I am learning the sponge ball routine from Mark Wilson's Course in Magic. There is a part where a ball is transferred from the right hand to left. Then, the left hand goes in the pocket, the right hand is placed in front of the pocket, then removed, and the ball melts through the fabric of the pocket.

Does this really fool people? My wife said it might be good for kids (i.e., adults wouldn't be fooled).

Also, I am wondering whether it might fool better if, instead of doing it after a transfer from right hand to left, just do it after openly picking up a ball from the table with the left hand?

Your wife knows that you're not a "REAL" magician.

Layman won't know that for sure. Give it a try and see. Adults will love it.

If they don't KNOW that it melted through your pocket, they'll love that it looks like it did.

Let us know what happens, will you?

Frank

This is interesting. I'll have to learn this part in the routine. I just ordered my first set of spongeballs today.

The first thing to practice is the part where you make the ball look like it is penetrating the fabric. You need to make the ball look like it is pushing through. Once you have done that, work on getting it into position. Learn it with a false transfer and with a pickup. By knowing both ways, you will know which one works best for you.

The routine in Mark Wilson's book is the basis of the routine that I still perform today. I have always performed with a "pocket penetration" and it has never received a bad response. However, that is not where I stop. That is the point when I get the last sponge ball into play.

Jwilder,
Do you do the part where one ball goes in one hand, and another in the other hand, and the first time nothing happens, but the next time, both balls end up in one hand? How does that go over?

No... I do not. I do a similar pattern when I perform a the Benson Bowl Routine though.

But when doing just a sponge ball routine, one I typically do with kids, I always have it happen in their hands. It is a bit of overkill, in my experience, to have it happen in both my hands and their hands.

Hi Guys,

Thought I'd jump in here. I do have the Mark Wilson sponge routine. It's quite good and I have used some parts of it. That particular part I always didn't get it too well and most adults didn't really buy it too much. Maybe it was just me not being too confident. I had trouble concealing the ball before actually putting it against my pocket. I agree too that it gives a great reason to get the last ball into play.

I recently got Daryls Fooler Doolers and learnt his 2 sponge ball routine in there. I find it works great for kids. I did it today at the hospital where I help out. Got a great reaction. The construction of the routine lends itself greatly to having two balls appear in one of my hands, and later on in the spectators hand and gets impressive reactions. It may be a simple routine, but so far for me it's been a winner with the kids.

JoJo

I'm gonna think that laymen will figure this out pretty easily. you've got to remember, most people don't look at the world with a "magical outlook"

I like to use the sponge ball through pocket as well as the feint/transposition that stuper1 mentions. Both are visually pleasing, all be not the most earth shattering pieces of magic. I do the feint/transposition to a silly poem that children will repeat over and over afterwards.
Sure, people can figure out the method if they really want to, but no one has ever said anything to me. In my experience, people know the type of manipulation that is going on in most sponge ball routines, even if they don't actually catch you doing it. They like it anyway because some of the presentations are so much fun and the magic is really quite visual and in their hands.

Enjoy!!
Mike

If you really want a wonderful ending to the sponge ball routine, get a copy of The Sponge Book, which is put out by Magic, Inc. There is a routine in there by Laurie Ireland, called "Little Ball, Big Ball," (I think). A sponge ball grows from 2 inches to however big you can scrunch up in your hand. If you do this with a spectator helping you, the spectatlr will think that it actually grew in their hands, even though that's not true at all.

Mike,
Would you care to share your silly poem with us?

I've found that the Wilson sponge ball through pocket is great. I get better reactions if my pants are a little loose though. So suit pants work better than jeans.

I agree that your pants should be of a looser fit. This does help aid in the illusion that the sponge is penetrating the material.