I'm not a mentalist but enjoy these "propless mentalism" effects. They're a lot of fun for
spectators and can be done completely impromptu. Manos Karsakis' Verbalist 2.0 in this book is the
strongest effect of this type I have seen. Two spectators are given a coin or other small object.
While the magician's back is turned, one spectator hides the coin in one hand, and both spectators
then put their hands behind their backs. The spectators also decide which one will be the "liar"
and which will be the "truth-teller." The magician then turns around, asks each spectator the same
simple non-suspicious question, and then instantly reveals the location of the coin. When I first
read the description of the effect I thought it must be leaving something out or must involve a
hidden gimmick. These two questions could not possibly reveal the location of the coin. But I
swear, this is really how the effect works. Two really innocent questions are all that is needed
for this miracle. It is easy to do and stunning. It does not look like a "logic puzzle" at all. I
think this single trick alone is worth the price of the downloadable book. I will be using
Verbalist 2.0 for impromptu and walk-around. I also recommend Andante, another download available
on Penguin. Whereas Verbalist 2.0 is designed for two spectators, Andante is designed for more than
that -- I typically do it when I have five spectators.
Hello James. This is Manos. Thank you for your honest review. As I say in the book Verbalist and Verbalist 2.0 are some of my favourites as well. I know that you didn't mention the question asked in your review to help protect the secret and thank you for that. However, just in case anyone is wondering what the question is, I only ask them "Is it in this hand?". I just wanted to make sure that everyone understands exactly how simple it is and I am quite confident that even when knowing the question people who read these comments will still not be able to deconstruct it. Have a great day and thank you for trusting me and investing in my work. It really means a lot to me. :)
A lot of money for a download
I guess it depends on what it is that you are downloading. I prefer to view things in a different way. For example, if I pay $10 for something that I will never use then I have just wasted $10. If I pay $50 for something that I use all the time for years, then the amount of money I paid for it is very little compared to the use I got from it. However, if you still think this is not for you I will not try to change your mind. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion I guess. Have a nice day. :)
Manos
it is more expensive for a download but if it's used it's certainly not out of reach compared to some routines that are out there.
I can do the same thing as this review states with Tequila Hustler, and it's quite a bit cheaper. It also only uses two simple questions. What makes this better?
Hello RaceBlakhart. Tequila Hustler could easily be in this book as well as the other routines. I am not saying that my routines are better than TH, they are just different variations. As I explain in my book, I came up with TH independently and after talking to Mark Elsdon about it, I decided not to put it in my book so he can publish it in his book and I publish the rest of my ideas. In short, it could be in there, I do not think it's inferior.
Having said that, here are the main differences:
All the routines in V2 are simpler to follow than TH because they rely on different l***c p****es.
With V2 you can perform for 2 spectators by asking the most simple question ever "Is it in this hand?". This routine is actually identical to what people do with the electronic version.
With V2 because you have a variety of routines, you can combine them and perform something again when someone says "Do that again."
In V2 there are routines that do not rely on the liar/truth teller premise (not only in presentation but in method as well).
In V2 there is a routine that is presented as a prediction. The spectator makes a series of choices and instead of "reading" them to reveal where the object is, you show a prediction that reveals where the object is, which hand it started in, if they switched or not etc.
Also, in some (not all) routines of V2 you know exactly which role the participant is playing (liar/truth teller) and you can tell them with no ambiguity.
Lastly, in V2 there is a stage routine that involves the whole audience.
All the above make the routines in V2 different than TH. I hope this helped. :)
Regarding the price of this download, I can only say that the people who have already bought it and read it can testify that I could easily have released any one of the routines in this book as a $10 download and everyone would be happy to pay that much for it (for one routine). I chose not to do that, but instead publish everything in one project. So if I could charge $10 for each of the routines and there are 5 different routines with their variations, and with bonus ideas (making them 7 in total) then if you look at it from that perspective it's not that expensive after all. :)
Again, if you think it is I will not try to change your mind. I respect the fact that you choose what you do with your hard earned money. I just wanted to explain that my conscious is clear because I stand behind this material 100% and I know that the people who will buy it, will feel that it was worth their investment. Have a great day everyone. :)
Manos
I ama huge fan of this manuscript - it's well worth the price in my mind. In terms of how it compares with TH, what I love about one of the routines, Verbalist 2.0, I think it's easier for the spectator to follow, and you definitively know where the object is and whether they are telling the truth or lying, versus TH where you "seem" to know if they are lying or telling the truth due to a clever word ploy. I have both and have used both, and I think Verbalist 2.0 is better. Like someone above said, it's basically just like using a Promystic product, it's that clean.
I obviously wanted to write "my conscience is clear" in the comment above. Autocorrect fail. Apologies for any misunderstandings or if your eyes fell out while reading it. :)
Manos
It would also be good to mention that one of the routines doesn't even ask any questions at all, and yet you are able to tell exactly where the object is hidden. If people are complaining about the proce, then they may not yet be ready for the knowledge contained within. :)
I still think you should pick it up either way. Will I be doing every version of every routine explained? No. But I do not think that is the idea. An Manoel explains himself which he performs the most an why. This is all great info. to have and will really get you thinking about the possibilities of these methods.
I also have TH and still think this is well worthwhile. I still use many of these along with TH.
Sorry for the typos. Was sending from my phone. That was supposed to say price no proce and Manos not Manoel (for some reason spell check changed it and I did not notice.
Also comparing with tequila hustler, it is a great method but it is only one method. In V2 you get multiple methods and some of them greatly vary.
As you can tell I really like this book! This was the first I had heard of Manos but I will definitely be picking up future releases from him.
How is this different from "Pevaricator" by Richard Patrick?
Sorry that's Prevaricator by Patrick Redford.
Hello cybervet,
Thank you for expressing an interest in my work. The truth is that the techniques in the book could not be more different than Prevaricator for the following reasons:
The technique used in Prevaricator although brilliant is heavily based on pure psychology and it is possible to fail. On the contrary, in V2 the core method of all the routines in not psychologically based so if presented correctly they cannot fail.
Also, because of the technique used in Prevaricator, that routine can only be performed when 2 spectators or more are present. In V2 you can find routines that you can perform for only 1 spectator.
In Prevaricator, the spectators have to answer a question that you ask them. In V2 there are routines that no questions are asked (one of the routines is in the demo video but there is another one in which you ask no questions).
Furthermore, Prevaricator can only be presented as a body language reading/detecting a lie routine. In V2 there are routines that do not use this premise at all, and there is also a routine that is presented as influence and all the actions that the spectator has made are predicted ahead of time.
Lastly, in V2 there is a stage routine that involves the whole audience (this can an audience of 60 people or 500 people - the number doesn't really matter). I hope this helps.
I think Prevaricator is a very clever routine, but the work in V2 is completely different. Have a great day and let me know if there is anything else I can help you with. :)
I stopped using Prevaricator because I couldn't get it to work consistently, and because the spectators sometimes got confused when trying to answer the questions. Verbalist 2.0 works every time and the question (asked once for each spectator) is super simple: Is the coin in this hand?
Some people mentioned that in their opinion the price was a bit too high. I just noticed that Penguin decided to stock the physical book as well which it offers at a discounted price. So if you are still on the fence about this one because of the price now you can take advantage of the discount. A quick search on the site will lead you right to it. Have a nice day everyone.
All the best
Manos
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Verbalist 2.0 is Stunning
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