After reading Chris's idea of placing the card in the palm sandwich and shaking it, I tried it in my own hand. Laying the card face up I simply picked it up and did a single card shake (no twirl). The spectator sees only the moving marks and when it stops is looking at their single card with their name on it and it is handed directly to them. This eliminates the need for a KM move, replacement of card with a DL and doing the twirl. Any comments?

We're all going to come up with our own touches and variations. Folks wills till have to get Identity to see and learn all the nuances and versions of Richard's effect.

Hello to all of you dear magic lovers and friends the Café is such a great place to be !

I have been performing close up magic since childhood for friends at partys etc. and being in my late 40tys now I continue to be amazed to see such great effects as Identity coming up.

Here is what I have found to be a nice imho addition to start the effect which eliminates the need for me to know the name or as a matter of fact any word the spectator might think of which will later on appear on his selected card.

I have the spectator think of any word meaningful to him, hand him over a small
writing pad of which pages can be torn off and which is gaffed by the means of
the wonderful "Universal Impression, by robert smith". The spectator writes his "word" on the pad tears off the page which I never have to touch, hands me back the pad, while closing up the pad in a completely natural way I get his "word" and continue from there with the effect.

Even performing Universal Impression bye itself gets such strong reactions, combining this with Identity has worked really well for me, maybe you will like it as well.

Hey Leo,

That is a great idea, I just got Universal Impression and Identity for Fathers day. You can really expand on that idea using Universal Impression. Not only words but relatives names,etc.

thanks,

Mike

Hey Mike

My pleasure, thanks for your comment, I am glad you like it, seems like quiet a bit of magic getting these two loveley presents together for fathers day...lol

Take care

leosx1 (Martin)

Oh well thanks for the tip Mike. Just put my order through for one Universal Impression. Trust that it will add a bit of variety to Identity.
I know all my friends names for example

And Chris, I just had a go at changing the card in my friend's name, he swore at me! It is as powerful if done properly!

Good night

P

This trick seems to have its roots in an older, much better, and more streamlined trick by David Harkey. It's called "Simply Divine!" and can be found in his tome "Simply Harkey". I highly recommend looking up this effect. It's a visual stunner with an engaging plot.

Ordered 5 days ago and still waiting for delivery but meanwhile I am very surprised that so many people are selling again. Why would that be?

Happens all the time. People get excited over something new; get it; realize it's not for them; then sell it.

It's not unique to Identity. It happens to all the latest and greatest.

The reason people are selling it after recieving it is that what looks like easy magic on the demo ends up being a little more difficult that anticipated. I knew from watching the demo that there would be work involved to get this trick down, but you know what? Most tricks worthwile take some work. The work put into this effect more than paysoff for the end result. My review is it is every bit as awesome as the demo video. Another winner for Richard

Because...the 'gimmick' doesn't do all the work. Magi want 'self working" and there is no such thing. THANK HEAVENS!

Doc Eason wanted folks to by his videos and...never do the magic. He was right. The fewer folks doing killer material, the better. That's why I LOVE "IT" effects. It takes work and most won't put in the effort. Same with Identity.

I received Identity yesterday and this is awesome. Although some people find the explanations very long I particularly like that kind of explanation with all the possible details and alternatives. Its indeed not really easy but not to difficult either. You have to keep your head with it especially not to flash anything. The only thing I'm not 100% shure of is the Erdnase change. When I do it 5 times there is always one time that I take two cards with the palm which of course brings the wrong card to the top. I only practised the condensed version so far and at the end my thumb and finger on the short ends instead of the corners. You don't get the position change like that, I think it is better. Very happy with this purchase! Good luck to all.

There is not a single layman soul on this earth that will notice the position change after a Twirl Change.

For the Erdnase, if you slide DOWN and back with your palm, you shouldn't get more than one coming out.

You know that sound....when 18 people at once collectively gasp then scream in amazement....so much so that everyone else inside the house came out to see what the fuss was about.....that was Identity. You know that clip in the Richard's preview where the girl who signed the card just sat there with her jaw open......such a great moment, and duplicated tonight. At a private party tonight. I love this effect.

I have already posted how great this routine is....but I just wanted to say it again.

I had the same problem at first with the Erdnase change and I hope this makes sense. I found that by lifting the heel of my right hand just a bit at the time of sliding the card forward and applying a downward pressure on the sliding card ( kind of like the action in a onehanded top palm.) it make in incredible difference on getting one card with the heal and a much smoother action in sliding it out and back on top. I became a huge fan of the change from that point on, and the people I have performed for, judging by their reactions, tell me that it is well worth doing.

Hi Guys,

Thanks for all your support here on the Café

There seems to be a little confusion regarding the vanish shown on the demo and where to find it on the DVD.
I just re-checked the DVD and it seems that there was a small, technical hiccup on the menu.

If you viewed the explanation for the CONDENSED VERSION from the "Explanations Menu" then you will have missed 2 BONUS CHAPTERS following the explanation of this segment....one of which is the vanish used on the demo...and the 2nd one, which is how to set up for an Erdn*** vanish during the CONDENSED VERSION.

Good news is that there is a simple workaround, which follows:

From the opening screen on the DVD, click "Explanations":
On the Explanations Menu, click "Identity Condensed"
Once the section starts, click the "advance chapter button" on your remote control and you will arrive at the first "HIDDEN" section, called "Identity Condensed Alternate Vanish" (this is the vanish shown on the demo).
The chapter that directly follows this is the 2nd "HIDDEN" section, which explains how to set up for an Erdn*** vanish during the Condensed version of the effect.
From there, the DVD continues along normally.

By the way, if you navigated the DVD using the Play All Button then you didn't miss a thing, as everything plays as it should with this method.

It seems that this technical hiccup only occurs when you view it from the Explanation Menu.

I hope this clears things up for anyone that had problems finding this and I do apologize for this inconvenience.

Thank you again,

Richard Sanders

Thank you Richard for that I would have never noticed.

I received this dvd yesterday morning. I also own the richard sanders show dvd's, I don't understand why so many people were saying that it was not worth it because it is a take on a old effect. I've performed named countless of times and in my opinion this dvd is golden. This has so many hints and tips and different ways of doing it that I didn't think was possible.

If after thirteen pages you are still not convinced of buying it... your weird!

It's a killer, that's for sure. I own the Sanders show DVD's and to begin with was a tad dissapointed with Identity, because I didn't find new stuff here really - so I can follow the discussion above. But just thinking about it for a while made me realise the potential of this effect. I'm sure it will stay in my close up set for a long long time - and that makes it worth every penny. Been performing it 5 times now, with really great reactions - even my wife freaked and that means "beyond amazing" - she's seen it all.

I perform The Condensed Version, I do a bottom steal, to do the color change. I do the twirl shake, nobody sees the dump of the gimmick to the deck, (like you can see in the demo video), everybody is focused on what they just witnessed - and the card with their name on it.

I'll try Christopher's version soon. everything that can happen in their hands make it stronger. Thanks for the tip Christopher. I think I will go for the twirl change to get the visual stunner for everyone when performing for at large table/group, and the in the hand change when performing for 2-4 people where everybody is close to the spectators hands.

Love Identity, Love Extreme burn, Love Stickman 4, Love Sanders "Rising" effect with 3 cards rising and a silk involved = Simply admire the creativity of Mr. Richard Sanders.

BTW another mark of high quality is when my mother freak out, this means that the effect will "kill" lay people around 50 - 70 years of age. When I performs Sander's "Rising" for my mother she goes qoute: "that's the best card trick I ever seen". Funny, cause I don't see it entirely as a card trick. Just shows, that this is also a killer effect from Richard Sanders.

May your audiences be gobsmacked

Jan

Hey Gang,

I've been doing the condensed version of Identity for about 3 weeks now. It's one of those routines that makes you feel like a real magician, and I'm getting great reactions. Like many of you, I also have the Richard Sanders Show DVDs, but still feel I've received GREAT value for my money. When someone spends a couple hours teaching me all the subtleties, tips, and handlings of a single trick, it doesn't feel like a DVD, but more like a personal workshop. That's real value.

I'd like to repost something I wrote about Identity a while ago, and I still feel strongly about it...



* Posted: May 11, 2009 9:15pm

I have to admit that when Richard releases a new routine, I get all tingly inside. I'm talking "14-year-old-schoolgirl-seeing-Zac-Efron-walk-through-the-food-court-at-her-local-mall" tingly. In other words, I'm one of his biggest fans!

Everything he markets, and I own most of it, is so well thought out, so audience tested, and so practical, I'd feel comfortable buying it without ever seeing a review, let alone a trailer. I know it's going to be a worker and I know it's going to be strong. He's earned that trust from me over the years.

That being said, when I watch a trailer of one of his effects, or any effect I'm thinking of trying out, I want to see the REMEMBERED EFFECT. That is, the effect the spectator sees and remembers, or at least the effect they THINK they see and remember. That's really the only thing that matters. I want to see their REACTION, more than the EXACT procedure used to get there.

I definitely want to see the bare bones of the routine, to get a feel for its timing and flow, but to see everything that takes place, especially in the trailer, is only going to make you watch it like a magician. It makes you biased, and robs you of the routine's real potential.

Obviously, a card is selected. Obviously, the card is signed. Obviously, it's replaced in the deck. Obviously, "something" is secretly done. However, the spectators don't remember ANY of this. All they remember is that the marks vanish, reappear on their signed card, and then change into their name! They could care less about the "technical journey". But we all know that, don't we?

One last, very important thing to remember- when you buy a Richard Sanders routine, you're not just "buying a trick". You are buying a pretty nice chunk of his life, too. You're buying the countless hours of trial and error, and the hundreds of performances for living and breathing human beings. You're buying the first 50 times he performed it where it "just didn't feel right". You're buying the second 50 times when he thought it was "almost there". Finally, you're buying all the performances after that, where the spectators go running and screaming.

All I have to do is learn his tried-and-true routine, add my own touches and personality to it, and I'm ready to go. He's done all the hard work for me and I appreciate that...

Best,

Chad

I'm having a lot of fun with this. If you don't have Universal Impression and want to use a secret word instead of a name (I don't think the name thing is as strong if you already know the person), you can use a business card and an acidus peek (I think that's what it's called). I've also been switching back and forth between having the change happen in their hand or with the twirl. Not sure which I like better.