Effect:
Bring out two rubber bands and explain that you can do rubber
band Origami. You take the two rubber bands and stretch
them into an star and other shapes. You then stretch them
into another star. You explain that you can make one of
the bands become a star. No really, give it a pinch and it takes
the shape of a star! You can hand it out as a souvenir.
This is easy to do and if you do any rubber band magic you should get this effect. This trick is not a stand alone effect, but would go great with a rubber band routine and could easily be worked in. The instruction are less desirable. They are hard to understand and don't give you any type of patter. It took me about an hour to make the star, but now it's easy. All that said I liked this trick. You may want to look through some old Genii magazines. I have heard that McBride has a one handed star using rubber bands in an old issue. I don't know which, nor do I know how old. Sorry, but have fun trying to find it :-)
This is a non sleight of hand method for getting a signed card in your wallet. I have been doing this routine for many years. I have worked this method in front of some of the toughest audiences and it is always a fooler.
Effect (from the audience's point of view):
The magician has a card selected from a deck and signed. The magician talks about teleportation (objects disappearing from one place and reappearing in a another place). The magician shows an empty wallet and says that he will cause the spectators signed card to vanish from the deck and reappear inside the wallet. The magician hands the spectator the empty wallet to hold for safekeeping. The signed selected card is then placed into the deck. The magician makes a magical wave over the deck and gestures toward the wallet. The magician then shows the audience the entire deck, face up one card at a time. There are now only 51 cards left in the deck! The wallet is opened and there inside is the spectators signed card!
Requirements:
A deck of cards with white borders (like a Bicycle deck). (You can't use a Bee diamond back deck because it doesn't have a white border) Some rubber bands A magic marker One double face card A Himber wallet
The Himber wallet can make an object (cards, bills) appear, disappear or change. Since this is a commercial item, I will not reveal how it works. I have made these instructions intentionally vague in order to protect the secret. Once you have a Himber wallet in hand these instructions will be clear.
Note: You do not need to spend a fortune on a Himber wallet to do this trick. Many Magic dealers will sell you a good looking vinyl Himber wallet for under $10.00. You can also purchase a whole deck of double face cards for under $10.00.
Preparation:
You will be forcing the spectator to choose a card which matches one side of the double face card. Decide which side of the double face card will be your forced card. (For the sake of these instructions, the double face card will be 2 of diamonds on one side and 9 of clubs on the other. You decide to force the spectator to select the "real" 2 of diamonds from the deck.) Go through the pack and remove the card which matches the other side of double face card as it will not be used. (In our example, remove the "real" 9 of clubs from the deck.) Find the "real" 2 of diamonds in the deck and place it on the bottom of the pack. Sign the 2 of diamonds side of the double face card with the magic marker. (Yes, your signature!) Place the double face card (signed 2 of diamonds side face up) in the left hand side of the Himber wallet so that half of the card sticks up above the flap. Close the wallet and turn it over (if you open the wallet it would now look empty). You are now ready to perform the effect!
Performance:
1. Use your favorite force to make the spectator select the bottom card of the pack. (Force the "real" 2 of diamonds on the spectator) Note: I use the Hindu shuffle force (See Tarbell or Mark Wilson's Course in Magic)
2. Have them sign the card on the back with the magic marker. (The spectator signs the back of the "real" 2 of diamonds)
3. Take the card from the spectator and sign it on the face (try to duplicate the signature from the double face card) and place it face upon the table. (You sign the face of the "real" 2 of diamonds) Comment that the card can now be easily identified from either the front or back because of the signatures.
4. Talk about teleportation (or what ever line of patter you want to use).
5. Open the Himber Wallet and show it empty. Explain what you are going to do by picking up the "real" signed card and inserting it under the flap on the left hand sign of the wallet.
6. Close the wallet, turn it over and place in on the table. You have just switched the "real" card for the double face "fake" card. This is a good time to ask the spectator a question (a good misdirection). I recap what has happened so far and ask the spectator to verify my statements. (You freely selected a card from the deck and signed it?)
7. Pick up the wallet, open it and remove the "fake" signed card. (Be careful not to flash the other side of this double face card). Close the now "empty" wallet. Wrap a couple of rubber bands around the wallet and hand it to the\ spectator to hold. (The rubber bands prevent them from peeking inside the wallet.)
8. Pick up the deck on the table and turn it face up. Place the "fake" selected card (the signed 2 of diamonds side of the double face card) on the face up deck.
9. While holding the deck face up, cut the deck in the center and turn it face down. (The deck is now half face down and half face up.)
10. Make a magic wave over the deck and gesture toward the wallet held by the spectator.
11. Deal the top card (which is face down) face up on to the table. Ask the spectator to look for his card as you deal through the pack. Count the cards out loud as you deal them on to the table.
12. Continue dealing the face down cards, face up on to the table. Eventually you will encounter a face up card (in our example this first face down card will be the 9 of clubs, the other side of the double face card.) Place this face up card on to the table on top of the face up cards already there. Dealing the remainder of the face up cards on to the table while continuing to count out loud.
13. When you have dealt the last card you will have counted to 51 and the spectator will not have seen his card. (Note: the reason that you only count to 51 cards is because you removed a card from the deck earlier. eg: the "real" 9 of clubs)
14. Show your hands empty and take the wallet back from the spectator. Remove the rubber bands and open the "non-empty" side of the wallet. The spectator will see their card half way above the flap. Let them remove the card from the wallet and verify their signature on the back!
Some additional ideas:
1) You can do this without a Himber wallet by using your coat breast pocket to do the switch of the cards (real card for double face card).
2) You can use a regular wallet and place the "real" card in a pocket on one side and remove the double face card from a pocket on the other side.
3) After viewing the effect, few spectators will remember that the magician also signed the card. They WILL remember that the spectator signed the card and that the signed card traveled to the wallet.
Why does the magician need to sign the card at all?
I have found it to be more convincing to the spectator that after switching the two cards to have the magician's signature still on the face of the card in the wallet. When I didn't sign the card, I found the card in the wallet to be more suspect after the switch.
4) After viewing the effect no one will remember that you place the signed card into the wallet and then removed it later. This simply looks like part of your explanation and will not be remembered!
5) You can have the spectator sign a label, and then place the label on the card. This will allow you to remove the label later and reuse the card.
What you need: one
blank face card, one 52 on 1 card and a Queen of hearts or Ace
of spades. These cards can be jumbo or standard size cards.
What you do: Ask a spectator to make their mind completely blank. Right when you finish this statement turn over the blank card and say "great, your good at this." This should get a laugh or at lest a chuckle. Next, ask the spectator to name any card they like. Lets say they say the Four of Clubs. Then you look at the cards look at your spectator with a strange, surprised, or confidant look. Which ever you want you use depending on the spectator. Example: If you are a guy doing the gag/trick for a girl you might act confidant like no problem I got your card. or if you are showing another guy act I can't believe I have the card you just named. The point here is that you are about to show the 52 on 1 card. So play it up for a great laugh. Now for the last card. They named a card you don't have, so what you do is this. "I have one card left, now wouldn't it been amazing if you would have named the Ace of spades." That gets a laugh and you move on to the next trick. You can use lines like: Man that worked in the magic shop or I knew I should of read the instructions. You can have a invisible deck handy and blow them away, but I just present it just like that as a gag. Now if they name the Ace of Spades. Hehe you win. do the 52 on 1 gag, and set it up really good and egg it on. Then you say wouldn't it be totally amazing if I had the card that you named in my hand. You had a totally free choice of any card and you picked the Ace of Spades. Turn the card over to every ones amazement. Now you performed not only a gag not only a trick, but in the mind of the spectator a miracle. The reason I use the Ace of Spades or Queen of Hearts is that these two cards are chosen most often. It is just the way it is. They will think your David Blaine!
What you need: duplicate card-example two of clubs and regular deck-excellent for table hopping magic.
On top of deck place 2c, then 2h, then duplicate 2c.-then rest of deck. Double lift to show 2h and say this is a lighter color card so put under salt shaker. Then double lift to show 2c and state it is darker so put under pepper shaker. Then tell spectator to switch the two shakers and when cards are revealed they follow the shakers.Can also be very effective on the palms of two hands. After putting cards on top two palms then cross thier hands over and under each other and then reveal how they switch-especially effecyive if using two different people's hands.
George-Mika Magic-localized web site is
http://www.hegmagic.com/mika.htm
"Cool! A great, logical progression of effects that are not only deceptive, but easy to perform!"
-Michael Ammar
For more information you may contact us by email at info@acmemagic.com
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