|
|
Mugician New user 63 Posts |
I think I'm going to need some help with this trick. Does anyone have advice on how to fold the card without being caught? I just can't seem to get it. I don't even want to perform this for anyone until I can do it close to flawless. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
|
Chrystal Inner circle Canada/France 1552 Posts |
Mugician...Try using the Murcury Fold. I can't remember at this time whom is responsible for that move. Perhaps some other members may be of help? Love the Mystery Box it's one of my favorites!
|
dillib Elite user 476 Posts |
Yup, use the Mercury Card Fold, explained in Expert Card Technique. There's also another way of folding the card, and that is found in John Bannon's book: Smoke and Mirrors, both great books!
Chee Shan
www.ShredGuitarNow.com |
gtxby33 Veteran user 347 Posts |
Quote:
On 2003-03-04 04:06, Chrystal wrote: I am thinking he IS using the mercury fold but that it's just not easy for him. You know, you could go a step down and do what John Kennedy did on the demo of his site (put the card behind his back after the card was controlled to the top then he just folded it and palmed it)... -Max
white hats rule.
|
GeorgeG Special user Thousand Oaks, CA 977 Posts |
Agree...no need for sleights.
Controlling the card to the top of the deck then pretending to find the card with the deck behind your back while folding the card adds a nice comical and surprise element to the effect. You give that frustated look to your audience as if you just screwed up the trick but then smile as you tell them that you were prepared for such emergency by pointing to the mystery box. |
Mugician New user 63 Posts |
I think I may try this behind my back the first time I perform it for someone. I've got a few decks of used cards though that I'm going to use for practicing the mercury fold. I just love the thought of being able to fool people right under their noses.
|
KingStardog Inner circle 2134 Posts |
Behind the back or the mercury doesn't matter to the layperson. In fact behind the back adds an element of surprise as they expect it to show up in your back pocket or wallet or something. The fold is well worth the time to learn it right, just not for this. Remember the name of the effect is ......Mystery Box! That is the miracle to the spec. Nothing else. Spend the time on getting the pass right without flashing.
...think not that all wisdom is in your school. You may have studied other paths,but, it is important to remember that no matter who you are or where you come from, there is always more to learn.
|
Bill Beach Veteran user Nashville, TN 304 Posts |
Thanks for the confirmation of the behind-the-back method. That's the way I've been doing it with great reactions. I had been considering switching to the Mercury Fold, but now I think I'll leave well enough alone.
By the way, the KMB is a fantastic ending to a Ambitious Card routine. Bill Beach |
MarkFarrar Veteran user U.S.A. 376 Posts |
I seem to recall that Tommy Wonder recommended that you buy about 100 decks and use these to practise the Mercury Card Fold. His theory is that if you just play around with a few spare cards, you'll never do enough practice. But, by the time you've folded about 5,200 cards, you'll be pretty good at this by then!
Mark S. Farrar
Email: [email]MarkFarrar@TheMagicCircle.co.uk[/email] Web: www.MagicSquaresBook.com, www.RandMPublishing.com, www.TheDailyGoalMachine.com, www.ParvoBuster.com |
marko Inner circle 2109 Posts |
Behind-the-back is a good way to go while you're learning. But please still keep practicing the Mercury card fold. It's not as hard as it seems, and would make the effect stronger. Laypeople aren't dumb. When they think back on the behind-the-back procedure, they could possibly reconstruct the method, at least partially. They know something sneaky had to have gone on back there. But with the Mercury card fold, there is seemingly no explanation. If you do a good fold, it'll seem as if you would've had to have left the room to accomplish such a thing. Very strong stuff.
Thought: Why does man kill? He kills for food. And not only food: frequently there must be a beverage.
|
Mugician New user 63 Posts |
Bill, where can I learn an Ambitious Card routine? I've heard this talked about but I'm not familiar with it.
I've been practicing the mercury fold with some old cards but find that the istructions I downloaded for this fold are rather vague. So I do it in a way that is comfortable to me. I can see where it may take a hundred decks worth of practice to get this right. I agree with Kingstardog about the mercury fold being more convincing. I also agree with taking the time practicing the pass without flashing. |
Bill Beach Veteran user Nashville, TN 304 Posts |
There are many sources that teach the Ambitious Card, but I learned it from Michael Ammar in his Easy to Master Card Mircles Vol. 2
available here: or most magic dealers. To learn the Mercury Fold, a great source is Paul Green's "In the Trenches" DVD, available through MagicSmith. Click Here! Both are well worth the investment, you learn not only these but many other powerful effects. Bill Beach By the way, I've been buying decks of cards at my local Dollar Store in packages of 2 for $1.00. At 50 cents per deck they're cheap enough to practice the Mercury Fold with. Just for practice, though, I still use Red Bikes for performance. If you have a Dollar stroe in your area you might check it out. Bill Beach |
The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » New to magic? » » Help with Mystery Box (0 Likes) |
[ Top of Page ] |
All content & postings Copyright © 2001-2024 Steve Brooks. All Rights Reserved. This page was created in 0.02 seconds requiring 5 database queries. |
The views and comments expressed on The Magic Café are not necessarily those of The Magic Café, Steve Brooks, or Steve Brooks Magic. > Privacy Statement < |