So, although I love compliments, I love knowing your thoughts too. You would be surprised at the MAJOR changes I’ve made based on a single email. Really…

Comments and Questions..  EMAIL ME  ( [email protected] )

PDF Version…  ROADSHOW 169

-I hope you guys are ready for some serious magic. If you don’t know how to perform a workable second deal, you will by this time next month, thanks to Paul Lelekis. Plus, Paul is going to teach you a very cool effect using your new second deal..

–Nate Ipock’s rendition of Henry Christ’s trick, ‘Stop When Ready’ will give you a very serviceable ACAAN you can perform impromptu.

–Eliyahu Wincelberg and I agreed to a series of articles on Proposing with Magic. This is the first of several really intriguing tricks to win her heart.. with magic.

–Paul Daniels will inform and entertain for a solid hour in a podcast hosted by Luis de Matos. You definitely don’t want to miss this!

–Jay Sankey will teach you the difference between being a professional and an amateur via a slick card trick. Plus.. I found a very good Ambitious Card Trick Variation Tutorial where a signed card rises to the top of a rubber band encased deck..

–Michael Boden will teach you a little bit of everything.. seriously. I’ve run across 50+ video tutorials from Michael you’ll love..

–Michael Ammar will teach you a special ‘sleeve aces’ trick

–FernandoP1 will teach you a very delightful sleight. Plus, a classic torn and restored thread routine.

–Teller will give you his thoughts on Revealing Magic

–Jim Canaday and myself will offer our opinions on a couple of commercial effects.

-Do You Know How to Convert an iPhone into a Hologram Projector? Watch this video and learn a really simple method.

-Plus, you’ll be privvy to a special offer , courtesy of Trickshop, that will keep you engrossed in magic for a solid month. And remember, aside from my special Trickshop offer, everything is au gratis.

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Remember.. you should always strive to be yourself… unless you can be Batman.. in which case you should strive to be Batman….   Carolyn (my wife) and others..

“Spectacular achievement is always preceded by unspectacular preparation.”
Robert H. Schuller

“Never cut a tree down in the wintertime. Never make a negative decision in the low time. Never make your most important decisions when you are in your worst moods. Wait. Be patient. The storm will pass. The spring will come..”  Robert H. Schuller
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THE STRIKE SECOND DEAL TUTORIAL – AN EFFECT & A VIDEO
Paul A. Lelekis

===>>> The Strike Second Deal Video:  https://youtu.be/p3N76EP2GTQ
(Please note, this is an UNLISTED video and intended only for our readers.)

The “second deal” has been rarely explored by card practitioners as having a viable use in magic routines.  This is too bad since I consider card mechanics and card sleights to be very close “cousins” of each other.

Many feel that it requires a profound amount of skill and years and years of actual use to make it practical – in fact, this is NOT the case.

I will explain how the Strike Second Deal has built-in misdirection, and also how you can add further misdirection to make this sleight almost undetectable.

Many, if not most magicians, can attain a level of mastery over the second deal that will provide many applications in card magic.  It doesn’t require years and years of mastery as many might think…if you are instructed properly.

I learned magic and card mechanics the hard way…through years and years of study from the old books and doing my best to apply them to the “real world”.

I have mentioned, in a number of my e-books, at Lybrary.com within my instructional INTRODUCTIONS, about how badly I performed when I was young, using myself as a “human guinea pig”, trying my best to learn the proper methods of performance.

The same holds true for card mechanic skills like the Strike Second Deal.  I DID learn from my mistakes and possibly created my own particular techniques which may not seem to be “main-stream” technique…but work very well for me.

The below instructions and effect will be explained from a right-hand point of view.  Since I am ambidextrous, I would learn new things like, card magic and working with tools on my dad’s job sites (he was a building contractor), with either hand, and finally settled on a right-hander’s perspective since all the old magic books assumed that one was right-handed.

To this day, I handle all construction tools (and tools when I worked in surgery) with either hand equally well.  If I had a problem hammering a nail in a corner (builders know what I’m talking about!), I would just switch hands…it is very convenient for me.

When I worked in surgery, I would sew or use a scalpel with either hand…the surgeons used to ask me if I was right-handed or left-handed – in this incidence, I didn’t have a preference…in surgery, the same “difficulties of “getting into certain cramped places” would apply as with home building.

*Please note that the accompanying video provides a view of what the Strike Second Deal looks like from the spectators’ perspectives and the various types of deals.

First, some instruction on the basics of the Strike Second Deal:

Allow me to begin by first saying, that the Strike Second Deal is a “knacky” thing that requires some guided practice…but when you “get the feel” of it, you can actually perform it without even thinking about it.  It is easier than you might think.

HOLDING THE DECK:

Begin by placing the deck in a low in dealer’s grip, so that the tip of your left thumb reaches very close to the outer right corner of the deck. (See video)

Everybody’s hands are different so you need to learn where the exact spot is, in your hand.  The left thumb should be very close to the outer short edge of the deck with your left thumb tip near the outer right corner of the deck.  The left index finger should straddle the outer short end.

Just a little bit of the outer edge of the deck will be visible from your perspective.  THIS is called Mechanic’s Grip.

I’ve seen videos from young “performers” (claiming to be experts) who don’t even know the difference between Dealer’s Grip and Mechanic’s Grip – to them, EVERY grip is Mechanic’s Grip…I suppose because it sounds “cool”.

Dealer’s Grip is the way you hold the deck in your left hand when you might deal a game of cards.  Mechanic’s Grip is very specific, and is ALMOST exclusively used when one performs a Strike Second Deal.  There are a couple of exceptions.

As the deal begins, your left thumb will push the top card over, to your right (just a little bit), and, just as your right thumb engages the deck, your left thumb will THEN in-jog (or angle-jog) the top card over to your right, just a tiny bit more.  Only practice will show you HOW MUCH to in-jog the top card.

NOTE: The amount of in-jog of the top card will decrease as you gain proficiency.

DEALING:

AT THIS POINT, you can perform a normal second deal, or you can “sail” the card, or you can perform a Stud Second Deal as you can see in my provided video.

The Stud Second Deal is actually the easiest deal to perform.  The included trick (below) uses the Stud Second Deal in a very effective manner!

NOTE: For those who are unsure what a Stud Deal is, it is dealing the “top card”, face up, onto the table.  The dealing of some cards, face-up, in certain games of poker, will reflect on the name of that game…i.e., Stud Poker.

When a Stud Second Deal is performed, you will naturally “wrist kill”, or “necktie” the deck, so that the TOP of deck is, momentarily, out of the spectators’ views.

Since the top of the deck is basically hidden for only a fraction of a second, your in-jog of the top card can become more pronounced, ensuring an easy “strike”.

Earlier I mentioned, “Sailing” the cards, or dealing the cards by tossing each, outward, with a spin.  The card will land away from your dealing hand.

This type of deal is common when dealing out a large number of hands and you can’t easily reach the spectators.  “Sailing” the cards has an aesthetic quality and is visually pleasing…and it also makes the Second Deal easier to mask.

Lastly, the regular Second Deal is dealing the cards down from the deck, next to each hand dealt out.  I recommend “Sailing” cards as opposed to a regular Second Deal, until you become proficient in the normal Second Deal.

MOVEMENT OF YOUR HANDS AS YOU DEAL:

To further mask your Second Deals, you will need to develop a “rhythm” to your deals without any pauses.

I developed a certain way to false deal cards when I was young, but I didn’t expect to see the more famous dealers like Darwin Ortiz, Martin Nash, and more recently Steve Forte and Jason England, deal differently than I did!

These men would keep the left hand relatively still when the right hand dealt off their cards.  This made me wonder if I was doing something wrong, until I saw another amazing card mechanic and magician, Jack Carpenter, false deal!

Mr. Carpenter even recommended to keep the deck-holding hand, moving back and forth as you deal, to further mask the false deals.  I was vindicated!

I have been performing my methods of false dealing for a very long time, starting back from about 1979 to 1983 when I was an “underground gambler”.  For a number of years, I made my living by playing poker and shooting pool.  It was a rough life…in fact I’ve even been shot at before…but I made a lot of money.

This “swaying” motion of the left hand (to the left and right), holding the deck as I deal, looks natural, and further masks the second deals.  (See video)

NOTE: Instead of talking more about the “movement of your hands” while dealing, just take a look at my provided video to see how I do it.
It should become a naturally-appearing motion, and, with practice, will become easy to do.  I do the same “hand swaying” when I perform bottom deals.

WEATHER:

I have spent most of my career in Florida where the climate “swings widely” between very dry (winter time) and very, very humid (most of the time!).

When the weather is dry, it is sometimes difficult to deal the cards because your fingers have little “traction”, and when it is very humid, the cards become “sticky”.

Both incidences make false dealing a challenge.  If you know you are going to perform, make sure that you rub some moisturizing lotion on your hands beforehand if the weather is cold and dry.

You DON’T want to have to moisten your hands with saliva…but I have, and STILL do it…but only when the spectators are NOT looking.

Sometimes I’ll mask my moistening by pretending to cough or clear my throat.  My hands “cover” my mouth as polite society requires.  You have to be sneaky!

If the weather is very warm and you’re not within an air-conditioned building, the hot sticky weather makes the cards swell and becomes a real problem.

However this situation is a little easier to deal with.  One way you can help with the “stickiness” problem, is to dribble the cards between your hands and/or spring the cards from one hand to the other to aerate them.  This will help.

THE SIGHTS AND SOUNDS:

This is VERY IMPORTANT to learn.  Learning to false deal requires that your regular deals and your false deals LOOK AND SOUND ALIKE!

This doesn’t mean making your false deals (second deals, here) sound like your regular deals…it means finding a “sound” that is in-between the two sounds.

In other words, it is easier to make your regular deals and false deals, sound alike by finding a sound that is in-between the sound of BOTH DEALS.  This means “finding” a compromise…a sound, that will make both deals sound similar.

This will require some practice…but it is NOT that difficult to do.

Let me give you an adage that I’ve taught to magicians for at least 20 years:

“Everyone watches where the card is laid…NOT from where the card is played!”

What this moniker implies is that people’s eyes (even magicians!) always follow the card that is dealt to the table – NOT at your hands!  This is absolutely true!

If you don’t believe me, just observe the next time you deal out cards in either a magic trick or playing a game of cards.  EVERYONE’S eyes will be fixated on the cards that are dealt to the table – not at your hands…it’s just human nature!

How can we utilize this knowledge?  Even poorly executed second deals will “fly under the radar” because they simply are NOT looking at your hands!

HOWEVER, this does present a different problem…the sound of your deals!  The only thing that will drag your spectators’ eyes from the dealt cards, is an “odd sound” that is different from the other deals.

You DO NOT want your deals sound like “…clip, clip, clip…CLOP!” or your spectators WILL immediately look up at your hands!

If you don’t make all of the deals sound approximately the same, I guarantee that your spectators will immediately look up at your dealing hands.  It’s just the nature of the “beast”.

They will know something “funny” is going on – but it doesn’t matter if they think it is a false deal or not…as far as they are concerned, something strange or different has just happened.  That’s all laypeople need to “bust” you!

So sit down and practice making your false deals sound like your regular deals.  It won’t be long before you find “the sound” that will “fly under the radar”.

Another little “pointer” that will make life easier, is, as you are dealing, make a larger movement from the last spectator that you dealt to – and then to yourself.  In other words you can further mask your Second Deal by keeping your hands moving in a somewhat circular movement as you deal around the table.

ATTITUDE:

The last thing I want to mention is ATTITUDE!  Just like any other time that you perform sleights, you don’t want to “draw attention” to your hands or anything that is on the table (such as a card that will transpose) by acting or feeling guilty!

In fact, don’t pay attention to your hands at all – but instead, you might want to incorporate a joke or pertinent comment as you deal.

Of course, you should appear relaxed and subliminally CONVEY to your spectators that nothing is going on, because of the relaxed, unworried manner in which you conduct yourself!  This “conveyance” should be a part of all of your effects – not just Second Deals.

===>>> The Strike Second Deal Video:  https://youtu.be/p3N76EP2GTQ

A VERY COOL TRICK!

There are many “Stop!” tricks out there with a huge variety of methods, but this trick is basically impromptu and doesn’t require a large set-up or special deck.

Below I present an old method of a “STOP!” trick that uses the Second Deal in a very effective manner.  It has excellent built-in misdirection and as long as you can perform even a half-assed Stud Second Deal, you will have a winner!  I’ll just call it:

STOP!

EFFECT: The performer writes a prediction down on a piece of paper and folds it up.  A deck is shuffled and displayed to the spectators as ordinary and then shuffled again.

The magician then Stud deals cards, one at a time, face up onto the table.  The magician asks the spectator to say “Stop!” at any time.

When the spectator says, “Stop!” he is given the chance to stop there, or the performer can deal another card face up onto the tabled pile.

Whichever he chooses, the face-down card matches the prediction!

SET-UP: As you perform, glimpse a card on the bottom of the deck; let’s say it is the Seven of Diamonds (7D).  Undercut the 7D to the top of the deck.

Shuffle thoroughly, keeping that card on top.  Then undercut about half of the deck, run 4 cards, one at a time, in-jog the 5th card and shuffle off.  Undercut to the break and the 7D will now be 5th from the top of the deck.

METHOD: Before you abandon this trick…at least study my methodology of performance and you will have an AMAZING effect in your arsenal!

After getting the 7D to 5th from the top of the deck, write a prediction on a piece of paper.  Then it would be a good idea to give the deck a false riffle shuffle, keeping the 7D, 5th from the top of the deck.

Square up the deck and place it into dealer’s position in your left hand (if you’re right-handed) and announce, “I’m going to deal the cards, face-up and one at a time and I want you to say ‘Stop!’ whenever one of these cards gives you a sign!  Only YOU will know what that sign will be!  O.K. – are you ready?”

While you give the patter above, Stud Deal the first four cards, face-up onto the table in a pile.  Deal these first four cards a little farther away from you than you normally would deal.

After you deal these four cards, you will have just finished your patter above.  Reach over to the four face-up cards and pull the pile in closer to yourself.  This is a very subliminal form of misdirection!

Remember that the spectators (and even magicians) will watch the cards as they are laid onto the table.

This will also give you a chance to ready your left hand for Stud Second Deals.  Remember that with the Stud Seconds, your left hand will automatically “necktie” the deck so that the top of the deck is out of sight for just a fraction of a second as you perform the Second deal.

Then an easy, “invisible” second deal is made.  Continue making these Stud Second deals at an even pace – not too fast and not too slow.

If you think you might have a troublesome spectator who will let you keep going and going, just look up at her and stare…she will say “Stop!” very quickly!  Usually this is NOT the case.  In fact, many will say “Stop!” even sooner than you expect!

But as long as you have already dealt down the first four cards…it doesn’t matter how soon she says, “Stop!”

At this point you have a pile of face-up cards on the table and the balance of the deck in your hand.  Next comes a very strong “selling point”.

Say, “O.K. you’ve stopped me at this card…” (Point to the top, face-up card of the tabled pile)  (This is where everyone is watching…remember?)

As you say the above line, you first point to the tabled pile and then remove the top face-down card with your right fingers.  As you do so, secretly get a left pinkie break under the next card on top of the deck.

As you do the above actions, say, “…or you can go another card!”  Place the face-down card in your right hand, back on top of the deck, keeping the left pinkie break, now under two cards.

You may or may not want her to go another card…let me explain why.

If you add to the patter above by saying, “…or you can go another card – or you can just stay with your first impression!”  your female spectator will be much more likely to stay with her first selection rather than going on.

If you want to give her a chance at taking the next card, then use the first patter line above and leave out “…or you can just stay with your first impression!”

I don’t know why these minor techniques work…but they do – on women.  Men are a little more unpredictable.  Maybe it’s because I’ve spent a career on performing for women…they make better spectators!

Two different scenarios:
1st scenario:
If she chooses the first card, merely lay it, still face down on top of the tabled pile.  Then start turning over the rest of the cards, first one at a time, then in groups of 5 and 10 cards.  DO NOT cover up the one face-down card in the middle!  This is important!

Carefully pull the one face-down card free from the pile, show your prediction and then show the “chosen” card!

2nd Scenario:
If she decides to go on and choose the NEXT card, remember that you already have a pinkie break under the top two cards as instructed above.

Angle-jog this double, over to your right, using the pad of your left thumb as a fulcrum.  If she wants another card, then Stud Turnover the second card as you pull the 7D flush with the deck.  This is VERY easy to do!

Ask her, “Does THAT card mean anything to you?” indicating the new face-up card on the tabled pile.  Whatever she says, place the face-down 7D from the top of the deck onto the tabled pile.

Proceed as before, turning cards face-up, first one at a time and then in groups on top of the tabled pile – but again, DO NOT completely cover the face-down 7D!  It is important to not cover the one face-down card to prevent anyone from thinking that there is a switch of cards.  I know of one effect like this from years gone by.

Again, show the prediction first, and then turn the lone, face-down card amongst all the face-up cards, face-up, for the conclusion!

Do NOT PASS this up!  It is a very powerful effect!

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You can view ALL of Paul’s ebooks, currently 23 and growing, at Lybrary.com .. They are, undoubtedly, one of the best values in all of magic..  Many are now considered underground classics, and all are available for Immediate Download. One of the BEST values in Magic!
http://lybrary.com/paul-a-lelekis-m-163788.html

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“A PLANNED COINCIDENCE”
Nate Ipock’s rendition of Henry Christ’s trick, ‘Stop When Ready’

EFFECT: Spectator selects a card.  Magician returns the card to the deck while it is out of sight – either behind his back or under the table.  Magician brings the deck into view and shows that her card is not on the top or bottom.  Magician then asks for a number between 1 and 52, deals to that number, and it is the selection!

PERFORMANCE: Begin your patter with “This is the epitome of an oxymoron.  I call it a planned coincidence. Would you take a card, please?”

Spectator selects a card and shows it to the others present, but not the magician. Magician asks, “May I see it? I’m new at this.”

The spectator shows you the card – let’s suppose that the selection is the Queen of Hearts.  The magician then takes the card from the spectator.

“I’ll place the Queen of Hearts in the deck, but I don’t want you to see where I put it!”

Place the deck behind your back and put the Queen of Hearts (QH), second from the top – in other words, place under the top card.  Bring the cards back into view.

“Notice that the QH is not on the bottom, nor is it on the top.”  Pick up the deck in the right hand at the lower right corner as you give the above patter…this will show that you hold no breaks.

Replace the deck face down in your left hand.  Push over, slightly, (no pun intended) the top two cards, but only take the top card in the RH.  Flick the card up from under the left thumb to emphasize its singularity.

At the same time your left pinkie finger obtains a break beneath the top card (the selection).  Flip the top card face up onto the deck so that now, you have a pinkie break beneath the top two, back to back cards as you say, “….but somewhere in between.”

“Please give me a number between 1 and 52.” (If the spectator says “One” or “Fifty-two…”), then say “I’ve already shown you those cards – besides, I said BETWEEN 1 and 52!”

You are hoping for a low number so you won’t have to count forever. But suppose she gives you 42 for example.

“42!  Wouldn’t’ it be a coincidence if your card was the 42nd card?”  Repeat the name of the selection to make it easier to remember.

“Well, it’s NOT – but it is a coincidence that you chose 42, because the number 42 has two digits – a 4 and a 2, and 4 times 2 equals 8!  Look!”

You are still holding the pinky break under the second card.  Grasp the back-to-back cards as one from the inner end (closest to your body) and slide both cards back toward yourself about an inch.  Keep the cards aligned with the help of your left hand and no one will suspect two cards.

The back-to-back cards remain on top of the deck.  Say, “That’s one….” as you slide the double back toward yourself, in-jogged atop the deck.

Your right thumb then contacts the top of the next face-down card on top of the deck, proper.  Slide it forward until it “clears” the back-to-back double that is in-jogged.

Now turn this card face up, and lay it directly on top of the, face-up in-jogged card as you say, “That’s two…”

You need to be careful at this point that you don’t accidentally pull the QH forward where the spectators can see it!  Do so by gripping the in-jogged portion of the back-to-back double with the pad of your left thumb and left pinkie, without buckling it.

Continue turning cards face up on top of the in-jogged face-up pile as you count “…3…4…5…6…” until you reach the number “Seven”.

At this point you actually have eight cards in-jogged, including the face-down selection at the bottom of the in-jogged packet.

Push all of the face-up, in-jogged cards, forward, flush with the deck and then immediately deal and recount the face-up cards as if to check your count, into your right hand.

Thumb over the 8th card, which is still face down and place it between your lips as you flip the seven face-up cards, face down onto the deck.

Turn the card in your mouth to face the audience as you say “…8!” to display the spectator’s selection!

The idea of A Planned Coincidence came to me as I was reading Annemann. Actually APC is my handling of Henry Christ’s trick Stop When Ready except I don’t shuffle the card to the second position and I don’t have the spectator say “Stop!” as I deal.  But the arrangement and script is mine.

Mr. Christ’s trick can be found in Annemann’s, Miracles of Card Magic, as well as in The Jinx, issue 74 in 1940.

A little about me…my obsession/mistress is card magic and I haven’t gotten over her for at least four decades.  Because I enjoy the Magic Roadshow, especially the card stuff, I wanted to show my appreciation.

Thanks,
Nate

NOTE: In Henry Christ’s original effect, Stop When Ready, the selection is made and then returned to the deck and “controlled to the top of the deck by your favorite method”.
Then Christ would perform a riffle shuffle, adding one card to the top of the deck.  The selection would now be second from the top.

Christ would proceed as in Nate’s trick above except that Christ would turn the face-down cards, face up, one at a time, and have the spectator say “Stop!” whenever he or she felt like it.  Then the first face-down card AFTER the spectator said ‘Stop!’ would be his or her selection.

In Christ’s effect, the performer apparently did NOT know the position of the card, even though it didn’t matter, because the spectator found the card by “intuition”.

In Nate’s effect, there is a pre-set number given by the spectator at the beginning.  He then places the selection into the deck at a location that HE knows and the spectator doesn’t know.

The spectator gives a number between 1 and 52 for its location.  Nate uses the product of the two digits of the provided number (42 in the example above) to multiply together and then find the card at that location.

I am unsure, but I think that Nate uses this type of procedure only for large, double-digit numbers so that the counting procedure is less laborious in a performance situation.

I think that if the number given by the spectator were a low one, such a 7, 10 or 14, etc., that he might just use a straight count.

Annotated by Paul Lelekis  (With my gratitude..)

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Magic Proposal# 1  –  Proposal 500   –   Eliyahu Wincelberg

My friend Eliyahu actually made a proposal of sorts to me some time back.. he proposed writing the definitive work on proposing with magic.. and I agreed. Where else will you find this subject explored in-depth? I have an affinity for this topic because I actually proposed to my wife, Carolyn, with magic. I did it gracefully, and without the entire restaurant knowing our business.  I figured since she was agreeing to marry a magic fanatic, I may as well establish my foot-hold from the get-go. I’m saving the story for Eliyahu to tell, so look for it.

Eliyahu begins this series with a slick trick that’s (almost) guaranteed to win your Love’s affections. I’ve actually given this article it’s own page because of the graphics involved. So, whether you’re planning on getting married any time soon, or not, it doesn’t matter. You should still have a look at this article and effect.

Remember this.. whether you’re married to the love of your life or not, there will come a point in time when they will expect you to do it all again! It’s called Renewing Your Vows.. and I’ve already been there. Carolyn and I married the first time in a very intimate cerimony in our home.. and the second one, about ten years later, was a traditional wedding in a small Episcopal Church.

I want to Thank Eliyahu for devoting the time and effort to this series. It’s certainly unique and, I hope, enlightening to fellow magicians everywhere…

https://magicroadshow.com/169a.php

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Werner Miller’s column will return next month.. Look for it !
(I had trouble uploading an essential image. I’ll definitely have it figured out by next month )

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EVOLUTION DECK – A Review by Rick Carruth

“Performer removes a BLUE card box from his jacket pocket. Upon opening the box he discovers the factory made a mistake and put a RED backed deck in the box, not only are the backs all RED, but the faces of the cards are all BLANK.
Performer gives the deck a little shake and the faces of the cards have magically printed, but the backs are still RED.
Not to worry, another little shake of the deck and the backs have now all changed to BLUE to match the card box !
No rough and smooth, No specially printed cards, No sleight of hand.  Each EVOLUTION DECK is hand crafted with over 100 processes to manufacture! Complete with VERY special Bicycle back deck and step by step instructions.”

I recently got my hands on Bob Solari’s EVOLUTION DECK. After an evening of ‘playing around’ with it, I was ready to take it with me to a restaurant gig. First, anything that can be utilized or incorporated into my walk-around routine gets my attention. Not everything KEEPS my attention. I’ve learned what works and what doesn’t, for me at least. Bob’s EVOLUTION DECK works for me. It’s one of those effects the public can’t grasp. Many times they have an idea what you’ve done, but with THIS deck, they don’t have a clue… not a clue.

In a restaurant setting, I ‘sometimes’ perform a new effect that gets very little response. Fortunately, I don’t perform those effects for long. Three or four times, and they’re out the door. Evolution Deck worked from day one, with a minimum of practice, partially because of the total lack of sleights. All I had to do was work on my actual physical handling of the deck and my patter. Then, it worked exactly as described… and everything is basically self-working.

The deck can’t be handed out for examination after the effect because this IS a gaffed deck arranged in a specific order. It looks perfectly normal, and there are 52 cards in the deck.  This isn’t a problem for me. When the effect is over, I put the deck back in its case and drop it in my pocket. I’ve learned to try to keep all my decks the same color, and if I WANT to bring the deck back out, it’ll be a different deck, same color. It’s all about ‘spectator control’..

Magic is all about bringing amazement to your audience, whether it’s a room full or a table full. Evolution Deck will make you look like a card pro and have you sending ‘Thank You’ notes to Bob.   $24.95    Watch a short video of Bob performing Evolution Deck.. https://youtu.be/Inzi_8BY0HM

http://bobsolarimagic.com/shop/Close-up/Cards/The-Evolution-Deck

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50+ Video Tutorials by Michael Boden at Hocus Pocus

To access this growing collection of magic tutorials, visit the url below, look in the left hand navigation bar, and click the FREE MAGIC link..  This is a very nice selection of over 50 tutorials from Michael Boden.. This will keep you busy for quite some time…  Listed below are just a few..

Priority Prediction
Sealed Prediction
Key Fly
Matrix Opener
Instant Recall Deck Memorization
Hole In One
Hold Out 52
Grab and Go Deck Production
In the Shadow of The Coin Masters
Fantastic 4 Coin Production
Experimental Thoughts
Eclipse of the Pass

http://www.hocus-pocus.com/magicshop/

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Tea TIme with Paul Daniels hosted by Luis de Matos –  Podcast

Paul Daniels, aside from being one of the most popular performers in the history of magic, is a friend of the Roadshow. I can count on Paul to offer me encouragement and kind words, even if I don’t deserve it. (OK, some months are better than others..) Paul’s reputation as both an entertainer and a scholar precede him. He can always be counted upon to have both a unique outlook on magic and the performance of magic as well as the history and history makers of magic. We are thankful to both Scott Wells and Luis de Matosfor the podcast, and to Paul for just being Paul for this very entertaining 1-hour podcast.

You can listen to the podcast on Scott’s site -or- download it as an mp3 to listen to later.

“FISM is more than just days of contests and shows. There are also schedule lectures and “talks”. One such “talk” that was a regular feature on several days of the congress was “Tea Time With…” hosted by Luis de Matos. Each day Luis spent an hour interviewing legendary magicians including Paul Daniels, Silvan, Lu Chin and Cyril. When it came to chatting with Paul, all Luis had to do was ask one question and Paul filled in the rest with amazing stories. This man has lead a charmed life and his future looks bright, too!”

http://themagicwordpodcast.com/scottwellsmagic/tea-time-with-paul-daniels

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Patrick at Trickshop.com and I have devised a way for us to work together again. Trickshop has been my favorite stop for classic and forgotten ‘secret’ magic for, like, forever… Check this out.. and the Freebies too.!

EDDIE JOSEPH’S GREATER CARD TRICKS
In Eddie Joseph’s introduction to his 1942 big book of card magic, he states that the effects he is offering all bear the “hall-mark of originality.” Indeed, few other magicians have provided us with a richer, more resourceful, or more unconventional approach to our art. If you are a fan of the “Joseph Touch,” you will delight in the material contained in this 104-page book. Don’t miss out. It’s just $2.95 this week!

http://trickshop.com/greater-card-tricks.html

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PASCAL’S OTHER WAGER…AND OTHER ECCENTRICITIES
In Michel Potts’ first book to the magic fraternity, he shares six of his favorite card effects. As the Resident Magician for the The Londoner Brew Pub in Bangkok, the effects in this manuscript have been cobbled together, road-tested and refined over time before the diverse yet tough crowds at the Londoner Brew Pub and don’t require any knuckle-busting sleight of hand. Each one is a solid, well-constructed, commercial gem complete with Michel’s own handling, patter and bits of business. 32 pages. A Trickshop.com Exclusive!  $4.95

http://trickshop.com/pascals-other-wager.html

(Editors note: The 1st effect in this ebook is worth the price of the ebook alone..)

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HOW TO DEVELOP MENTAL MAGIC  –   Paul R. Hadley

For the professional mentalist, the power and booking appeal of a well-crafted, two-person code act is undeniable. And yet, for many, the task of acquiring this impressive ability is daunting to say the least. In 1961, a book changed that notion, Paul R. Hadley’s “How to Develop Mental Magic.”  Hadley’s mentalism “how to” course set a new standard. A must-read for every serious mentalist! 115 pages, quality, re-typeset Trickshop.com edition.  $4.97

http://trickshop.com/paul-hadley-code-act.html

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FREEBIE CHECKLIST – Purchase ANY of the ebooks above and get ANY or ALL of these ebooks FREE.  Remember, add these to your cart BEFORE completing your order…

LITTLE MIRACLES –  Jack Vosburgh’s second book features six impromptu card tricks

EDDIE JOSEPH’S MINDS IN COLLUSION

ZENS’ IMPROVED 15 CARD TRICK – Zens’ famous 15 Card Trick is a true card miracle

DAI VERNON’S SELECT SECRETS – The Professor gives the reader natural and well-constructed handlings for a range of both close-up and stand-up effects.

MEPHISTO SEALED BILLET READING –  Dr. Ervin’s deceptive and 100% practical Mephisto Sealed Billet Reading

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The Thumb Flip – An Easy to Master Card Flourish..

FernandoP1 Art Zone Production has produced another nice video detailing a couple of sleights that can be readily accomplished by the amateur cardsman. Looks and do-ability are essential for the average guy, as not much puts off your audience, regardless of how large or small, than blowing a flourish. Take a look at this 11 minute plus tutorial..

http://www.etricks.info/

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Torn and Restored Thread Tutorial –

Folks watching ‘Fool Us’ the first week of August saw Matt Holtzclaw perform a nice version of  the Hindu Thread / Gypsy thread trick. This effect is not simply ‘classic’, it was first mentioned in “Scott’s Discoveries of Witchcraft” in 1584. That puts it in the same category as the oldest of magic tricks, aside from perhaps cups and balls. FernandoP1 gives a very skilled performance and tutorial for those of you not familiar with the method. Hindu Thread is a very wizardly but aesthetic effect when performed with grace. It can be performed table-side and mesmerizes adults and children.

https://youtu.be/owwR5u2-FoU

Watch Eugene Berger’s performance of this classic..
https://youtu.be/405xMmDpCZs

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Amateur Vs Professional Card Trick & Tutorial

A special card trick from Mismag822, the Card Trick Teacher, featuring Jay Sankey. Jay teaches you the difference between a performance by an amateur and that of a professional, in the form of a card trick. There are a couple of card controls involved, but nothing difficult. You’ll be showing your crowd the difference between an Amateur and a Professional in no time..!
Check it out..

https://youtu.be/Io1AJBIVAJU

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Ambitious Card Trick Variation Tutorial – Jay Sankey

Everyone has their favorite Ambitious Card routine. But, does yours include putting a rubber band around the deck.. and THEN making the signed card come to the top? The spec signs the card, the magician clearly places the card in the middle of the deck and encases the deck with a large  rubber band. The top card is shown to be an odd card, and then.. the spectators card somehow becomes the top card..
Jay published this video on the 52Cards site, and it’s worth your time to watch and learn.

https://youtu.be/41PnrIv5rZ8

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Blind Date – Eric Ross   ( A Review by Jim Canaday )

Effect: The performer shows spectator(s) a few cards, with one picture of a potential blind date on each card.  The spectator sees some great looking choices and one older choice for the older generation. YIKES!  The spectator is then asked to mix cards and discard some, while face down, until there is only one card left in spectators hand.  Before spectator looks at last card in hand, the magician shows the spectator what dates they did not get.

Though they missed a few hotties, they do NOT get stuck with the older choice. There’s is a moment of relief. Spectator is then asked to turn over their card.  To their surprise (and amusement of everyone else) they’re left with something far worse!  This is VERY dirty twist on a classic card trick!  This is Blind Date!

Although similar tricks have appeared in the past, Eric Ross has added a fun new twist.  A little cheesecake. And it comes with two sets of nicely laminated cards, one with girls and one with guys. Living in Florida, I do a lot with older crowds and let’s face it, the older guys like to see a beautiful young girl showing a little skin. (I have updated several tricks myself and carry them in my case). Not so surprising, the ladies like to see a good-looking young guy, too. Although the trick is only available to those over 18, there is no actual nudity. Black bars cover up the girls and the guy version offers Chippendale-like photos. Really pretty innocent but I do suggest that you be judicious in where you perform it. (No kids’ birthday parties or church groups!) Other than that, the cards are made well, you are actually getting two packet tricks for your money and you will have fun.

Positives: Nicely laminated cards, colorful photographs. Easy to do. Lots of fun for your audience. This is one you can “do tonight” if that is your thing. You get two sets of cards thereby bringing the cost per trick down to $12.50.

Negatives: The only negative I can think of is that it limits where you can perform this effect. Otherwise, none.

Conclusion: This is going to accompany me to parties and evenings with friends for a long time.

$24.95 (comes with two sets of laminated specially printed cards in plastic wallet and printed instructions)     http://www.murphysmagic.com/Product.aspx?id=54781

Jim Canaday   http://themagicportal.us   Go to: [email protected]  and ask Jim to add you to his list. Similar to the Magic Roadshow, but Jim emails his newsletters straight to your inbox..

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“Sleeve Aces” with Michael Ammar

In his book Variations, Earl Nelson printed a lovely routine based on Al Leech’s Discovery of Aces. Paul Harris and I were playing around with Earl’s handling, and we decided to eliminate the center phase, where the red Aces turn into the black Aces. We ended up with something fairly different than Earl’s original, so if this appeals to you, you’ll probably enjoy taking a look at how Earl Nelson approached the idea as well.Courtesy of L&L publications, and Michael Lyth..

http://llpub.com/effects/trickammar.pdf

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How to Convert an iPhone into a Hologram Projector – video

Got an iphone? Want to convert it in to a hologram projector with the assembly of a piece of plastic from a cd case? Watch the video, follow the directions, and go to the urls to find Youtube videos to use as your projectons .. The first link takes you to a youtube channel owners page, and you will need to click the ‘videos’ link in the user nav bar…

http://magicians.website

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Did you know we sent men to the moon in 1969 on a tiny fraction of the data that’s contained in the average laptop?
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Teller on Revealing Magic Tricks  –  Interview
Matthew Hutson

The magicians Penn & Teller are in New York this summer performing Penn & Teller On Broadway. In a conversation with Teller (the quiet one) last week, the topic of explaining magic tricks came up, and I happened to have a tape recorder running. An edited transcript is below.

I first asked Teller about revealing secrets in a Q&A for Psychology Today seven years ago:

Many atheists argue that science doesn’t explain away wonder and awe, but delivers more. Do you ever think in those terms when deciding whether to reveal a trick?

Some magic tricks are better as an experience when explained. They’re more interesting, more multileveled, more ingenious. [In one act, we get to watch Teller wiggle through tight spaces.] Most are disappointing, except to a real connoisseur. To me, a carefully timed palm of a card may seem like a beautiful thing. Someone else might say, “Oh, so he just took the card in his hand? Big deal.” You make the choice on aesthetic grounds. Virtually all the tricks Penn and I have explained were invented with an eye to explaining them.

I pursued this line of questioning further last week when Teller brought up the TV show Breaking the Magician’s Code: Magic’s Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed.

Teller: “Do you remember few years ago there was a TV show in which a masked magician came on and gave away magic secrets? When that happened, the network tried to goad members of the magic community into saying that he was doing something terrible. It’s always good to try to generate controversy when you’re publicizing a series. I told the network I rather liked that presentation for many old illusions…..  Read the rest at:

http://magicalthinkingbook.com/2015/07/teller-of-penn-teller-on-explaining-magic-tricks/

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MAGIC NEWS.org
You can get your magic fix on Magic News every week. Don’t wait a month for the next Roadshow. Instead, go to Magic News for the latest, along with the more interesting going-ons in the world of magic. Honestly, no other site publishes the breadth of magic related stories and videos as Magic News.
http://MagicNews.org

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USA CRIMINAL RECORDS ( Hey, we gotta pay the bills! )
There are so many companies that advertise ‘Free’ background checks.. and they are certainly NOT free. You go through several pages of nonsense, only to get to the page that informs you that for ” $16.95″ you can access your report. For the record, my site charges $2.95 for five days of unlimited, comprehensive searches. You can perform a LOT of searches in 5 days…
http://carruth00.everify.revenuewire.net/e-membership/homepage/

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Magic Bullets from the Magic Roadshow – Our first 6 years of the Roadshow Blog..
http://streetmagic.info/blogger.html
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That does it for this issue. I hope you found something to help your magic along. Remember, if you have something you would like to share with the magic community, send it to: [email protected]

“Vive Tus Sueños – Live Your Dreams ”

Rick Carruth / Editor

Senior Professor – Camelard College of Conjuring of Chemmis, Egypt
“Magic’s Only Worldwide Honor Society”
http://www.camelardcollege.org/

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~ Disclaimers ~
This page may contain affiliate links. If you click an affiliate link and make a purchase, I may earn a commission on the sale. The price that you pay should not be affected by buying through an affiliate link, and I never use affiliate links if I know they’ll result in a price increase.
Every effort has been made to ensure that the information in the Magic Roadshow is accurate. However, there is no guarantee that you will achieve any particular results using the information provided or any products referenced. Examples in this document are not to be interpreted as promises or guarantees of any particular results.
All information is for education and information purposes only. Seek the advice of a qualified professional before acting on such information. In using this document, you agree that the Magic Roadshow and its publisher, Rick Carruth, are not responsible for your success or failure as a result of purchases made through this site.
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