Bob Cassidy

THE ONLY VERSION OF THE CLASSIC PUZZLE EFFECT THAT APPEARS TO BE A NEAR TEST CONDITIONS IMPOSSIBILITY.

The method used in Puzzled is completely original with Bob Cassidy. It is based on an "out-of-left-field logical disconnect" that will positively fool anyone who sees it.

The premise of the effect was created by the late English mentalist, Romark, back in the 1970's. A few years ago there was a minor hissy fit in the magic world about the creation and ownership of a jigsaw puzzle effect involving an image of the Mona Lisa. (But apart from the fact that the effect used a jigsawed version...

URV is a remote viewing presentation involving complete audience participation. In a series of tests replicating actual remote viewing experiments the audience is able, under what appear to be strictly controlled conditions, to perform amazing accurate remote viewings of hidden target photographs.

Such effects are rare in mentalism and have an extremely powerful impact. They not only provide a unique experience for any intelligent audience but serve to greatly enhance the mentalist's credibility.

Two versions of the routine are described. One is designed for use with a single participant...

The Question Answering Act - or "Audience Reading" as it is more commonly called today - has always been the major effect in mentalism. Q&A, while arguably the most powerful and memorable effect in mentalism, is rarely seen today because it does not fit into the "body language/perceptionist" persona and style - its only explanations would appear to be pure mind reading or, as it was originally presented, communication with the spirits.

Here, in this ebook for the experienced mentalist - is a complete collection of original modern methods and, more importantly - presentations - for this classic...

The outstanding success of the historic Artful Mentalism Seminar convinced Bob Cassidy to do another similar seminar covering different topics. Michael Weber is again the host and skilfully keeps the discussion focused and informative. If you could not attend the live seminar you can now own and listen to the entire 2 hour and 20 minute recording plus receive two ebooks.

The topics Bob and Michael cover are:

• A short recap of the last seminar with the major points repeated.
• Whom do we seek to deceive?
• Peeks, Steals, Switches, Center tears, etc.
• Bristol board applications
• A Pocket writing Subtlety
• On Impromptu...

A complete history of what Bob believes to be the greatest effect in mentalism, including all of the variations and methods developed over the years.

4th Dimensional Telepathy is a complete act in and of itself. Whereas the original methods utilized forces, impression devices, etc., the methods revealed herein do not. All of the spectators' selections are absolutely free.

The Basic Effect

In all of the versions described in this ebook, the effect of Fourth Dimensional Telepathy is the same or very nearly so. Only in Bob's first variant, "Ultimate Fourth Dimensional Telepathy" did he...

In 1981 Al Mann devised a billet tear he called the "Mag-Eye" move. He enthusiastically demonstrated it for Bob Cassidy and gave him a copy of the manuscript, Phanta Graphs in which he had first described it.

Some time later, after playing around with the move, Bob devised a substantially different approach and a handling that allowed secret access to a much larger area of the billet. Bob also gave Al some of his ideas regarding the proper type of paper that had to be used to insure that the move worked smoothly as well as a presentational gambit that justified the use of a pre-folded billet.

Al was...

On February 26th 2009 a historic event took place. Bob Cassidy gave a one-of-a-kind two hour teleseminar which was hosted by his longtime student and friend Michael Weber.

Two hours of pure Cassidy where he answered questions and spoke on a number of crucially important points on mentalism. Some of the topics discussed were:

• Persona: Selecting effects consistent with your persona; choosing a persona; credibility; the Dr. Crow persona.
• Rehearsing: How to practice mentalism.
• What is bad mentalism?
• Scripts versus Improvisation
• Mentalism versus Mental Magic
• Publicity stunts
• Logical disconnect:...

". . . I have found most uses of billets that I've seen to be painful exercises in self-deception on the part of the performer, as to what the audience finds convincing or entertaining. But when I saw Bob Cassidy do his billet routine for an audience of more than a thousand, those silly bits of paper were reduced to virtual non-entities. By the time the routine reached its conclusion he was on stage, standing back-to-back with a spectator, engaged in what was apparently a full scale drawing duplication - with no billets or envelopes anywhere in sight or awareness." - Jamie Ian Swiss, Genii, The Conjurors' Magazine, January 2005

Here...

From the introduction: "Seemingly impromptu mental effects are among the strongest you can do. The apparent lack of preparation is what makes them seem real. But never forget that it is the illusion of impromptu, and not its reality, that gives such effects their impact."

"Impromptu" does not mean unprepared, nor does it refer to the ridiculous notion held by many that to be truly impromptu the effect must be something you can do anywhere, anytime, even if you happen to be totally naked.

Impromptu, more sensibly, refers to the effect on your audience. The effect should either SEEM to...

From the introduction:

As far as I'm concerned, sleight of hand (or any other artifice for that matter) has but one purpose - to convincingly establish a false premise, which I believe to be the cornerstone of all effective illusion and deception. The more convincingly that premise is established, the more amazing the resulting effect will appear to be.

The subtleties and psychological approaches of mentalism can, when augmented by sleight of hand, provide a directness and clarity of effect that is too often lacking in mental routines. The fact that sleights are avoided by many performers...

Long unavailable, The Invisible Mirror is a large multimedia ebook (including four RealMedia video clips) featuring an ingenious method - illustrated on video - for obtaining a spectator's hidden thoughts and for apparently predicting the future.

It also contains something you will never see anywhere else - an excerpt of a live performance - in a biker bar - by Dr. Bob!

The Invisible Mirror is a utilitarian technique with unlimited capabilities. Not only is the technique direct and convincing, it is easy and actually fun to do.

1st edition 2003; 14 pages; 4 RealMedia video clips

1. Telepathy in the Third Dimension
5. The Bullwhip Approach
10. Under the Table
13. Split
16. Thought Card in Pocket

1st edition 2002; 24 pages.

Most cyclical stacks are based on either mathematical progressions (Si Stebbins) or nonsense rhymes ("Eight Kings" and John Mulholland''s "Hungry Jackass.") While memorized stacks, such as the Nikola explained in Encyclopedia of Card Tricks, allow for the fastest determination of a cards position in the pack, performers who don''t use the set-up generally seem to avoid the memory route. The mathematical systems, which serve as substitutes for memory, can sometimes be difficult in performance situations. Furthermore, many of the mathematical formulas only allow you to determine the position of a given card, and not the card...

The Ultimate Key Bending Routine.

In the early 1970’s, at the "dawning of the Age of Aquarius," a young Israeli named Uri Geller attracted worldwide attention with his "psychic" abilities. While he demonstrated several paranormal skills, it was his "psychokinetic" ability to bend silverware, borrowed keys, and nails that set him apart from other "New Age" psychics. In the years that followed many mentalists and magicians added "metal bending" routines to their repertoires, and many sleights and gimmicks have been devised to facilitate the effect.

You may have noticed that most of the...

"The Man at the Crossroads" is a close-up routine based on a uniquely American form of folk magic known as "hoodoo". Sometimes used as a synonym for Voodoo (a term related to the Dahomean word for spirit, vodun, and the more generalized West African juju), "hoodoo" technically refers to magical practices sometimes known as "conjure" - a hybrid of African and European beliefs nowadays far removed from their original West African religious roots - and is comprised of complex magical practices as well as simple medicinal procedures. (Practitioners, however, usually refer to the latter as "signs"...

The title is apt. This ebook contains three completely inexplicable mental effects: "Quarterforce", "Boxed Thought", and "The Impossible Switch".

In Quarterforce a pack of cards is fanned out before a spectator. There are no duplicates or specially printed cards. The spectator simply thinks of one and the mentalist names it. That's it and it's that clean. Mentalism doesn't get any bolder or more powerful than this.

Boxed Thought is a completely routined demonstration of telepathy and clairvoyance and The Impossible Switch is just that - a billet move so clean and simple it is never detected. ...

Mind Burners - illustrated with color photographs and videos of each critical move, features two completely routined performance pieces from Bob's own working repertoire. "The Manchurian Gambit" is a demonstration of "psychic brainwashing", based on Richard Condon's novel and John Frankenheimer's 1962 film classic, "The Manchurian Candidate". An audience member, completely unaware of what he or she is doing, follows the mentalist's psychic commands. Not only completely amazing, this is one of the funniest and most memorable routines Bob has ever performed.

In "A Place to Die For" an ancient...

Near the end of the 19th century - a time believed by many to be the birth of a "New Age"- presentations of mediumship and other so-called psychic phenomena had already become standard theatrical attractions. Samri Baldwin ("The Only Real and Original White Mahatma") had long since developed the one-ahead based question answering act, and the secret writing techniques of Henry Slade and other early mediums had become standard items in the repertoires of many conjurors. Some engaged in actual and pseudo exposures of mediums and psychics, while others, recognizing the power of such presentations,...

This ebook consists of a PDF and five WMV videos demonstrating the techniques. Bob also included his personal brainstorming notes, much of which is incomprehensible, but it allows you a unique peak into this creative mind and might help you develop and personalize your own routines.

• Doctor Crow's Party Piece
• Pure Mentalism
• Technique #1 - Hand to Hand with a Pen
• Technique #2 The Switch, Umbrella Move and Read covered by business card packet.
• Technique #3 Basic Switch with Wallet as Display Container
• Technique #4 The Impromptu Index
• The Invisible Device
• PERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL

...

Features "The Elementulum", "Bottled", "Dunningered", and "The Cooperative Almanac" - four completely routined original performance pieces.

• The Elementulum is a pendulum routine that is visually stunning.

• Bottled is among the rarest of mental effects - it is performed on a billiard or pool table! A spectator shuffles a pack of cards and scatters them face down all over a pool table. Pool cues are stood upright in each of the six pockets on the table to prevent any balls from being sunk during the effect.

  The performer writes a prediction which is placed in full view. The balls are...