This series of Openers & Closers (#1 and #2) have been selling like wildfire. Openers & Closers 1 sat at #1...and now, Openers & Closers 2 is #1 on the Hot List.
Now...Openers & Closers 3 is the last e-book in this series...and probably the best one! The easiest to perform "magician-foolers" and ESP effects ever. What an arsenal. There are many photos and 3 videos included.
Openers & Closers are so crucial to every magician's repertoire, that they, literally, dictate how your audiences will perceive you as an entertainer.
1) The 21 Card ESP Trick - This effect will fool all magicians...guaranteed. It begins with a clever Marlo principle that Paul has taken to the top level. The spectator shuffles and deals out the 21 cards...face down, and yet the performer knows what the card is and where it is. How is this possible?! So clever...it will fool everyone ...and, yet, it's so easy to do...and the patter is hilarious.
2) Above & Beyond - Another magician-fooler. This easy-to-do trick combines three classics of magic - Further Than That, Lie Detector, and a "Spelling Bee" and takes everyone on a fun adventure. The patter is so cleverly constructed and so funny that your spectators will die laughing. This effect is one of the finest closers you could ever ask for.
3) VOODOO Reversal of Fortune - In Openers & Closers 2 Paul presents his "The Not So Invisible Deck" routine solving the inherent problems of The Invisible Deck...without using it. This routine does use the Invisible Deck...however this is Paul's own routine that is so clever...even magicians won't realize that you are using an Invisible Deck. Oh! Did I mention you do not have to know what the card is before the deck is removed from the case? Very, very clever...and so easy.
4) Reading A Thought - This ESP routine utilizes one of the cleverest magical utility items ever created. When you perform this routine...your spectators will be in shock. This is as close to reading someone's mind as you'll ever get. Paul provides some very clever ideas for making your performance as smooth as silk...you will use this effect. Most...if not all of the greatest mentalists, use this very inexpensive item.
5) Invisible Thread Ideas - This is a 5-page essay on how to use Invisible Thread, includes many tricks that you can use. Also, how to prepare for bad conditions, different lightings, angles, the different types and ages of spectators, and also what to look for, how to prepare for it, and what is your best bet for Invisible Thread usage. Use your thread!
6) See-Through Change Bag - Make your own See-Through Change Bag in 5 minutes for almost nothing. This easy-to-make design is clever. Even magicians will be fooled. Paul provides a beautiful ESP effect with this bag and gives ideas for you to be able create many other effects. This is superb ESP. Use it from close-up to stage.
7) Quickie Triumph - The magician explains how he always drops his cards while practicing and the cards are scooped up in a big face-up/face-down mess...and then he turns the cards just one time...and they're all facing the same way - well except for the selection. It is completely impromptu and you can use a borrowed deck. The easiest Triumph...ever.
1st edition 2017, 33 pages.
Reviewed by Michael Lyth (confirmed purchase)
★★★★★ Date Added: Tuesday 25 July, 2017Paul Lelekis writes a revue of OPENERS AND CLOSERS 3 on Rick Carruth site magicroadshow.com which Rick reviewed for the Magic Roadshow. I purchase most of my books in PDF format from two main sites this been the main one. So to encourage others to read, follow or just study this authors work all I can say the other revues do this work full justice so all I will say value for Money and usable material.
Well done to the author Paul for this contribution to the magic family of magicians.
Reviewed by Enrico Varella
★★★★★ Date Added: Tuesday 25 July, 2017Hot on the heels of runaway bestsellers of Part 1 & 2, Paul Lelekis astounds us further with legendary feats of legerdermain. This ledger of offerings focuses on effects that might just open/close your performing repertoire.
My yardstick of a useful magic book is how likely I am to use any of the effects, and how I might enhance an effect with a change in sleight, moment, and approach. And in his third and final installment, Paul still achieves that.
His mini-treatise on Invisible Thread Ideas alone, is worth it. As a former-thread worker, I found insights to how I can animate, suspend, and levitate objects without nagging suspicion. There are nice walk-around mentalism pieces that you can use, too. This includes his take on the 21 Card Trick that shifts from the anxiety-causing countdown into piles. Lelekis piles on the nitrous oxide tank and accelerates the trick to a more amazing mindreading ending. The Voodoo Reversal of Fortune is an ESP trick that departs from the version from book 2, however its construction lends a different impact. In Predicting A Thought, a prediction using a nail-writer makes perfect sense with a mentally selected card. A Quickie Triumph sets up for a rapid-fire unraveling of a deck in seeming disarray.
The four accompanying video clips explain clearly his preferred technique, and his motivation for using them. Once again, strong Openers and Closers establish stronger reputations for the magician.
Strongly recommended.
Reviewed by Roy Eidem
★★★★★ Date Added: Monday 24 July, 2017Paul Lelekis is a thinking man's, underground, full-time close up worker who makes his living entertaining in the real world, that is, lay people in a variety of entertainment environments. His knowledge & insight into creating magical moments is based upon his thinking, love, & knowledge of the art. My two favorite routines which will go immediately into my repertoire are Entertaining Voodoo Reversal & Fortune Quickie Triumph. Anytime I can find something I can use is money well spent.
Reviewed by Christopher Weber
★★★★★ Date Added: Monday 24 July, 2017Openers & Closers 3 is another wonderful contribution to the magic community from Paul Lelekis. As with the other books in his Openers & Closers series (highly recommended) the advice and "tricks of the trade" in the Introduction are worth the price of the book. Open without a trick! Yes, there are other options and here Paul explores the idea of “breaking the ice” with a timely or appropriate joke. Magicians, Entertainers, and Public Speakers have all found themselves in an awkward situation when introduced and here Paul gives some very useful first hand advice on turning the situation into something that is very comfortable for Everyone!
The effects within are all time tested engaging routines that demonstrate a number of useful moves that you can easily apply to not only these effects but to many other effects in you repertoire. Clear explanations with photos and videos included. The “21 Card ESP Trick” is a real gem, so don’t pass that one up! I enjoyed working through “Above & Beyond”, a great example of an effect that lets you totally concentrate on presentation and the funny patter since the moves are streamlined and not complicated at all. Some cool ideas and advice for using “Invisible Thread”, a great effect with an Invisible deck and a terrific “See-Through Change Bag” Construction Tutorial round out this quality book that you’ll be happy to own. As with all of Pauls’ books, you will without a doubt fine something here that you will use!
Reviewed by Rick Carruth
★★★★★ Date Added: Monday 24 July, 2017Triumphs, invisible thread, invisible decks, change bags, nail writers, and almost impromptu mental magic... it's all in Paul's OPENERS AND CLOSERS 3. This book has a very decidedly mentalism / mental magic flavor.. which was fine with me, as I love to mess with people's minds. Paul has also included videos and an abundance of photos in this edition, which is also fine with me, as I am a very visual guy. I suppose what I'm trying to say is... I thoroughly enjoyed volume 3 of the Openers and Closers series. Paul's writing ranks up there with the best of them, and his explanations ARE the best. The 21 Card ESP Trick alone is worth the price. I am very partial to effects that look like big dollar effects and perform almost automatic. I literally went to bed last night playing this effect over and over in my mind and imagining how my fellow magicians will react.
Thanks for another great deal.. Paul.