I’ve been using the MPS (Malloy version) for about ten years. I love it. I have the chest hanging throughout the show and perform the MPS as a second to last routine. Never fails.

Thanks for the responses MJ and INMOTION. Lots of good thoughts.

MJ that's a great endorsement for the MPS.. if you have had it for 10 years and you still love it that's huge.

I've been doing magic for over 40 years, and the only thing in that time that floored me was the MPS. I saw a magician in a small theater in Orlando perform it around 1980-1990. It blew me away. I was completely fooled, and didn't learn the secret until some 10 years later. After you've been doing this awhile, you forget what it's like to be a spectator, watching something that is totally impossible. You lose the feeling of magic and wonder. Too bad we all can't revert to our old selves and watch a great magic show with no idea how any of the tricks work.

Great thoughts Jim. I'm trying to remember if I've actually seen the MPS performed live. If I have it wasn't a major part of the show. I've seen it on video, and I've seen many other predictions performed live using various methods.

I do like the tube vs. the envelope, it's a small piece of the puzzle but an important part.

I am working on a new confabulation routine. After a few years, of the listed suggestions: MPS, Crystal Clear, etc, which have any of you used? I'm looking at the Crystal Clear and am curious how flexible this is. I need the prediction to be on a larger paper than shown and with four predictions. Now, I use an off stage assistant for my own method I've been using. I've just decided to mix it up this year and try something new. Thanks for any input.

They all have their drawbacks.... crystal clear doesn’t fit my style so I’ve never considered it personally. To me it’s clever, but too many parts of it feel a bit strange.

One of the reasons I like MPS is the tube helps justify the box. Why would you put an envelope in a box? Just hang the envelope.

I love Cody fishers routine, the method is brilliant but you end up with a regular sheet of paper which isn’t big enough for on stage.

I think you mentioned in the other thread that you aren’t a fan of no-brainer?

I have owned all of them with the exception of Wellington. Have owned MPS w/rolling cart base,
Crystal Clear, Revelation Chest by Fairchild, No Brainer and as well I have Cody Fishers Confab routine.

In the end, recently I went back to the Malloy MPS however w/step ladder base. While expensive, as long as you have a way to hang the chest high enough to warrant a ladder, it's hard to beat this. The ladder base in itself is a thing of beauty, natural looking and deceptive.

I own the MPS Malloy with table, but the ladder base is a real piece of art......

I ended up finding a Wellington model MPS and really like it. As long as the table is justified I don’t think anyone would suspect it.

The ladder idea is very clever though, and I agree a brilliant invention.

To me, crystal clear, while clever, misses the point of wy to use a box. The box is way to big to just hold an envelope. But also, why use a box at all for an envelope? The MPS has a box to hold the tube. The tube justified to be inside of a box. Aesthetically, I really hate the look of crystal clear. It's very clever but I think this is a case of magician thinking that is trying to justify a cool method as from an audience perspective, there isn't a logical reason for the box. I really wanted to convince myself though because of all the other advantages it has, but sadly, I cannot.

I have used No Brainer and still use that system for my small parlor/smaller corporate shows. It is fantastic and I actually really like this system as it seems very fair, the prediction is large and easy to read, etc. However, there is only the capability of having 2 pieces of 'live' info with the others needing to be forced. The audience will of course think all of it is 'live info' but if you actually need it all to be live, then this won't work for you.

I've owned a malloy in the past and then sold it as I really hated the table of it, the giant case, etc. Now I have a wellington clear vue on the way for larger shows. However, you may want to look into MIB by scott alexander which does not need an assistant. You could also look into Dream Prediction wihch is essentially a switchhing envelope. If you wanted to use an assistant, you could easily use this switching envelope for a large piece of paper that an assistant, 'assists' with, do a load behind a char that you use to unclip the hanging envelope with. In the action of getting down from the chair, the prediction is loaded behind the switching envelope and then "taken out of" the envelope. I've used this myself in the past.

-Eli

^so many typos. Once again my iphone fails me. Sorry folks

Just a lunchtime thought. With different types of ballot boxes (drop off, postal, counting) being plastered on newscasts for the last three months, I wonder if that could be used. Mentioning that the envelope has been further isolated in a "tamperproof, regulation ballot box" would make sense. Maybe put a small rectangular card on it that says "Postal Ballot Box" or something similar?

^I could see that being nice and make a bit more sense. Still not for me but really nice thinking on that.