The Royal Routine

I decided to share with you my card routines that I do in my theater. This is the first one. It's complex, yet modular. It takes from a variety of sources. The first production of the kings is taken from Phil Goldsteins book focus. The transformation of the selection into the four kings is taken from the Red Mirror DVD by Helder Guimaraes. Transforming back the kings into the selection is taken from Jim Abrahams the Royal Imposter routine.

Then the tabled selection turns out to be the four kings again is taken straight from the works of Bebel using a sleight often credited to Dai Vernon, which is an excellent way to add/move cards from a deck to the table/other part of the deck. (Methods used to control all the cards: Double Undercut, Kelly Bottom Placement, Double Undercut, DL)

Then a straight one handed Top Palm and that leads into the part where the kings one by one turn into the selection. I came up with this myself, but after that I have seen several magicians doing the same. Dani DaOrtiz doing it pretty much the way I do it. Paul Gordon does it with three cards and the selection. The little finish by placing the Double on the pile and then taking of the top card in a loose fashion is by Bebel.

The last backfire of the selection not being in the pocket but the four kings is also by Bebel.

This routine actually continues with a fake explanation of the cards going to the pocket, in which the whole deck goes to the pocket except the selection. The result is a natural deck switch ;).

Gummi Bears

This has been brewing in my brain for years. And I have done this many times. This is the great impromptu trick with food. You can do it with M&M's, Smarties and all other sweets that come in different colors. And this trick actually makes sense. Everyone has a favorite kind of color. So it is kind of natural that a magician does his magic thing to turn them the color he wants to.

And because it is food the method could not be more simple. No need for secret preparation, You simply prentent to eat the one you like and suddenly you are set up. Methodwise three switches. Spellbound, Bobo and Bobo in this case. And as the last one goes in the mouth you destroy the evidence along the way. This is simply a good little trick.

The Day Out

The McDonald Aces. In terms of method there is nothing special to say. Just the plot is something I assure you will entertain the audience. I have done that routine for real people a few times by now and the reactions are great. Personally I would like the cards to be picture cards (The living people) but I'm short of certain gaffs. But this red and black thing is a good contrast I think.

Personally I think that any Ace Assembly needs a story in order to not become a complete borefest.

Mommy and Poppy

So this is a continuation of an effect I've been working on for a long time now. I've been performing it ever since as well. I changed the ending to the original handling. The Original had two nuts being screwed on the bolt. Which was fine, but you basically had to admit to use two nuts to make it logical. The main reason for the original two nuts on the bolt was the source. I took it from Doc Eason's "All Screwed Up" routine. Doc Eason told me that the originator of the routine was the late Christopher Frings of Birmingham in Alabama. So initial credits go to him.

So let's talk about this version. The main reason I call the nut "Mommy" is simple. In German the technical nut is called "Mutter" which is the same word for "Mother". (What is meant of course we see from the context of the sentence.) So in German the thing is called "mother" so calling the bold "Poppy" kinda makes sense in Germany. And it gets a chuckle, do to the phallic nature that is implied. Sure the routine is kind of immature and still lacks a decent premise. That's why it is still work in progress.

Now the routine is not about how your brain is confused if I show you the same two nuts over and over again; it's about the same nut coming back and back again. So method wise the first one is a standard FT which is fine as it gives you hand a reason to go into the pocket. What follows is a series of either flying shuttle passes (popularised and made up by Jay Sankey) and the Sylvester Pitch by Dan Sylvester the Jester also known as the "Intertia Pass".

What follows after the appearance of the bolt is simple a shuttle pass and David Williamson's Striking Vanish in yet another variation.

The setup is really, really simple. Just reconstruct the routine and you know how simple it is and that it really won't hinder your other magic.

Some Manipulation

Here we go with some basic manipulation. A similar routine is my opener for one of my shows. The angles are not bad but best would be a palor setting. As some of you know by now, I have got my own little theater now. A close up theater. And some of the routines I do there will eventually end up here. For those I have decided not to go into detail so much, on where to find all the sources. Bread and butter after all. I hope you forgive me for that decision.

So why is the above routine a good opener? Well it has some good speed, pacing, effects and sets the tone for the rest. In my case "Sleight of Hand"-guy. My theory behind this: If I show a whole lot within a few seconds, it buys me some time to slow down later on. People expect a magician. They expect magic. I better deliver on that expectation. People paid for that. If I would start with a trick that takes ages to get to the magic, I lost my "magic cred" even if the result of the wait is a brilliant magic trick. I have to built up some credit before such longer routine. That is why a series of manipulations seems like a good, solid opener.

Also, it is one of the more hard things to do. If I manage that routine I will have no trouble during the rest of the act.

Updates?

The blog will be put on a hiatus for a short while. The reason: I am in the process of opening up my own little magic theater. It will be a close up theater and that has taken most of my time lately. It will open in Lübeck in the beginning of April. Here is the website, so you see that I haven't been a lazy bastard. I also got a Facebook page running. It's all in German, so don't freak out!

On the plus side: Because it is a close up theater, I've been working on more close up material than ever. This doesn't matter to you now, but it will.

The Marble in the Box

You do recognize the box, do you? Usually it is used to load something into the box. But you can see it can be used to steal something out of the box as well. The preparation is done right in front of the audience. The angles are a litte issue. Basically the eyeline of the audience needs to be below the upper edge of the box. But otherwise you are fine. The transposition idea is just there to illustrated what can be done, besides just stealing.