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

Advocate Ideas

Here was something I did the other day.

I was eating at Applebees with friends who asked to see some magic. I pulled out a deck of cards and was doing my usual. I broke from my norm to do a "mind-reading" routine. I glimpsed a card and then gave it to them on a back slide force. I handed them the deck and had them keep it away from me so I couldn't "cheat." They left it across the table. I did not touch the deck after they took their selection, which they lost into the deck. I began to ask questions, telling them to try their hardest to not give me any answer, verbally or facially. "Red or black? Red or black? Must be red" kind of thing. It hit me right in the middle of this that I had the Advocate with me. I cracked a joke which was just enough distraction to accomplish my purposes. I narrowed the card down to 2 choices, I think it was the 6 or 7 of diamonds. I pretended I couldn't figure this last choice out, then just said "I give up" and pulled their card from my shirt pocket and set it on the table.

The Advocate is a crazy tool for impromptu moments like that. Always carry it around.
 
You can do this, within a performance, say you are doing three effects, after the first effect you do (the opener) spread through the deck face up without letting them see the faces and search for a card, take this card out and tell them you will save it for later, hopefully this card can be sucessfully psychologically forced, if you dont want to take that road, just take it out and leave it in your shirt pocket. Tell them you will save that for later. Go onto the second effect, then thirdly end with the card you just placed into your pocket.

You can go onto a mind reading type effect, or just do Roleplay, but with the Advocate.
 
I Love Everything D+M puts out, but I dont know about this, I have never used The Advocate and dont plan on using it. As I read the PDF I thought to myself wow this is really clever, but as I went to play with it, it wasnt like I imagine,

it just seems like a pipe dream to me. IDK maybe Ill change my mind soon
 
Caesar Da Mystifier said:
I Love Everything D+M puts out, but I dont know about this, I have never used The Advocate and dont plan on using it. As I read the PDF I thought to myself wow this is really clever, but as I went to play with it, it wasnt like I imagine,

it just seems like a pipe dream to me. IDK maybe Ill change my mind soon
Click to expand...

It's definately not a pipe dream. I know this because use it on a daily basis and it has never failed me. It's a great one for hecklers, because you hand them the deck and you distract the hell out of them with bs like, "Now....I want you to really think about a card whilst you handle the deck, like really imagine the card, what's the card?" They then tell you, then you make them shuffle more and more and more, and everyone's watching them, have a bunch of other people shuffle the deck, keep the eyes on them and you will never get rumbled for using the advocate. It's basic performance. Nothing takes eyes off you like a spectator holding the deck. Then you teach them a 'move' like flicking a card, or moving the deck upwards, or something and ask them if they felt it, etc etc. It helps if the 'move' your teaching them involves you grabbng their wrist to help them get the motion down etc as that immediately provides you with huge cover to put the card on their person. You then you produce the card from wherever you want (well have them produce it). If they're wearing a jacket, I normally find a way of getting it into their jacket pocket whilst teaching them the 'move' lol.

There's nothing like a heckler sitting there convinced he knows how everything is done, finding a card he thought of in his pocket, when you have never touched the deck once. That's the power of the advocate, and it is not a pipe dream. IT's only a pipe dream if you can't perform well enough to provide misdirection. That's a performance issue not an effect issue and true of any sleight in magic that isn't totally invisible.
 
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The advocate is great, if you're willing to use it. I should really use it more.
I do like just asking someone to think of a card and just having it in my hand.

I guess take one card out of the deck as a prediction at the begining of the routine and then produce the card they name, via the advocate, at the end of the routine with emphasis on how it has been in your pocket/on the table/wherever the whole time.
 
I think advocate is the best tools in magic. All the mentalists should use it. It is so clever and simple to to use it. Peolpe who tell it is difficult to use are not good in magic since you need a very little misdirection that all showman can achive.
 
I haven't used this yet, but I think this would fry:

Use a blank face deck. Hand it to the spectator and have them "inspect" it, making sure it's normal. Tell him/her to pick any card they want (while looking through the "faces"). Ask him/her what the card was and let them shuffle to lose it in the blank-faced deck. Then, take the deck back, show the faces blank and the backs normal, then do a simple erdnase to "print" their card. Oh man this sounds sweet just typing about it... You can show the rest of the deck completely blank on the face.
 
velcrowe said:
I haven't used this yet, but I think this would fry:

Use a blank face deck. Hand it to the spectator and have them "inspect" it, making sure it's normal. Tell him/her to pick any card they want (while looking through the "faces"). Ask him/her what the card was and let them shuffle to lose it in the blank-faced deck. Then, take the deck back, show the faces blank and the backs normal, then do a simple erdnase to "print" their card. Oh man this sounds sweet just typing about it... You can show the rest of the deck completely blank on the face.
Click to expand...

I do the same thing but with the fine scripture.
 
Just thought of something. Have a wallet, state that inside is a card, dont show it. Bring out a notepad. Ask the spectator to invest deep thought in the card, ask them to tell you the card they believe to be undoubtfully inside; its important to guide them away from guessing. After stating, ask them to write down the predicted card as proof of choice before anything happens - you do this because the spectator is sure that inside is the card they named. Take out your wallet, open it up and take out the card inside. Then reveal it.

Thought it would be a good closing to a prediction themed routine or something. Or on the lines of psychological suggestion. You adapt the spectators mind to get used to being influenced, then in the end they become the one influencing.
 
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