Coin Wand Interlude

I'm doing this to get crowds when busking. The angles are good and the magic is fast paced. It is endlessly repeatable and can then transition into the coin routines that I do. It should be a piece of cake to reconstruct what is happening. Fairly standard stuff. It is so usable. Try it.

Balloon Idea

I kind of like the idea but this is far from being a routine. However some of you might get a kick out of this.

Hat Gag

I do this sometimes. This is the clean version. If teenagers are watching, the "bird" would look different.

Trust Card Trick

There are two things about the routine. First the premise! Second the tricks!

Let's talk about the first thing first. Trust is essential in real life. If we don't trust people we get paranoid and nothing gets done. A misuse of trust is often combined with bitter feelings and anger. And in a way a magician misuses the trust each time. Because he claims to do something and it turns out it's not at all like what he claimed. Example: A card is shown, the ten of clubs, turned over and placed face down on the table. A snap and the card is turned over again but it is the ace of diamonds. Great little trick, but you cheated. And if the people don't like you, they won't like the great little trick. Because as soon as the audience "feels" some dishonesty they tend not to like you. You lose "authenticity".

So I thought to fight this issue. Head on! By addressing it and letting the spectator mistrust me every step of the way. Is there a chance to get fucked by the audience? If they don't like you, then you will definitely fail. If they like you, you'll succeed even more!

The trick has two phases. The first one is a simple cards across. I really wish I would be able to tell you that tons of research went into this. It's not the case. I simple saw a similar trick and figured out how I would do it. The method is so darn simple and obvious, that somebody has already thought this exact version before. In the magic business is a saying... "When in doubt credit Marlo."

You can actually get away with the method, as the second packet of ten cards is only introduced after the dirty work is done. That really helps alot.

The second phase is the classic Biddle trick. I added nothing to it, except offering the specator that he can lie and fuck up my trick. Is that an addition to be proud of? I think yes!

Rope Routine #3

This really has been my emergency routine for years. Sometimes my little bit of extra rope got lost and suddenly I was pressed to do something. Flip's DVD really helped me. He has a bit where he does all sorts of costumes with rope. And a bit with knots. So I worked out my own little version which is all about knots. Not only has this routine turned out to be a pretty practical routine onto itself. It's whimsical nature also makes it a good encore piece.

let's go into the detail a little. First knot: regular, Second knot: "scientific knot" by Flip from the "Flip's Truly Magical Rope Magic" DVD. Third knot: It's the one handed knot taken from Daryl's "Expert Rope Magic Made Easy" DVD set. Fourth knot: "The Instant Knot" also from Daryl's set. Fifth knot: Tenkai Rope Through Neck. Sixth knot: A fake untying, again Flip. Seventh knot: The female knot using the horizontal loop principle by Flip. And finally the eight knot: The off beat knot also by Flip.

And there you have it. I really urge you guys to create an emergency rope routine yourself. It's good to have, if it happens.

Ring and Rope #2

This routine is not final yet. It has been getting changes over the years. But I think it is a solid routine and it can be done anywhere. All the phases leading up to the part with the extra little bit are taken vom various sources. Willi Wessel, Flip, Daryl and Tabary. The phase right after the steal in which the middle visibly links with the ring is my own. The main bulk following that is almost directly taken from David Williamsons fantastic ring and rope routine. Letting the spectator hold the ring really elevates the trick for some weird reason. And taking off the ends from the rope in the context of a ring and rope routine is something that I have seen Richard Sanders doing.

The routine directly leads into my Rope Routine #1, which leads to solid 7 minutes of magic. That combination is my main opener in my theater show. I've played it so often that I lost count, but I assure you. Packs flat plays big really applies here.

Ring and Rope routines in general are not seen very often these days. I cannot tell you why, but it is a classic and a good one. Unlike the sucker die box.

Holy Crap I've done it twice!

I just realized that yesterdays Rope Routine #2 I've already covered in May. Gee! My brain!

Rope Routine #2

I really don't know where to start with this one. The main starting point was the Equal Unequal Rope routine, aka Professor's Nightmare. I hate that trick. Not because it isn't great, but because it's over exposed. And tons of magicians are doing it wrong. But enough of that.

I was thinking, maybe that could be done some stuff before going into the streching part. So two ropes, strech first, then the middles of the ropes link. Then the two rings of rope link and unlink, then a knot moves, then the rope is cut in two, twice. And then finally we get into the main streching part. But then as a bonus the whole ropes fuse into one. That's how you make a routine instead of just a trick.

So let's go into the technical aspects. The first streching is a version of what I have seen years ago by Dutch magician Flip Hallema. On the DVD: "Flip's Truly Magical Rope Magic" you will find this. The linking of the middles is actually inspired by Dean Dill's box routine. Just insprired, the method is quite different. The two rings of ropes linking and unlinking is of course inspired by Pavel, the great magician from Czechoslovakia.

The jumping of the sliding knot actually came from watching Francis Tabary work. He is a great source of inspiration and a wonderful human being. The cutting sequence is also his. And I love it.

The last bit of the ropes fusing into one and the knots falling of is taken from the Daryl DVD's on rope magic. I cannot find my DVD's so I guess I have to add the credits that Daryl gives a little later.

More Simple Coins

I love the simple coins routine, the bold method of being one behind really makes this practical. This is a different beginning and a different ending. You don't take out the coins from your pocket to begin with, no you produce them from exactly the place where you pretend to put them a few seconds later. Only to pull them from those places and then one of them turns invisible, touches the other ones and they all vanish.

The ending in this version is the preferred ending when doing walk around magic. The standard ending is better suited for a stand up performance in a parlour type setting. The great addition in the beginning 2H1P phase is by the Austrian magician Daniel Philipp. By placing the coins on your arm you get rid of the table and weirdly it makes the click pass a bit more convincing.

Coin Thief

This is from the upcoming book by Jim Abrahams. There is nothing new about the phases, but the combination is. I find it quite hilarious to go from six coins to one.

The first phase is an oldie that has been lost in time. You can find it in David Pogue's book Magic for Dummies as the 7-Cent Reflex Test (that's the name in the German edition) uncredited. Tommy Wonder had a similar structure in one of his coin routines.

The second phase is just a joke, but it creates enough off beat to get away with the secret something.

The last phase is the sell.

I mentioned it before that I am somehow fascinated with the plot of stealing something from the spectator's hand. So I naturally like this one. And it is a ridiculously practical routine. You don't even need a table. The purse contains all the coins needed, it also can be used for the switch of the coin. It has an intriguing plot and seems like a genuine feat of skill in the beginning which turns into an impossibility.

Big thanks to Patrick for operating the camera and thanks to Toby for being the helping hand.

Living Room Opener

This is quite nice as a living room opener. Certainly not for stage, but the magic is decently paced and gets to the point quickly. I actually used this when I still did house parties. From a technical point of view this is pathetic, and structure wise this is horrific, as you go into your pocket unmotivated, however it gets people interested. The plot that you don't have a huge variety show to start with also sets the mood. Nice close up magic in an intimate setting.

False Knot Concept

This was made with my web cam and just for a friend of mine, showing him what I came up with. So technically we have a false knot, but with the addition of two tiny magnets stuck in the rope you can have the picture that looks pretty similar to a knot. It will not withstand scrutiny, but at a quick glance it is fine. If you are far away (stage) this would even be more deceptive.

The magnets are arranged in such a way that if the rope is folded in half they do not come in contact with one another. That means that you can use the rope for all sorts of other rope tricks as well. You can even hand out the rope. The chance of the audience finding a little bump inside the rope are minute. Try this, it's fun.

Just A Cup Revisited

As I said in the video I have this weird fascination with stealing an object from the spectators hand. And I have several ideas going closer and closer to the perfect image of the spectator holding an object in his hand and it vanishes completely. This is the first one. For the full routine please see my earlier video on that trick.

Axel Hecklau gives you the main idea of the die falling into the spectators hand and that gets good reactions, but stealing it gets even better reaction, and that is also possible with the gimmick that you get with the Just A Cup routine. Pretty strong shit if you ask me. EDIT: Axel actually covers this steal on the DVD, that I should have looked at long ago.

Now in the end you see I did something different from the standard loads. First it can be done in the spectators hand. Jamming the load all the way into the up actually delays the moment that the spectators feels the load. You can actually manage it to have it happen, as your hands are far away, creating a wonderful moment. Then the next bit is loading something inside the cup when the cup is mouth up. The diamond it a perfect load. Hans the right shape and the right boom near the end. But that maybe just me.

Towel Chicken

This is an old gag, done by many. My addition is to have the chicken lay an egg.

The Berg Knot

When it comes to false knots this needs to be done more often. You can find it in Pallbearers Review starting on page 993 et seq. Martin Gardner redescribed the knot in Hugard’s Magic Monthly in 1950. The knot works well with a large piece of silk. For smaller pieces it won't work, but there the issue of the hands being too close to the knot really isn't an issue.

The Linking Rings

Sorry for this one. I thought I share with you a true story. The story about me and the linking rings. It is true that I hate and love the trick. For exactly the reasons I give in the video. The gap issue needs to be addressed if you want to perform the linking rings successfully. You are underestimating the intelligence of the audience if you think that they won't think of a gap.

So this presentation leads up the the routine itself. It is pretty much the only piece of magic in my act that has that much talking that would finally lead into a magic trick.

In case you are wondering about the two routines... yeah there are two routines in the video. The one that I do and the one that I talk about. Ken Krenzels 4 Ring Routine can be found in Pallbearers Review on page 925 et. seq. Awesome little routine, but not the routine that I do. The one I do needs special rings. All the rings can be handed out and they link as seen in video.

I won't go in the details here. If you wanna talk to me about it, shoot me an email.

Rope Routine #2

So this is all build up for the Equal Unequal Ropes. But there is still a variety of stuff happening. First we got a little bit of rope stretching, kinda foreshadowing the final effect. Then I have the two middles link. I have never seen that in that particular context. What comes close is the old bit with two different colored ropes. Later Dean Dill used that effect in his Dean's Box Routine. But his method is entirely different.

Both rings link. Talk about an age old goodie. It plays well and it is easy to do. For the actual link and unlink I use a move from Willi Wessel's Close Up Ring and Rope Routine. A very good routine, you should check it out.

The next bit with the moving knot is taken from Flip Hallema. He uses it in one of his routines on the DVD of "Flip's Truly Magical Rope Magic" In his version he would untie the short pieces from the supposed long piece, which would then lead into a version of Equal Unequal Ropes done with only two ropes. I decided to make the knot jump back to where it came from.

Then it's cutting the rope without scissors. Now this in taken straight from the works of George Sands and Francis Tabary, who both have - similar in concept - versions of it. I do it twice. The first time to demonstrate, then a restoration and the second time the audience can decide where the rope is cut. Because of the method it really doesn't matter where the audience stops you. You can cut right there and most of the time take apart the ropes immediately. The shift from horizontal to vertical confuses the perception enough to get away with a minor changes in length of the short piece.

If the spectator says stop way later then a little extra effect is thrown in. Basically I pull on the long piece making the shorter piece even shorter. Once the short piece is a short as I need it I would take apart the ropes. Not as beautiful as just leaving it as the spectator wants me to, but it would also hint on the next part of the routine.

Equal Unequal Ropes: There is nothing special about this. Just they way I learned it from the Daryl DVDs on rope magic.

Let's talk about the premise a bit. The concept of holes and their properties. I do this routine in my kids shows and the hole concept is the whole concept of the show. Holes appear and disappear and I talk about the different holes there are. Regular holes, invisible holes, dimensional holes, black holes and so on. And each concept is demonstrated with some tricks. Of course I don't play it straight faced. The kids must be aware that all of that is make believe. And they love it. I tried doing that with adults and they found it amusing, yes, but not worth to devote an entire show to that.

Great Expectations

This is part of my show about magic. And it is a combination of several effects. I was trying to have a similar handling leading to better and better results.

First phase: A card is selected and the prediction matches. This is a fairly good trick. I have two cards selected and throw in a little magicians choice. Not that that matters, but it keeps a certain consistency within the "Handhabungsgestalt" of the whole routine.

Second phase: This is where it gets interesting. "Monarch's Quartet" by Larry Jennings. I substituted the Jinx Switch from something I came up with, as I never felt good about the Jinx Switch. But this certainly breaks the expectation of the spectators. And it elevates the effect from a sheer improbability to an impossibility.

Third phase: Harry Anderson's "Gang of Four" really breaks the mold here. You tear the card, which always so something that people remember. The pieces change. The element of fail brought back full circle. This certainly plays so well.

Please excuse my patter. I was not able to translate my script properly, but you can see how the tricks built on top of each other.

As said in the beginning, this is part of my show about magic. The basic theme about the show is that magic is more than just a bunch of tricks. It's about taking several principles and turning them into deceptive performance pieces. A chapter is all about how expectations can generate awareness and confusion. This card routine is demonstrating that breaking the expectation can be more rewarding than meeting the expectations.

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.