Doug, have you ever thought of performing your effect with 'character' cards rather than ESP symbols? Just imagine the possibilities when the spectator correctly matches, then turns over cartoon drawings of:

Bob - Fanny
Hitler - Stalin
Michael Moore - Penn
Joe 6 Pack - Joe The Plumber
Tom Curise - David Icke

Davit asked:
I have occasionally used it with symbols other than the Zener variety (one of the benefits of this method is that it is truly impromptu), but I normally do it with ESP cards as part of a larger routine involving same.

But that's just a personal preference; there's no reason at all why other presentations couldn't be equally effective (and baffling). It's absolutely one of my favourite effects; particularly as it bears repetition, something that can't be said for most approaches. And audiences almost always want to see it again.

Has anyone got Peter Nardi's effect called "E.S.Perfect"?
I saw the demo video, and it just blew me away completely!

How does that compare with some of the best E.S.P. effects?

Thinking of getting this as part of my mentalism routine. I've been trying to find a review of this on here, but haven't found one yet.

ESPerfect is good. Worth getting if you do a fair amount of close up. No marks.

It contains the a great comedy line of typical Nardi/Spellman quality... Looch is given the opportunity to win a twenty pound note and places it on the table.

Looch "I've heard of these"
Nardi "These are nice.. Down south, you see a lot of these"
Looch "I've heard of the purple ones.. I wasn't sure it was true"

It's also worth getting just for the box/star joke at the end.

Thanks for the positive feedback Davit.
I was hoping you can answer some questions for me...
What you see in the demo video, is that whole routine 100% working all the time?
Including the first part where he asks the spectator what she is thinking of, and its actually the card he is holding up.

Does he go through the psychological aspects of the effect on the DVD?

He goes through the effect in detail, with a bunch of variations and different presentations.

I think E.S.Perfect is very clever, but the sudden appearance of the blank cards strikes me far too much as a magic trick (i.e., mental magic) for my taste. And really, it's only the matching of a single card (albeit one known in advance). But again, it's too "pat" for my liking, and (I believe) leaves the audience with no other explanation than "force" (which it is). Also, the cards are gaffed, which means I can't go on and use them for something else. (In other words, it's a "packet trick".)

[And no, the effect as shown in the demo video is not 100%; the first revelation is just chance (though you have close to a 50% likelihood of pulling it off). Only the climax is 100%.]

A much nicer mentalism effect from the Nardi stable is "Perfect ESP". It is, however, a quite different effect from the one primarily being discussed here. In Perfect ESP, the entertainer does the card matching; I have always found this to be a much weaker outcome than when the participant does so.

At one point, I used Perfect ESP as a lead-in to "Bob's Your Uncle" (using the identical cards, the participant accomplishes the same matching that I have just demonstrated). But I eventually abandoned it, as I found the mixing procedure to be a bit contrived: why are we taking so much care in mixing the entertainer's cards when s/he is going to take them in a chosen order anyway? Still, like "Bob's Your Uncle", it's truly impromptu mentalism, with no gaffs of any kind, thus a very good method to have in one's repertoire.

Believe it or not, my Corinda arrived in a packet

The first revelation isn't 100%, but the one on the demo isn't the only "perfect" hit from the audiences POV, you have a 60% chance by pure odds, but you can typically add substantially to that percentage by selecting the most popular symbols.

I do agree that it is a bit 'magical'... it is what it is.

Thanks for the feedback guys. I think its a buy for me. It was pretty much a buy for me all along.

I just hope I don't have to go out and buy any extra cards!

Davit, what do you mean when you said this?
"Believe it or not, my Corinda arrived in a packet"

I believe ESP matching effects should be as simple for the audience to understand as possible.

My routine involves simply asking the spectator to think of a symbol, you read their mind and place one down, face down. They do the same.

This happens 5 times. The cards are turned over and shown to match. It really is as clear and uncontrived as effects can get. No pairing of cards or swapping. You lay down, they lay down, they all match, simple !

Indeed, I used to use marked cards for a number of years to accomplish this and so couldn't really do it across a table at a distance, until I realised I was thinking too much like a magician and had to kick myself several times when I realised WHY I didn't need marked cards, afterall.

I also begin the effect without cards and just naming the symbol the participant is thinking of, similar to Nardi's intro in ESPerfect, but use a subtley to give myself about 90% of a hit, or partial hit. I conclude the effect with the idea of precognition where you predict a symbol ahead of time. The routine lasts about 4 minutes.

All cards are ungaffed and fit snuggly into a wallet. With a well thought out presentation and script, and a very "convincing" performance, this WILL slay an audience. Believe me, I know.

Regards

Andrew

Vernon's Mental card trick in Stars of magic can be applied perfectly to ESP cards.

Just down the street Cody, please lemme know if this is ever released.

Thanks

Candin

It's out.
Penguin

Got it today and I think it is very good!

Yeah, it's good. Nice alternative to Zen mentalism et al.

You might want to look this up: http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......art=20#2 ... Jan

I'm not familiar with John George's routine, but I'm going to buy it after reading the reviews. My favorites are Hen Fetch's Symbologic, and Nick Trost's Dream Of The Hermit.

Rhine's revenge is the best I have seen.

In case you’re not familiar with it:

https://youtu.be/1MndYkx9BX4

And

https://youtu.be/dmsiaV1TeHE

Some beautiful thinking in there, Jan.