theory11 — Magic Tricks & the World's Finest Playing Cards
Whats your strongest mentalism effect...?
- Thread starter Deadman
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I don't do a lot of mentalism, but the strong ones I do are "The Devil's Touch" (really hard, but kills) and "Pariah" is pretty good too, both by Daniel Madison (I recently bought Inside, been busy)
***** 60
Ive been using luke jermays E.I for a while now but i realy love powerball 60, i use powerball for a 1 ahead principal mentalism effect that killssssssss like people actuly thought i had powers killssss
Ive been using luke jermays E.I for a while now but i realy love powerball 60, i use powerball for a 1 ahead principal mentalism effect that killssssssss like people actuly thought i had powers killssss
Just to extend on what I said before, in mentalism essentially you are doing one effect in the whole show. You are reading minds, if your premise is about influencing decisions whilst not reading minds you are still telling people what they are thinking of.
Of the effects mentioned in my opinion EI is far and away the best named. The effect builds creates a connection and it shows your abilities in a very classy and subtle way. Whilst I have nothing against Devil's Touch or Pariah of even d+M but a swami is a better method and effect to achieve the same result. As for Pariah it is a lot more mental magic and the method is too questionable for it too believable as pure mentalism.
My character and my abilities are the main part of my show and inturn they are my effects. The performance pieces that I perform are more than anything just demonstrations to cement the real idea of what my character is trying to portray.
If you were to ask which of my performance pieces were the strongest you are still leaving many questions unanswered. With mentalism each effect plays different depending on many factors, are we talking about the people assisting or the audience as a whole? Men and women are very different aswell, women usually like more personal pieces like EI and Q&A type routines whereas men like more PK, metal bending and also the more 'puzzle' type pieces like chair tests and bank nights.
A good rule of thumb though is a nice drawing dupe will always plays well. Sneak Thief is a personal favourite because of its range of climaxes and themes. Blindfold routines are also audience favourites.
Of the effects mentioned in my opinion EI is far and away the best named. The effect builds creates a connection and it shows your abilities in a very classy and subtle way. Whilst I have nothing against Devil's Touch or Pariah of even d+M but a swami is a better method and effect to achieve the same result. As for Pariah it is a lot more mental magic and the method is too questionable for it too believable as pure mentalism.
My character and my abilities are the main part of my show and inturn they are my effects. The performance pieces that I perform are more than anything just demonstrations to cement the real idea of what my character is trying to portray.
If you were to ask which of my performance pieces were the strongest you are still leaving many questions unanswered. With mentalism each effect plays different depending on many factors, are we talking about the people assisting or the audience as a whole? Men and women are very different aswell, women usually like more personal pieces like EI and Q&A type routines whereas men like more PK, metal bending and also the more 'puzzle' type pieces like chair tests and bank nights.
A good rule of thumb though is a nice drawing dupe will always plays well. Sneak Thief is a personal favourite because of its range of climaxes and themes. Blindfold routines are also audience favourites.
you must not of studied to much into mentalism. if you did you would see strong mentalism can come from cards.
hah, believe me i have. i find that most mentalism principles used in tricks with decks of cards can be so much more powerful outside the world of decks.
also, dont you find most mentalism effects are more powerful when they feel more organic? surely you cant disagree with that.
Okay, i screamed: "Are you ****ing kidding me".
And that is what i am saying to you right now.
I have been an active practitioner of mentalism for around 2,5 years. I know that is not much but many of the people here and on exomagic can back me up when i say that i know what i am talking about.
The most important premise of Mentalism is to have as few props as you can. And i consider a deck of cards 52 props which is too much. Also making something feel organic with a deck of cards is hard, due to their background with magic. But it is possible, but i feel that doing a blindfold routine is much more powerful than any card based mentalism effect. In any venue!
D ICE R made it very clear.
M.
To raise publicity for my upcoming stage show, a couple of days ago I gave in my prediction for the upcoming British Elections (its like 1 month away but that adds to the climax), I am sure the prediction is "right".
I only started mentalism 3 months ago, while I do perform mentalism and gigs I just do the same routine again and again.
Other than the elections prediction, I love my Just chance routine which first starts off with 6 envelopes and I have to find the cash then goes into Loki by dee christopher ( spectator puts the 3 envelopes in any pocket and I say where each is) That normally hits hard, I am really trying to work on my mentalism to make it as strong as it can be.
I believe most of mentalism is strong some routines just stronger than others.
I only started mentalism 3 months ago, while I do perform mentalism and gigs I just do the same routine again and again.
Other than the elections prediction, I love my Just chance routine which first starts off with 6 envelopes and I have to find the cash then goes into Loki by dee christopher ( spectator puts the 3 envelopes in any pocket and I say where each is) That normally hits hard, I am really trying to work on my mentalism to make it as strong as it can be.
I believe most of mentalism is strong some routines just stronger than others.
How could you possibly say that the "main" premise of mentalism is to use as few props as possible?
Don't tarot readers use props? How about tea leaf readers? Isn't what they do far more "pure" than the mentalism than we do?
Sheesh. It doesn't matter HOW we read minds, as long as we do it well.
Don't tarot readers use props? How about tea leaf readers? Isn't what they do far more "pure" than the mentalism than we do?
Sheesh. It doesn't matter HOW we read minds, as long as we do it well.
For the Vigil comment where did he say that?
Just because most of his releases are card related I will still wager that he knows how easily cards and mentalism can turn out badly.
Derren in DPB says that he feels that cards are not the strongest piece of mentalism that you can do. I am sure the quote goes something like (when talking about when he is perfroming in a walk around type environment,) I feel you should only perform your strongest three pieces and I am not sure that cards can achieve that.
Don't get me wrong I only do mentalism and I do use cards a fair bit, unless it is very well constructed cards can and usually hinder your performance.
Just because most of his releases are card related I will still wager that he knows how easily cards and mentalism can turn out badly.
Derren in DPB says that he feels that cards are not the strongest piece of mentalism that you can do. I am sure the quote goes something like (when talking about when he is perfroming in a walk around type environment,) I feel you should only perform your strongest three pieces and I am not sure that cards can achieve that.
Don't get me wrong I only do mentalism and I do use cards a fair bit, unless it is very well constructed cards can and usually hinder your performance.
Actually yes, it does matter.
We are reading minds not playing some scientists. We have to seem as pure as we can.
Okay tarot readers do use the cards but they differ from a regular deck and are well, essential to the individual.
A good example would be that if I were to come to a show with some specialist equipment designed to read brainwaves and determine what a person is thinking, I am reading minds ain't I, but it does not appeal to the person.
If I come to a show with a pad of paper, scarf, pens, paper bag and a few more secret items, they can't think of any good reasons to doubt me. These are everyday ordinary things that I use to read minds.
So in my book the less I have the more real everything seems because there are much less "helping" factors to the show.
Just my two cents tho.
M.
I think the amount of props does not really affect your mentalism, as long as what your audience sees is not your paraphernalia, but your MENTALISM.
If I was the spec, I wouldn't want to see you take out a notepad, treat it like something special, make me write on it, then wait while you read the impression I made on the notepad. What I want to see is you reading my mind, plain as that.
If your audience only sees props you want them to see, then that is the amount of props that you will want to use. If they see more than necessary, screw your props...or rethink the amount of stuff you bring to a show. As D ICE R said, he IS his favorite mentalism piece, because mentalists are Mentalists, not guys with props.
If I was the spec, I wouldn't want to see you take out a notepad, treat it like something special, make me write on it, then wait while you read the impression I made on the notepad. What I want to see is you reading my mind, plain as that.
If your audience only sees props you want them to see, then that is the amount of props that you will want to use. If they see more than necessary, screw your props...or rethink the amount of stuff you bring to a show. As D ICE R said, he IS his favorite mentalism piece, because mentalists are Mentalists, not guys with props.
Something I do that uses cards and is strong is to have someone think of any card, and then to have another begin dealing down cards and then to stop at some point when it feels right to them... the card they stop on is the card that the other is thinking of.
That is a very brief description but when done using two friends or a couple, and to have it be about the connection between the two of them, this plays incredibly well.
The effect happens completely out of your hands and the thought of card is only known to the person thinking of it.
This has always gotten a fantastic response.
That is a very brief description but when done using two friends or a couple, and to have it be about the connection between the two of them, this plays incredibly well.
The effect happens completely out of your hands and the thought of card is only known to the person thinking of it.
This has always gotten a fantastic response.