On 2013-01-15 22:04, Bandaloop wrote:
I think it's more just about how the section prior to the routines is written. Swain goes through a story about shiners and mem decks and kind of makes it seem like he came up with a solution to his searching and then goes into SS stack effects. I think the OP was a little confused because it seemed like he was going to reveal his own type of deck and so thought that maybe there was a detail that he was overlooking that separated it from a SS stack. The way that section was written -- I can see how he may have thought he was missing something.

On 2013-01-15 18:58, JohnWells wrote:
Have you actually tried it in front of an audience? If not, then yes, you are certainly missing the bulk of the information you need to evaluate the quality of the effect.

That may be, but if, as I assume, the goal of performing magic is to entertain spectators, rather than some sort of card-based onanism, then the impact would seem to be the germane question.

On 2013-01-15 22:04, rnaviaux wrote:
There is one aspect not mentioned here. That is the point that Darwin Ortiz's Si Stebbins secret is a part of the "Miracle Deck".

On 2013-01-16 14:38, BarryFernelius wrote:

Quote:

On 2013-01-15 22:04, rnaviaux wrote:
There is one aspect not mentioned here. That is the point that Darwin Ortiz's Si Stebbins secret is a part of the "Miracle Deck".

This is a very important point. It may account for Jim Swain’s enthusiasm about the so-called “Miracle Deck.”

How many of you know Darwin Ortiz’s Si Stebbins secret? (I see a few hands going up.) How many of you have actually executed it in front of a real audience? (Many of the hands go down. A few hands are still up. Steven Youell is waving his hand and bouncing up and down.) If you don’t know it, you might want to find it. It’s in print and on Darwin’s DVDs.

Imagine the following scenario:

One day, you’re at a friend’s house, and he asks you to do a magic trick for the assembled masses. You take out a deck, and do a few cool tricks. Everyone is amazed and happy. (I’ve done this many times.)

Now, imagine an alternate scenario:

One day, you’re at a friend’s house, and he asks you to do a magic trick for the assembled masses. You ask him if he has a deck. He has a deck, but it’s old and has brown edges. You politely decline to perform. “I could use my own deck, but you’d probably think I was using some kind of trick deck.” No one is offended, but your friend decides that next time he is going to be prepared for your visit.

The next time that you are at a party at the same friend’s house, he again asks you to do some magic for the crowd. But this time, he has purchased a brand new Bicycle deck, still in its wrapper. You smile, uncase the brand new deck and shuffle it very thoroughly. (Here’s where Darwin’s idea comes into play. It only requires a few hundred hours of rehearsal. It’s worth it.)

You then proceed to do Gene Anderson’s wonderful routine with the Si Stebbins stack. If the crowd insists, you can continue a bit longer by doing Juan Tamariz’s Neither Blind Nor Stupid, followed by your favorite handling of Out of This World. This time, you’ve rocked everyone back on their heels. They’ve never seen anything like this. You end by giving the deck back to your host. You are well on your way to becoming a magician who is remembered in fable and song.

Reader’s Digest Condensed Version of Scenario Two:

1. Darwin Ortiz is a genius.
2. Harry Lorayne has been right all along; the magic is amplified if you use their deck of cards.

On 2013-01-16 18:40, Maximilien wrote:
I might be wrong, but I don't think the SS Secret has been explained by D. Ortiz on DVD.

On 2013-01-16 18:54, Billy-one wrote:
whats that have to do with an author being excited about something a million years old, as if he discovered a miracle?

Billy

On 2013-01-16 20:57, Hideo Kato wrote:
Even if Ortiz' method of arranging SS stack from a normal deck is wonderful and/or Swain's use of SS stack is wonderful, one should not change the name of the already famous deck, i.e. 'Si Stebbins Stack' to 'Miracle Deck'. I believe it is the topic of this thread.

Hideo Kato