theory11 — Magic Tricks & the World's Finest Playing Cards
BEST Self Working Card Trick with No Setup / Gimmicks
- Thread starter jassu
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search and destroy by Aron fisher is pretty much self working, happens in the spectators hands and is awsome.
Diplopia by Paul Vigil, no gimmick no set up borrowed deck. Basically you read the specs mind and he reads yours. Very fair, really amazing you should check it out !
Out Of This World. Absolutely one of the most powerful things you can do with a borrowed deck. No setup, no gimmicks and even no sleights!
It's in a load of magic books and there are various versions of it (although they all essentially rely on the same principal). The original though is Paul Curry's and can be found in 'Magicians Magic'. But just find one you like and blow some minds. I performed it to a work colleague almost two years ago and they still talk to me about it and constantly say it's the best trick they've seen me do!
Rev
P.S. Try picking up some of Nick Trost's books as well, they contain loads of practically self working yet mind blowing tricks. 'The Card Magic of Nick Trost' is my favorite book i own and I have his 'Subtle Card Creations Vol. 1' on the way.
I will second Nick Trost's work. I have two of his lecture note books and there is some great material to go through. I am not sure if you can find them anymore.
I'm confused by what you guys deem "self working." To me it means the effect solves itself without any additional help from the magician. Basically, "no skill needed" to perform the effect.
-Out of This World is not an impromptu, self working effect. It has a set-up, and that set-up involves the entire deck of cards. If you don't use a set-up you need to do some sleight of hand to separate the cards during performance. If you have it set-up, though, from that point it's the best self-working card effect out there.
-Diplopia is not self working either. There are a couple moves, and quite a bit of calculating going on. This effect takes quite a bit of practice, and if performed right is anything but self-working. Also, as Jassu indicated in his criteria of the thread, the effect is not completely handled by the spectator. The magician is doing some sneaky stuff.
-Search & Destroy is not self-working either. There is a sleight and a "hidden move" in the effect. Also, audience management is important to keep the effect from being discovered. Not self-working. Also not completely handled by the spectator. The magician needs to handle the deck three times for the effect to work.
JASSU:
If you want to learn some strong self-working card effects, the very best source is "The World's Best Collection of Easy-To-Do Impromptu Card Magic" by Aldo Columbini. Not sure if the book is still in print but it is excellent. I know he did a DVD series not too long ago based on the book.
My favorite self-working effect is "Phone," Paul Vigil's take on an Eddie Fields effect. Paul Vigil teaches it on the "Prime Cut" DVD. Excellent effect, and without a doubt the best impromptu card effect you can do over the phone with someone. They think of a card and shuffle the deck and, even though they never tell you what card they are thinking of, you are able to discern their thought of card and name it. Seems totally impossible, and it's very strong.
You can see "Phone" performed by Paul Vigil here. It starts at the 1:00 mark.
-Out of This World is not an impromptu, self working effect. It has a set-up, and that set-up involves the entire deck of cards. If you don't use a set-up you need to do some sleight of hand to separate the cards during performance. If you have it set-up, though, from that point it's the best self-working card effect out there.
-Diplopia is not self working either. There are a couple moves, and quite a bit of calculating going on. This effect takes quite a bit of practice, and if performed right is anything but self-working. Also, as Jassu indicated in his criteria of the thread, the effect is not completely handled by the spectator. The magician is doing some sneaky stuff.
-Search & Destroy is not self-working either. There is a sleight and a "hidden move" in the effect. Also, audience management is important to keep the effect from being discovered. Not self-working. Also not completely handled by the spectator. The magician needs to handle the deck three times for the effect to work.
JASSU:
If you want to learn some strong self-working card effects, the very best source is "The World's Best Collection of Easy-To-Do Impromptu Card Magic" by Aldo Columbini. Not sure if the book is still in print but it is excellent. I know he did a DVD series not too long ago based on the book.
My favorite self-working effect is "Phone," Paul Vigil's take on an Eddie Fields effect. Paul Vigil teaches it on the "Prime Cut" DVD. Excellent effect, and without a doubt the best impromptu card effect you can do over the phone with someone. They think of a card and shuffle the deck and, even though they never tell you what card they are thinking of, you are able to discern their thought of card and name it. Seems totally impossible, and it's very strong.
You can see "Phone" performed by Paul Vigil here. It starts at the 1:00 mark.
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I knew someone would call me up on this, and it's simply not true. The version I use can start with the spectator shuffling the deck. And no sleights are needed at all. You 'set up' the deck right in front of the spectator when doing the trick! And the action seems completely normal.
I learnt it from this DVD: http://www.magicbox.uk.com/shop.php...9-s/1-deck-14-tricks-24hours-vol-2/p_956.html
And here's a demo video of it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTKThlZ97jQ
Does exactly what i said. Impromptu, borrowed deck, no sleights, pretty much 'self working.
Regards
Rev
P.S. I would also recommend these DVD's in general. All the tricks are great, all are practically self working. Not even so much as a double undercut is used! And there are some magician foolers on there. There were certainly a couple I now use regularly which stumped the hell out of me when I saw them!
Yeah, that's not the original Out of this World by Paul Curry though. A very nice take on the classic though! Clever. Very nice.
I still would not deem this version self-working though. The magician is doing some sneaky stuff and the effect cannot be completely handled by the spectator.
Yeah, that's not the original Out of this World by Paul Curry though. Looks like a nice take on the classic though! Very nice.
Ok, yeah. I'll give you that, it's not the original. I more mentioned the original for reference (everyone should try the original at least once) and it does require a set up. I prefer this version though. The fact that it doesn't use the whole deck means it's less tedious (I think) than the original. Plus it essentially is the same trick, just you do the first part as opposed to the spectator. In my experience though, they tend to mis-remember it when talking about it. Most forget you did the first part and for some reason most seem to think the whole deck was used. 'He never touched the cards and I sorted the whole deck into red and black without looking', you know, that sort of thing! And at the end of the day, what they remember and tell their friends is much more important than what they actually see!
Rev
(p.s. just incase any thinks that's me in the video, it's not!!)
(p.p.s I seem to like putting 'p.s.' at the end of my posts today!!!)
Yeah, that's not the original Out of this World by Paul Curry though. A very nice take on the classic though! Clever. Very nice.
I still would not deem this version self-working though. The magician is doing some sneaky stuff and the effect cannot be completely handled by the spectator.
Even Devastation has a "move" by the magician. I'm curious as to what "self-working" tricks do not?
[EDITED] The only one I could think of is Daryl's Untouched.
I don't think I've seen that version done before, very clever method for OOTW.
I'll probably just go with the setup version in the spectators hands anyway.
As far as impromptu, self-working miracles go...hmmm. You could take a look at Steve Beams Semi-Automatic Card Trick Series (7 volumes, I hear 8 is on the way) full of tricks that are practically self-working. I've met Steve and he's an accomplished sleight of hand guy, but his semi-auto stuff is pretty amazing. I want to say they're all collections of ideas that people send in and he researched, so many of the principles can be applied elsewhere.
I don't do a lot of self-working material, at least 'no-setup' self working material. Any reason why you don't want to do sleight of hand tricks?
I'll probably just go with the setup version in the spectators hands anyway.
As far as impromptu, self-working miracles go...hmmm. You could take a look at Steve Beams Semi-Automatic Card Trick Series (7 volumes, I hear 8 is on the way) full of tricks that are practically self-working. I've met Steve and he's an accomplished sleight of hand guy, but his semi-auto stuff is pretty amazing. I want to say they're all collections of ideas that people send in and he researched, so many of the principles can be applied elsewhere.
I don't do a lot of self-working material, at least 'no-setup' self working material. Any reason why you don't want to do sleight of hand tricks?
The video of WH performing it is great. Except I have "the person who cuts controls the game!" Stuck in my head
Excellent effect. Very strong. Does have a set-up though.
I was actually performing Shuffling Lesson in a bar one night and this guy came over and started watching me. I introduced myself and then he told me his name: Chad Long. I was pretty surprised. He said I did the effect well and we talked for a few minutes. Very nice guy, met by a very strange coincidence. That's my Shuffling Lesson story.
I think one of the best effects I learned as a rookie / newb that was a self working card effect may have been, "Do as I Do" which has occurred in many books and videos. So simple but still blows layman away.
if you want tricks with absolutely no sleight of hand and no prearrangement/setup, you must realize that you are severely restricting yourself. You don't need knuckle busting sleights to create genuine miracles. A few simple sleights (a control, a shuffle that retains top/bottom stock, a DL and other similar ones) will take you a long way. In fact, throw in a bit of sleight of hand into a self worker and you could have a much improved trick that is more mystifying.
Many self working impromptu tricks with cards are highly procedural and this not only reduces the impact, but it might give the spectator a clue about the way the trick works. The best self workers are the ones where the audience doesn't suspect any of the procedures of the trick.
As an example, I think Miraskill (with its numerous variants) is an excellent trick. John Bannon had a version called "a view to a skill" which is entirely self working and is the most baffling self worker I've seen. The versions that use sleight of hand are also excellent.
Many self working impromptu tricks with cards are highly procedural and this not only reduces the impact, but it might give the spectator a clue about the way the trick works. The best self workers are the ones where the audience doesn't suspect any of the procedures of the trick.
As an example, I think Miraskill (with its numerous variants) is an excellent trick. John Bannon had a version called "a view to a skill" which is entirely self working and is the most baffling self worker I've seen. The versions that use sleight of hand are also excellent.
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Descartes,
Great point that you made that I totally agree with.
Many self working card effects have a procedure that allow the audience to back track and quite possibly figure out the method. This is not true of all self workers but a good amount of them.
For those of you who have read some of the Card College Lite books you will know that what is really neat about them is that one effect sets you up for the next one right in front of the spectator and they don't even know it. It creates a chain of effects leading from one to the next for 3-4 effects.
Another good point you made was knowing one or two good sleights with a self worker can be devastating to the audience and really helpful.
Great point that you made that I totally agree with.
Many self working card effects have a procedure that allow the audience to back track and quite possibly figure out the method. This is not true of all self workers but a good amount of them.
For those of you who have read some of the Card College Lite books you will know that what is really neat about them is that one effect sets you up for the next one right in front of the spectator and they don't even know it. It creates a chain of effects leading from one to the next for 3-4 effects.
Another good point you made was knowing one or two good sleights with a self worker can be devastating to the audience and really helpful.
I want to buy thi from Paul Vigil...The Phone Effect,but i cant believe that this works without any gimmick or setup..