I've been doing C&B for about a month or two and I'm very good at it. I just can't get anough misdirection to "Load" the finals. I would also need some misdirection for most of my other tricks but this is the main one.
If you guys know any books or something that teach good misdirection, please tell me.

Alex

Michael Ammar´s DVDs on the Cups & Balls are excellent and I recommend you get both if you don´t already own them. In volume 2 you will find extremely useful information that will help you regarding misdirection and loading, among other things.

Good luck,

José.

When I load the balls, I always turn my body for some added cover, and I point. Point, Load, and point again. Additionally, you can give the (small) ball a little kick to the opposite side of the table as you lift the cup to show that it has jumped back, or whatever it has just done. That is, if loading the right cup with the right hand, you would kick the ball to the left side of the table. Something I learned from a good friend was to also put the wand near the edge of the table, stopping the ball from rolling off if the kick is a little too hard.

Best of Luck!

I suggest you get comfortable doing just one final load first. Then, as your technique and confidence increase, you can move on to three or more loads. The appearance of one lemon, tennis ball or whatever will still be plenty impressive if you do it right.

If you are doing the "ball-thru-cups" penetration, the final appearance of three balls under the stack of three cups should provide more than enough cover for a final load. To help keep everyone's attention on the three little balls, I often slowly count "one-two-three" as I lift the stack and reveal the balls.

The basic concepts of misdirection aren't complicated or difficult. It's really more like controlling and directing a person's atttention, than "misdirecting" anything. Unfortunately, misdirection is not something you can completely learn from reading or watching; you need to actually get out there and perform. It also takes a fair amount of nerve, at least in the beginning. Enlist the help of your parents, girlfriend, spouse, best friend, etc., to help you along -- they can honestly tell you when it works and when it doesn't.

However, once you get comfortable with misdirection, it is absolutely amazing what you can accomplish right under someone's nose. Before you can master misdirection, you also need to have all your sleights and moves down pat, so you can do them automatically and don't need to look at your hands. This allows you to concentrate on your presentation and your misdirection.

BTW, I second the suggestion of Ammar's "Cups & Balls," which is also available in book form as well as on DVD. Some learn better from a book, for others DVD is the way to go. I think reading about Michael's ideas on misdirection would be more valuable than watching, since you will then understand WHY he does what he does, and you can ultimately create whatever works the best for you. But that's just my opinion, based on my own experience. As they say, your mileage may differ! SETH

The advice that you have received above is tremendous. For additional information on the general art of misdirection, I would highly recommend Fitzke's book, "Magic by Misdirection". It is written much like a theoretical text, but very enlightening.

Kent

This BASIC skill or awareness is easier to learn with an audience than in isolation. Try this:

Put a cup on the table mouth down.
Have a load ball ready to grab
Take a small ball and announce your intent to have it travel by magic under the cup.
Vanish the small ball (or just put it in your pocket)
Announce the appearance of the ball under the cup
Pick up the cup and reveal... nothing
act surprised
There is your moment to do the load.

INteresting idea... you don't need a M****T then, to do a chop cup style routine. Just NOTHING. And timing. And confidence.

You could just have a lemon or lime in your pocket and walk up to a table and take a coffee cup and an "Invisible" ball. And mime a few things like making the ball change color, size, etc... then pretend to put it in your pocket (stealing load) and... well, you get the idea.

I LIKE IT. I WILL TRY IT.

As usual, Jonathan is thinking outside the box (or the cup, as it were.)

Very cute idea -- and a nice, easy way to learn some misdirection! SETH

I guess if you were very good the misdirection would not be a problem. That aside please see Dai Vernon for some of the best misdirection on cups and balls. Also Ross Bertram manages to get baby chicks under the cups under what I would call pretty darn good misdirection.

All sarcasam and silliness aside though, you will learn the cups and balls for many years after you feel you have mastered them. It is the nature of the beast that when we feel we know almost all something new presents itself either in presentation style or in methodology.

And what a fun learning experience it is!!!!

Have fun and good luck

Danny

Danny makes a good point -- all the misdirection in the world won't cover a poorly executed sleight. And conversely, good sleights alone are not going to carry the day.

The good news is that some combination of technique and misdirection usually does the job. As long as your misdirection is adequate, you don't have to be Cardini or T. Nelson Downs. Just work on doing the best you can in both departments, and you will be fine. I also agree with Danny that there's always room for improvement and something new to learn. But that's what makes magic challenging, interesting and fun. SETH

Great advice so far, as usual.

You would not believe the power of asking an audience member a question. Everyone is looking at your face, and your audience member's face.

In my current cups and balls routine, the balls penetrate the cups and assemble under a single cup before I vanish them individually. I show that they have returned under the cups, then put them away one at a time, reloading the cups with a single ball each as I do so. I then ask someone who looks like they are having fun to name any cup and guess what's under it. The interest is so strong in whether this person will be right or wrong that it is easy to do the final loads. There is a lot of tension before the cup is lifted; when it is, everyone relaxes, and you do the load.

The very easiest final load, of course, is the fourth one, right after the first final load is revealed. Everyone is staring at a large orange sitting on the table. You have plenty of time to reload the cup with another orange, then place the first orange on top.

Yours,

Paul

Very great advice so far. I wanted to say thanks to everybody who's replied so far. And thanks to the people who will reply in the future.

Alex

Misdirection for the Cups & Balls is easily built into the routine. The problem is to have a good loading technique and a "misdirecting attitude". I learned loading from Don Alan's Chop Cup technique, but it can be applied to the Cups as well. I understand that Alan's technique is explained in a Ron Bauer booklet, but I haven't read it. I learned it from Don Alan in the 1960's.

It is far easier to do it sitting down at a table...this is the way that Dai Vernon did it in all of the older films and photos. It was only later in life that he started doing it standing.

Best regards,
Glenn Godsey

I have started using the Don Alan loading method with my pouch. Cup goes back, in the right hand, to the pouch after lifting off the table to reveal the object, as it gets to the pouch and as it barely drops over the edge, the left hand comes forward to pick up the object on the table. The load is done. I am mainly fine tuning the rhythm and speed of various parts.

Watch closely. Do they look when you start asking or when after they start thinking about their answer?

Jonathan,

It's like a tennis match. They look at my face as I "serve," then at the other fellow's face while he digs for an answer. No matter what they say, it is a good spot for a comment.

For example:

Dr. Wilson: "What do you think is under this cup?"

Audience Member: "Nothing."

Dr. Wilson: "There has to be something. This isn't an existentialist play, it's a magic show. See, there's one ball."

Yours,

Paul

Here is some rather basic information about misdirection.
When you vanish some object the audience is watching you carefully.
When you produce something the attention of the audience is relaxed.
Think about that. When you vanish something they look to see where it went.
Whey you produce something, they are looking at what was just produced.
In my cup and ball routine I make two balls appear one after another to introduce the climax. Then, on the next cup, a ball just slightly larger and different color appears under the cup after which the next climax is introduced. The is very basic and very powerful misdirection.

And a word about using questions as misdirection. This is the most powerful means of blinding the audience's mind eye there is. They can stare directly at some move and when you ask a question, nothing is recorded.

There are two types of questions:
Introvertive and extrovertive.
Extrovertive asks something not about the person you are asking.
What was the name of the card?

Introvertive asks something internal to the person.
Why did you pick that one?

Just basic stuff.
Al Schneider

Al,

I like your comments about the power of asking questions as misdirection. Do you think that there's a difference in the power of an extrovertive and an introvertive question?

When you ask an extrovertive question, you are asking an individual but the question might be applicable to the whole audience (in your example "What was your card?", where the selection might have been shown to the whole audience while your back is turned). In the extrovertive question, the whole auidience can consider the answer to the question - so that their attention is internalised.

When you ask an introvertive question - such as "why did you pick that one?" - the question is only really applicable to the person being asked the question. The rest of the audience's attention is switched to the person being asked the question as they wait for an answer.

Just wondered whether you feel there is a difference between these and whether you had a preference for the type of question to ask.

Thanks.

Richard

Dear taliesin
Yes there is a definite difference between introvertive and extrovertive questions.

Introvertive questions tie up the person's mind a lot more. On this kind of question they are also searching if they want to reveal something that might be personal. Its like asking someone what they did when the lights went out. That triggers a lot of personal stuff to wade through to answer the question.

I also believe that other spectator's get tied up as well because they imagine what the person must be going through. So I think the introvertive question not only works on the single individual but all others as well.

The problem is that you are starting to get in the person's face.

So, the questions used should be extrovertive. Also the qustions should be short and somewhat innocent. The move you are trying to cover should be executed at the exact end of your question. The sentence ends and bang, you do the move.

A couple of other points if I can beat the horse some more. At the end of the question raise your voice just a bit. Before you do all of this you should also not be looking at the spectator. Just as you finish the sentence/question, glance up at them. Do not look at them long for then they will look into your eyes. Just a glance so they know you looked at them. Then look back at what you were doing so their eyes stay on your hands. And finally, use intention that you expect the question to be answered. This can be difficult for it is subtle. It is more mental but reflected in the tone of your voice. There are ways to ask the question so the person questioned feels compelled to answer the question.

If all of these things are in place, the misdirection is very, very powerful.

Understand, these are my opinions. They are things I have gathered through experience. I sometimes worry about saying things when I don't have a Ph. D. in Psychology or acting. But thanks for asking.
Al Schneider

As with any misdirection, I like some time/space misdirection. Let me give you an example.

SITUATION: I have a final load in my pocket. I have a ball under a cup. I remove the cup, remove the ball. Do a retaining pass. While turning the cup back over and loading the ball I mention that I'll put the ball away. The ball goes into the pocket. Almost immediately I lift the cup "...and it RETURNS" I look surprised to find the ball under the cup. I even bend towards the ball on the table as my hand comes out of my pocket with the final load and the back of the hand towards the spectators.

My eyes don't come off the ball on the table as I transfer the cup to my other hand (making the final load) then take that hand and pick up the ball as if it had suddenly turned purple and started singing. I raise the ball to eye level as I absentmindedly set the cup on the table (finishing the final load).

Time misdirection. I have the final load out and ready several seconds before I do the load.

I keep them looking at my left side as I do my dirty work in the right and then I even use vertical space in lifting the little ball while putting the loaded cup on the table.


My right hand as come into play 3 times, each time in a dismissing way.

1) put away the ball.
2) get the cup out of my other hand so I can pick up the ball on the table
3) set the cup down because it just isn't as important as the ball that I'm examining.

Don't add any importance to the load and neither will your audience.