(Longer post ahead.)
Or for those who hate sandwiches. I'm speaking of sandwich tricks here, and my question is, what is the purpose of the card sandwich at its root level? Is it to put the card in a difficult/impossible location? If so, why not use your pocket or some similar place, or even -- AH-HA! -- the spectators hands. Is the purpose of the sandwich to create a scenario where sleight of hand would be "impossible?" If this is the case, wouldn't it be more effective to put the deck in your spectators hands, or in a plastic bag? Or, maybe, is the purpose of the card sandwich to hide some other secret or surprise? This is at least a novel idea that could be used to create some amazing effects, such as the Bizarre Twist from Paul Harris. I've not done this effect, but from what I've read in the instructions, Paul seems to be using the sandwich to hide a much bigger surprise. Consider these questions and evaluate whether or not the sandwich plot deserves some of the work it gets.
I will give you this, there are good sandwich tricks out there. I can think of a few, Eric Jones's Ishkabibble sandwich is one. So is Search And Destroy, and the whatever it's called sandwich (that's me being lazy) from Mark Wilson's Complete Course In Magic, and Helder's Sculpture. Each of these tricks have something that sets them apart in my mind for the ordinary sandwich trick, either in method, surprise value, or overall beauty.
One final thought, how many sandwich tricks are in books? I think this tells us something about the sandwich plot itself. I've mentioned the two sandwich tricks I know of that are in books (the trick form Mark Wilson's book and Search and Destroy), feel free to point out any I may have missed. Both are among the best tricks in my arsenal. Also when answering this question, consider when the books were published. I have to admit that I'm biased towards older books for a number of reasons. One of them being this, the effects in older books are still some of the best out there. I'm in no way saying that modern magic books are not as good, but, the authors of the older books put a lot of thought into their material, and they had to because that book could have made the difference between them living comfortably or not. And they couldn't just produce a new DVD within 6 months to make up for it, unlike today.
Thanks for reading.
Ps. My favorite plot happens to be the mistake and recovery plot, I don't see many of those tricks invented now. Why not? Try a few different tricks with the mistake and recovery plot and I think you will soon find you enjoy the reactions you get.
Or for those who hate sandwiches. I'm speaking of sandwich tricks here, and my question is, what is the purpose of the card sandwich at its root level? Is it to put the card in a difficult/impossible location? If so, why not use your pocket or some similar place, or even -- AH-HA! -- the spectators hands. Is the purpose of the sandwich to create a scenario where sleight of hand would be "impossible?" If this is the case, wouldn't it be more effective to put the deck in your spectators hands, or in a plastic bag? Or, maybe, is the purpose of the card sandwich to hide some other secret or surprise? This is at least a novel idea that could be used to create some amazing effects, such as the Bizarre Twist from Paul Harris. I've not done this effect, but from what I've read in the instructions, Paul seems to be using the sandwich to hide a much bigger surprise. Consider these questions and evaluate whether or not the sandwich plot deserves some of the work it gets.
I will give you this, there are good sandwich tricks out there. I can think of a few, Eric Jones's Ishkabibble sandwich is one. So is Search And Destroy, and the whatever it's called sandwich (that's me being lazy) from Mark Wilson's Complete Course In Magic, and Helder's Sculpture. Each of these tricks have something that sets them apart in my mind for the ordinary sandwich trick, either in method, surprise value, or overall beauty.
One final thought, how many sandwich tricks are in books? I think this tells us something about the sandwich plot itself. I've mentioned the two sandwich tricks I know of that are in books (the trick form Mark Wilson's book and Search and Destroy), feel free to point out any I may have missed. Both are among the best tricks in my arsenal. Also when answering this question, consider when the books were published. I have to admit that I'm biased towards older books for a number of reasons. One of them being this, the effects in older books are still some of the best out there. I'm in no way saying that modern magic books are not as good, but, the authors of the older books put a lot of thought into their material, and they had to because that book could have made the difference between them living comfortably or not. And they couldn't just produce a new DVD within 6 months to make up for it, unlike today.
Thanks for reading.
Ps. My favorite plot happens to be the mistake and recovery plot, I don't see many of those tricks invented now. Why not? Try a few different tricks with the mistake and recovery plot and I think you will soon find you enjoy the reactions you get.