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The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » Books, Pamphlets & Lecture Notes » » Review: Second Thoughts by Ramón Riobóo (2 Likes) Printer Friendly Version

michaelmystic2003
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Aside from those who collect Steve Beam's Semi-Automatic Card Tricks series of books, the name Ramón Riobóo may not be an instantly familiar one to you. He certainly wasn't a magic creator I knew much about before I happened to stumble upon Second Thoughts, the 2019 English translation of his 2010 Spanish-language collection of card magic.

Man, am I ever glad I decided to take the plunge and grab myself a copy of Second Thoughts, published by Hermetic Press and featuring a treasure trove of innovative card magic that largely favours well disguised mathematical and semi-automatic principles implemented to extremely fooling effect. Now I'm here to tell you all about it and urge you to grab a copy of this wildly slept-on gem of a book.

Though I'm admittedly still making my way through this over 350-page volume with dozens of original effects, sleights, and principles, I've been suitably wowed by so much of the material so far. I almost wish I had the pleasure of seeing some of these pieces performed for me before I learned them, because a good number of them would have absolutely destroyed me; like, "I don't even have a guess" destroyed. They're that good.

Here are a few personal highlights so far:

MY SPELLING SYSTEM - Not a trick in itself, but an intriguing system devised by Riobóo that will allow performers to spell to literally any card in the deck by counting down one card for each letter. Most knowledgable magicians already know that there's a large selection of cards in the deck that naturally spell with the same or similar number of letters, but Riobóo has pushed this idea further to allow any card to be fairly spelled to; most of which occur with zero funny business, though a small handful will require a small displacement. Lots of memorization work to be had here, but I can see dedicated card magicians turning this into something really effective.

IMPOSSIBLE DRIBBLE - Of all the effects in the book, this is probably the one I will use the most often. From a shuffled deck in use, the magician removes a prediction card and places it face-down on the table for later. Then, the cards are dribbled and two spectators are asked to call stop whenever, and the dribbled portions are handed to each of them. Each spectator counts how many cards they have and remembers their secret number without the magician knowing. Those packets are then combined, shuffled, and tossed haphazardly somewhere into the middle of the deck in random fashion. A spectator is asked to give the deck one fair cut, then both spectators are asked to reveal their secret numbers. Those numbers are added together, and that combined total is fairly dealt to in the deck. The card stopped at is revealed to perfectly match the prediction. Yes, it's genuinely that clean: the dribbled packets are not forced amounts, the numbers are secret until the cards are dealt, there are no switches, and the deck can be shuffled by the magician with reasonable fairness just before the final moments. You can also easily adapt this to just one spectator, which I have done just as effectively. The underlying principle is ingenious, albeit a bit of a risk: the outcome may not always look exactly the same, and there's a contingency ending that I personally think is a little cloudy and therefore flattens the impact a decent amount (though is at least better than the effect outright failing in a pinch). However, to me the risk is worth it, because when you nail this dead-on - which will be the majority of the time - this is an absolute scorcher that will fool anyone, magician or layperson. Had this been sold as a standalone download - and it easily could have been - I feel like it would have pulled lots of buzz.

DIVINATION THROUGH ANOTHER'S TOUCH - Picture this: a spectator seated opposite you at the table thoroughly shuffles the deck to their heart's content, takes it under the table so it's out of your view, then peeks at a card and remembers it. They shuffle and cut again as much as they'd like and bring the deck back out at the end. You point out how these conditions make it literally impossible to know what their card is, or where it could possibly be in the deck. You ask the spectator to take the deck back under the table, give it a few cuts if they'd like, and finally, name the card they're only thinking of. Still holding the deck below the table, they then begin tossing cards face-up onto the table one by one, and you're able to stop them just before they toss out the card they're thinking of. Yes, it's that clean and direct. There is a tradeoff that may initially turn some off, but those who treat this element of the effect as a feature rather than a bug will have a legitimate miracle on their hands. Again, had this been shown to me before I knew the method, it probably would have rocked my world.

SHY OR SHOWOFF - If you're a fan of the Woody Aragón matching trick using four torn cards - the one Penn & Teller use in their show to involve the whole audience - this will be right up your alley. Based on a Nick Trost effect utilizing a principle by Bob Hummer, this remarkably fair self-worker sees a limitless number of participants freely selecting four cards, thinking of one of them, and engaging in a truly random mixing sequence where cards are flipped around haphazardly and each participant is allowed to make totally different choices at each phase. Regardless, at the end, each participant will be holding a packet in which only one card is reversed: their thought-of card. This rules, and can genuinely be done for as many people as you have groups of four cards; you could do this in casual settings, or close a parlour show with it.

SIGNED CARD FROM PACKET TO PACKET - Two packets of cards - one entirely made up of red cards, the other entirely of black - are brought into play, and a card is freely selected from either one of them and signed. That card is lost in its original packet, and both different-coloured packets are wrapped tightly in rubber bands to prevent anything sneaky. Nonetheless, with no moves, the signed card jumps from its home packet into the middle of the other: a red card in a sea of black cards, or vice versa. This is such a clever, unique approach to the Signed Card Across plot with a cunning method. I can see lots of magicians using this; I know I will!

I ALWAYS MISS, SO I NEVER MISS - Penn Jillette performed this piece on Fool Us to attempt to fool Teller, and he succeeded. That alone should make you eager to dive into this one, and you will be so rewarded by a method that made me say "Holy HECK, that's unbelievably clever!" In essence, a card is freely selected (no force!) without the magician seeing, and hidden in the spectator's pocket; let's say it's the Five of Spades. The magician then takes the deck under the table or behind their back to attempt to remove a card of the same colour without looking. However, the magician admits that they always miss, but that means that whatever card is removed will certainly be the opposite colour of the selection. Actions suiting words, the card removed is red, meaning the selection must be black. The magician then tries to narrow it down to Clubs or Spades: they remove a Club, which means the selection must be a Spade! Next is to determine whether it's a spot card or court card; a court card is removed, meaning the selection must be a spot card. Next, the magician tries to nail whether it's odd or even; an even card is removed, meaning the selection must be odd. Finally, the magician is able to remove every odd spot card with one missing. Of course, that's the selection in the spectator's pocket. This may read as confusing or long-winded, but it feels totally impossible in performance and the underlying method is pretty darn diabolical. A great performer can really elevate this into something extra special.

______________________________________

These effects are just the tip of the iceberg; Second Thoughts is packed with brilliant methods by one of Spain's most innovative-yet-underrated thinkers when it comes to card magic. Not every effect will excite or suit every performance style or setting - some of them involve a lot of preparation and memory work, feature heavy procedure like dealing multiple packets of cards all over the table, or require more than a couple of spectators to participate while sitting table-side with you - but you will at least get to admire the ingenuity of Riobóo's thinking, even in effects you're less likely to use. Some effects also hinge on presentational hooks that won't be for everyone, including premises based on nuclear warfare, saints, and astrology; but good magicians will find ways of reworking these pieces to make them more personal.

Simply put, I'm delighted Riobóo's thinking has made its way into my life through Second Thoughts. If you like card magic that favours methods that challenge your mind rather than your dexterity, involve clever mathematical principles, and involve some light jazzing to keep you on your toes, you will devour this book.
Learn more about my upcoming book of close up magic and theory SYNTHESIS & SECRETS: A Magic Book in Four Acts: https://www.michaelkrasworks.com/synthesis-secrets
michaelmystic2003
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One more highlight I forgot to mention!

KLONDIKE POKER - I nearly skipped over this one on first pass because, usually, I'm allergic to any trick with the word "Poker" in the title (I just don't connect with gambling-themed magic, nor do I personally think many of my audiences do! But that's just me!). However, I'm so glad I went back and gave it a read: firstly, because the trick has nothing to do with poker or gambling and secondly, because it's brilliant.

Here's what happens: A bunch of small piles of cards are dealt out or tossed haphazardly onto the table: five piles, six, eight, whatever. The magician turns their back, and the spectator is asked to pick up any pile, shuffle it, then glimpse the bottom card and remember it. That pile is then dropped onto any other pile to bury the card. To make things even more chaotic and uncontrolled, the remaining piles are gathered up, shuffled, and shoved into the middle of the pile with the thought-of card in it (or on top or bottom, if the spectator prefers! It doesn't matter!). Finally, the un-dealt balance of the deck is also shuffled and tossed randomly into the middle of that combined pile of cards. There's little doubt nothing is in the magician's control; but, nonetheless, the magician is able to zero in on the thought-of card without even looking at the faces of the cards. It can be produced from a pocket or revealed in pretty much any other magical way you can come up with.

How this ending truly goes depends on a few factors and a bit of light jazzing, but all of the possible outcomes are detailed and extremely easy to navigate on the fly and personalize. But what really grabs me about this method is the fact that even though the selection is free and the cards are reassembled outside of your control by the spectator in a pretty random-feeling way, their thought-of card is still under a firm amount of your control later. At first I found this fact hard to believe; during a moment of the cards being chaotically reassembled by the spectator, Riobóo assures you in the instructions that the thought-of card is now in one of only two possible positions. I couldn't see how this was possible, and yet, it was. It will work out that way pretty much without fail, too. Once again, like many effects in this book, this is a completely fooling piece that will even burn magicians and leave laypeople with absolutely zero clue. There's seemingly no way you could possibly know what the thought-of card is or have any control over it, but you do. It's a powerful tool!
Learn more about my upcoming book of close up magic and theory SYNTHESIS & SECRETS: A Magic Book in Four Acts: https://www.michaelkrasworks.com/synthesis-secrets
Wordsworth
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I agree. This is an under the radar great book.
mitch731
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This one has been on my radar. I loved Thinking The Impossible. Thanks for the review!
magicthree
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Fantastic book
paperinick
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my faro is starting to look nice after
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Does anyone have a link to Penn Jillete's performance for Teller at Fool Us?
I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death my right to say "scr*w you" if you persist. [Voltaire Smile]
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