David Devlin products: page 1

Two spectators are invited on stage. Spectator A gives the deck a shuffle, and then deals exactly twenty cards into the magician's hand. The performer shuffles the twenty cards, and then gives some of the cards to Spectator A and the rest to Spectator B, who proceed to shuffle them further. Both packets of cards are then handed back to the performer who shuffles the twenty cards together.

The performer now explains that this is going to be a demonstration in 'Psychic Telekinetic Teleportation'. The performer has spectator A hold out his hand into which exactly ten cards are dealt. Spectator...

In effect, a card is selected and signed. The card is then cleanly torn into four separate pieces. The pieces are then placed between the fingers ala The Multiplying Billiard Balls, and the hands are otherwise empty (they really are!). The pieces are then gathered up one at a time. Each side of each piece is clearly shown. The bundled pieces then instantly pop open in a "flash". The card is fully restored and given to the spectator to keep as a souvenir.

1st edition 2011, 17 pages, photo illustrated

Shadow is a great utility prop that you make yourself for less than about $13! With Shadow you can switch cards, billets, money, or anything else you can think of. It can be used in mentalism routines to bring in a prediction; you can also make vanished objects appear in an impossible location. You are really limited only by your imagination.

Not only do you get very detailed instructions on how to make this prop (it takes about 3 minutes or so) and handling techniques, but you also get a hard-hitting routine that David uses as a closer in his formal close up performances. The routine is...

Sight Unseen will earn you a reputation. If you already have a reputation, it will make it bigger. The effects in this eBook contributed greatly in earning David Devlin his IBM Entertainer of the Year Award in 2003.

This eBook comes with two presentations and two methods for the same effect. The basic effect is that a deck is shuffled by spectators until they are content. The deck is spread face down. The spectator slips a joker face up into the deck anywhere she wishes. The second joker is placed face up above the face down card above the other joker, thus trapping a single unknown card...

EFFECT: The performer hands an envelope to a spectator to hold. The performer then removes a deck of cards from its case. The cards are not playing cards, however. In this deck, each card bears the name of a state in the United States. The performer thumbs through the deck allowing the spectators to see that all of the cards are different (when I do this, I even tell them that in order to have a full, 52-card deck, I have added Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico). The deck is then divided into 4 approximately equal piles. A spectator now selects one of those piles to use in the experiment, and...

If you liked Bookworm: The Ultimate Impromptu Book Test Act, then you will love The Bookworm Deck. An entire "Word Test Act" combined into a single deck that you will always carry with you.

Not only can you now perform the "Bookworm Act" without having to borrow three books, you can perform the act in absolutely any venue, including walk-around, table hopping, and even stage situations. The entire act is kept in your pocket. The Bookworm Deck also makes the act much easier to perform.

Here is the act:

The performer borrows three business cards and a pen (obviously, he can use his own if the items cannot be borrowed). The performer...

This is David Devlin's pet coin box routine.

EFFECT: This routine employs four half dollars along with a copper English Penny, and a coin box. The coins are dumped out of the box onto the table. The coins may be examined by the spectators. The performer reaches into his pocket and brings out a copper English Penny, which may also be examined. The copper coin is placed aside for a moment while the performer places the silver coins in a vertical row on his right hand side. The copper coin is placed into the box, and the lid is placed on top. A silver coin is placed into the left hand. A snap...

Effect: A collection of coins of different denominations is displayed on the table. The right hand is kept well away from the coins, which are then gathered up one at a time by the left hand. The left and right hands are closed into fists. A magical gesture is made, and all of the coins vanish from the left hand and appear in the right hand…but wait…one of the coins failed to go across. The coin is picked up with the left hand, the hands are closed into fists, a magical gesture is made, and the final coin travels from the left hand to the right hand.

This “Instant Coins Across” routine...

This is a very powerful routine. So powerful, in fact, that David has kept it to himself for over twenty years! It is perfect for all performers regardless of their performing venue. That's right. This is a card trick that can be performed anytime and anywhere. It can be performed close-up or on stage even though it uses a standard deck. It is totally impromptu, uses no gimmicks, has audience participation, and you are not touching the cards when the magic happens. The magic takes place while the cards are in the hands of the spectators! Here is the effect (in a close-up performance):

The...

David Devlin has always loved all things scary and bizarre. As a 4 year old, he can remember watching monster movies with his father on Saturday Afternoons. Starting at the age of 5, he created "Spook Alleys" in his parents' bonus room. Every Halloween he dressed as something terrifying, and watched Bela Lugosi as Dracula, and Boris Karloff as Frankenstein. Even the music David listens to is seen by some people as "spooky". It only seemed natural that as David began really looking deeply at the presentation of magic that he would be drawn to the creepy and the bizarre.

If you are looking...

A deck is borrowed. It is thoroughly shuffled by a spectator. The performer has any spectator think of any number between one and fifty-two, but not to reveal it to anyone until asked by the performer. Nothing is written down. The number is simply thought of. The performer now has a different spectator name any card. There is no force of any kind! After a very funny gag, the performer for the first time asks the spectator to reveal the number that he has merely been thinking of. Let us assume that the number is twenty three. Without any fumbling or manipulation of the deck, no cuts, no shuffles,...

Abigail was an evil witch, the high priestess of an evil coven. On the 7th day of July, 1777 the people of her small community convicted her of witchcraft, and had her put to death. Abigail was nailed to her coffin with 7 silver spikes. One through each arm, hand, and knee. The last of the 7 was drawn through her mouth so that she could never rise and cause evil again! The coven's mark was then placed on a rune, and also onto a small piece of wood. These were mixed with other runes and pieces of wood with counterfeit symbols. The superstition was that Abigail could only rise again if one who...

This is a card act rather than a single trick. It is a full-deck effect, tells a story, has audience participation as spectators become the characters, is full of magic, and has an ending that no one will see coming that will fry the audience. It is called, The Tournament, and it will convince your audiences that you are the greatest card cheat of all-time. There is no false dealing, which means that the dealing portions of this routine are all self-working. The finale of the act is a mind-blower and brings everything to a logical conclusion.

Two methods are provided, one which utilizes the...

This is a new Any Card at Any Number effect in which (apparently) the spectator does all of the work, and it happens all in his hands. Not only that, but the performer has predicted the entire outcome; the card and the number, far in advance! This is all true. The performer never touches the deck once the effect begins.

Here is the effect as the audience sees it: The deck is shuffled by a spectator. The performer has any spectator think of any number between one and fifty-two, but not to reveal it to anyone until asked by the performer. Nothing is written down. The number is simply thought...

This came about thanks to Larry Jennings' classic effect, "The Visitor". David has always loved that effect. It is impromptu, there is no setup, a borrowed deck can be used, and the effect is stunning. One day, David was playing with the routine, and began to think along the lines of, "Wouldn't it be cool if the selected card could be seen the entire time? What if the spectator could see their card sitting between the two face down cards right up until the very moment that it vanishes?" The answers, of course, are yes! Of course it would be cool. And with The Visitation these things are possible!

Here is...

This is a very in depth work on The Gozinta Boxes. This is not just a little eBook that teaches a single effect. It is a book on theories, philosophies, and thoughts on the effect; however, the thoughts on the effect itself that David discusses can be applied to all magic. This eBook really lets you in on the mind of David Devlin, how he thinks, how he puts routines together, and his feelings about magic as an art and the performance of magic. So, even if you do not use the illusion that is discussed you will learn ways of creating and improving routines of your own. The effect of the Gozinta...

Nick Trost's "Eight Card Brainwave" is a classic and killer effect. That effect was the starting point for David when "Theta Waves" was in an embryonic state. What David has done is created an "Eight Card Brainwave" effect that is totally examinable. There is only one odd backed card in the eight-card packet!

The basic effect is simple. A packet of eight arbitrary cards is shown. All eight cards are different on the face. The backs however, are not shown. It is explained to the spectator that there is one card and one card only that's back is different than the others. The spectator decides...

A deck is shuffled. While the performer's back is turned, one spectator selects and remembers a card, which he then loses into the deck. No one knows where this card is. Its identity is known only to the spectator. Now, a second spectator merely thinks of a number. The performer mixes the cards further, and spreads them face up to show the cards to be completely mixed. The second spectator now, for the 1st time, reveals her thought of number. The spectator is handed the deck. She deals the cards one at a time until she reaches her thought of number. The card arrived at is the card being thought...

This offering from David Devlin is an incredible mentalism act for the stage that begins with a really cool chair test and a two-phase Three Card Monte using jumbo cards in which the spectators "throw" the cards. Even though the spectators are throwing the Monte while the mentalist's back is turned completely away from the on-stage spectators and can be legitimately blindfolded, he is always able to find the queen!

This may be one of the few acts that feature a chair test that actually serves a purpose beyond fulfilling a prediction. It gets the spectators on stage and gets the Monte cards...

EFFECT: The performer jots down a prediction on a small piece of paper, folds it into quarters, and drops it into a coffee cup. A spectator is now asked to name a time. She says, "7:35". She now reaches into the coffee cup, and removes the slip of paper, opens it up, and reads the time. Of course, it is 7:35.

• No one-ahead
• The spectator does not write anything down
• No nail-writers
• No math or spelling type force
• 99% impromptu

In the first version of this terrific packet trick, the four queens are removed from the deck, and are held face down. One at a time and in turn, each queen turns face up as in the "Twisting the Aces" routine.

After all of the queens have had their turn face up, and are all face down once again, the magician asks the spectator to name any one of the queens. He explains that whichever queen is named, it will magically turn face up. Let's assume that the named queen is the Queen of Spades. The performer snaps his fingers and says, "Would you be amazed if the queen you named is now face up?" ...

The effect is pretty simple and straight forward. A card is selected. In fact, the spectator can change his mind and select a different card! The spectator then signs the card across its face. The card is then folded into quarters with the face side out, so that both the identity of the card and the signature can be seen throughout the performance. An empty mason jar with its lid firmly in place is shown. The card is now slapped against the bottom of the jar, and instantly and visibly the card penetrates the jar, and is now trapped inside! The spectators can clearly see that it is in fact the...

ALL ABOARD! B'wave by Max Maven has been one of David's favorite effects since its release in 1991. Since then, countless variations have been published...and here are some more! These routines have been designed to give what is essentially the same effect as B'wave, but eliminate the need for Equivoque or any other force. There are four effects that will knock 'em for a loop, plus two bonus chapters devoted to the "Wave" concept.

First up is Jacks in the Box. On the table sits a single card box. It is explained that the box contains the four jacks, and only the four jacks. However, there...

EFFECT: A deck of 52 cards is freely shown. Each card bears a single word. All 52 words are different. The mentalist mixes the cards and hands the deck to a spectator. The mentalist now turns his back to the spectator and puts his hands behind his back. The spectator now makes a random and free choice of one of the words. However, the word is placed sight unseen into the spectator’s pocket. So, even he has no idea which word he has chosen. The deck is returned to the mentalist’s hands. With his back still to the spectator, he instantly calls out a word. The spectator removes the card from...