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Nick Conticello

Nick Conticello

(1955 - 19. February 2020)

Chess master, teacher, organizer, and author. Also author of books on card magic.

Started magic at age 7. At age 16 had two effects accepted for the seventh volume of the Tarbell Course in Magic and also learned the moves of chess. Abandoned magic for chess by age 17. Joined Marshall Chess Club as assistant manager in 1984. Board of Governors 1988-1994. US Master title 1989. Joined Manhattan Chess Club as assistant manager 1989. Named Chief Tournament Director 1994. Manhattan Chess Club Board of Directors 1994-2002. Named USCF Organizer of the Year (jointly with Manhattan Chess Club) 1996.

Published numerous articles in the magazine Chess Life 1997-2002. Won two Chess Journalists of America awards for historical piece on Manhattan Chess Club in 2003. Returned to magic by joining IBM Ring 26 in 2004. Also resumed chess tournament career. Best results: (all U-2200 sections) 2nd, National Congress 2004, 3rd, Foxwoods 2005 and 2007. Retired from tournament chess in 2007.

Assistant Manager (again!) at Marshall Chess Club 2005-2008. With IM Yury Lapshun, wrote two chess books for Everyman Press 2008-2009. Joined SAM Parent Assembly in 2012.

[Photo shows Barbara Greenfader, daughter of Lenny Greenfader with Nick Conticello. Carrington (Ace) Greenfader took the photo.]

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Nick Conticello
Routine Mentale Impromptu (Italian) by Nick Conticello

Il collaboratore del Tarbell Course Nick Conticello segue il suo debutto "Il posizionamento fantasma" con altri tre nuovi effetti sensazionali che richiedono solo un normale mazzo di 52 carte per esibirsi. È necessario un piccolo maneggio; includiamo The Widdershins Cut, un falso taglio efficace e semplice. I contenuti includono:

1. THOUGHT CAUGHT: un mazzo non preparato viene mischiato dall'esecutore e tagliato dallo spettatore. Vengono distribuite due pile di carte. Lo spettatore pensa a una carta in una delle pile e disperde lui stesso la selezione nel mazzo. L'esecutore scorre rapidamente...

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Nick Conticello
Tri-Unison (Italian) by Nick Conticello

3 predizioni, 2 metodi, 1 effetto sensazionale!

Effetto: l'esecutore rimuove tre carte da un mazzo mescolato e le lascia in una pila a faccia in giù sul tavolo. Spiega che queste carte sono gemelle di carte che saranno selezionate da due spettatori e da lui stesso. I due spettatori scelgono i numeri liberamente e le carte in quelle posizioni vengono messe in una pila separata sul tavolo. Il mago offre al pubblico una scelta di due numeri diversi per le sue carte. Qualunque sia la scelta, l'esecutore conta fino a quella carta e la mette in cima alle prime due selezioni. Uno spettatore...

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Nick Conticello
Il Principio Generale by Nick Conticello

Il Principio Generale consente di posizionare segretamente una selezione libera in una posizione qualsiasi nel mazzo. Lo fa con l'aiuto di due carte chiave. La vera forza e novità di questo principio è che nei momenti cruciali lo spettatore è libero di tagliare il mazzo, il che rende impossibile che la selezione finisca in una posizione predeterminata - ma lo fa.

Forse il miglior uso di questo principio è per gli effetti di tipo ACAAN, come dimostra lo stesso Nick Conticello nel suo effetto SODACAAN. Con questo principio è possibile posizionare una selezione sconosciuta in una posizione...

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Nick Conticello
TOCATON (Italian) by Nick Conticello

Cos'è un TOCATON?

TOCATON, la parola, è un acronimo per "thought-of-card at thought-of-number". La parola fu coniata da Nick Conticello per descrivere il suo nuovo approccio all'effetto classico di David Berglas (ACAAN, Any Card At Any Number). Nick crede che la parola descriva al meglio il suo effetto, perché egli limita la scelta delle carte e dei numeri. Ma i suoi approcci hanno il virtuosismo della velocità di presentazione e della mancanza di set-up e preparazioni del mazzo. Come molti dei suoi lavori, anche TOCATON può essere eseguito impromptu.

TOCATON, l'e-book, contiene 4...

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Nick Conticello
The ACAAN Experience (Italian) by Nick Conticello

L'autore e collezionista Doug Edwards dopo aver visto la performance ha detto: "Questo è il miglior ACAAN impromptu che abbia mai visto!"

Se avete sempre voluto eseguire una versione impromptu della versione classica di David Berglas, ma non avete mai trovato una soluzione, gioite! In questo eBook, Nick Conticello vi offre la sua collezione di ACAAN Impromptu.

Ogni versione dell'effetto di Nick (CAAN-Fluence) inizia da una medesima premessa ma utilizza tecniche diverse ogni volta per piazzare una carta scelta a una posizione qualunque del mazzo. Tutto scelto dallo spettatore, in un mazzo...

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Nick Conticello
Il Posizionamento Fantasma by Nick Conticello

Qui imparerai diverse straordinarie routine di carte senza abilità di mano che si basano su un principio che, sebbene non nuovo, viene portato alla ribalta da Nick Conticello. Usando questa idea ha creato straordinarie routine di carte che non richiedono "sleight of hand". Tuttavia, qualche falso taglio occasionale o falsi miscugli possono migliorare notevolmente questi effetti. Nick insegna un efficace falso taglio, il Widdershins Cut. All'interno troverete:

  • La 23a carta
  • La 28a carta
  • The Shadow Divination
  • The Widdershins Cut
  • Le tre previsioni
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Nick Conticello
Posizionamenti Automatici by Nick Conticello

Il collaboratore del Tarbell Course, Nick Conticello, è tornato con il suo libro più grande e migliore di sempre, una serie di nuove e rinfrescanti interpretazioni di quel venerabile principio di magia matematica delle carte, il Posizionamento automatico. Nick introduce nuove varianti del principio con il posizionamento invertito e il posizionamento simmetrico. Nessun gioco di prestigio è richiesto per QUALUNQUE di questi effetti! I contenuti includono:

ABC / 123: Alex Elmsley's Spell by the Numbers senza il faro shuffle.

ORACOLO CIECO: senza vedere la faccia di una singola carta, l'esecutore...

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Nick Conticello
The Cerebral Approach: Book Six: Lucky Locator by Nick Conticello

Nick Conticello wraps up his latest series with an effect which will amaze laypeople and fracture magicians!

Working with a shuffled, borrowed deck, the performer looks through it to find a "lucky locator card." After some shuffling a volunteer cuts the pack, counts off ten cards and thinks of one, then buries the counted cards in the deck and cuts it. The performer runs through the deck and takes out the lucky locator. He begins describing the locator to the person who selected the card. Sometimes he's lucky and the locator card is the selection. Sometimes he's not, so he spells out a phrase...

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Nick Conticello
Sleightly Cerebral 1 by Nick Conticello

Nick Conticello is proud to celebrate the fourth anniversary of his debut here at Lybrary.com with the release of the first ebook of a new series, Sleightly Cerebral. This first book is devoted to a rethinking of the classic Do-As-I-Do card effect.

From the Foreword:

Welcome to the first episode of a new series, Sleightly Cerebral. As you might surmise from the crude humor of the title, these books will explain effects that employ sleight-of-hand, while continuing the vision of the material in The Cerebral Approach. Generally each volume will explore one or two simple but under-utilized sleights while frequently...

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Nick Conticello
The Cerebral Approach: Book Five: Twin Killing by Nick Conticello

Problem: To divine or locate two cards that are merely thought of by two persons.

This effect has intrigued me for many years. I've published several approaches in the past ("Think Stop" in Automatic Placements, "Talons of the Hawk" and "Talons of the Bat" in Potpourri 2, to cite a few) but these tricks smack openly of mathematics. They lack the directness of selection and revelation I would deem ideal.

Two classic but widely divergent approaches are Ed Marlo's "Double Thought, Single Deck" and Simon Aronson's "Simon-Eyes." Recently, I combined Marlo's basic premise with a concept of Aronson's and a hitherto unpublished key card...

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Nick Conticello
The Cerebral Approach: Book Four by Nick Conticello

Two locations based on a unique method.

No Mean Card Trick

Effect: From an unprepared pack he has just shuffled and cut, a spectator counts out ten cards and thinks of one. He buries the packet in the deck himself. The performer cuts the pack and deals out a 5x4 face-up array. He asks the spectator to think "yes" if his card is in the array. The performer confirms the card is on the table. Next the performer asks the spectator to concentrate on which horizontal row his card is in. After some effort, the performer discards the other three rows correctly. Finally, the spectator is asked...

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Nick Conticello
The Cerebral Approach: Book Three by Nick Conticello

New Century Pairs Re-Paired

  • Introduction
  • Chapter 1: A Bit of History
  • Chapter 2: Judah's Mutus Nomen (S.J. Mutus Dedit Trick)
  • Chapter 3: Thoughts on the Classical Effect
  • Chapter 4: Third Person Singular: 30 cards in play, 3 selections. After the Judah shuffle, top ten cards are put aside and the rest laid out. Performer reveals the third card without seeing any of the faces.
  • Chapter 5: There Are No Words: The basic effect with no code words, just a modified shuffle and a few simple arithmetical rules.
  • Chapter 6: Poker Four-ay: 20 cards, 4 selections by four different people. All four indicate...
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Nick Conticello
The Cerebral Approach: Book Two by Nick Conticello

Novel Concepts with Key Cards. No sleight-of-hand is needed for any of these effects. Ideal for both magicians and mentalists.

Imagine taking a borrowed, shuffled, incomplete deck, mixing it a bit yourself, and offering it to a volunteer for a cut. The volunteer then cuts each half separately, chooses a card from one half, and buries it in the pack himself. Yet despite these difficult conditions, you are able to locate the selected card with absolute certainty. That is the premise of this ebook.

The Straddle Key concept is a breakthrough in key card theory. I have tested this material...

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Nick Conticello
The Cerebral Approach: Book One by Nick Conticello

Notes on the 18 Card Trick.

Nick Conticello starts a new series of ebooks on sleightless magic with a new take on the venerable 27 Card Trick. A card merely thought of by a volunteer is revealed at a position the volunteer requests at the start. This method uses just 18 cards and needs no complex formulas or tables, just a few simple rules. Besides the basic effect, Nick adds a presentation that elevates this item from a mere puzzle to a great card effect.

1st edition 2017, 11 pages.

$30
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Nick Conticello
Potpourri Bundle by Nick Conticello

A collection of sleightless often mathematically based tricks and routines bundling three of Nick Conticello's ebooks.

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Nick Conticello
Australian Aces by Nick Conticello

This e-book offers three similar effects all based on a singular premise.

1. Australian Aces: The performer casually shuffles a pack of cards, then hands it to a volunteer. The performer need not touch the cards for the duration of this feat. The volunteer cuts off roughly a quarter of the pack. The volunteer names any Ace freely. He spells its name and gives the packet an Australian Shuffle. The last card he holds is the Ace he named! The volunteer now spells the word 'Ace' and the Ace matching the color of the named Ace turns up. Finally the volunteer spells the suit of the named Ace and...

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Nick Conticello
Potpourri 3 by Nick Conticello

A Further Collection of Impromptu, Sleightless, Mathematical Tricks

Nick Conticello is proud to present the third and final installment of the Potpourri series. Herewith is another collection of impromptu, sleightless, mathematical effects with cards. Each book has a theme, and this one is no exception. The entire ebook is devoted to what Nick calls the Australian Shuffle. (You may refer to it as the Down/Under Deal.)

The present work is concerned with three placement concepts. George Sands devised one in the mid-Twentieth Century. Nick published the second in Tarbell 7, and he is releasing...

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Nick Conticello
Potpourri 2: More Impromptu, Sleightless, Mathematical Tricks by Nick Conticello

After seeing several effects from this ebook, author and collector Doug Edwards said:

"The stuff you do with a shuffled deck and one or two key cards borders on the miraculous!"
1. TEN-IS MATCH: The performer removes ten matching pairs from the deck. These are mixed by both the performer and spectator and divided about in half by the spectator. Yet somehow all the pairs line up. Based on ideas of Howard Adams and Gene Finnell.

2. TALONS OF THE HAWK: Two volunteers each think of a card from a group of ten. The packets are lost in the deck by the volunteers themselves. The performer...

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Nick Conticello
Potpourri: A Collection of Impromptu Sleightless Mathematical Tricks by Nick Conticello

Author and collector Doug Edwards said:

"I know a good trick when I see one, and KNOW-ALL NEALE is a good trick! It's impromptu and direct. And I like A COUNT, A BILL as well. The divination of the three digits comes as a complete surprise. Two real winners."

Tarbell Course contributor Nick Conticello returns with a new selection of close-up magic designed to be performed for small groups of friends or acquaintances.

1. Know-All Neale: 3 coin divination with fourth coin kicker

2. A Count, A Bill: Based on "It's the Principle " (Bob Longe, Sept. 2001 Linking Ring) with bill used...

$20
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Nick Conticello
TOCATON by Nick Conticello

What is TOCATON?

TOCATON, the word, is an acronym for "thought-of card at thought-of number." It's pronounced "talk-a-ton." The word was coined by Nick Conticello to describe his new approach to the classic David Berglas effect "Any Card at Any Number." Nick feels the word is more descriptive of his effects because he does limit the choice of numbers and the choice of cards. But his approach has the virtues of speed of presentation and lack of preparation. Like most of his published work, TOCATON can be performed impromptu, with any reasonably complete pack of cards.

TOCATON, the e-book, contains four...

$30
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Nick Conticello
The ACAAN Experience by Nick Conticello

Author and collector Doug Edwards after seeing a performance said:

"That's the best impromptu ACAAN effect I've ever seen!"

If you have ever wanted to do an impromptu version of the David Berglas classic ACAAN but despaired of finding a workable method, rejoice! In his new ebook The ACAAN Experience Nick Conticello offers you four impromptu methods.

Each version of Nick's effect CAAN-Fluence starts from a single premise but uses a different technique each time to place a freely chosen card at a freely chosen location in a borrowed, shuffled, incomplete deck. None of these versions require any...

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Nick Conticello
Pyramid Prophecies by Nick Conticello

From the introduction:

This ebook is a bit of a departure for me. The material is mathematical, but it need not be performed with playing cards. It can be performed with pencil and paper close-up, or with a blackboard or a dry-erase white board in platform or stage settings. Thus it can be employed in situations when the use of playing cards would be inappropriate. However, I will describe these effects with playing cards as that is how I use them.

The basic idea is that the performer predicts the sum of a seemingly random array of cards or numbers. The spectator has quite a bit of control...

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Nick Conticello
Reveries by Nick Conticello

Here we offer three new approaches to Bob Hummer's classic Mindreader's Dream effect. A spectator merely thinks of a card and out of the performer's view deals some cards to impress the card on the subject's unconscious mind. The dealt cards are lost in the pack. The performer asks the spectator some questions, studies the subject's nonverbal responses, and slowly but surely names the thought-of card.

One method requires a small stack, the other two are impromptu. All use ordinary cards and no sleights. The deck need not be complete.

This item will be of interest to mentalists and card...

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Nick Conticello
The Catch-All Principle by Nick Conticello

[Note: If you purchase this together with Sunken Treasury: Part 1 and 2 and Sunken Treasury: Part 3, 4 and 5 you will get The Catch-All Principle for free. Discount is automatically applied in the shopping cart. Also applies if you have purchased the entire Sunken Treasury in the past.

The Catch-All Principle allows you to covertly position a free selection at a predetermined position in the deck. It does this with the help of two key cards. The real strength and novelty of this principle is that at crucial moments the spectator is free to cut the deck, which makes it seem impossible that the selection will end up at a predetermined position - but it does.

Perhaps the best use of this principle...

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Nick Conticello
The Art of Remembering and Placing Multiple Key Cards by Nick Conticello

In this little exposition Nick Conticello describes how he finds and places key cards for the various effects he has created.

1st edition 2015, 8 pages.

★★★★★ $25
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Nick Conticello
Sunken Treasury: Part 3 & 4 & 5 by Nick Conticello

IMAGINE:

  • Having two spectators write down two numbers, choose two cards, lose the cards in the pack and finding their cards at their numbers!
  • Letting someone cut a freely chosen card into the pack and knowing the card's location with just a glance!
  • Allowing a person to freely shuffle a pile of face up and face down cards, give you half the cards without you seeing them, and having your pile match his, despite touching your pile with only one hand for only a few seconds!
  • Losing the four Aces into the pack and finding them by cutting the pack, the last two at the same time!
  • Performing...
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Nick Conticello
Sunken Treasury: Part 1 & 2 by Nick Conticello

Tarbell Course contributor Nick Conticello is proud to release the first installment of a book he calls "a five-part meditation on one of the most powerful principles in card magic, the sunken key card."

Sunken Treasury Parts One and Two consists of fourteen effects based on essentially new concepts, material that is unlike anything you have seen before (unless you have seen Nick perform!)

Highlights include:

THE SLEIGHT-OF-MIND ROUTINE: A routine of three effects involving selected cards and a pair of Deuces.

MENTAL POLYGRAPH: A spectator thinks of a card and loses it in the pack herself. She...

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Nick Conticello
Automatic Placements by Nick Conticello

Tarbell Course contributor Nick Conticello is back with his biggest and best book yet, a series of refreshingly new takes on that venerable standby of mathematical card magic, the Automatic Placement. Nick introduces new variations of the principle with the Inverted Placement and the Symmetric Placement. No sleight of hand is required for ANY of these effects! Contents include:

ABC/123: Alex Elmsley's Spell by the Numbers without the Faro shuffle.

NO LOOKING ORACLE: Without seeing the face of a single card, the performer locates one mental selection and names another.

SELF-PROMOTION:...

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Nick Conticello
Tri-Unison by Nick Conticello

Three predictions! Two methods! One sensational effect!

Effect: The performer removes three cards from a shuffled deck and leaves them in a face down pile on the table. He explains that these cards are mates of cards that will be selected by two spectators and himself. The two spectators choose numbers freely and the cards at those positions are placed into a separate stack on the table. The magician offers the audience a choice of two different numbers for his cards. Whichever is chosen, the performer counts to that card and places it on top of the first two selections. A spectator turns...

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Nick Conticello
An Impromptu Mental Card Routine by Nick Conticello

Tarbell Course contributor Nick Conticello follows his debut The Shadow Placement with three more sensational new effects requiring only an ordinary deck of 52 cards and a clear head to perform. One sleight is required; we include The Widdershins Cut, an effective and simple false cut.

Contents include:

1. THOUGHT CAUGHT: An unprepared deck is shuffled by the performer and cut by the spectator. Two piles of cards are dealt out. The spectator thinks of a card in one of the piles and buries the selection in the deck himself. The performer scans the cards quickly, and removes one card, which turns out to be the selection. No...

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Nick Conticello
The Shadow Placement by Nick Conticello

Here you will learn several stunning sleight-less card routines which are based on a principle that while not new, already Alex Elmsley and others before him have explored it, is brought to new prominence by Nick Conticello. Using this idea he has created stunning card routines that require no sleight of hand. Nevertheless, the occasional false cut or false shuffle can greatly enhance these pieces. Nick teaches an effective false cut, the Widdershins Cut.

  • The 23rd Card
  • The 28th Card
  • The Shadow Divination
  • The Widdershins Cut
  • The Three Predictions

1st edition 2014, 16 pages.

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