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Picard Elite user 411 Posts |
Quote:
On 2009-02-07 10:56, FrancoMagic wrote: Can you, please, describe the effect? |
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PaulGordon Elite user 475 Posts |
Dear Picard,
I can: It's a two-phase version with better (easier to recall set-up) and more illusive handling. It's a bit of a magician puzzler because they don't recognise it as Thought Stealer. If you were at FFFF (four F's), it's the one that got the "puzzled" looks! Best, Paul Gordon |
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the fritz Special user 647 Posts |
It's a good trick, although it requires a bit of sleight-of-hand that isn't necessarily for beginners. I like Paul's stuff, but honestly, this version (while good, I think) seems to get away from the effect Thought Stealer is going for. With the first phasek added, it feels more like a spelling trick than a mind-reading trick, but that's just my opinion. Cardistry is still worth getting. Actually my favorite of Paul's new books so far is Card Collective. It has a great "best of" section in it, but now I'm getting off track. I still prefer the original Thought Stealer.
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PaulGordon Elite user 475 Posts |
Hi "the fritz"... I set/devised the trick (as I do all my tricks) for laymen to enjoy and be baffled-by. And, along the way - it "gets" magicians too. I think the first phase is good, and the second - in my opinion & experience - is very strong. But, glad you like my stuff and thanks for the kind words...
Best, Paul Gordon |
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the fritz Special user 647 Posts |
You're welcome, Paul. You put out great stuff and your version is a good trick. Speaking of good tricks, as I said earlier, I prefer the original to the two phase effect Paul offers. Here is what I've come up with as far as method. Without giving too much away so we can keep this here instead of over in Secret Sessions here goes...
Begin as Steven Youell does in his description in Weapons of Mass Destruction, however instead of the Cardini Shift, I prefer Vernon's Multiple Shift from Stars of Magic. It is very easy and anyone who can Hindu shuffle should be able to get it after just a few tries. Youell gives a great way to do the trick with any cards from the deck, not just the ones you've memorized. The work to learn this is really minimal as well. After shifting the cards to you-know-where, use Andy's (a brown 1968) idea of doing a spelling demonstration to set your nine cards in a sneaky and subtle way. Plus, this ensures the spectator knows what he or she is supposed to do. I've had people get confused on the spelling procedure before so Andy's idea is brilliant and kills two birds with one stone. That's efficiency. Great suggestion, Andy. Now just false shuffle and finish with them spelling to the card. A small addition I made was to note the bottom card as a key after you've done the spelling "demonstration"/set your nine cards. Now you can have the spectator cut the deck as many times as they want to really lose their mental selection. All you have to do is run through the faces of the cards saying to the spectator, "You could be thinking of any of these... this one, or this one, or this one..." and in the process, simply cut your key right back to the bottom and your setup is right back where it needs to be. You can then do the mental spell from there. It may be overkill, but it will convince spectators that their selection really is lost and I think this is very important as it strengthens "conviction" as Darwin Ortiz puts it in his fantastic book, Strong Magic. One other thing... I have been thinking of having the spectator name the card before they spell it so the possibility of them lousing up the spelling (and many of you know this happens quite often when performing this trick) is eliminated. Plus, I think this may be even stronger than having them mentally spell their card as everyone now knows what card to look for and there is more time for the suspense to build while the spelling is happening. When they don't know the card, they don't know what to expect which I think may weaken the ending. Just an idea. Any thoughts? |
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Andy Moss Special user 713 Posts |
This thread continues to be fruitful!
If this effect is performed 'one on one' my own feeling is that it may be best to have them silently spell as the impact will then be more immediate and shocking for them. The impact in other words seems to be that you have literally 'stolen their thought'. With respect to a performance involving more than one person then yes -on balance- I think that your idea of having the identity of the card revealed is a sensible precaution.It also creates suspense for the whole audience. Thanks for the idea of using the Hindu shuffle to control the six cards to the top. |
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a brown 1968 Elite user 470 Posts |
Hello Fritz,
Thanks for the kind words . Since my skills are and always will be limited, I do my best to think of ways around the sleights without resorting to unrealistic procedures. They bottom key card is a great addition. I had remembered that idea from the effect you put on the Café before Christmas. Yes Andy, nice to see a thread bring ideas together. |
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the fritz Special user 647 Posts |
That's a good point about the one-on-one performance, Andy (Moss).
I also enjoy the challenge of thinking around sleights as well Andy (a brown 1968). I find myself using the bottom key idea quite often. I like to use it with the automatic placement principle most because it offers the spectators a chance to mix the cards while still allowing you to maintain control over the position of their selection through subtlety. |
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atucci Veteran user Middleburg, Florida 381 Posts |
First to Fritz, Paul, Picard, a brown1968, and Andy thanks for sharing and a job well done!
Late last year I started re-reading Royal Road as sort of a 'back to basics' exercise to start the New Year and decided to add Thought Stealer to my repertoire. A friend steered me to Steven Youell's lecture notes, Weapons of Mass Destruction which does have a great take on this effect. Your contributions have made this little trick from the first chapter of RRTCM, which a lot of people consider a throw-away, even better and one which may fool some magicians. More importantly however I believe it shows the value of what a little experimentation, brainstorming and collaboration can do when the posts are civil and done for the love of our craft. In about three weeks you all have helped transform a piece of basic card magic into something that's worth looking at for just about everyone. It was all done online with members from at least two different continents and skill sets that range from beginner (that’s me) to advanced. Well done gentlemen!
Tony Tuccillo
Middleburg, Florida |
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the fritz Special user 647 Posts |
Wow. Great post Tony! I couldn't agree more that posts should be civil and focused. I didn't think of the diversity part you talked about... I guess that is pretty awesome when I think of the collaboration that way. It feels good to know others enjoy the brainstorming as much as I do (so I guess I'm not entirely selfish about it!). How great would it be to be able to do this kind of thing in person!? Thanks for the kind words, Tony. Also, a thanks to all the guys (or gals if there are any) who posted. This has been a great thread and it certainly has inspired some new thinking for me.
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