I don't know if I should post this or not here or at all, but I have had a chance to see and perform The Rat pack. It is truly an INSANE effect with a deck of cards and a rat trap. It KILLLLLLS commercially - it was created by none other then Curtis Kam.

I am curious if anyone else has seen it and or tried it?

I am carrying this with me to the club every night. I have never seen a card trick garner as much response from an audience as this effect has done!

All the Drama is real, and boy does it get the endorphans going...not just for the audience - but for the performer too!

Who else has tried this, anyone?

I know Curtis Kam is releasing a DVD, but not sure when.

Curtis?

CURTIS KAM'S The Rat Pack could easily be described as MAN versus MACHINE and is not for the faint of heart.

It gathers undivided attention from your audience, is action packed in every sense of the word and takes the theme of Pick a card...any card to a whole NEW level.

Frankly, OOPS! is NOT an option here folks! Are you looking for something to close your show with that you know the competition will be afraid to try?
Look no further.

I've seen no mention of this elsewhere, nor did googling uncover it. What DVD/video has this, if any? And might we get a description of the effect?

Steve and Reed have definately piqued my curiosity over this effect.
If its good enough for Reed to use nightly, then its gotta be outstanding.
Can't wait to hear more. Hope I can stomach it.

Wow-That's quite high praise coming from Steve. Count me in on this one!!!

Soon, very soon, the pre-release copies will go out to the brave individuals who have volunteered to beta test this sucker.

I expect unanimous approval for this effect, since only the survivors will be able to type.

More news as it happens.

What's the effect on this? All the talk has made me wonder.

Curtis or Reed, can you all please just give a quick explanation on what the effect does? You all have got me interested. Thanks in advance.

Chris, fair enough. There's a website that explains all - it's almost done.

...and now it is done. The Bakery Elves have been up all night, but they've cooked up a cool description of the effect, and all the juicy details you could ever want.

For the inside scoop on the scariest card trick in town, visit The Magic Bakery Do it! Do it now!

Unless you're yeller....

Does a rat trap break your fingers when it catches you? Because, you could go in to the old broken and restored fingers. Can't wait to get it...

Thanks,
Lee

Hey Guys(and Gals)
I may be mistaken but years ago I thought that there was a effect similar to this by abbotts? Like I said I may be mistaken as I am sure Curtis has done his research just from knowing the type of products he puts out. LOL oh now I remember, It was the bear trap from abbotts....Magician actually let his hand get hammered by a bear trap. Not the same effect sorry guys.... Sounds great can't wait to play with it( that sounds really bad)....LOL

tpdmagic

Yeah, I considered the bear trap route, but you know, even though it really is a bear (or racoon) trap, I don't think the audience is familiar enough with them to take them as real. I mean, if it was a treal trap, would you really stick you hand in it? (we all know that the answer is yes, but I don't think the audience knows how dumb we really are)

So, rather than a bigger trap, for the topper repeat, I opted for....smaller cards. Yes, also on the DVD is the "encore" effect, done with a minature deck!.

That one even scares me, and I only do it for really tough crowds.

I might be mistaken, but didn't Pete Biro use a rat trap in a routine that was published in and old Genii or something? I might be wrong, Alzheimers and all that....Anyway, count me in on getting one of these babies!

I just read about the effect. Love it!... trap me in!!
Gerard

Will there be distribution of this product through some place like Murphy's so that we may support our local magic shops, or is it an online exclusive?

Is Jeir Leirpoll's routine similar to this?

Nathan

I've only read the description of the effect, but as I understand the Leirpoll effect, there are some significant differences:

The Leirpoll routine uses a mouse trap. It's the kind that's smaller than a deck of cards, and makes a loud snap, but that's about it. For the faint of heart, this might be a good introduction to dangerous mechanical devices. However, you can be snapped by a mouse trap full force and not remember that it happened the next day. That simply does not happen with a rat trap. Getting snapped in a rat trap is the kind of pain that you remember for years.

In the Lierpoll efect, the mouse trap is armed, and placed on the spectator's outstretched hand. One by one, the cards are passed through the business end of the trap. The trap snaps when the selected card is touching it. Or something like that. There really never is any danger, and it's clear that nobody's realy goin gto get hurt. It's mostly a surprising way to reveal a selected card.

The Rat Pack looks the danger element square in the eye. In fact, it thrives on danger. It would be almost as effective with a piece of cheese, rather than a selected card, as bait. The Leirpoll effect makes you look clever. The Rat Pack makes you look insane.

There are the most extensive credits on the DVD that I could track down. They include Chuck Smith, Karrell Fox, Penn and Teller and a few others. I'm not familiar with the reference to a Pete Biro item in Genii. It does sound like his sort of thing, but I'm sure he's too sensible to take this approach.

Hey Curtis,

Just wondering, how many times have you gotten your finger "crushed" by the rat trap while creating/practicing this effect?

Well, I don't mean to parade all the sacrifices I've made in the tireless pursuit of good entertaining magic for all of you. After all, you'd do it for me, right? It's reward enough just to see your kids happy, after all....

Okay, three and a half (just a glancing blow). As I say on the DVD, most often, you'll get snapped when you're setting the trap until you get the hang of it. That takes only once, and you learn to respect the trap.

The other times were early in development when I thought the trick wouldn't be impressive unless it was done with TWO selections. In fact, the two selection approach was my first impression. Theoretically, it's still possible, but the method I used placed my thumb directly in line with the trap. I have since learned the advantage of avoiding that position.

Besides, simpler is better, right?

Maybe its a good thing that you stuck with one card else your nickname might have been Curtis "3 Finger" Kam .