I personally prefer the smooth Fakinis myself. I just feel they look better on stage and work better for me. They also then match my colored balls better for when I do my color changes. Now I buy cheap 1 3/4 bouncy balls of various colors at a toy store near me. they work very nicely for color changes and are cheap enough to replace when I need to. If I am using the smooth fakinis, the transition is much better for me.

Kyle

I just treated myself to a set of smooth white Fakinin balls and one extra white ball for a 5 ball routine (which I love performing). unfortunatley I used to turn a red silk into the first ball (with my old set of vernet balls, by using the vernet hank ball). this isn't possible with Fakinin as they do not have an identical hank ball.

any suggestions as to how I can 'magically' produce the first ball?

I ordered the balls from Denny&Lee and expect to recieve them by the end of next week - I can't wait.

Dani

First of all I would like to say that Denny&Lee supply the best service I have ever had from any magic shop.
A big thumbs up to them. they will certainly get more of my business.

If any magic supplyer would like to know why, feel free to pm me. It all binds down to satisfying the customer (not only with the props you supply - but also (mainly) with the service you supply).

I am in love - these balls are amazing. where have I been? bye bye Vernet.
if you do multiplying balls - get these (Fakini)!!



Dani

As to what the green looks like...look at the flourescent green in the Café logo>

Cheers!

I ended up getting the green and they are just what I was after.

Dani, you could always get a dimishing ball and use that as a hank ball. They only come in 1 3/4" though. There are other ways to produce the same effect. eg. TT, P**l.

Hi Michael,

I'll be looking towards seeing your routine at the next club meeting then? Sound like fun.

All the best,

JoJo

Thanks flying magus for the tips.
I contacted Denny from Denny&Lee and he stated that the fakini diminishing ball is not apropriate for a silk aka silk ball.

I am totally useless with a TT and never did get on well with them and as for the P--l, I only perform short sleeved.

I am also not familiar with the Fakini diminishing ball. if anyone has experience with that item, I would apreciate if you could PM me just to describe its 'mechanical' working so that I could decide if it is something I could get along with and perform.

I'm not lazy but sometimes I lack confidence when it comes to using new slights in an old routine. I need to know - is this self working? does it utilize any pitching? must you wear a jacket to perform it? rate of dificulty between 1 and 5?

if it is something I can use, I will take your advice and change the begining of my routine from silk to ball to diminishing and retuning ball instead.

thanks,
Dani

Hi Danry
Sounds like we are on similar paths. I just got a set of 5 2" fakinis in white at Denny's shop last night. It seems the best billiard guys in the biz prefer the white balls. They do show up the largest on stage. He also talked me into getting the Alan Wakeling book as well. Denny is a bastion of knowledge and everything I buy from him is quite a bargain when I figure in his help and expertise. If it wasn't for Denny I'm sure I'd have a room full of magic junk. Are you doing doing the Alan wakeling type routine or just putting your own stuff together? Great stuff in that book! I hope to use some of the Wakeling moves together with some more traditional stuuf and create a routine that suits me. That book is great reading though, really inspires me to want to learn the billiard to near perfection. Like to hear how you make out with your billiard routine, keep us informed.
JB

John,
I have a philosophy and it tends not to include any known material.
in other words I produce all my own routines: billiard balls, sponge balls, guilotine, juggling, etc.
My patter is also based on my skill to adlib and I generaly imagine what it is I want my audience to see and hear, I then write it down, practice, perform a few runs and then collect all my new routines (usually about 10) and premier them at one of the hotels I work with. I usualy continue performing my new show for about two months (as many times as possible) and after ironing out the material I formerly sell the show under its own branded name.
this insures both myself and my clients that whatever they get from me, they can be sure that they wont find anywhere else.

with regards to the multiplying balls: I keep this very simple (i.e 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 productions, a few transpositions and then finish with the balls vanishing one at a time). Nothing too confusing, no color changes (these wouldn't show up too well in the suroundings where I perform), short, sweet and to the point. I do some double takes when balls vanish to humor and spice up the short routine.

I am thinking about adding the diminishing ball to my routine as I pointed out in my previous post and hope to record my new act within a couple of months. I will be happy to post the video here at the Café when it's done.

Also, MUST ADD, thumbs up for Denny of Denny&Lee. Absolutely amazing service.
Dani

All the colours of the fakinis look great. I use a green ball to colour change my white in one of my routines. However I understand that people say that the yellow balls show up under blacklight, well they do but the audience doesn't really know whats going on and thinks that its to do with the lights not your skill

Sam