I love this little trick from 'Focus'. I like to do it as an into to 'Twisting the Aces', but almost every time the spectator has little to no reaction. I usually show them two times, but I feel it comes off as more of a puzzle than actual visual impact. Again, it is an intro to a better trick, but I'd like to get more out of it.

Any suggestions?

I don't do this trick (yet!) but I just reviewed the description.
(I picked up a copy of Focus a while ago but haven't gone through it yet.)
Just some quick thoughts below...

First off, I think it's a mistake to show it more than once for all the usual reasons.

Are you emphasizing the positions of the cards at the start so they're clear what's happened? What sort of patter do you use? Do you tell them what's going to happen?

It sounds like maybe they're missing that something's changed the first time around, hence the need to repeat?

Are your counts smooth/clean? The Vernon move (twice normal, and then the move)?
Perhaps you're giving something away, and the little/no reaction is them being polite and not outright busting you?

>>> "but almost every time"

What happens the other times?

I think it's a great trick. I often do it impromptu as part of a 3 trick set. TTW, Dr. Daley's last trick, then Overture. I explain that first, I made them turn over one at a time, then I made the red and black aces change places. Now, I will do both tricks at once. First I "fake" the move, then while showing that nothing has happened yet, do the count which places them in proper position....THEN do the secret turnover and show that they have changed.

Interestingly, this is the one effect that Max Maven didn't think highly of in Focus but Stephen Minch talked him into including it. And I am glad Mr. Minch did. I think it's a lovely little effect. It is an earth shattering, Red Sea parting Miracle? No. But, worked into a larger routine as Pepka and others do - my self included - it works beautifully and garners some pretty good reactions. Inigmntoya's post is important because Overture is one of those tricks that you really need to let the audience know a bit about what's going but without tipping it to the denouement.

Well, I first show the position of the cards, do the count and simply say "watch". I do the turnover and count to show the new position. Then I explain that the only way this can happen is if I physically re-position the cards, which I then proceed to do. Then I do the count and the turnover move and show the change again.

I'm very confident with my counts and the smoothness. When I say "but almost every time..." I feel like the spectator has missed the change, so I physically re-position the cards to show what it would really look like, then I repeat the effect.

Other times it seems like certain people just understand what took place and I don't repeat.

I was mainly looking for pacing tips or anything else.

Hi Rick,

Reading your presentation I am wondering if a few thoughts about your patter might help. Remember, you're a magician and can make up any story you wish. Perhaps you could frame the effect as a sort of strange four card monte that you saw in [insert name of strange town near you] in which you lost 20.00. Transposition effects can lend themselves very well to such a story - after all, Three Card Monte is at heart a transposition. If your story and actions convince your spectators at the outset just where the cards are supposed to be, then the transposition becomes more apparent.

Another thought is the "proving" you are doing. By stating that the only way that such a transposition could happen without magic is by physically repositioning the cards, you are setting yourself up for more heat and additionally, it seems to me that you leave the audience with the conclusion that you merely did some trickery. Obviously audiences know that what we do is not "real" magic, but I think that by emphasizing the proving action, you are allowing a possible explanation that is very close to being correct. Ack, conveying what I mean here is not easy. What I am trying to say is that it seems like you are not framing or blocking the trick such that the transposition becomes a moment of magic rather than a curious puzzle. I hasten to add that I am in no way implying that you are not a good performer. Rather, sometimes a trick can challenge us as to what to say or do outwardly to make the trick magical.

I've read a lot of thoughts about transposition effects and many magicians have stated that transpositions present a challenge that other basic plots like productions, vanishes, and transformations do not. The preceding three are quite direct and thus attention is more easily directed. You place a coin in your hand and it vanishes. One coin going to a hand and gone. You show your hands empty and reproduce the coin; again, that is direct: empty hands and then an appearance (or recovery in this case).

But a transposition requires making sure the audience is crystal clear as to where the two objects are before the magic takes place. Let's face it, unless a spectator signs an object, there is the chance that the spectator will forget for instance her chosen card - and that is just one thing to remember. So we have people sign, or show the card around. Transpositions offer a challenge in that you never want to be so obvious about the objects yet you do need to establish where they are. John Mendoza wrote at length about this and offered an elegant solution in a two card transposition, he miscalls where one of the objects is and the audience corrects him! If that happens, then you know that your audience is clear on what is where!

I hope that you can find something useful in what I have written. If not, no worries as these are just conjectures - except the Mendoza thing.

Slainte,
Vlad

Thanks Vlad

I like that explanation, it "seems" logical that the "difficulty" is building with each effect.

However, you initially said Overture was an intro to a stronger effect (Twisting the Aces), but as described above it's also a follow-up to the other two.
I wonder if for some reason one or both of the first two effects are resonating stronger with your audience (especially if you're doing the last phase of Dr. Daley's in their hands) that might be leading to the less enthusiastic response to this one?

** I'm missing your shorthand -- what effect is "TTW"? Did you mean TTA - Twisting the Aces? If that's the case I'm confused -- at the top you said Overture was an intro to TTA, but here it sounds like TTA is presented first? If that's the case, and you stand by TTA being the stronger/better effect, then I think you have your answer?