Invisible Triumph – A Review
Invisible Triumph (Gimmicks and Online Instructions)
Jim Krenz and Murphy’s Magic have created what we can fairly call.. ” The worlds easiest Triumph.” This new version was described as both..’virtually self working’ and designed for beginners. The first time I saw the video.. I couldn’t understand how it could be either.
I’m going out on a limb here and admit that I don’t review products I can’t speak good about. That may not sound like the best policy, but there are plenty of reviewers who love to bomb new products, and I don’t. Most magicians work very hard to get their products to market, and I enjoy talking about the positive aspects of magic. That said.. I have to say that thinking of good things to say about some products isn’t easy. It’s not that they’re bad.. it’s just that being ‘really’ positive isn’t easy. I am so grateful to Jim Krenz and Murphy’s Magic for making THIS review easy…
If you have a good, basic understanding of magic and card magic, you are familiar with Triumph. Cards are mixed.. some are turned the opposite direction and mixed again.. leaving the deck in a clearly jumbled state. Some cards are face up.. some cards are face down.. and ultimately, the cards are magically righted. Dai Vernon published a popular version. So did Bob Farmer, Daryl, Ron Bauer, Oz Pearlman and Marlo… to name a few. Theodore Deland published perhaps the first version way back in 1914. So, it’s safe to say Triumph has been around for over a hundred years.
Deland’s commercial version utilized a gaffed deck consisting of half the cards being double backers. From one side, the cards appeared to be alternating face up and face down. When the deck was closed and reversed all the cards were magically facing the same way. Nice, except you certainly couldn’t let the spectator get a good look at the deck.
Jim Krenz’s version is almost as simple. Really, if you spend a short time studying the online instructions.. (less than 20 minutes) you could perform his version straight out the box. I would recommend practicing a little, but we’re talking theoretical here. The cards are normal in appearance. They ARE prepared, making the final results possible, but you would not know they are prepared from looking at them.
The spectator is given a packet of about 12-13 cards and asks to select one. The spectator mixes the cards. The remainder of the deck is divided into three more packets.. and a second packet is mixed into the spectators packet both face up and face down. The two packet mix is spread on the table, showing both sides and showing a fair mix of up and down cards. The third packet.. and then the last packet.. are mixed up and down into the spectator’s packet. You can’t get more fair.
With a bit of magic and flair.. you spread the deck on the table… and show every card face up except one.. the card selected by the spectator. If you followed Jim’s instructions on the video, there is no need to show the deck at this point. The spectator has clearly seen both sides of the deck on at least two ocassions. I recommend going to the link at the bottom and watching a video to get an idea of the fairness of Invisible Triumph..
Two versions are taught in the instructions; a version using a forced card, and a second version using a card mentally selected by the spectator. The second version is totally impromptu, but the first version is perhaps a bit stronger, in my opinion. I recommend INVISIBLE TRIUMPH to anyone who enjoys the Triumph premise and wants a super easy method of entertaining your audience.
You can buy the gimmicked deck and instructions from dealers who carry the Murphy’s Magic line of products. Cost.. $ 30.00
https://www.murphysmagic.com/Product.aspx?id=61099
Reviewed by: Rick Carruth