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scottsheltonmagic New user Raleigh, NC 59 Posts |
Here's the routine I use. It turns it into a cell phone trick, not a card trick. Sorry for the long post. I already had the script written down.
The World’s Longest Card Trick Effect: While one spectator holds a deck of cards, the magician explains that she’s selected a card and is going to let someone else find it for a change. To make it more difficult, she invites someone with a cell phone to call anybody they know—it could be a person in a different city, state, or even country! The person on the phone correctly names the card that is turned upside down in the deck, which the first spectator has been holding the entire time. No stooges, forces, or sleight of hand. Method: As many of you may have surmised, this is an Invisible Deck routine turned completely on its head. This relies not on finger-flicking, but on the power of the presentation and impossibility of the challenge. As magicians we sometimes become desensitized to the effect that gimmicked decks can have on a lay audience. Step out of your box for a moment. Imagine that I lay one card face-down on the table. I then invite you to call anybody that you know and ask them to tell us what card is turned upside down. We turn the card over and staggeringly, they’re correct. This would slay magicians. Now here’s the real secret: to a lay person, this is the same trick! Performance: Begin by handing your Invisible Deck, still in its case, to a spectator to guard. Ask their name, then say, “Your job is to hold this so everyone can see it and make sure no one gets inside of it.” To the person next to him say, “Your job is to watch him and make sure he doesn’t cheat!” Not only does this get 2 spectators involved (and a laugh), but it keeps the first one from looking inside the deck. “As a magician, I often get asked to find people’s cards. I want to pick a card and let someone else find it for a change! So I’ve turned one card upside down inside that deck that he’s holding, and we’re going to see if someone else can guess what it is.” “To make this more difficult, does anybody have a cell phone?” Invariably, hands will go up. If not, you can use a standard phone, but cell phones are psychologically more impressive. Ask the volunteer’s name. “Please turn it on and put it on speakerphone, if possible. I want you to call anybody that you know. It could be someone in a different city, state, or even country! It needs to be somebody who’s going to be at home and answer their phone.” While she’s dialing ask her, “For the record, who are you calling and where do they live?” (ex. “My mom, Betty, in New York.”) Repeat what she said. “She’s calling her mom, Betty, in New York!” (Spread your arms wide.) “This is the longest card trick in the world, ladies and gentlemen! When she answers, hold the phone up and we’ll all say, ‘Hi, Betty!’” When Betty answers, motion to her to hold up the phone and lead the audience in saying, “Hi, Betty!” Pause after each beat and let the volunteer follow your instructions: “Tell Betty that you’re here in <location> with magician Scott Shelton. We have one card turned upside down in a deck, and Betty knows what it is.” All of the heat is now on the cell phone, not the cards. Have the spectator ask Betty which card is turned upside down. (Note that this is different than asking Betty to “Name a card, any card.” The latter implies the choice was indifferent and irrelevant; the former implies there can only be one choice.) After Betty names the card (ex. 7 of Spades), tell her to “Keep Betty on the line.” Ask the first volunteer if he’s been holding the cards the entire time. Ask the second volunteer if he’s been watching him to make sure he didn’t cheat. Slowly take the deck from the first volunteer, keeping it in full view at all times. “She said the 7 of Spades? You’re not going to believe this.” Slowly and cleanly take the Invisible Deck cards out of the box with the correct side facing toward you. In this case, odd numbered cards would be facing toward you and even numbered cards toward the audience. Fan the deck and out-jog the selected card so that its back is to the audience. “What I want to show you, ladies and gentlemen, is that there is only one card turned upside down in the deck.” Take the reversed card out and hold it near your face before revealing. “Betty, that card is…the 7 of Spades!” After the applause dies down, tell the audience, “Everybody say, ‘Thank you, Betty!’” |
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scottsheltonmagic New user Raleigh, NC 59 Posts |
Bonus Notes & Tips on Invisible Decks:
Don’t ask the person on the phone if they want to change their mind. You’ve already built up the fact that they KNOW which card is turned upside down. When working with an Invisible Deck, lose the Jokers. They serve absolutely no purpose other than to prove that cards have backs, which is something the audience already believes to begin with. Plus, you’re going to show them one card reversed anyway. Also, I don’t like remembering which set of Kings is even and which set is odd. So, I always put a red card on the outside of the deck where the red kings are, and black card on the outside of the other end of the deck. Now when I open the box, I can immediately see in which direction I need to take out the cards. The idea for this routine germinated years ago when Eugene Burger challenged us in a Ring 199 lecture to look at our existing effects from new perspectives. You can take the same trick and present it entirely differently depending on what emotional experience you want the audience to have. I used to perform the Invisible Deck using the admittedly cheesy patter that’s in the instructions. I wanted to take credit away from me and give it to the spectator, so that she gets the credit for naming the card I selected. Since there’s really no sleight of hand, forces, or stooges, I could let another spectator hold the deck the entire time. And if the volunteer could really name any card, then she could call someone on a cell phone and they could name any card. All of a sudden, it’s not a card trick—it’s a cell phone trick! Jeff McBride gets credit for naming it “The World’s Longest Card Trick” when I performed it for him in a Master Class, emphasizing the distance spanned with the cell phone. The further away they call, the more impressive the effect. Jeff also added that instead of spreading the cards on the table at the end, it is much more visual to fan the cards at chest level and reveal the card so that the attention is on your face, not your waist. It has the added benefit that you don’t have to remember any math—you’re staring right at the selected card! |
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amerigo Veteran user Can't believe I only have 318 Posts |
Quote:
On 2008-01-15 14:48, Joshua Lozoff wrote: Very Good
Magic is Everywhere
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JSBLOOM Inner circle 2024 Posts |
Check out Bill Malon'es version. Additionally, nice idea to give someone else the credit. I do some tricks where I mess up amd my wife saves my %^&
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lynnef Inner circle 1407 Posts |
Quote:
On 2008-05-25 21:56, scottsheltonmagic wrote: On losing the joker .... Once a wiseguy named the joker while I was using the invisible deck, thinking it couldn't be produced! It shocked a whole crowd, even thought the card was on top! |
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matt.magicman Inner circle Mars 1524 Posts |
However you end up performing this, don't do it like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAsp0JKniXI its about 2.30mins into the clip this has to be THE worse presentation of the effect, ever! he even puts the frigging card back into the deck "upsidedown" ?????? WTF !! he's normally better than this maybe instead of spending years learning how to juggle cards, he should work on the presentation instead? dynamo, shame on you........ |
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