So far without fail every time I've performed this it went over very well. My gimmick is holding up fine and to be honest if it ever wears out I will buy another one. But so far it is holding up extremely well. Now here is one for all who feel the card is hooky. I performed this 2 days ago and when I showed the card a man said "My neighbor is a magician and he has the same membership card." Remember as Magicians we take the ordinary and make magic out of it. Performed correctly the audience sees you show your membership card, place it back in your wallet, they choose a card and sign it (or not) and then place the card into the deck and presto! They find your membership card in the deck and their signed card is in your wallet. And ladies and gentlemen if after all that someone says "Hey that Membership Card looks hooky!" Well then something went really wrong. I have had nothing but people being amazed especially when they see it is a SIGNED card coming out of my wallet. My true feelings about this is forget about what you feel as to what the Membership Card looks like. Practice this till you can do it in your sleep and then perform it. And watch their faces and you will no longer worry about the gimmick.


Good magic to all,


Eric

Amen. The truth prevails.

The key here, as your post demonstrates, is to keep clarity of effect uppermost in your own mind as you perform. And the routine is so constructed that the effect is VERY clear, and from the spectators viewpoint, MOVELESS.

When you perform, as I'm doing, it's easy to build a routine around the fairness of everything. Emphasize the fairness ) As Michal Ammar would say) sell the routine, that is KEY. Let them clearly and emphatically see and know that your hands are empty and that you are not making any fast, suspicious moves. Emphasize how slow and fair your hand movements are. HIGHLIGHT the miraculousness of what is supposedly occurring.

The moment you open up the wallet and give them the first glimpse of the face down dummy card, most folks are thinking "Oh no! It cant be! He's not gonna..." In their mind they sense that you are about to remove that card and show them their signature. They just about know what's coming next. A lot of folks, having seen magic before sense what is coming and capitulate before you even remove the signed card! The battle is already half way won!

By the time you DO let them turn over their signed card, they've been slain! Their little mind has nowhere to go! Their puny brain is about to be put on acid!

The ONLY ones who may not be won over by this are the goofy ones who come up with some ludicrous, absurd explanation like "You had a long, invisible rubber band or string going from the deck to your wallet!!" or "There was a magnet in your sleeve and it was sucked up in your sleeve and then it traveled down a long tube behind your back into the wallet." (Even at that, you don't have to necessarily pocket the wallet and can leave it out in plain sight during the routine which would wipe out even most of those absurd explanations.)

But we've all run into those kind of folks in our performances. Just brush it off as they are hopeless anyway, But for most SANE spectators, this is a miracle if you present it as such.

A lot of people ask how long this will last. The gimmick to me seems pretty durable. The membership card iis just a regular card like a buisness card. As I stated before I laminated the card to hold up longer as it will get wore in the wallet. I was still having an issue with the card bending and such carrying it card 24/7 so I now carry the real card in the deck I'm performing with. When I pull out the deck and open it I say "Oh I must have forgot to put away my membership card. Then I explain and show it all around and in the wallet it goes. You know the rest. THis keep everything in tip top shape.

Doug, when I tip my method to you, I appreciate it more that you keep it to yourself!
And it's not a 'rubber band". It's a "variable tension gripper".

Chris

Oops! I let it slip! Just like that time I let it slip about Harry Anderson's "Grappler"

Sorry!

A Variable Tension Gripper?!?!?
Ok, my order is going in tonight for sure!

Actually, I'm only half kidding. I have decided after reading all the positive comments here that I'm getting this for my birthday.

Ok kids... If yer gonna use the line, get it right... "Variable tension Restraint Device"... Thanks and good night...

Michael Ammar uses the line "variable tension gripper" with his card to ceiling trick.

And all I ever saw was a box of secrets...er, I mean Sucrets.

The more I work with this effect everyday, the more I love the simplicity and diabolical thinking in it! So clean, so SNEAKY!!! Right under their nose. They watch you do the move, and have no idea what they are watching! No wonder it fooled me the first time I saw the video.

So here's a FOLLOW UP to my last post in this thread! I know that MANY of you are concerned with the acutal Membership Card (not the gimmick) getting all chewed up by keeping it in your wallet over time.

Like Josh said, I don't keep this in my wallet 24/7, I just add it to my wallet and part of my prep before entering the Dinning Room...but for those that do wish to always leave it in your wallet, here's an idea...

SCAN THE MEMBERSHIP CARD (Front and Back) and save the files as JPEGs to your Computer. That way, when your membership card starts to get a tad "worse for wear" you can print out a new one on thick business cards stock...which is what Josh has them printed on anyhow!

I have done this with my HEIRLOOM PHOTO's so when they begin to get really chewed up and become un-usable, I don't have to purchase another Heirloom. I just print myself out some new pictures and I'm good to go!

Do the same with the Membership Card with Transporter and TA DA! Problem Solved!

Christopher, that is an excellent idea, scanning the membership card. My copy of Transporter just arrived and I am debating about whether to laminate the card or not. For those of you who have laminated the card, have you had any spectators notice the discrepency when the membership card shows up later on and it is slightly different?

A Café' member previously in this thread suggested the DUCK brand laminate that you can get at Wal-Mart. He said that you can literally cut it right up the edge of the card and it looks EXACTLY LIKE the gimmick.

I think if you take it someplace to laminate then it will appear quite noticably different...

I have NOT used the laminant yet, but I do plan to...

Christopher

We've finally received our blue backed gaffs!

For those interested, Transporter is now available in red and blue back:

http://www.elmwoodmagic.com/?nd=full&key=7925

Coming in quite late here on this effect as I just received mine today. Just a couple of thoughts although it will be awhile before I attempt this little jewel.

Number one, how on earth could you possibly laminate the non-gaffed Magicians Card when the gaffed Magicians card is NOT laminated!! My God, that would stick out like the proverbial "sore thumb"! You're trying to convince that both are one and the same. You show the Magicians card, and even let the spectator handle it at the beginning. Lets assume that you have it laminated. Then, when the SAME (supposedly) Magicians card is revealed amongst the cards that the spectator spreads through, suddenly.....its no longer laminated! Now that just ain't gonna float in my humble opinion.

Secondly, I think that the real Magicians card should have been a tad thicker/heavier to match that of the gaffed Magicians card. Obviously, I've only been practicing this with myself so I'm taking that into consideration. However, if the spectator is allowed to handle the non-gaffed Magicians card at the beginning its quite thin as compared to that of the gaffed one when they spread through the deck, and to me, it really feels somewhat odd, as in THICK (which it obviously is). Granted, this might very well be a minor point if you immediately reach out and grab it before the spectator has a chance to feel the discrepancy. All on all, I think the effect and the gimmick is simply genius, and open to even more effects.

You will be happy to know that every time I have performed this it went very well and no one noticed a difference in card thickness. They really were too hard pressed to see if their card was in fact the same card they chose earlier and not a duplication. I found too by saying right away "Will you please verify this is your card?" it takes any heat (not that there is any) off the gimmick right away. I DO NOT laminate my card and keep it in my performance wallet ONLY and it is holding up greatly. Hope these comments help.


Good magic to all,


Eric

Which reminds me. I need to get a different wallet. For many years I've only used tri-fold wallets with a built in money clip and not a regular folding wallet. I'm not one who easily adapts to change so perhaps I'll buy a cheap one. Maybe throw in some old credit cards, and a few bills and keep it for this effect only. That would also keep the Magicians membership card in good shape.

So what's the verdict on this? It looks awesome and clean, even there's a factor of the thickness of the card that might raise question.

I have used it a bunch since I purchased it, it's still in great shape, and it amazes every time.

This is one of the best purchases I made this year. I love the cleanness of the handling. I can show my hands CLEARLY empty and free of guile and STILL the card appears in my wallet.

If you do it the way Joshua tells you to, you will smoke their minds every time.

I agree with Daffydoug.


Good magic to all,


Eric