I think the bill switch is a very strong piece of magic.



Question: Which version do you use, and why?

I’ve never really looked that much into this trick, although I know how the gimmick version works.



I’ve heard that there’s a pure sleight of hand version to this trick as well, anyone know it or where it’s in-print? I think Paul Zennon did this in one of his specials. (I couldn’t see the gimmick)

Abacus,

there are many many versions, some using that "special something", others that do not.



I believe "Murphy's Magic" will be releasing a book soon that deals exclusively on this subject. If you get a chance, be sure and check it out.

one of the best books on the switch is Mike Koslowski's $100 dollar bill manuscript. Also Larry Jennings and Michael Ammar both have versions in their books. Classic Magic of LJ and Ammar's big green book. In Roger Klause's book, he has some wonderful handlings on the bill switch. Klause's, Koslowski's, and Ammar's book all use a special something. Larry's method is pure sleight of hand. However the best handling and presentation belong to a certain someone with the initials P.C. Can you guess who?



Take care,

Dorian Rhodell

Hey Dorian,

sounds like "Paul Chosse" to me

Do I get a prize or what?

Several have spoken quite well of Paul Chosse and I am interested in what he does. To my misfortune I am not familiar with this individual. Is there any published material on his work?

Number 12 of the Ron Bauer Private studies Series teaches Paul Chosse’s bill switch. Available from most dealers for around $10.

There are two things you should know about the No. 12 notes on Chosses Bar Bill Stunt.

1) You will learn a killer switch.

2) The way it is written is not the way Paul performs the effect.

With Paul’s presentation, this effect is devastating. Hopefully it will appear in print someday.


Take care,
Dorian Rhodell

I have to agree with Dorian on this one.

But then again, ANYTHING Chosse chooses to present is as close to real magic as it will ever get.

There is a very interesting "No gimmick" Bill Switch on the Jarle Lierpoll tape "Pocket Power". That's the one I'm trying to master. All you need to do is have a prefolded bill in the pocket. Or as I have done in the past folded one up when someone has asked me to do a trick and then weren't looking.

I use the Ammar version frequently at work behind the box office counter.



CUSTOMER: Could you change this $20 bill for me?

MISTEREIS: I’ll certainly try.

(bill switch to a fiver)

CUSTOMER: ........Would you do that again?

MISTEREIS: I’d quit while you’re behind.



_________________

Cheers,



Reis Porter.

Is there really a big difference in Paul’s handling of the switch? I have a few versions that were supposed to be a much better way of presenting it and they really aren’t that much different from the original.

Seeing is believing! But anything Paul presents is awsome. All I can really tell you is that any small difference in Paul’s handling is important, otherwise Paul would not even bother to take the time.

And by the way Tom, Welcome to the Cafe, it’s great to have you here!

Looks like Toms are making a move on the coveted Steves spot.



Tom 1of3



And welcome, Tom

Mr. Brooks was right. Murphy’s will be publishing a bill switch book in the very near future. It is written by my friend John Lovick, who I just spent the weekend with, and he tells me it will be around 400 pages, profusely illustrated, and contain contributions by all the top bill switchers, as well as a few you’ve never seen. I, for one, will be snatching up a copy!

_________________

Scott F. Guinn

Great Scott! It’s Magic!

It's a small world we live in..eh Scott?

I'll be picking up a copy as well (like my library needs another magic book)

All being well, I have something in the book It’s a cute little item that uses the bill switch in a different context to normal and kind of frames it around a complete routine.

I haven’t heard much about the book for awhile, but assume my item hasn’t be cut out for space reasons or anything of that nature. It sounds like the finished book is going to look fantastic.


--Andi

Can't wait for the book, and whilst you wait you should check out John Lovick's own handling which can be found in his two sets of 'Skinny' lecture notes (btw these notes for their price and content have to be the best value I have gotten for a while!). I agree when he says its unnecessary to use that special something especially when you only need to hide something so small. So I'm working on his improved version from his second set of notes.

$100 Bill Switch (the History)

The year was 1976; the event was Fechter’s Finger Flicking Frolic at the Forks Hotel in Cheektowaga, NY. The dates were May 7th and 8th, as Fechter’s was but a two day event back then. That year, I shared a ride to the Forks in a van with Dick Jarrow, Jim Ryan, Phil Willmarth, and Mike Kozlowski. Mike Kozlowski and I split a room at the Sheraton in Buffalo, down the street from the convention.

After closing up the convention on Friday evening, Mike and I still had enough energy left to shoot a few rounds of pool at the Sheraton, though it was past two o’clock in the morning.

A fellow walked by, asked if we were with
“the convention,” and we began talking magic. This man went by the name of Milton, and ran a juggling and magic shop in Connecticut. Later, I learned his full name was Milton Nichols.

Paper money effects intrigued Milton, and we talked along those lines for a short while. Then Milton performed what has now become known as the “$100 Bill Switch.” To say that both Mike and I were completely baffled was an understatement! We had no explanation, and were thrilled to see it. Jim Ryan, whose back was keeping him from a full night’s rest, walked by shortly after our little session had begun. Milton repeated his performance, and Jim gushed “Fooled the h**l out of me!” Jim visited for a bit, then went off to try to salvage some sleep.

I was in a good position to attempt to swap effects with Milton, as I was working professionally at Mr. C’s Magic Lounge in Berwyn, Illinois, and had my full close-up archives with me. I went through the paper money effects I was using at the time: the
“$2 Bill Trick”, Sam Berland’s “Bill Tear,” and even “Hornswoggled” and Jack Chanin’s
“Rip-It.” None of those effects garnered enough interest from Milton to affect a swap. Finally, I performed Duke Stern’s
“Seven Dollar Trick.” That fooled and interested Milton, to the point where he was willing to teach the $100 Bill Switch in exchange for the “Seven Dollar Trick” instruction.

Milton explained that this was not his effect, that he had learned it from a Cossack circus performer (Vlado), and that he would tip the work only with the clear understanding that we would not disseminate the information to any other magicians. I gave my word, and so did Mike Kozlowski.

Unfortunately, Mike not only “showed it around,” but published it quickly through Magic, Inc., of Chicago as “The $100 Bill Switch.” It was from that manuscript that the effect became widely discovered, and the
“rest is history.”


Randy Wakeman

After months of frustration I finally learned the switch after purchasing Kevin King’s Money Morph Video. He taught the switch rather well and, for me, video was an easier medium to learn the effect.