Do you have any sleights that you practice, but never actually use in a routine? I'm sure most magicians have at least one or two -- pending they practice sleights of course. One of my big ones is mucking.
I love mucks. The idea of one card in plain sight on the table being switched with another just by passing a hand over it, it just seems so magical. Yes, I know, it's a gambling thing. But that's not where my interest in it is at, nor where it started.
I remember very well my first introduction into the concept too. Unfortunately, it wasn't actually a muck. It was a video by Daniel Madison, either on YouTube or Instagram, and in the video he slapped his hand down on a face-up card and when lifting his hand, the card hand changed. I can't find that original video (the guy's got a lot, and that specific video wasn't about that), but a little while later he posted another video titled Camera Tricks - Slap Change Tutorial where he shows that it was actually, yup, a camera trick where he edits the video. Yay.
However, that has been my driving inspiration when it comes to mucking. Just waiving my hand over a card or better yet, just slapping my hand down on it to change it!
A few years ago, I discovered Jeremy Griffith on Instagram too (@lost_angelus) and in one of his videos (and he does this a lot, I've come to learn), he performed a card muck. And then did it again with two cards! "Holy hell," I thought, "that's exactly what I want to learn!". Thankfully, IG's super helpful comment-critics dropped the name "muck", which I didn't know at the time, and it led me down the rabbit hole.
I picked up a copy of George Joseph'sHand Mucking and found that it was both harder than I imagined, and also easy to practice. Enter in GSOH 2 and a few YouTube tutorials and I've been set!
I think I've been practicing mucking for maybe 2 years now, off-and-on. I thought I was getting pretty good at it at one point so I setup a camera to record and yikes. Flashing left and right, finger windows open, and just general wonkiness. It might be a good time to invest in a 3-way mirror!
Again though, I know that this has a gambling application to it but I don't really do any gambling routines. I have enough books and video material to solely do gambling routines, and I've learned plenty and enjoy them, they just don't come up in my very seldom performances. But hey, one way to think about it is that it's giving me more time to practice my mucks =P
It's Monday and you know what that means... Monday Mail Call!
Each Monday (give or take), I use this feature to highlight a few of the things that have made their way in over the past week or so. Packages, purchases, and emails -- oh my!
Kicking off the first week of the month, the standard subscription deliveries of both The Hermit and Genii, fresh off the presses!
The Hermit is a giant issue this month as it teamed up with The Disclaimer, another monthly magic e-magazine. I am not a current subscriber of The Disclaimer, and I haven't made it all the way through the bundle issue yet (I'm still in The Hermit section =P), but I did check out their site and subscription levels. I... don't have an opinion yet other than I don't really know what it's about. It screams magic, but that's all I've gotten so far. If I find out more, or if the issue I have right now is neat, I'll post an update for sure!
But yeah, The Hermit's issue -- Issue #6! -- is packed with routines. There's coin magic by Giacomo Bertini and Dr. Michael Rubinstein, card magic by Scott Baird, Jack Holcombe, and John Carey, and a thoughtful "believe in yourself" article from Jay Sankey! But the routine that sticks out the most to me is The Turing Test by Ryan Pilling. It's based on Bi-Kolor Kut by Stewart Judah and Leslie Guest and is just a fun gag routine with a sheet of paper. It's perfect for a remote performance, maybe something to have prepped in case you're called out in a meeting. Here's his performance of it, also linked in the article:
This month's issue of Genii arrived on time finally (first time in a couple of months). The cover is an in memoriam of Haruo Shimada, a worldwide magician from Tokyo. There was a very nice mini biography of him in the issue which covered his life's journey through magic. I'm quite certain there was a lot more to it than was discussed, and it sounds like it may have been a hard time here and there too. I sadly didn't know about Shimada until receiving this magazine. Since then, which has only been a day or two, I've gone on a tangent of watching full routines of his on YouTube. I can only summarize it as beautiful magic. Just beautiful. If you haven't seen any of his work, I encourage you to check it out, you'll be amazed!
Up next is a fancy deck I pre-ordered a while back and recently received. The Spider-Man: No Way Home by Cardmafia. The cards themselves are fully custom, back and front. But that's not the cool part of this deck. No, the coolness is in the tuck itself. It's not a standard box where you just lift the lid and take out the cards. Instead, you extend it horizontally. And then extend it some more... and then, a Spider-Man logo lights up!
I know, I know -- it sounds silly when I type it out so I can only imagine how you're reading it right now. But tell me this doesn't look cool:
The red "instant kill mode" light, when opened all the way. When only partially open, it's blue!
Last up for deliveries this week is the Kickstarter funded deck Psychonauts by Joker and The Thief. When they released the 597 and Happy Sad decks, I thought they were going in a different design-style direction -- and I really liked it. I like their original decks too, and the Dystopia deck of course, but I'm also a fan of minimalist decks. Well, Psychonauts is just in another level altogether. Multiple colors. Trippy designs. Just totally psychedelic! It's a collaboration with Art of Play, but this definitely has the JT vibe to it =]
Oh yeah, I also received an email from Vanishing Inc. earlier this month about getting any VI+ Masterclass video for only $1! They were doing a promotion for Andi Gladwin's Masterclass lectures this month, any new member could get it for only $1 signing up for VI+ so to make it fair for existing subscribers we were able to pick any historical one. I read through the description of all of the card magic ones that I didn't already have (only a few) and Harapan Ong taught one a while back that covered the Zarrow Shuffle and some work with a double-faced card... exactly what I'm trying to do more with right now so it was just meant to be.
I've been a member for a while and absolutely love it. The free shipping alone has been worth it, but the monthly Masterclasses and the other videos from the VI Studio / Streaming magic area are just amazing. I didn't think I would end up keeping it for so long, now I don't want to drop it.
You can still sign up for Andi's Masterclass or subscribe to VI+ here!
Monthly magazines, decks of cards, and a whole Masterclass for only $1?! June is starting off really nicely!
Stay tuned for the next iteration of Monday Mail Call, there's a lot more to come!
Oh also, if you'd like to offer suggestions for books, tricks, decks or if you have questions about magic (performing, routines, sleights, etc.), just reach out here.
As I was playing catch-up on Blaine's course, I went through the Out of this World routine and remembered learning it a few years ago, and then forgetting it. And then I saw it again, twice, in a magic competition a year or two ago and remembered it, and then forgot it. Now that I've remembered it again, I started thinking about it more...
At first glance, I don't really like the routine. It's long. It doesn't fit into any sets I do, nor does it match the vibe I try to bring when performing. It's just a big Oil & Water routine, right? Right?!
Now, as the title of this article says, these are all random thoughts about the routine. I did a little research because I wanted to learn more and here's a brain dump of what I've found. If you're familiar with it, you likely know all of it (and more). If you're not familiar with it, well, hopefully it's something you'll be able to use!
Routine Effect
The effect is, in premise, straightforward in that a spectator deals a face-down pack into two piles and, though guided by guesswork alone, succeeds in separating all the red cards into one pile and black cards into another!
A more detailed description, if you wish:
The performer shuffles a pack of cards and starts to deal them into two piles - the red cards in one pile, the blacks in the other. After a few cards have been dealt into each pile the deal is stopped and the performer explains that were he to continue to deal in this manner it would merely be a question of time until all the red and black cards in the pack were segregated. The cards just dealt, with the exception of two, one red and one black, which are left face up on the table at some distance from each other, are shuffled back into the pack.
Handing the deck to a spectator the performer instructs him to deal the cards into red and black piles, as demonstrated, but to do so with the cards FACE DOWN - WITHOUT LOOKING AT THE FACE OF A SINGLE CARD! "Since, under those conditions, you won't know the red cards from the blacks" he continues, "You will have to guess at the colors. On this card" he explains, pointing at the face up red card on the table, "You are to deal all those cards you believe to be red - while on the black card you are to deal those cards you think are black". The only stipulation the performer makes is that the cards be dealt singly.
After about half the cards have been dealt in this manner by the spectator the performer stops the deal and places a red card face up on the supposedly black pile and a black card face up on the red pile. The performer explains that to prove conclusively that the spectator is being unconsciously controlled the deal will now be guided by the two new face up cards. In other words the spectator will now deal those cards he believes to be red onto the pile previously reserved for the cards he believed to be black - while the cards he believes to be black will be dealt onto the "red" pile. The spectator shuffles the cards yet to be dealt and completes the deal.
We don't believe we are exaggerating when we say that up to this point the spectators will be skeptical as to the outcome of this rather fantastic undertaking. The surprise then, when the two halves are dealt thru to disclose that the spectator has actually separated the two colors, is astounding to say the least! For each of the two face up "guide" cards in each half is found to have above it a group of cards of the corresponding color!!
Paul Curry - Out of this World, 1942
History
This routine is attributed to Paul Curry who published and marketed a booklet in 1942, aptly titled Out of this World. Sadly, it took me a while to find this because most searches led me to Magician's Magic, a much larger book from Curry that was printed in 1965.
Searching around more, according to Vanishing Inc., Friedrich W. Conradi-Horster offered two methods of the same plot in Der Moderne Kartenküstler, 1986. I neither know German, nor do I have the book for reference so I can't confirm -- however, the summary of the routine that's referenced is that a deck is dealt out with the down-under deal, and it ends in new deck order. The two methods are for 32 or 52 cards.
If we were to summarize Out of This World's plot to "dealing a deck of cards into a specific order", then yes, I could see it as the same. However, I think the difference is that the spectator is dealing into two separate piles, and the piles are even alternated half-way through. They're not dealing into a specific order... they're separating the cards. In my opinion, it's more related to an Oil & Water routine's climax.
The Trick That Fooled Winston Churchill
In Magician's Magic, Curry says that his friend Harry Green performed this routine for Winston Churchill and completely baffled him! In fact, more often than not, you'll find this trick plastered everywhere as "the trick that fooled Churchill", because who doesn't like some good clickbait, right?
The story has grown to legend, further embellished by each retelling. After all, Churchill asked to have the trick repeated over and over a total of 6 times in all and was so baffled, he left and showed up late to Parliament even! Churchill, late to Parliament because of magic -- you can't get any better than that!
I came across an article on Cardopolis that gives some detailed background on this whole thing too. It says that Hannen Swaffer, a well-known newspaper columnist who was also a magic enthusiast, wrote an account of the whole event in The People newspaper's June 30, 1946 issue. I've tried finding that article myself but haven't had luck online -- I've reached out to The People (or just "People" now?), which is still around, to try to get an archived copy of it but we'll see if that pans out.
Ah but yeah, the Cardopolis article, quoting The People, says that Winston was seeing a play called Fifty-Fifty and in the after party, Green (an actor in the play) brought out a deck of cards and started showing some tricks.
Churchill made him repeat the trick six times and then do others, hour after hour, over and over again.
Hannen Swaffer, The People
It turns out though, Churchill wasn't late for a meeting because of all of it -- rather, he went in super early instead.
So sure, it definitely is a trick that fooled Winston Churchill. It sounds like there may have been a few of them that did that night too; then again, this one being performed 6 times means it must be a killer!
Variations
There are a lot of variations of this routine. Some try to shorten the routine, some try to change the handling or story, and others even go as far as extending it and adding it into sets. Wow!
If you're looking for a collection of variations that you can learn right now, check out:
The first is a video and has the effect taught and extended by five performers: Michael Ammar, Steve Draun, David Regal, Falkenstein & Willard, and Eugene Burger. They cover the original method, a streamlined version that removes the necessary packet switch, they take the overall methodology further and also sorted by suit, and even more. If you like this routine, having these variations in your pocket is a great idea for those times that folks ask you to "show me that again"!
The second is a book, and a big one at that. I don't own this book at this time myself, so I can't give an honest opinion on it. However, seeing the list of magicians that contributed to it, well, let's just say that I placed my order this morning. In addition to alternative handlings and variations, this book is also filled with history, stories, and most of all, magic!
Now, those two resources aside, my favorite variation so far is actually from the David Blaine magic course. It's an impromptu version from a shuffled deck in use. It doesn't use the whole deck, but instead maybe 20 or so cards. Even with this small packet, given that the deck was provably shuffled, it's a killer effect.
So yeah, that's that then. Everywhere I read says it's one of the greatest routines, and maybe it is. I've performed it only once and the reaction wasn't anything special. In fact, they didn't seem to care. Maybe it was my performance, or the premise, or the length. Who knows. I'll do it again soon and see what's what.
This was a fun topic to research though. There's plenty more history here that I'm sure I skipped over, but wow. This was Out of This World!
Do you ever need a break after getting back from vacation? After having kids, I feel like that after every trip I take. We took a short-ish weekend getaway for the long Memorial Day weekend and I'm beat.
I took three decks with me on the trip and didn't bring a single one of them out either. I both didn't have time, nor energy, to even bother caring. They're sitting on my desk in front of me right now along with about 20 other decks and none of them are open. I foresee a lull coming on, but I do have a lot of ideas for routines so hopefully practicing one or two of them will snap me out of it.
Speaking of practice, I still haven't solidified a daily practice regimen to keep up with my full repertoire. I have, however, made some improvements to this site's backend that will serve as the infrastructure for the tooling I have in mind. It's almost all of the way complete, not including data entry, so I'm excited to finally try it out. When it's finished, I'll write a whole big thing about it because I think it will be really cool. As a sneak peek though, it's a way for me to catalog sleights and routines and link them to books and videos.
he idea is, when I have these things entered in I'll be able to have the system prompt me daily for one or two routines to practice, and it will go through the list randomly. If I know how to perform it, great. If not, it will show me the info. And as a bonus, it will be a way to link content together so I know the proper references to get more info. You can think of the database kind of like Conjuring Archive, except more tailored to how I want to consume the data. It's a lot of work to get it setup, but I think it'll be worth it.
Keeping today's post short, maybe I'll take a nap and use all of these decks as my pillow =P
Extreme Card Magic, better known today as Cardistry, is an art form. It's not magic, but it's magical. It requires dexterity, patience, and more often than not a broken in deck.
My first year or so getting into magic, I looked down on cardistry as a practice. Sure, it looked fancy -- people twirling cards around and shooting them through the air. But, where's the magic? And then after I pulled my head out of the sand, I realized that even though it involves playing cards, it's not magic. My tunnel-vision logic was akin to asking at a poker game nobody gets a royal flush on every turn. Or, something like that.
I want to be transparent here, I don't know a lot of cardistry. I also don't consider myself a cardist. I do, however, have an interest in learning more because as far as flourishes go... cardists are the best out there. I want to do more film editing, and some of these flourishes are the perfect for Intros and B-Roll. That, and if they're basic enough they can be incorporated into actual magic routines.
So there I was...
It was November, 2019 and I was in NYC visiting Tannen's Magic Shop, like you do. I had tickets that night for Magic After Hours, it was my first time and I was damn excited. Noah Levine was the host of the evening and one of his routines was amazing.
A single deck of cards and multiple selections from the audience, all lost somewhere in the pack. Boom, he found a card. Bam, and another. Bim, you guessed right, another! Then, he starts cutting the deck in all sorts of packets flipping and twirling and round and round and bing, bang, boom, all of the rest of the cards one after the other.
Oh hey, I knew that cut -- it was Sybil! He used a multi-packet cardistry flourish, a false cut nonetheless, to make it look like he had complete control over the deck and was able to find cards that way. On one hand, it was true and on the other, it was magic!
CRDSTRY
So, YouTube exists. It's a site, and there's a lot of magic and cardistry tutorials on there. If you know exactly what you're looking for, it's great! If you don't, well, best of luck to you =P
However, I recently came across a site called CRDSTRY. It's a site dedicated to news and cards and tutorials -- all about cardistry! Unfortunately, the site hasn't been updated since 2021, and that includes the "latest news".
CRDSTRY has a great list of tutorials that range from absolute beginner all the way to advanced. Obviously, it doesn't include every move, but if you're able to get through even the Easy ones and maybe one or two of the Intermediate, at that point you'll be able to pick up other moves and start creating your own too.
As I mentioned above though, the site hasn't been updated in a while. In case they decide to take it down for any reason, I'm reproducing the list here. All-in-all, it's a curated list of YouTube videos. I've gone through a few of them and picked out the ones I can't wait to learn, hopefully you'll enjoy them too.
Back in July 2021, WIRED put out a digital article with Dan & Dave that went through 22 Levels of Cardistry. It's a fantastic, long but short tutorial on 22 different cardistry routines that start out basic, and end intermediate. If you're still just starting out in cardistry, I personally recommend to start with it:
More?
There are plenty more moves out there, and funnily enough I know some of them! Or, rather, I've dropped cards on the floor trying to learn them.
I will be spending some time practicing moves from the lists above, but afterwards I'll make a follow-up list of others too. If you know of any that you think are worth sharing, let me know =]
