Mentalism & Spiritism in Magic & Conjuring: page 47

BILL DATES: You predict the bill and the date that a spectator you just met, will take out of his wallet.

THE JANUS FORCE: A business card is fairly selected among five, by throwing a dice, only once (or by freely naming a digit 1 to 6). The result on the back of the card was predicted in advance of course. Furthermore, you can show that the odds should have been against this result, as there were more cards with the opposite outcome. This system can be used to force any choice between two possibilities (for instance: red or black, heads or tails, etc.) even though the other choice had more...

This is a funny little trick and a very simple plot. You can carry it in your wallet and always be ready, anytime, anywhere, or you prepare it in larger format, and perform it for larger audiences.

Effect:

You show an image of three ladies. The spectator selects one of them, and it was predicted on the back. It is also a funny visual gag. Very entertaining, simple, direct, easy to do, instant reset, and practical.

1st edition 2015.

This is a useful effect for those who don't like tricks with smart phones, computers, etc. or if you perform for an audience who doesn't like them either. But it works very well also for computer addicts.

Effect:

You place a prediction in a glass or in full view. You write a list of activities (For instance: Reading, Play Music, Work, etc.). The participant chooses one of them (There is absolutely no force).

And now the "crescendo":

• You show your prediction and it was right (this one is an optional gag, or pretext for getting your audience involved).
• On the pen there was another...

Have you ever noticed that sometimes daughters and mothers look similar, not only because of genes, but also the way they dress, their hair style or colour, their glasses, etc. Same thing with pets, especially dogs. Sometimes, they really look like their owner.

In this ebook, you will find some ressources to use this idea in packet tricks, using images instead of playing cards. The impact on your audience will be much bigger and entertaining.

Example of effect:

You show a bunch of photos in one pile, and you show another pile face down, without showing the photos. "There is a sosie...

With this flexible system or combination of principles, you will be able to create your own effects like this one: Example of effect:

"Do you think you are influenceable? I bet you are..."

You show a business card with the five ESP symbols. The spectator freely points to one of them. This is the one you predicted.

• The basic effect is not new, but it is that direct and quick: They announce their choice, and you conclude.
• There is apparently no 'process', no force, no fumbling, etc. in between.
• It uses common objects (pen, index card/paper, etc.).
• Any patter or presentation can be...

This is one of my favorite routines with fingers.

Effect:

"Please tell us a color." The freely named color is written on a single business card (or somewhere else). "Interesting... I bet I can influence you now to choose a certain finger for instance." You take a bill from your wallet. (The participant can bet as well.) You show your hand (or you draw a hand on the business card or another one): "Please point to any finger." The spectator freely points to a finger, and of course, this is the one you wanted her to select.

• It is that direct: They announce their choice, and you conclude....

The "Bill trick", "Fred trick" or "Phil trick" (Paul Marcus, Fred Lowe, Trevor Duffy, Phil Goldstein,...) is so strong and funny, that it can be a closer, or even a standalone trick if you want to impress somebody, or get some booking.

For those who do not know it, here is a summary of the effect: A deck of cards is placed on the table. A spectator is asked to merely think of any card. The performer says: "The name of your card is Phil!". The deck is shown to have different names printed on the back of every card, and the named card is found to have the name Phil printed on the back!

This...

Get ready for Halloween (and all year long)! With this little creature and story, you will scare people to death as it will look realistic and credible. It is based on a true story. You will have to buy a little gimmick (around 1$).

1st edition 2015.

This is a different approach to the Zodiac sign topic, with somebody you have never met before. It is not a sign divination. It looks like an improvised and casual prediction of a complete stranger's Zodiac sign.

What the audience sees, or will remember:

You show them a business card with all the Zodiac signs on it. You ask a participant to name their sign, and on the back of the card, his or her sign was already drawn.

You will need a one-time preparation with index cards and a jacket, (or a wallet) to carry it. It does not require pre-show work, pocket writing or dual-reality.

...

This ebook explores for the first time, the principles inherent to probably any newspaper, magazine, or publication, in the world. Everybody reads them, every day, but nobody notices the rules and logic in the innocent sheets they hold in their own hands. These properties are good to know as they allow some pretty neat impromptu or improvised effects, or design your own routines, once you know their 'secrets'.

It is more a piece of knowledge every magician or mentalist should know. Most 'recipes' are simple, and there is no difficult memorization or calculation involved.

All the effects...

Here is another ploy to the Monty Hall problem, one of the most unexplored plots in magic and mentalism.

In this version, the mentalist plays the role of the candidate, and the participant plays the role of the host. As many people nowadays know the Monty Hall paradox or can search for it on the net, the game is made slightly more complex, in order to avoid any probabilities: The player can also play the role of a corrupt presenter if they wish. He can secretly steal the prize behind the third door, making it impossible for you to win the Ferrari! All this will allow you to mix mentalism...

Effect:

Somebody hides a coin in one of their hands, and the mentalist has to guess or predict which one: Left or Right?

This method uses classic techniques and is probably the simplest, the most direct, the safest, and probably the boldest one! It can be done separately, or embedded with other methods, or used as an out. Its major advantage is that it will not be perceived as a logic puzzle, and will really leave an impression of free choice. It will kill all previous solutions of potential methods (logic, electronic, gimmicked, etc.) that Cartesian spectators might suspect.

Another...

An improvised technique for the HEADS or TAILS plot, or else, as it can be done with any flat object, like an index card or a piece of paper for instance with a different information on each side (that can be different than HEADS or TAILS, and allow a more captivating story than a binary game or a bet).

Effect (as perceived by the audience):

• "Please take a coin, toss it, and watch secretly which side is up"...
• "There is no way anybody here can know if you lie or tell the truth"...
• "Now, if you want, you can turn the coin over. You can do it covertly, as many times as you want."

Before re-designing your business cards, check this out. It will save you hours and money for trials and errors, in looking for a practical and simple way to make business cards useful for your mentalism effects. Clever business cards can become a very powerful secret weapon you will always carry with you. They can also replace expensive props or effects, and allow you to create your own and personalized routines. Not to mention that your business cards are a wonderful marketing tool, as well.

The "system" described in this e-book, will allow you to improvise many mental effects, that use...

An improvised month divination

Month ID is an original method to secretly gain knowledge of a stranger's month of birth. (Actually, any information among twelve possibilities...) It can be done independently, anytime, anywhere, without any preparation at all, or props.

Basic Effect:

You ask a person you just met: "Do you know your zodiac digit? It is a digit between 0 and 9 that is influenced by the season, the climate, the month of birth and other factors. Here is how to calculate your ZODIAC DIGIT: Think of your birth month and do the following ... " (Very simple, just a couple of...

Two effects for one low price.

Here is another close-up (or parlor) version of the Monty Hall problem. It can be a standalone effect, or a premise, or a follow-up to other versions ( "V1" , "V2" , "V3", "Transaction" ), again with a completely different method. It helps to demonstrate that a player should always switch, but in a very baffling way. In the first phase, you show that the spectator should switch the two doors in order to win. But in a second identical phase, they will always loose.

• Not a "puzzle", no logic involved. (Actually, a real mystery that looks completely illogical, mind-blowing and disturbing.) ...

The following effects are practical, commercial, use classic techniques or principles with new ideas, and, most importantly, are "connection-makers". They are impromptu, for closeup, strolling, and parlor, and do not take much pocket space. Most are very fast, require nothing else than the provided images, tables, list, etc. sometimes with business cards and a pen.

MASCOT: Your spectator has to find your "mascot" among a list. Very easy, and entertaining. In 30 seconds, you will fool everybody, except 4WD addicts!

MONTH PSYCHO: "Month psycho" is another method to guess a birth month....

A simple chair test.

A very simple and practical chair test with three participants.

• It can be performed close-up, at a restaurant or dinner table, a bar, etc., or even on stage or TV
• Impromptu
• Easy reset
• OK for strolling too

[The basic effect is included in Pocket Mysteries, and in Cool Hot Pocket Mysteries.

Watch Max Maven perform a very similar effect. (Max Maven never published his method thus his method could be different how Gerard does it.):

1st edition 2016, 17 pages....

In ten seconds, you will be able to guess any information thought among two possibilities. It can be any effect where there are two outcomes.

• Improvised
• Very versatile principle
• Can be used in existing routines where you need to know for instance if a thought card is RED or BLACK, if a spectator likes something or not, etc.

• The nice thing about this principle, is that it is 100% impromptu, and even improvised.
• 100% Hands off
• No stooges
• No gimmick or electronics
• Works with many objects that can be borrowed (pen, knife/spoon/fork, lighter, eraser, card box, pack of cigarettes,...

An improvised book-test with a borrowed newspaper.

There are dozens of newspaper tests or predictions, but this one is different, improvised, and will be remembered as hands-off.

• There are no newspaper tears or cuts, no center tear, no peek, no counting, no secret writing, no sleights, no weird procedure, no complex maths or logic or convoluted stuff, etc.
• All you need is a normal borrowed newspaper. No gimmicks, no other props, cards, swami, pens, etc. Nothing else, except ...you... and the secret.

Some nice easy effects based on a rather recent force that is already widely known among mentalists. Some new ideas, some old ones probably, but most importantly, some new ideas for predictions and presentations, that make sense (and can be used for other forces).

CONTENTS

• The FULL FORCE and HALF FORCE
• Properties
• Effects:
  • "Elephant": A spectator as mind reader plot.
  • "Influencing images": An influence plot.
  • "1 Chance in 1000": A prediction plot.
  • "Confabulation": A confabulation plot "à la Schroedinger".
  • "1 Chance in thousands": Another prediction plot.
  • "Unlock my phone, please!":...

Do you think people really care if you find a coin is heads, or in their left hand?? They rather are impressed if you guess their secrets or if they lie.

Intro/Basic effect: You meet a complete stranger. They think of somebody, or something, or a place you can not possibly know. Anything. And then, they think of a secret, a statement about this person, this object or this place that is either true or false. You (or the audience) will then ask only one question, not related to the statement, and will know instantly if the statement is true or not.

Heads or Tails: You find out if they lie...

This ebook is an exploration of a clever principle rarely used by mentalists or magicians, and probably known by just a few. It can use four to a dozen of flat objects (that can be borrowed): cards, jumbo cards, business cards, index cards, coasters, postcards, banknotes, photographs, billets, lottery tickets, coupons, poker chips, etc.

Effect (Example)

You can have your back turned:

You show a number of postcards, for instance, with different cities or countries. The spectator mixes them and puts the one she prefers, on the table. Then, she is instructed to put the other ones on top...