Magic Tricks

Ok, so this trick has a lot of potential. I mean, it really is an "impossible" trick... to suddenly have in your hand a signed card that was in a box wrapped up by rubberbands and placed into your pocket. And the great thing is: this trick is as easy as heck for any beginner with a little practice.

When I watched the demo though, I wondered if the spectators were really understanding what they were seeing. I feel like the actual banter and presentation didn't do this trick justice and get the applause it deserves. Joel does the trick first without the bands around the box, and then with... So let's think about this... a magician places a signed card in a card box and CLOSES the box and puts it in his pocket. In seconds, he pulls the card out! Do you realize how awesome that it? But the problem is, they don't seem to be amazed until they realize that it's their signed card. Wait. So let's back up... you see the problem? They totally missed the awesome fact that he was able to pull ANY card out of that freakin' box, let alone the right one! And then he does it with the box all rubberbanded up!

I think the problem is that the spectator's focus wasn't amply placed on the impossibility of the actual trick. I thought this the whole time I watched video until he finally said a suggestion from Dee Christopher that I came up with independently within the first couple minutes of the explanation: Don't use just rubber bands... use masking tape. Use plastic wrap. Use whatever overkill you want to emphasize the impossibility of getting ANYTHING out of that card box.

I was glad he gave these suggestions later. It's important to put the focus, not on the fact that it was the right card... but that to get ANY card out is impossible. The fact that it's the correct card is an awesome kicker; the cherry on top.

Joel does a fine job teaching. Near the end, he gives some ideas of how to make this better for the stage, including Dee's suggestions.

I like this trick. I do. I highly recommend it. There are no gimmicks, setup is very quick, and it's a trick any magician can do. I do dock .25 off for presentation though. The banter about timing the card retrieval, i feel, seems like the wrong direction. That focuses the spectator, again, away from the impossibility. Instead, it makes that impossibility a possibility, an assumption, and turns this into more of a time challenge, with the actual OOOH coming from the fact that it's the signed card instead of the fact that he just pulled it from an impossible location.

That's just my opinion. I'd defiinitely get this trick. It's simple (head slappingly simple) but effective... with the right presentation. 3.75 stars out of 5 (I only award 5 stars to mindnumbing grey matter exploding tricks... 4 stars is a really top-notch rating for me. I took that quarter star off for the actual presentation.)

(By the way, I always try to be honest and straightforward in my reviews, while being respectful to the magician. If you appreciate my reviews, can you please click the "Yes" button below beside the question, "Did this review help you?" It's not like I actually benefit in any way by your clicking it... but it would be nice to see if my reviews are helpful or not. I hope they are. If you ever have suggestions or comments or questions about my reviews, please feel free to leave me a constructive comment. I'm just trying to be helpful. I love the Penguin community and hope that I can someday contribute my own product. :-) Thanks for reading and for any (hopefully positive, but either way, at least kind) feedback!)