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.

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 ;).

Three Ways to Produce a Coin

I love problems... no wait... I love solving problems. Getting ready for most coin productions is one of those problems. You need to get the coin into your hand secretly. So how do you do that. Well the most common method is putting away a certain prop stealing the coin along the way. Then you hold out until you start producing the coin. And you know what. That is perfectly fine. But I felt like toying around with different premises.

So the first one is by Harry Anderson. It is taken from "Wise Guy" published by Mike Caveney. The book is all about the magic of Harry Anderson. On page 22 you'll find the routine entitled "Sewing A Coin". But it has also been published under the name "As Ye Sew, So Shall Ye Reap" in "The New York Magic Symposium Collection Two". I like the fact that it starts off so playfully. It requires you to use your imagination. So it is not taken seriously and therefore the attention is very low on the actual dirty work. I can tell you from the many times I have been doing this, that the appearance of the coin generates a pretty strong reaction.

The second one is by Jim Abrahams. He does it not with a coin but a metal disc, claiming that this is part of a UFO. One side invisible and one side visible. After that he demonstrates a few other things with it to prove that amusing premise. But the boldness of showing your hands empty is something that others might appreciate. You basically do the exact opposite of what you are claiming to do. You don't pick up the coin, you place it. Which is hilarious I think. A good swindle and the appearance of the coin also works well.

The last one is my own. Actually I use this to produce sponge balls. But you can produce just about anything. You need a key, but putting the key away after you turned the lock is a good motivation to go into your pocket. In fact it is so good, that people don't even take note of it, because it is so natural to do that. So the initial conviction of the hands being empty remains. So the actual production of the coin is a strong one. And putting away the invisible box gives you yet another reason to go into your pocket. Again it kind of goes unnoticed. Which puts you in the perfect position for just about anything. The coin split was an obvious choice, But Spellbound, Karate Coin or tons of other ideas come to mind.

Ball, Wand and Coin

It's a weird routine I guess. But it is rather satisfying to do. Not that this matters to any audience, but the routine is short enough to be squeezed into any manipulation act. It's rather practical, the angles are not that bad and it has the potential to be enhanced drastically. The piece of silk in the end could be vanished transforming back into the coin. That coin could change into a jumbo coin, the wand could grow and all of that shit. In terms of move there is nothing new to add. The Flip Stick vanish by Flip Hallema, a Bobo Switch and Spell Bound moves. But the main thing is this new background. You like it? Was expensive as golden shit. Now I got it.

Simple Coins

This coin routine is really, really simple. Hence the name. Simple in both effect and method. Three coins vanish and then come back. The first vanish actually is the most simple vanish one can think of. It's a spin on the Bluff Vanish from Bobo's book. It's so much fun to do. The angles on the routine are very, very good. And the sounds are genuine and misleading. Just the way we like it. And you don't need a table. making this an anytime, anywhere routine.

Near the end one of the coins jumps back to the pocket. The one behind principle makes this a piece of cake. The method requires this little extra effect. But it also serves a function. The spectator could have chosen any number. Therefore it seems like a different outcome was possible. That creates the illusion that the magic happens at the moment it is perceived. And that would only be possible if really three coins were used. The routine is by Jim Abrahams and I know for a fact that this routine will be in his upcoming book that he is currently working on.

The main principle is a nice cancel for any coin routines that are one ahead. Mix the method and deception will follow. In fact the end, could be a great get ready for a one ahead routine. Or vice versa. Depending on which routine is stronger.

Three Coin Serenade by Jim Abrahams

Let's get it out of they way quickly. Coin magic is hard. Really hard. Compared to card magic it is much harder to make it clear what the effect is. If the light is wrong nobody sees the effect and the most beautiful copper silver routine becomes meaningless. This routine is obviously designed for table hopping. It covers all the needs. It takes up very little space, it is modular and it is ungimmicked.

Here is what I like about the use of the purse. It is totally motivated why it is there. It perfectly hides the little extra that is in play during the later part of the routine.  If the surface is right I noticed you don't even need to pick up the purse, just slide it into the "center" and all is set.

Using the purse instead of a playing card also helps to get a way with certain issues. A card "floats" when it is not supposed to float. As you place down the card on a hard surface a very tell tale sound could arise. Here the floating does not take place at all and the sound would be natural as the metal frame of the purse strikes the surface.

A playing card makes no sense. A purse does, when doing coin magic. In the end all the coins go back in the purse, which resets the routine making it practical, magical and overall a wonderful routine. The modular aspect enables you to either continue doing coin magic or to shorten the routine if needed. As I was experimenting with this I found out that this is a great opener to a table set. For several reasons. The coins are big, loud, interesting and NOT playing cards.

No Dupe Transposition by Jim Abrahams

Why not start with Jim. The card tricks ended with him, the other stuff shall begin with him. It was this trick that actually got me started wearing that ring. And I have been using this for real people for quite a while now. It gets killer reactions. In fact I usually have to slow down with the second phase as people look away, looking at each other making sure they saw the same thing as everybody else.

The FT of the the coin from the left hand to the right hand actually goes completely unchallenged because people are looking the elbow to see if the ring is really there. You need quite a loose fitting ring, so you wedding ring will probably not work.

As a side note. When I ask to borrow a ring often people can't take it off. To me this is a "sanitary riddle of mystery"

What makes this routine so darn practical is that it really is an impromptu routine. Most convincing transpositions seems to need a dupe. This uses the psychological principle of the "change blindness" which is a bold method to be used in this trick and therefore typical for it's creator.

Your Days Are Numbered by Jim Abrahams

The Lecture That Has Never Happened by Jim Abrahams
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Personal Comment: In the version in the book you never ask her her age. You just claim that she has cut off as many cards as she is old. Then you walk away. Doing this to a male spectator of course you ask them their age and let them count. This trick has a chance of failing, but you start your patter about the birthday and all of that AFTER you made sure the effect is going to work 100%. Otherwise you just do a different trick. In terms of method this is fairly easy. You just have to know the age and in an earlier trick you simply set up the deck by sticking the "Breather" in the right place. Just makes sure that while instructing your spectator to cut the deck to say "below, above or about the middle" depending on the age. I had fun with this little trick. It adds so much more to the "Spectator cuts off a certain number of cards".

So with that I am going to leave this project. Cards are still great and all, but I feel that I have enough for a long time now. This blog will be transferred to the new blog eventually and the url will be gone.

Difficulty: 3/5

The Train Trick by Jim Abrahams

The Lecture That Has Never Happened by Jim Abrahams
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Personal Comment: The idea to this came when Jim was riding a train and he was playing around with his Identity Crisis trick. He thought why not widen the scope of the trick? If you go through the trouble of adding a gaff anyway, why not three of them? Suddenly the trick became bigger according to Jim. I agree. I tried it and I realized that with All Back routines you NEED to hand out the cards. Otherwise it becomes an exercise of "who's smarter". An impossible object. Jim even points out that those are a nice souvenir. I like bold, but this would be too bold for my taste. But then again, there are DF's floating around. Anniversary Waltz style.

Difficulty: 3/5

Prelude to the Royal Impostor by Jim Abrahams

The Lecture That Has Never Happened by Jim Abrahams
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Personal Comment: This takes heavily from Paul Gordon if I recall correctly. The whole first phase is the same, I think... although I saw Bebel and Dani Daortiz doing similar stuff. Well it's good and practical. As the title suggests you can go right into the Royal Impostor by "losing" the selection.

Difficulty: 3/5

Four Card Method/Trick by Jim Abrahams

The Lecture That Has Never Happened by Jim Abrahams
Page 23 et seq.

Personal Comment: This is a skill demonstration the magic is very minor. It can look good, if it is not me butchering the effect. But this only serves one purpose... to make the performer look cool. So if you are going for the magic moment, this is the worst thing you can do. But if you are a jester type of magician this is gold. Up to you.

Difficulty: 3/5

Why, Oh Why Another Sandwich? by Jim Abrahams

The Lecture That Has Never Happened by Jim Abrahams
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Personal Comment: This is fun to do. That is all.

Difficulty: 2/5

Ambitious Card by Jim Abrahams

The Lecture That Has Never Happened by Jim Abrahams
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Personal Comment: This is personal. Look at the structure. This is not geared to be liked by every magician. Just Jim I guess. But the last phase has something to it. And you got this build in three times conditioning thing, which kind of helps to get away with the last move. I don't like it too much, but I don't have to to appreciate the structure and the practicability.

Difficulty: 4/5

Watch Me Fly by Jim Abrahams

The Lecture That Has Never Happened by Jim Abrahams
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Personal Comment: Practical, funny, easy filler. Certainly nice. Also works great with any other object. Coins are great. But this blog is about card tricks.

Difficulty: 2/5

KAKAKAKA by Jim Abbrahams

The Lecture That Has Never Happened by Jim Abrahams

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Personal Comment: Clearly filler material by Jim Abrahams. In other minds this could be a closer to a card set. But seeing the other effects in the small booklet makes me aware that this, as good as it is is filler. Maybe it's an earlier work. There are many ways to do that trick. Nicer ways. But at least the title makes sense. KAKAKAKA stands for the setup in the beginning. And that makes it charming again.



Difficulty: 2/5

I've got no Table Space Ace Assembly by Jim Abrahams

The Lecture That Has Never Happened by Jim Abrahams
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Personal Comment: This version got rid of the three card packets and the illogical 3 extra cards per packet. That is something I like. Also, as the title suggests... You need little table space, so you can do it between wine glasses and napkins. Also there is actually no setup at all. That makes it really cool. And you have a few convincers here and there and it leaves a lot of room for personal style.

Difficulty: 2/5

The Royal Impostor by Jim Abrahams

The Lecture That Has Never Happened by Jim Abrahams
Page to be added

Personal Comment: I am almost through the entire booklet. And I knew it rang a bell when I was going through Roberto Giobbi's "Coalaces". "The Royal Impostors" was what I was thinking of. Try it for real people! You'll get the "what the fuck"-look from them. It is hard to do the effect justice on camera. In a real setting you got way more cover to do all the moves.

Difficulty: 4/5

No Extras Please by Jim Abrahams

The Lecture That Has Never Happened by Jim Abrahams
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Personal Comment: Just a Sandwich... no extras. What I like is the fact that the three cards involved are seen in different positions. Therefore a simple cut won't solve the mystery to a spectator. It is a very basic routine. And I am sure this must have been published earlier by some people. But I have not found that method yet.

Difficulty: 2/5

This is a Nice Souvenir by Jim Abrahams

The Lecture That Has Never Happened by Jim Abrahams
Page to be added

Personal Comment: There is a page in the notes, which is basically just a brain dump on card effects and plots. This is one of them. I took the liberty and turned it into reality. I like it, simply because it really leaves the audience with a nice magical souvenir. The torn of corner, aside from bringing the effect full circle, has the nice psychological effect of causing time misdirection, delaying the perceived moment of any possible switch, making it pretty hard to back track for a lay person. But I realized this will not work in a beginners hand. Simply because the audience will think of trick cards, making the effect pointless. However, if you got the experience and the charisma to convey the fact to the audience that you don't need pathetic trick cards to do your magic, then this is a wonderful piece of magic. The little outline of the effect that was offered in the notes said, that a spectator needs to sign the back. I agree. I had none while filming this, ergo I did it.

Difficulty: 2/5