I've always been a fan of Bruce Cervon and his thinking behind magic performances. I certainly was not disappointed with his giant monte. Arrived from Stevens this week and I must say I laughted when I saw how the optical illusion worked so brillantly. The patter is great and you can control the position of the picture card at will. You couldn't hand out the cards,(actually you can hand 2 of them out) but you can show them very very cleanly, no problem. Needless to say I like this very much.

Watch video !

http://www.stevensmagic.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=10382

This looks like Submarine Card or Jennings "Close-Up Illusion".

I don't like Cervon's confrontational patter and wouldn't use it, so $40.00 for three jumbo cards, one of which is slightly gaffed seems a bit steep.

The effect is deceptive though, as it was for Submarine Card and the Jennings routine.

Yes,it is very like the Jennings 'Close-up illusion'
A little bit of instruction on the dvd would have been nice.You basically get the
same footage of Bruce Cervon that is the demo.

Anybody using this with their own (less confrontational) patter?

How's it playing?
Does it have advantages over the Jennings routine?

I'm still thinking about what script to use.The idea in the included instructions about using a second person as a referee is nice but I agree that Mr.Cervons patter is too confrontational but of course I'm sure it worked well for him.

The cards can be held up for a stand up routine in a vertical fashion.Something that would be too risky with the Jennings version as the spectators might see
something there not supposed to.

The tongue in cheek patter by Cervon has worked well for me with people just laughing as its performed. Of course I'm doing this in a pub and oil rig invironment so with that crowd it goes over well. No one has taken offence or worked against me. It is obviously a con game and suppose to have that grifter feel. I'm also incorporating the Harry Anderson patter from his 3 card princess for a storyline and mixing the two patters with a bit of my own. I'm getting a lot out of this and am enjoying performing it as well. Maybe its our convict past here in Oz but people are seeing it for what it is, a bit of tongue in cheek entertainment.

I'm sure your audience would assume that if they see you wearing an ascot, you would be a prick.

Not quite sure what that means but I take it you're talking about creating the type of charactor for a performance and making it obvious. With a lot of magic you have to choose the right audience to perform it for

Is this routine published anywhere?

Just toss in the word pretend and "what if" we were gambling? Your playing it for humour, not for real. Of course if you want a different patter, you can play the life is an illusion, you can't always believe what you see ...............

I have used this a few times. I also do not like the patter that comes with the prop, so I present it as a warning to watch out if you see someone on the street performing 3 card monte for money. My presentation gets mild applause and few laughs, so it needs some work. I haven't used the prop for some time now, but I really like the simplicity of the method.

I saw Bruce perform this in the close-up room at the Castle once. He played it as a straight challenge and was very playful/confrontational with the audience. It was one of his most effective effects that evening.