect, of course), or maybe make a joke about them winning your emergency funds if you haven't got the answer right.

I bought this effect precisely because I thought it had potential for a prediction. I haven't used it yet, but there you go!

I like this idea. Could a signed and lost card not be found by the magician, and as promised they get the emergency cash wherein the signed card is in the envelope?

I have come across a couple folks using Emergency Cash as part of a prediction effect. I created two other products, though, that might be better suited for this. One of them, the Card Catcher, can be put in a pay envelope, and the card to pay envelope idea can be accomplished with relative ease. (Great idea, by the way!). The other, 3D Paradox, can be presented as a more straight forward prediction effect, but the prediction turns out to be the signed card... (I recently created a little demo of this effect).

Thanks to all for your interest and brilliant ideas-

-Steve

Woo!
Now that someone has bought the wallet I was selling, I can finally afford this, along with card catcher, and they are winging their way to me as I type! I'm virtually soiling myself in anticipation
What really excites me about this - both the items infact - is that it feels like it's going to be how I want more magic effects to be...

- straightforward to handle, not "easy" necessarily but allowing you to put plenty of effort into practicing the presentation

- the right mix of using an ingenious prop/method without being too gimmicky

- good quality

- very reasonably priced indeed!

How many magic effects fail somewhere along that list?!

So, no pressure Steve...!

Shufton wrote:I have come across a couple folks using Emergency Cash as part of a prediction effect. I created two other products, though, that might be better suited for this. One of them, the Card Catcher, can be put in a pay envelope, and the card to pay envelope idea can be accomplished with relative ease.

I've recently bought a Card Catcher anyway. I liked the sound of it!

Well, can I say, everything said above is bang on. Emergency cash IS fantastic.

I performed it at a party for some very important guests (INVESTORS IN MY DESIGN BUSINESS!!!) and it pretty much sold them to the fact that magic isn't all about rabbits, doves and blokes with top-hats... in fact, as I recal, one comment was "You have got to be joking" to which I replied "Nope. That really did just happen".

The ONLY part I find tricky is the last bit... making it look convincing. But, saying that, there's been no complaints, and it really does leave jaws open.