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Relaxed Impossibilities by Stephen Minch and Ken Krenzel - Book


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RELAXED IMPOSSIBILITIES is what result when an acclaimed master of card magic sets out to explore how advanced sleight-of-hand can be made far easier to attain through a perceptive study of economy of action married to efficient placement of cards. By applying a lifetime of study and ability, world-respected expert Ken Krenzel has developed innovative methods that will place techniques long perceived as extremely difficult into the hands of card magicians possessing average skills. Such advanced sleights as palms, steals, switches, side steals, bottom deals and top changes, sleights previously used by only the most dedicated and gifted card technicians, are ingeniously modified and re-imagined to put them into your performing repertoire within a few weeks, rather than years.

After providing a variety of sleights capable of wide utility, Krenzel delivers a collection of tricks and routines that apply these tools and others. The result is magic that ranges from eye-popping visuals to logic-defying card mysteries, many of which take place solely in the hands of the spectator! Indeed, this type of hands-off card magic, designed to leave no easy answers for audiences, is a special focus of Dr. Krenzel in this book. RELAXED IMPOSSIBILITIES teaches material designed for those who desire to broaden their skills and give their audiences an experience they've never before had. In its pages many new pathways are opened and some stunning destination points are provided.

  • Facial - A Wild-Card printing effect like no other. Four blank-faced cards magically duplicate the face of a selected random card. Each transformation is visual and instantaneous, all the cards are inspected before and afterward, and with each performance a different card is duplicated.
  • Fan World - A new approach to the Out-of-This-World effect in which the deck may be shuffled at any point during the procedure, you do not look at the faces of the cards, the duration of the test may be as short or as long as wished, there are no packet exchanges and only two pilesone red, one blackare formed. Yet, you have complete control over a spectator's ability to correctly guess the color of each card.
  • Strange Hummer - Anyone shuffles the deck (which may be borrowed), deals off ten random cards and mixes them face up and face down under the table, where no one can see what is being done. The mixing procedure becomes more and more random, until everyone, including fellow magicians, must admit you have no control over it. While the packet is still out of sight under the table, you announce the number of cards that are face up and face down, which proves to be correct. You also point out that the spectator has mysteriously separated the red cards from the blacks!
  • AUTOMACAAN - The Any-Card-at-Any-Number effect is given three new treatments, including one in which the deck may be borrowed and you never touch the cards. The spectator does everything. This trick may even be performed over the telephonea genuine and exciting breakthrough in both method and effect.
These are just four of the more than thirty new items in KEN KRENZEL'S RELAXED IMPOSSIBILITIES. All are thoroughly taught, aided by over 170 expert illustrations by Earle Oakes. When you add streamlined and accessible manipulation to new principles of sleight-less card magic, the result is RELAXED IMPOSSIBILITIES. You now can relax too, they are awaiting you.

ISBN: 978-0-945296-63-8

Pages 254 - Hardbound with Dust Jacket

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Relaxed imposibilities Krenzel by S. Minch Report this review
Verified buyer Pro Privacy ON (login to see reviewer names) on October 10th, 2011
Fantastic book, I always put Krenzel with difficult sleight of hands and avoided his others book.
This book is different, he made the sleights easier, and the tricks at least for me more enjoyable.
i also like alot Stephen Minch books in general, very clear wrtitng excelent drawings, and nice looking books.

If you wanted to have some Krenzel material without suffering the sleights, this is the book
2 of 2 magicians found this helpful.
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Easier routines that look "relaxed" but now what you're getting Report this review
Verified buyer Pro Privacy ON (login to see reviewer names) on June 1st, 2020
Ken is known for his technical magic so this book is supposed to introduce the other side of him: Magic with simple techniques (as opposed to self-working), which I enjoyed.

The move section is interesting due the "relaxed" and simple nature of the moves, including a bottom deal from a fan of cards. There is a good work on the side steal that allows for easy card extractions that I thought was valuable and allows to use the sleight irrespective of the deck's condition. There are several steals however no tricks that use them. There are also pretty interesting switches and a way to do the Slip Force cleanly that again "relaxed", but not too difficult.

The trick section is divided between "their hands" and "your hands". In "Your Hands", what stood out for me was an interesting OOTW that looks clean using the fan bottom deal. There's a nice ace assembly with no frills that is quite direct (updated from Genii magazine). There's an easy way of performing the speller trick (they spell anything to their card, name or city .. etc). There's a nice blank card printing routine using a Janus double facer (same card both sides) and 5 blank-faced cards ( no cards supplied). Nothing earth-shattering, just nice card magic. Methods are good but in 2 effects (one is an open prediction for example) you reveal the card while its secretly a double in your hands, which I don't like.

"In Their Hands" has tricks where the spectator handles the deck during the middle to the end of the trick, and sometimes all the way (such as an ACAAN, that can be done over Zoom or the phone). They are cute, nice, direct enough with some procedure but not too much. Besides some versions of ACAAN or CAAN (2 essentially are similar ideas, I recall off-the-top of y head a sandwich trick that is neat however the revelation is not earth-shattering or visual. At the end, I dont see myself performing this for my A clients, but they are cute for a change of pace.

All in all good solid book full of "Nice" material, nothing earth-shattering, but quite fun ideas. Recommended, now that you know what you're getting
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