theory11 — Magic Tricks & the World's Finest Playing Cards

Hidden Gems

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BenTCM

Sep 6, 2010
183
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In the magic community, there are so many different products. If the product is "good", it is always overhyped about. And if it is bad, people constantly rant on it. But, there is also one group of materials that are truly fantastic, yet unfortunately very few people know about them. This can be due to the fact that many magicians over-look it, or just the fact that the product is not very well known. Fortunately, this is the place where you can post your favorite "hidden gems" and look other magician's favorite gems. If you use any of the materials in the list, please post one of your favorite hidden gems to return the favor.

This list will be updated periodically. Here, I will start:

1. Above the Fold by Rich Aviles: This is a really good little booklet that has actual workers for the intermediate to advanced card magician. It was produced by Vanishing Inc. Magic.
 
If everyone posts their "hidden gems" then they aren't so "hidden" anymore now are they. Ha Ha. Then everyone will go look them up and want to start performing them.

I will just say that most of my hidden gems are found in old Linking Ring magazines from the 70's. There are many great effects in Tom Craven's Haven. The only person here that would know what I'm talking about is Craig Browning. I'm only 33 but when I hit magic auctions I buy up anything old and dated. I also have some Abbott's card magic books from way back as well. I haven't even cracked them open yet.
 
If everyone posts their "hidden gems" then they aren't so "hidden" anymore now are they. Ha Ha. Then everyone will go look them up and want to start performing them.

I will just say that most of my hidden gems are found in old Linking Ring magazines from the 70's. There are many great effects in Tom Craven's Haven. The only person here that would know what I'm talking about is Craig Browning. I'm only 33 but when I hit magic auctions I buy up anything old and dated. I also have some Abbott's card magic books from way back as well. I haven't even cracked them open yet.
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Yes very very true, everytime i go to the IBM meetings alot of the old timers are always giving me old linking rings
and yes you can find some great great stuff in them. also in harry lorayne's apocalypse you can find some some nice
gems in there.
 
I have Above the Fold, books are truly amazing, I rarely purchase DVDs anymore.

There are great tips and I do use the Asher Twitch, Pocket protectors, 2 Legit, and other things from the book.

I'm hesitant as well to say where I get my gems from.. All I can say is

Paul Harris
Harry Lorayne
John Guastaferro
Marlo
Eddie fields

I'll post more when I'm off my phone
 
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To be honest, books were the catalyst that advanced me in magic. I flat lining for a few years until I got my first magic book.

John Guastaferro's One Degree.

I'm addicted to magic books now.

John Carney's Carneycopia is amazing, Paul Curry's Worlds Beyond, Nick Trost' books.

Get books..books..books!
 
Most of my hidden gems I wouldn't share because I wanna keep them for myself! I will share one however, because this particular item cannot be found and is super rare and limited: Jason England's "Jammin' With the Fellas" manuscript. Some GOLDEN items in there.
 
wow. i've got so many of them! ha ha. i will give you one that is brilliant and definately something i recommend if you can find it.
Steve Haynes Cassanova Concept published by BigBlindMedia. What a amazing DVD!! brilliant thinking put into this. I mean, signed card to SPECTATORS wallet!!! And that's only one effect. There is so much you can do with this very versatile concept.
 
Chad Long's "Flash"-I can't believe that thing wasn't a huge hit?

Peter Turner's(with Kenton Knepper) "Devious Realities"

Lee Asher's Booklets- Full of great stuff. Gradually becoming less and less hidden as he released individual PDF's on some of the better stuff contained within....But there are still a lot of neat tricks and useful sleights that not many people are using.

My last one most people would say isn't "hidden." Earnest Earick's "By Forces Unseen"(written by Steven Minch)-I know...every serious card guy has heard about it or read it but I am not talking about the first part. IMHO the best part of the book is the part that hardly anyone studies, "And They All Came Shuffling Along." There are some serious riffle stacking demos back there including, a way of stacking 4 aces in any sized hand you want to land on any position you want, in two riffles and two cuts. Zip, bam, zip, bam, done! He also has a demo that re-stacks a cooler deck from a 5 player game to a 4 player game. Awesome stuff!
 
This is great! Some of the things I have heard about, but others I have not. I will definitely need to research some!
I understand that some of you will not give up your favorite "hidden gems", but as they say, what comes around goes around :)

I will also add Sin City by Luke Dancy and The Amateur Magicians Handbook. Great stuff.
 
BenTCM said:
I understand that some of you will not give up your favorite "hidden gems", but as they say, what comes around goes around :)
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Yes...I found it odd that some wouldn't want to give them up. To be honest I think it is the least you can do for the creator. After all, the more people who use his material the more money he makes. The stuff I'm not willing to give up is the stuff that I developed myself and want to get some mileage out of it before others start doing it.
 
BenTCM said:
What specifically from this book?
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There is a ton of great stuff including Dai Vernon's mental force, Stewart James' Miraskill, great variations on You Do as I Do, amazing ideas for short cards, double backers, stripper decks and more. Yes you have to wade through a lot of mediocre effects, but just the sheer volume of material in that book pretty much guarantees you will find some real gems in it.
 
Cool! Do you recommend HL's CUCM? I have heard many magicians say it is fantastic and it is filled with a lot of hidden gems, yet I have heard others say it is awful and only contains mediocre effects. My skill level is intermediate-advanced. Thanks for the help!
 
"hidden gems" are mainly based on perspective. I love some of the "gems" that I've found, but that's because they work so well for me. As soon as I read the effect I knew that I could pull it off my own way, I feel super comfortable with executing the sleights in front of a lay audience, and I almost instantly get some variations and new patter ideas once I finish reading the explanation.

Magic may seem like a very long and tedious journey at some point. Maybe it's because the big magic companies cause us to expect a new effect that's supposed to be the next big thing that someone has been sitting on for the last 20 years. We are an instant satisfaction generation of magicians (for the most part).

At some point you will grow as a magician, and realize that the amateur's quest for the holy grail is better left to amateurs. All of the people who have been named to have created "gems" are true artists, who have learned to bend and create "gems" for themselves. Most are ready to move on to doing this, but don't believe that they can, or are blinded by the "holy grail" of whatever effect they're after.
 
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