If you watch the recently added video Thai-Boo than you may have seen this effect. If you haven't than it's where the nail stuck in wood is placed under one of several cups. the magician then slams his hands on the cups one or two at a time. in the end the cup with the nail under it is the last one left. My question is what is the name of this effect and where can I purchase it. Thanks is advance
Nail Under The Cups
- Thread starter BRoop13
- Start date
There are many versions of this as Draven has mentioned and even though the say the are not dangerous...there is definitely a degree of danger present. Anything can and will go wrong with this routine if you do not have a back up plan to your method. You could injure yourself or the spectator if done incorrectly. If you are using the spectator's hand you better have one heck of a magician's insurance policy.
I have been doing Russian Roulette routines with cups for nearly 2 years now and i have tried a few effects out. But by far the most simplest and downright bold method i have used is Instinct by Matthew Mello. You can use carboard rings that have nails poking through(i have just recently started using 3-4 nails instead of one) or the classic wooden discs from which one has a nail poking through the method can be adapted to any "visual" type that the russian roulette holds.
Although you have to be completley sure about this step. As reverhart said that it is dangerous. I choose to use my own hand and doing a type of muscle reading type scenario but it´s better when my hand gets hurt than one of the spectators. There have been a few times when i have had doubt and one time where i just picked the three cups up and said that there was a deformation with the cups when in fact the system had failed due to my own error of not paying attention. It certanly will get your blood bumping but you really need a solid routine for this.
M.
Although you have to be completley sure about this step. As reverhart said that it is dangerous. I choose to use my own hand and doing a type of muscle reading type scenario but it´s better when my hand gets hurt than one of the spectators. There have been a few times when i have had doubt and one time where i just picked the three cups up and said that there was a deformation with the cups when in fact the system had failed due to my own error of not paying attention. It certanly will get your blood bumping but you really need a solid routine for this.
M.
Right. I've succesfully integrated this method into my cups and mouse routine which I still use in my bar show.
I would recommend performing it with at least 5 or 6 cups, to make it seem more difficult.
Have fun with this one, it's a great piece. You can squeeze a lot of laughs from it, if you choose to present it in a comedy act.
By the way, you may find the gimmick sold under the name of "Devil's Nail".
*Gets up on his soap box*
I personally hate this effect for many many reasons, and surprisingly none of them have anything to inherent danger of the effect to either the performer or the spectator. The first thing is most performers use it as a a closer and mathematically it is not that impressive 1/4 or 1/5 is the usual odds. I know that it is not the most important aspect of an effect but it is still on the spectators minds. In the context of a mentalism show you may do something like a book test or a drawing dupe, in which the odds in theory are 1 to something in thousands of getting it right. Whereas with the spike trick it is 75-80% chance of getting it correct (1/4 or 1/5 of getting it wrong). I know the 'danger' increases the difficulty however in the same breath it does not change the statistics.
The other primary concern is if I have just spent any time with an audience I want them to like me and by the end of my show I will have a large percentage of the audience doing that. I personally feel that as soon as you do this effect either with using my hand or theirs it throws that all away. The spectators hand is obvious but using my hand is just as bad for the same reason nobody wants to see their friend stab themselves.
If you want a good variation there is a few methods using staple guns that are very good. Marc Spelmann's is very nice as is the new one that has just been released based on his method.
I personally hate this effect for many many reasons, and surprisingly none of them have anything to inherent danger of the effect to either the performer or the spectator. The first thing is most performers use it as a a closer and mathematically it is not that impressive 1/4 or 1/5 is the usual odds. I know that it is not the most important aspect of an effect but it is still on the spectators minds. In the context of a mentalism show you may do something like a book test or a drawing dupe, in which the odds in theory are 1 to something in thousands of getting it right. Whereas with the spike trick it is 75-80% chance of getting it correct (1/4 or 1/5 of getting it wrong). I know the 'danger' increases the difficulty however in the same breath it does not change the statistics.
The other primary concern is if I have just spent any time with an audience I want them to like me and by the end of my show I will have a large percentage of the audience doing that. I personally feel that as soon as you do this effect either with using my hand or theirs it throws that all away. The spectators hand is obvious but using my hand is just as bad for the same reason nobody wants to see their friend stab themselves.
If you want a good variation there is a few methods using staple guns that are very good. Marc Spelmann's is very nice as is the new one that has just been released based on his method.
I wouldnt do this as a closer. I would do it mid or early routine. I own Matthew Mello's Instinct, and I love it. I have done it at parties a few times, like a spur of the moment type of thing.
I do however in the back of my head, the thought that I could somehow screw it up. The method is straight forward but there is always human error.
J.
I do however in the back of my head, the thought that I could somehow screw it up. The method is straight forward but there is always human error.
J.
It would only use this effect as an opener or a closer the whole story of the effect, makes it really hard to sell as a middle routine in the context of a whole show.
Look no further. Our own forum member Bizarro sells his own version of the Russian roulette, and I hear it's pretty damn good too. Try sending him a personal message here about it.
As others have said, there is a degree of danger. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lCziUtRxH0 . Just showing you that to givea more real life example of what can happen.
Never heard this effect being called 'Russian Roulette' before.... I've always known it as 'Smash and Stab.'
If you want persuading why you shouldn't do this, look it up on YouTube. There are tons of videos of magicians cocking it up using both their own hands and spectators hands! In particular, there is one of Chris Korn where Paul Wilson mentions the panic that had when they realised one of the worlds best sleight of hand magicians had just slammed a nail through his hand.
I also remember speaking to one magician who used to do Smash and Stab but now doesn't. His twist was that instead of slamming his hand down on the cups, he used to headbutt them.... you can guess what happened....
Rev
If you want persuading why you shouldn't do this, look it up on YouTube. There are tons of videos of magicians cocking it up using both their own hands and spectators hands! In particular, there is one of Chris Korn where Paul Wilson mentions the panic that had when they realised one of the worlds best sleight of hand magicians had just slammed a nail through his hand.
I also remember speaking to one magician who used to do Smash and Stab but now doesn't. His twist was that instead of slamming his hand down on the cups, he used to headbutt them.... you can guess what happened....
Rev
Oh yeah, just remembered something.
I remember seeing a version of this where instead of putting a nail under the cup, you put a raw egg. OK, it's not an 'edge of your seat' type scenario, but why does everything have to be dangerous all the time? Plus, there must be some potential for a comedy presentation when using the egg.
Rev
I remember seeing a version of this where instead of putting a nail under the cup, you put a raw egg. OK, it's not an 'edge of your seat' type scenario, but why does everything have to be dangerous all the time? Plus, there must be some potential for a comedy presentation when using the egg.
Rev
Thats what happens to people who generally think that they have control over the effect and want to end it. If ever your and your spectators hand is more precious than the one effect. If i ever doubt myself with this i will never go further. I will either point to the cup or just say "f*ck this, i´m not stabbing myself". This is dangerous and it has to be bulletproof and really rehearsed. If i wasnt such a nut for the premise i would agree totally with D ICER and not use it at all.
M.
M.
For starters, that's awesome.
Secondly, if I were to do a smash and stab effect I would take the time to create my own method, something I can be sure of and possibly have a backup in case of emergency (knock a cup over by accident...start over). Brian Brushwood has a pretty good take on this plot Seen Here and I like the way he does it...but since it's his I'd have to figure out my own routine.
I also think having more than one nail/knife can make it more dramatic. 7 cups and 3 nails...you're still looking for more than one cup to smash, but there are better odds for an 'accident' which is why audiences react to it in the first place.
I also agree with DICER, terrible closer-despite the dozens of magicians who think otherwise and use it as their end piece.
I do this routine in my kids shows... well sort of. Its called "Silly String of Death" by Stephane Bourgoin. It can be found in the January 2010 issue of Genii. It is a great piece because the magician can be blindfolded and the spectator selects the cans of silly string that they shoot at the magician. Oh, and at the end, you use the one remaining can to spray the audience with silly string -- hey, you've got to prove that there was real danger.
Is this effect safer if you have an assistant watching when you turn your back to make sure the spectator doesn't screw up anything? Maybe like a hidden assistant in the audience just in case.
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