Contest, part two!

Ben Train · Contest, part two!

We didn't have a lot of success with the last contest, but lets try again!

Like before, any real solutions of merit, or contributions, may merit a prize. Whoopee!

Scenario
Deck is shuffled. Three cards are cut to and looked at, then replaced, then the deck is shuffled. You look through the deck and remove three cards. They are the selections.

Problem
Come up with a GOOD presentation for this plot. Don't worry about method.

Michael Kras

Ooh this is a good one... very difficult, but not near as difficult as the Frankenstein plot. I shall partake Smile

Michael Kras

EDITED, PLEASE READ

Sir, have you heard the phrase "Two's company, but three's a crowd" before? I thought so... I've not met to many people who haven't. But anyways, that simple cliche phrase will be the basis for our next mindfreak.

Please, shuffle the deck as much as you like... but do keep in mind I'm only working until 5pm. That's it? You're done? Brilliant. Please place the deck face down onto the table, so neither you or I can see the faces. Now, please reach over, and cut off as many cards as you'd like. Be careful not to show me the bottom card of the deck, as that is meant to be known by you and only you. Now, carefully take a look at the bottom card of the pile you cut off. Do your best to remember it, lock it in your mind. Done? Great! Please reassemble the deck.

Now, I'd like you to repeat the exact same actions, cutting at a completely different spot and looking at yet another card. Please remember that card too. You now remember two cards right? Excellent, again, do NOT forget them. If you wish, you may write everything down at this point to be safe. Done? Perfect. Now, are you ok to take in a third card? Great, please again repeat the same actions as before, looking at a third card and locking it in your mind. You now have three cards locked in your mind, right?

I know what you're thinking, besides about the three cards... you're thinking, "What's in this for me? What do I get if you waste my time and fail miserably?" Well, if I fail, I'll give you some cash to make it worth your while... how about this crisp $20 Bill? So if I fail to find all three cards, you get to keep the cash. If I succeed, well, you're left with a mindblowing feat of mindreading. Sound good?

Alright, so finally you have three cards locked in your mind. I have no idea what they are at this point, only YOU know. But you remember me talking about "Two's company, but three's a crowd", correct? Well, it's not only a phrase used in a physical context, but also in a mental context. I say that because at this point, your mind is probably straining to keep all three cards in mind, not forgetting them. Your mind is temporarily crowded with short-term information. That's ok, just hold it all in and makev sure to remember.

You see, because your mind is overflowing with information, it's actually possible for a tiny bit of it to actually escape right from your mind... one could crudely describe it as "mind leaking". I want you to let the thoughts flow, and eventually they will leak. They're almost gone now aren't they? You feel them slipping away? That's the mind leak in action. Now, because your information has been leaked, I am able to see it. In fact, I now know every one of the three cards you're merely thinking of.

(The magician now proceeds to name off all three cards, completely nailing each one.)

That is, of course, a very thorough and overlong presentation, but you get the idea.

Ben Train

Hey Mike,

Not bad brother. Here's something you might want to keep in mind.

My friend Shane has a saying- The revelation of a card should be more impressive than the fact you found the card.

So, right now, you have an interesting routine. How can we make the revelations stronger?

Any number of solutions are welcome.

Michael Kras

Wow, the first card just dripped out a bit... I think I can see it, it's a little blurry though. Looks black to me.... It's hard to tell if it is a club or a spade, they both look so similar, especially in a blur... WAIT, it's a spade, no doubt. The Four of Spades.

You're ok now, let that thought go, you've just got to focus on the other two... OOPS, you let two cards go... the Seven of Diamonds just left your mind too.

There's just one more to go, the hardest one of all. Sounds weird, I know, but you'd think the Queen of Hearts would be rather obvious right?

Ben Train

That's it?

ONE person?

Common people!

Michael Kras

Where is everyone! I'm sure some others will have good ideas.. Brian? Liam? Teddy? LIVR? Gary?

BrianMillerMagic

Sorry guys I've been so busy I haven't been making time for Magicanada. I've been buried in Metaphysics (philosophy) in school and a ton of shows outside of school. Give me some time this week and I'll see what I can come up with.

Ben Train

BrianMillerMagic

I'm a dual major in mathematics and philosophy, planning on heading to grad school to pursue a Ph.D in philosophy specializing in metaphysics. I just finished writing a large paper on the endurance vs perdurance theories with respect to persistence over time.

Ben Train

Liam

i was at a house that had no internet... but i will participate, give me a couple days

LIVR

We can't give you a presentation for this "trick" because there is no trick. What it appears you have (and given the slightly ambiguous discussion, I may be wrong) merely a multiple card control, the equivalent to a multiple shift.

I've always held the "was that your card" ending in very low esteem. In order to make a trick per say, you would have to do something else, control the cards and produce them from somewhere, spell to them, produce them with a colour change, etc.

We're back to the age old statement, "If you have fifty ways to control a card and only one way to reveal it..."

My experience has been that magicians invent goofy presentations to cover weak effects, illogical handlings and trivial plots. Good magic speaks for itself.

But enough complaining Jamy Ian Swiss-style about the conditions of the challenge, here goes:

Use your control system (whatever it is) to locate the cards and bring the first card second from top, the second card 8th from top and the last card to the bottom then do an out-faro.

1. First person concentrates on card, you (slip) cut to it.
2. "You think that's impressive but... can he cut to an indicator card? Slip cut, turn over the new top card, use this indicator card to spell to the second card.
3. Milk shuffle the last card to the top (double) turnover the top card, say they will use this x-card to find their own card. Have them stab it into the pack, applaud them for a job well done, turn the card over to show it's now their card.

(The out-faro isn't strictly necessary, but it's much easier to get a card into the 8th position either by sight or jog shuffles than it is to get it 16th)

Ben Train

Hey LIVR,

The method is a serious reworking of a Sam Schwartz trick from the 70's, in which two cards could be cut too, then found when the magician looked through the pack.

The method relied on a full deck stack.

The modification I've made allows it to be done impromptu, and allow for THREE cards. But, as with the Schwartz original, you don't have control of the cards (since the pack is out of your hands) until you look through the pack. Then you are free to cull or reposition as you see fit.

I have several interesting presentations for this, including mind-reading, gambling themed, and magic (which was a weak handling- I forced Le Carte's General onto it, and the whole thing became quite muddled).

So, as mentioned, you have the bare bones of a method/procedure, and you have to come up with a presentation. Go wild.

Ben
p.s.
As mentioned- if the you pick one I find it thing bores you (as it does EVERYONE except Simon Aaronson fans... just kidding!... sorta) then keep in mind my friend's quote earlier in this topic.

teddy · Re: Contest, part two!

All right, I guess I have to enter, since no one else is... Razz

"Miss, could you come here for one second? I'm on the verge of a breakthrough in the field of quantum physics and I need someone to help me."

(Right now they are intrigued and impressed with your genius, at which you point you add:

"I'm just kidding. (*Produce a deck out of "thin air"-maybe have it sleeved at the beginning*) Pick a card."

This should get a few laughs and loosen up the crowd.

"Actually, I need a different person to shuffle the deck; perhaps you, ma'am? Thank you. And a man also; could you, sir? I appreciate it. Now, all three of you, please cut to a card. You first, miss, and please return it to the deck. Thank you. And now you, sir. And you, ma'am.

Now that all of you have your cards, I need you to remember them. Burn them into your mind. It is vital that all you think of is your card. Have you done that? Great. Are you confident that I have no idea where or what they are? Good.

Wouldn't it be amazing if each of you looked in your pockets and your card was there? (They look and find nothing.) I said, 'Wouldn't it be amazing,' not 'Check your pockets.' Come on, that would have been impossible. (Spectators laugh.)

All right, let's all be serious now. Ma'am, you have a card in mind, am I correct? Perfect. You are going to help me find it. (Look through the cards as you say the following.) I want you to think of the answers to the following questions. Don't say them out loud, but think them clearly. Is your card red or black? Black, huh? (She nods.) Good, because I was just guessing. (She laughs.) Now, what suit is it? Clubs? Sweet. You're not that impressed, are you? (She says no.) I see what you mean. But maybe you will be after I show you the card I think is yours. (Remove the seven of clubs and show it to her. The crowd is amazed.)

That leaves this man and this woman. Sir, I'm going to find your card first. (Start looking through the deck again.) All right, I want you to tell me where your card is. (He points to one.) I'm sorry, you're wrong. (Take a different card and show it to him. It is his card, the king of hearts.)

Now, miss, do you remember your card? Yes? Great. You know, from the minute I saw you I thought we had a special mental bond. Do you think so? No? Ouch. Well, I think so anyway. So I need you to focus on your card. (Raise your hand and wave it slowly over her face.) Come on, you're not focusing! Think harder! Ow, not that hard! (Clutch your head as if in mental agony.) Look, here's proof that we do have a bond. (Go through and find her card. Give it to her face-down and have her flip it over slowly. It is the ace of diamonds, her card - what are the odds?)

I made up some jokes and put them in. This is completely original; I just concocted it, which is why it's not perfect.

Michael Kras

LIVR

Michael Kras

LOL... well, I met him once recently at The Eric Mead lecture in Toronto. He and I also communicated prior to that via forums.

teddy

Would anyone like to critique my entry? It's impossible for me to be objective in judging it; what do you think, Ben? Brian? LIVR (Or Mark Lewis)? Michael?

Michael Kras

I thought it was overall quite humourous and entertaining, although admittedly it sounded a bit standard. However, I really really liked it.

LIVR

Ben Train

It's not Mark, I know that for sure.

But, honestly, it doesn't matter WHO it is- lets respect his privacy! I understand the way he feels, as I used have a "Secret" identity on another forum, which allowed me to speak my mind without fear of repercussions.

Teddy, I'll look over your contributions.

Here's some things to keep in mind.

First, you should have a HOOK. A line that gets them interested. Assume they are in a hurry to catch a bus- what would you say to make them stop?

PREMISE- the routine, or premise for the routine, should follow LOGICALLY from the hook. It should be interesting, and make sense in the context of what is happening in the effect.

STRUCTURE- The actual magic (What happens) should make sense in relation to the patter, and should have INTERNAL logic. It should also build. So, the last revelation should be the strongest of the three (and two should be, ideally, stronger then three).

Lastly, you should keep in mind your OBJECTIVE- what you want to accomplish with the effect and why you've chosen to do this effect. This will help you develop both the presentation and the structure.

Looking forward to some thoughts!
Ben

teddy

Thanks, Ben and Mike.

Michael, I liked yours; it was very charismatic. However, I don't think it followed the rules for the contest exactly.

Ben Train

Hey Teddy,

There is a lot of things I like about your routine. But, there are some things I don't.

Your routine allows for no by-play with the audience. You talk TO them, not with them.

For something like this, involving "mind reading" you need to break the 4th wall.

You may disagree. If so, why?

Also, your routine has no synergy- it's disjointed. It's not a routine, it's three separate revelations.

Is this a bad thing? Doesn't have to be!

Ben

BrianMillerMagic

I keep looking at this topic, and I keep hitting the same roadblock. I create presentations/methods first, then find some method for accomplishing it later. My problem here is that we've been essentially given a method for controlling three selections. I would love to come up with a presentation to fit this method, but the creative processes in my brain work the other way. Sorry guys! I'm enjoying the discussion though.

My only thought would be to play it up as a feat of psychological self-awareness - whereby the spectators are able to discover their own cards, but I don't know if Ben's method allows for such a presentation. It would be a similar presentation to the way I perform ACAAN, but done with three people instead of one.

Ben Train

For clarification, the process is this-

1. Deck shuffled.
2. Three packets are cut off, the face cards looked at, then reassembled.
3. Pack reshuffled (if desired).

Now, one one looks through the pack you will be able to identify the selections. The spectators can be looking at the cards as the deck is spread as well.

So, one could control the selections as 4 aces are removed, and then go into a collectors routine.

Or, you could have the spectators find their own cards.

Or, you could do a "skill find", like cutting to the four aces.

Or, you could read some minds.

Or, you could read their tells and find the cards.

Or, you could find each card in progressively more impressive, and magical, ways.

Or, the cards could come together.

Or, you remove three cards but get them all wrong... then have them change into the selections.

Or... well, you get the idea.

Ben

BrianMillerMagic

In that case I say present it as a psychological feat by which the spectators discover their own cards. Wrap the presentation around the theme of believing in yourself even when things seem unlikely and the odds are against you. Life lesson and magic wrapped into one. As Garrett Thomas has noted so many times, if there is ever a chance to insert a small life lesson or positive message into an effect, then do it. Magic is such a unique art form in that, as I've said many times before, it is a catalyst for personal connections with perfect strangers in a way that very few if any other art forms can achieve.

I don't feel like fleshing out a word for word script, but you get the idea. That's what I would do. Smile

So there - I've contributed. I found some time recently to start posting on the Cafe again, so I'll be doing the same here hopefully.

Michael Kras

So when will the winner be announced Ben?

Ben Train

Well...

I guess I was kinda hoping for more then 2.5 entries...

So far, no one has blown my socks off. I'm not looking for full patter- just a PREMISE.

WHY are we doing this? What are we showing? You're answer shouldn't be more then 1-3 sentences.

Submit as many as you can!

The prize?- a good one.

Ben

Michael Kras

The magician is testing his own psychic abilities. He claims to have felt weird feelings in the past and also feels as though in numerous cases he has mentally predicted the not-too-distant future and he wants to test and prove it once and for all. He asks a willing spectator to help him and if he cannot successfully read her mind 3 times in a row, she gets a little cash to make it all worth her while. Guess what happens?

teddy

The cards are chosen, then the magician produces the four Aces (optional, also could be a royal flush or four of some other card). He/she puts them in the spectator's hand, where they change to the three selections, but one corner still has the A, K, etc. (possibly having one Ace, King, etc. just vanish instead of change).

Ben Train

So, I'll impart a very important lesson, taught to me be someone who will be remembered, one day, as a true master of our "art".

We should strive to use the most direct procedures (not methods) possible. When we do otherwise, we need to be able to JUSTIFY it.

The best example (that I can think of) is Josh Jay's/Jon Lovick's handling of a Bob Hummer trick. The trick involves someone thinking of a card, but then dealing a packet equal to the value, and a packet that spells to the suit)*

For about FORTY years people have been using the trick, but they never justify WHY we're doing that dealing procedure. Sure, explanations were given ("this way EVERYONE knows the card your just thinking of!") but they were BAD explanations- meaning audiences, with a little bit of thought, could come up with better ways to accomplish what you set out to do. Josh and Lovick's presentation solves that issue (and adds a kick in the face ending).

So, how does this relate.

Well, we've used an AWKWARD selection process- three people each cut and look at a card.

WHY?

Why don't they pick one normally? Or just think of one? Or do it from a peek?

We need to justify that.

So, keep that in mind- we can't, in this case (or shouldn't) glaze over the selection process).

I also want to see some think-outside-the-box ideas.

CHALLENGE YOURSELVES!
Ben

Ben Train

Oh shiznit, I forgot-

*Josh Jay will be lecturing in Toronto October 28th (Tuesday). Anyone from this forum that's interested should contact me- for both the lecture info and if you wanna jam.

Also, I'll get Josh to show you the trick in question (if he doesn't do it in the lecture)- and you'll see what I mean.

Ben

Michael Kras

Three people will cut to three different cards, secretly look at the card and memorize it's indentiy before reassembling the deck and eliminating all evidence. Why must you cut, you ask? Well judging by the finger size of each of my participants, I can tell EXACTLY how many cards they will naturally cut off the deck... give or take a few. I have also taken the liberty of memorizing the order of that full deck which rests before you, so I can assume which card you have cut to. But here's where the difficult part lies... it's hard, from this distance, to see just how many cards you are all cutting off.. I know it will be in a certain range but I'm not 100% sure of exactly which card you will cut to. I can, as stated, guarantee you that just because of your unique finger sizes and shapes that you will all cut to a specific portion of the deck. The difficult part is that I have the find, using my own sensitive touch, the cards you all look at from a shuffled deck. However, if my eyesight is on par with my finger skills today, that shouldn't be a problem. But hey, if it WERE to be a problem, you guys don't go home empty-handed.... for wasting your time and inconveniencing you in the event that I fail today, you all get to keep a $20 bill each. I'll place all three on the table to prove I'm not bluffing. Ready? Let's begin...

Ben Train

Mike-

THAT'S what I'm talking about.

The routine has a lot of problems (disjointed, mem deck... etc) but the CONCEPT- measuring the fingers of each participant to see where they would cut is THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX.

Common guys- get crazy!

ben

Ben Train

Alright, I guess this contest is closed.

Mike, you'll get your prize at the browers den on Sunday.

So, let me ask you people- is there any interest in this sort of thing? If not, I won't bother posting these. If there is, I shall continue.

Mike, if there is interest, maybe we could make a contest section?

Ben

Michael Kras

Definitely.... just been slow, but whenever I send a mass email out things pick up. I shall do that soon.

Liam

yeah, sorry
would have participated, but i've been having troubles with the internet and been busy in general.
and i couldnt think of anything good

Contest, part two!

Re: Contest, part two!