Simple Matrix

There is nothing unusual about this. The standard one ahead. But the ending might be of interest. As it is the only, I repeat, the only justification for using a playing card. Seriously, why a playing card. Always the same. I see magicians use the playing cards simply because they are there. You know what else is there? The purse. Using the purse is not only motivated and logical, it has so many advantages. Sound, and no "floating".

Back to the routine. Having one quarter of the card not changing in the end gives you a reason to openly ditch it. Along with other stuff. I used this ending many times and it was my perfect lead in to the six coin routine that I do.

The used sleights are standard and I don't think I need to point out the one true source. *cough* Bobo *cough*

The last coin vanish is bold but somehow it seems like an increased difficulty for you, but it makes you job much easier. Have fun.

The Button Story

Going on with this notions box theme here is something with buttons. The main "sleight" is the Bold Coin Vanish from Modern Coin Magic. A underused sleight I think. Although the term "sleight" doesn't really do it justice. It's just a bold thing you do. You can reverse the "sleight" of course. That way you get loaded instead getting rid of the coins. Must be pretty cryptic reading these lines I suppose. Watch the video! The buttons going back in the box sequence is the actual reversal of the bold vanish. Pick up two, put in one. So you can choose which buttons end up in the hand in the end.

A similar routine I have seen years ago by Jay Sankey. A whole punch of paper clips are picked up one by one and in the hand they link. Cute little trick.

But you can do more of course. What about a standard Spell Bound routine? The most simple one would be copper coins turning to gold coins, which are drop in a cup. Near the end the cup is turned over and all the gold coins have become copper again. You don't see that routine very often. And here is why: In most "warm" lighting conditions the difference between copper and gold is not great. The lack of visibility of the trick is it's downfall. The standard structure is flawless I think.

Long story shot: Have buttons change into coins one by one. Logical? Check! Visible? Check! Great scope? Check!

There's a Poll to the Right

I'm trying to figure out what kind of magic you want to see me covering most.

Do you want Close Up Stuff with no cards, do you want cards, more on stand up magic or imprompu stuff you can do with little effort? Or are you more interested in variations on existing plots or premises? Either poll or comments.

Linking Safety Pins

I decided to include this for one reason: Nobody does it. It's a beautiful little impromptu jewel. The needed preparation can be done all in the open and the "soft pin" principle is being used here. The routine you see in the video is quite basic. Just two links and two un-links. Like the big brother - the linking rings - the actual realization of the links are delayed creating wonderful time misdirection from the dirty work. In the end everything indeed can be examined. There is a angle issue with this routine. The audience must be in front of you. When this trick is appropriate the conditions are mostly one on one. And safety pins are all around us. So don't forget this little one.

Coins Through Cork

I assume you are familiar with the god awful plastic version of this. Maybe even the brass version. But all of those scream gimmick. This version is by "Kreis Magic" and is called "Cork Stopper" and is a terrific piece of magic. The prop looks like an everyday item. And the very, very cool thing about this version is that Euros coins, work perfectly for this. I mean perfectly. Other coins have to be prepared with a small iron disc that is supplied with the instruction, but 1 Euro coins are the best thing. And being a "Euro Zone" we have plenty of supply of them.

This is one of those tricks that looks like a bar bet type of trick. And you can celebrate, in fact you have to celebrate, the rolling of the bill and all of that. All of that creates a wonderful impromptu feel. There should be no doubt that there is no way for the coin to go past the cork except through. If you have a notions box, put it in there. In fact my grandma used to stick needles into a cork to keep everything tidy. So having a cork in the box will not be questioned. So you can basically have a whole notions box full of magic. Safety Pins (coming next week), magic with needles, Hindu Thread, Thimbles... you name it.

International Matrix

Let's talk about something that only magicians seem to appreciate or care about. The matrix plot. A rather special case is the matrix using four different coins. That makes the whole thing a lot harder both in terms of difficulty and structure. But it is a unique problem. And what do magicians love? Problems! This is my take on it. Basically two ahead, I even included a backfire phase. Clear inspirations for that was the version by Michael Rubinstein. I use the term inspiration very carefully. Because his version sucked. I wanted to do better. Don't get me wrong. Rubinstein's material is top notch, but the style is so stiff and old fashioned. It bores me. But that's where my efforts to create my own little version came from. Do I do it for real people? Hell no. But for magicians, once in a while.