Magic Tricks

This is simply a superb set of effects that can be done with a borrowed deck of cards. There is minimal to no set up for each trick--in most cases the deck is deliberately shuffled by a spectator before you begin--and there is minimal to no sleight of hand. These tricks are suitable for beginner or more advanced magicians. This is a great project by Larry Hass.

Larry Hass has pared down on the mechanics of the effects by playing with the psychology behind the magic. He is very careful to make sure that every part of the procedure is motivated and constructed the tricks so that they are very difficult (if nearly impossible) to back track.

Hass is a very careful, thoughtful, thorough, and deliberate teacher. His style is decidedly low key--he is more keen on putting the magic, rather than force of personality, center stage.

My Way Out of This World, is an impromptu OOTW effect. Most magicians will know a version of OOTW that can be done from a shuffled deck. What Hass adds here are a lot of hints as to how to make the effect more stunning and he has solved the problem with the end reveal of the cards. I like his approach to the performance--Ryan Schlutz has a very similar version--but I think Hass's subtlety in the ending is a little better. Obviously, this owes a lot to U.F. Grant's impromptu OOTW (who Hass mentions) and Harry Lorayne's impromptu OOTW.

The Intuition Test has the spectator pick a prediction of two different endings and then proceeds to have the spectator make a series of decisions in selecting cards and then trading cards, face down, with the magician. In the end, the selected prediction correctly predicts the number of black vs. red cards held by the spectator vs. the magician. I haven't tried it in the real world yet (so I could be wrong), but it is one of those mind blowers that probably more stunning to magicians than lay people. The outcome is a brain teaser, even once you know how it is done, but I don't know how impressive this would be to lay people.

In the Friendship Game the magician sets aside prediction cards and the cards shuffled and laid down by two spectators result in a match. The trick itself is a good one, but Hass also teaches you a boatload of how to construct a magic effect and gives a mini-master class in equivoque. The trick is a good one, for sure. It definitely seems impossible. I know some magicians really love this kind of effect, the problem is that I get 'okay' reactions--but never over-the-top, gasps--for card cognate (e.g. 2H matching with 2D) prediction-type effects. In spite of the improbability of the effect and the seemingly arbitrary, spectator driven decisions to get to the end point, the matching card prediction at the end surprises but--at least in my hands--does not blow spectators away. Still, this is about as good as it gets for this kind of trick (for me anyway) and, again, you will learn a lot about trick construction and how to build an effect from Hass.

Pure Magic is a little obscure. It has zero sleight of hand but relies a lot on precise procedure. This is one you need to get down 100% before you show it. Once you get used to the mechanics, it looks totally impromptu. You pick out 9 random cards from a shuffled deck and place in two piles. The audience member shuffles one pile and picks a card and coalesces the piles as you are not looking. You then walk the spectator through some dealing with crazy choices--that seem random--in terms of the cards dealt to the table... in the end you find the spectator's card. It may not sound like much when read on paper, but it is a major stunner.

One Card and One Card Alone is easy to do but is a seemingly impossible way for the magician to find a selected card. There are layers in the presentation that totally hide the 'secret' but also the suggested presentation makes this more of a mentalism trick than a simple find-the-card trick. Devious thinking and excellent presentation. This one definitely hits spectators right between the eyes. For me, it is the best of the best in this project.

Again, this is good for beginners and good for more experienced magicians. Any set will benefit from a few effects that have low or no sleight of hand. It throws off your audience as they keep looking for something to catch you on where there is absolutely nothing to catch you on. You get credit for major card handling when there really isn't any.

This is a great package deal at $24 for 5 effects, especially as they sell individually for $9.95 apiece. 3/5 can be done with little or no practice and the other 2 once you go over the procedure a number of times. There is lots of great thinking and lots of great teaching here. Best of all, you will use these. Recommended.