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Adam V Special user 603 Posts |
Let me be extremely brief. Joker Joker is a fairly boring and unimpressive effect. It uses a clever idea which could possibly be used in other effects, but the actual Joker Joker effect is bad (in my opinion).
However! Included with Joker Joker is another routine called 'Los Angeles Open' which is beautiful. In fact I understand a few people are annoyed at this being released because it is so good. It is an open prediction effect which is extremely easy to do and has been fooling both magicians (who cares) and lay people alike! Trust me, buy the effect and check out Los Angeles Open. It's great.
Adam V - 9 out of 10 dentists recommend him.
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truthteller Inner circle 2584 Posts |
The Los Angeles open is very similar to ideas published by both James and Parrish.
Check out mylovelyassistant.com for my review of the item. However, I wish I had the presence of mind to have made the observation offered by John Mendoza on ebay: "If you have to force a double back card to make a trick work, why not just go ahead and force the other joker." |
Adam V Special user 603 Posts |
I couldn't agree with him more. That's exactly what I thought when I read the effect.
Adam V - 9 out of 10 dentists recommend him.
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Night_Crawler New user 61 Posts |
Los Angeles Open is quiet clever. That is the only reason why I but the "Joker Joker". The guy at the magic store told me about a new open prediction trick that they got in and I got it. He told me that that was just an extra effect in the instructions, but it is the better of the two in my opinion.
Night_Crawler |
Madmonk Regular user 106 Posts |
I totally agree with Adam V. Los Angeles Open is alot better than Joker Joker.
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Kamal Loyal user 253 Posts |
Adam V - you've done it again!
I just recieved Joker Joker, and boy is it awful! Having said that, the Los Angeles Open is briliant, simple and direct! Thanks for the great tip, and I hope no-one else reads your post... |
Zednanreh Loyal user Miami, FL 211 Posts |
I've read the post. Too late! But! Please describe (from the spectators point of vision) how Los Angeles Open works? I'm not too clear on what
Quote:
It is an open prediction effect is. - Alex
So you want to market or sell your trick? Before you do, read this!
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Adam V Special user 603 Posts |
It means it is a prediction effect where you reveal your prediction at the start of the effect, rather than keeping it concealed.
Adam V - 9 out of 10 dentists recommend him.
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MisterE21 Elite user Salt Lake City, UT 426 Posts |
I've posted a question about open predictions in Food For Thought (rather than steering this conversation off track). Please check it out and add your two cents.
E
Your EFFECT is only as good as its AFFECT.
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Agathon Regular user 161 Posts |
I strongly disagree with the above "opinions." I say opinions because nobody has offered a critique.
Joker Joker is not a mind blower. It is a good opening effect that doesn't involve heavy handling. The idea above, of why not just force the Joker, is very simple; if a gaff can do the trick and the gaff is ditched very easily, then why not use the gaff? I have written elsewhere that Joker Joker establishes you as a magician and involves the spectator. Again, it's not a heavy hitter, but it is a segue into your card magic that has set you up as somebody to watch. I might add that magic is only as boring as the person presenting it. If you are not getting the reactions that you want, don't blame the tricks and don't blame the audience. I would suggest magicians take acting classes and read classic literature to understand story structure. It's all about conflict and resolution. Charles Spector |
trainerjep Loyal user 242 Posts |
hmm i have been wondering about this effect for somet time, still not sure whether to buy it or not yet?
more posts??
It's not the size of the wand,
but the magic in it ! |
Adam V Special user 603 Posts |
I still say don't buy it. It's all good and well to say that every trick on earth is capable of being brilliant depending on the performer but that simply isn't true. Some effects are simply bad no matter how you look at it. I'm not saying Joker Joker is like that, I'm sure a good performer could get some use out of it but you would have to work extremely hard to make it so.
Not recommended, just learn a classic force.
Adam V - 9 out of 10 dentists recommend him.
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Kamal Loyal user 253 Posts |
I say buy it!
I performed Joker Joker about a dozen times, and got very average reactions... I also performed The Los Angeles Open (more the a dozen times), and get huge reactions. This will not only fool a laymen, but a lot of magicians as well. Joker Joker: 1/10 The Los Angeles Open: 9/10 So overall it balances out to be a good product. I guarantee that you will perform The Los Angeles Open! You would be crazy not to. |
Adam V Special user 603 Posts |
Good point, all up it works out as a 10/10 trick.
Adam V - 9 out of 10 dentists recommend him.
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Gordon Bean V.I.P. 103 Posts |
In my write-up of The Los Angeles Open, I traced the precedents of its method--notably Curry, James, and Marlo. After it came out, a friend happened to be reading David Britland's booklet Psychomancy (1986) and saw that a effect there called Three Times a Lady used essentially the same method as The Los Angeles Open, though in a two-deck "closed" prediction effect. Future copies of the instructions will certainly be amended to reflect this--and, for that matter Psychomancy is still available from Martin Breese at http://www.sherlockholmes.co.uk/magic, and is full of other typically excellent Britland effects.
So my real contribution comes down to the idea that one can repeatedly give the spectator the option to stick with her chosen card (with all of the cards in her own hands)...or to keep going. In the context of The Los Angeles Open, this works especially well, since the faces of the rejected choices are being dealt face up, and the fact that the openly named target card is not among them builds up suspense nicely. And this is also the case with Joker, Joker, which is in essence an open prediction: you announce that the spectator will find the second joker without looking, and she does. Yes, you could simply force that joker in standard fashion, but in that case you couldn't give the option to "stay or keep going." This, to me, is the crux of the effect. The conditions of one's opening are crucial in shaping audience expectations, and the conditions here are especially good. Is the prediction of a joker somehow weaker than the prediction of an actual card? Could be, but I know that I feel a lot better putting those two gaffs in my pocket, rather than having them still in the deck. And I know that nothing is more logical to begin a card routine than first finding, then putting away, the two jokers. (The one thing I find potentially weak about Joker, Joker is the visual discrepancy at the end, but in practice it turns out that while every magician catches it, laypeople don't. This is especially true if the display is made in an off-hand fashion while putting away the jokers. You have, after all, shown that there are no other jokers in the deck, reducing the heat on this moment. This still qualifies as a weakness, though, since it could tend to make someone attempting this initially feel very insecure, and insecurity is contagious. A lot of times what we're trying to convey to an audience is the same sensation we had when an effect fooled us--so if it doesn't, there seems to be little point in repeating the experience. And is nice to fool as many people as often as possible, and since the Los Angeles Open wins on that score, I guess I'd have to agree that it may be the stronger item. Besides, I come from a family of research scientists, and the data here certainly seems to support that hypothesis. It may sound strange, but it's still a thrill to know that strangers are doing one's effects, so thanks to all for posting.) |
Kamal Loyal user 253 Posts |
Gordon, thank you for clarifying the issue.
You do make a valid point. When I was first shown Joker Joker, I thought "it's OK, but nothing special". After I was shown The Los Angeles Open, not only was I fooled, but I was shown it a second time, and was fooled even more! So now I perform The Los Angeles Open, and the main reason is because the first time I saw it I loved it, and want to convey that response in my spectators. |
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