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lapping.... how effective is it really, ive seen a few preview clips on ellusionist and spotted it immediatly, anyone out there use it? To me its just to obvious.

I always wonder how you get away with lapping? I watched Mr. Green performing his FISM act, but I don't know if he shows how to lap and get back the lapped cards on his dvds.

Its obvious when your looking for it but like all moves you misdirection should cover it. I use for a couple of effects but not cards.

well theres only really one way to get a lapped item back, an id imagine it would need ALOT of misdirection. tis a shame cos the effects ive seen it used on are nice, just would be better without that aspect.

I don't think it would be that hard! Say you're sitting at a card table having just lapped a signed selection. Lean over the edge of the table to do a ribbon spread to show that the card has vanished and at the same get the card into lateral or Tenkai palm. Then when it's accepted that the card has gone turnover the ribbon spread and collect it into your other hand where you add the palmed card to the rest of the pack.

That's just one idea, I'm sure there are many more. Remember it's not an unnatural move to leave your hand on your lap!

Kati

the problem i think is that usually when doing tricks both hands are in view, its not unnatural to leave your hand on your lap no - but its not something youd normally do in a routine and if someone notices your hand going down itl raise suspicions. maybe if you do something that gives reason to take your hand down - adjusting your chair for example, bit more bold but at least theres a reason for it to happen.

Lapping is predominantly a ditch method.

But it's MORE than easy to retrieve lapped items. A natural gesture, such as folding your arms and leaning on the edge of the table, for instance.

Or use a Vernon 'large action covering a small' and whist making a big gesture forward with you left hand, retrieve with the lapped hand!

Lapping is VERY effective. And I would imagine that you've witnessed magic using lapping tons of times and never even known.

For loading, reverse-lapping is great. Going back to Lennart Green, he produces shoes, bottles, glasses of liquid etc. from a lapped position. It's all about how it is incorporated into your PERFORMANCE.

Performance, misdirection, and command of audience attention is pretty vital.

down2infinity wrote:lapping.... how effective is it really, ive seen a few preview clips on ellusionist and spotted it immediatly, anyone out there use it? To me its just to obvious.

Hi down2infinity,
Lapping works but you must have the right conditions. As a working pro I am rarely able to use it because it is not often that I can present magic sitting at a table with an audience watching. This however is often the case at magic clubs.
In order to achieve it satifactorily you need to study your whole body position. If you reach with an arm or a hand it will be spotted immediately but you can keep the hand still in relation to your body and move the body thus moving the hand as well. The effects must be timed and every detail taken into account. You must be aware of all angles and seat your audience or audience assistant in the correct position.
If you are serious about lapping then studying Slydini is an absolute must.
If you talk to any of the greats in magic you will discover that all their actions which appear to be impromptu or casual are usually the result practiced deliberate analysed decisions.
Study your own body language and adapt it accordingly. If you have ever seen Tamariz with his apparent mad performance study his thinking and you will find every move pre planned.

Has anyone here heard of Slydini?! The master of lapping. If you've ever gotten a chance to see him you simply can not tell when he laps. Get some of his books or tapes and you lapping technique will greatly improve

mgould wrote:Has anyone here heard of Slydini?! The master of lapping. If you've ever gotten a chance to see him you simply can not tell when he laps. Get some of his books or tapes and you lapping technique will greatly improve

Hi Mike,
I gave a brief review of "As I Recall" a Slydini double DVD a few days ago but no one seems to have picked it up.

cool I might check it out sometime, thanks.

I've not used lapping for any card effects but it's a common move for cups and balls so the same principle will most probably apply.

It's very effective as Seige has said in his post and it's explained in basic detail, including some misdirection for it in Magic City's Library of Magic volume 3, Cups & Balls which you can pick up in places for as little as a couple of pounds.

Derren Brown does a superb example of a lapping in Devil's Picture Book - he refers to the 'arrangement' as an impromptu Topit.

Mandrake wrote:Derren Brown does a superb example of a lapping in Devil's Picture Book - he refers to the 'arrangement' as an impromptu Topit.

Yes, this is true. He does some fantastic lapping in his 3 card routine, as a method for vanishing the deck. However, he later demostrates what is effectively lapping - but without a table!

Someone recently suggested to me the following.

When he'd vanished something, 9 times out of 10 someone in the audience would (jokingly) say something about it going up his sleeve. He'd lean forward, allowing them to examine one sleeve, then as they were examining the other sleeve, he could recover the item with the hand that had already been looked at.

The fact that they think the effect is over at that stage, and are examining stuff acts as misdirection to cover the retrieval.

I haven't tried this but it seemed to work well for this guy.

Obviously you don't necessarily want to encourage people to keep examining your sleeves...