POOLBALLMIRACLES

Acollectionofhardhittingroutinesusinganormal ungimmickedpoolball

ByCraigPetty

Contents PAGE2Introduction PAGE3PoolBallMentalism PAGE7InTheCornerPocket PAGE10TheHardWay PAGE13TradeShowHustle PAGE17TrickShotChange PAGE19BlackEight;CornerWallet PAGE23PoolHallMatrix PAGE26InkToday,GoneTomorrow PAGE30ClearingTheTable PAGE333DPool PAGE378BallSandwich PAGE41EssenceTransposition PAGE44EssenceDeal PAGE48MentalDilemma PAGE53PsychicLighter PAGE58OtherIdeas PAGE60Credits

INTRODUCTION For several years now I have had a residency at a bar, which has a number of pool tables. When I first started at the residency I wanted to make sure that I wasperformingroutinesthatthepatronswouldrelateto.Everyonethatvisits thisbarisheavilyintopoolandIdecidedthebestoptionwouldbetodevelopa number of routines with pool balls. Over the years I have developed several tricksandeffectswithpoolballsallofwhichstartedoffbeingperformedinthis bar. Ihavefoundhoweverthattheseroutinesplayineverytypeofenvironmentyou couldimagine.Thegameofpoolisingrainedinpopularculturetheworldover. Peopleineverycountryeitherplaypoolorknowofthegame.Ihaveperformed these routines in corporate events, walk around fun days, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, weddings, private parties and more to every type of person imaginable. Whenyouareperformingmagicinthetrenchesyouneedtograbtheaudiences attentionstraightaway.Ifyoudonotdothis,yourjobwillbecomealotharder. Thebestwaytocapturesomeonesinterestistohaveagoodhooksomething that you say or do at the beginning of your performance that the audience can relatetoinsomeway.Thatiswhymagicwithpoolballsissocommercial.Many peopleknowwhatapackofcardsareandcoinmagicisverygoodaseveryone carriescoinswiththem.Howeveropeningyourperformingsetwithatrickwith apoolballissorandomyouraudiencewillnotexpectit.Wehaveallhadthat situationwhereyoupulloutapackofcardsandtheaudiencesays,Ah,Iveseen thatone!YourthinkingNOYOUHAVENTbutyoucantsaythatattheriskof coming across confrontational. So you have to carry on with your card trick hopingthatyoucanwinthemover.Openyourperformancewithaneffectabout poolandIguaranteethattheywillnottellyoutheyhaveseenitbefore. Iurgeyoutotrytheseroutinesintherealworldtorealpeople.Whetheryouare a hobbyist, a professional or a semi professional there are routines in here for you.Theseroutinesreallyarepowerfulbuttheonlywayyoucanfindoutisby performing them yourself. Dont allow them to sit on the pages without being tried,pickoneroutinelearnitandseehowitgoes. Ihopeyouhavealotoffunlearning,practicingandperformingtheseroutines.I have included some additional ideas at the end of the book so you can create your own routines as well. If you see me around at a convention or a lecture comeandsayhiandshowmewhatyoudevelopedsofar,Iwouldlovetosee. Finally,thanksforyoursupportIappreciateit. CraigPetty August2008

PoolBallMentalism Effect Themagiciantellstheaudienceheisgoingtoshowthemthedifferencebetween magicandmentalism.Abusinesscardwithapredictionisplacedtoonesideand then 6 cards are introduced with different pool balls drawn on them. The spectatorfreelyselectsanyoneofthesixpoolballsandthemagicianshowsthe prediction, which correctly predicts the pool ball chosen. Following this the spectator signs the business card with the pool ball on and holds it. The magician makes the pool ball pop out of the business card and thespectator is leftholdingarealpoolballandasignedbusinesscardwhichisnowblank. Requirements 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.) 6.) 7.) ABlack8PoolBall ARed3PoolBall AStackofBusinessCards(theseshouldbeblankononeside) AnThickBroccoliElasticBand 6BlackFacedRedBackedPlayingCards APen APacketTrickWallet

SetUp 1.) On the 6 black cards you need to draw 6 pool balls. Try to draw the picturesasbigaspossiblesotheyfillthewholecardthiswillhelpmake theeffectplaytoalargergroup.Oneofthesepoolballsshouldbethered 3andanothershouldbeablack8.Onthebackoftheplayingcardswrite the numbers 1 to 6 in a thick black marker so again they will show up fromadistance.Thecardwitharedthreeshouldbemarkedontheback with the number four and the black eight should be marked with the numberthree.Oncethisisdonetakethesixcardsfaceupandplacethe red three on the face and the black eight second from the bottom. Therefore the order of the packet (face up) is Red 3, X, X, X, Black 8, X. Finallyplacethispacketintothepackettrickwalletandplaceitintoyour outerrightjacketpocket. 2.) PlacetheBlackPoolBallinyourouterrightjacketpocket 3.) PlacetheRedPoolBallinyourouterleftjacketpocket 4.) Youarenowgoingtopreparethebusinesscardsinordertosetupforthe outtolunchprinciple.Takeabusinesscardandcutitdownthemiddleso thatitisintwohalves.Ononeofthehalvesdrawablackeightpoolball and on the other half draw a red eightpool ball. These balls should be drawnaslargeaspossiblesotheyareclearlyvisible.

 5.) Take5ofthebusinesscardsandholdthemblanksidefacingdown.Now takeanother5businesscardsandplacethemontopofthefirstfivewith theblanksidefacingup.Nowtakeoneofthehalfcardsandplaceitball sidefacingoutontoonesideofthebusinesscards.Holdthisinplaceand taketheotherhalfcardandplaceitballsidefacingoutontotheotherside ofthebusinesscards.Wraptheelasticbandaroundthecardstoholdthe halfcardsinplace.Ifyounowlookatwhatyouhavesetupitwilllook like a stack of business cards with an elastic band wrapped around the middle. One side of the business cards will show a black eight and the othersidewillshowaredthree.Thisstackofcardsisplacedintoyour leftjacketpocketsothatyouknowwhichsideofthestackiswhich. 6.) Placethepeninaconvenientpocketforlater. Method Tell the audience you are going to tell them the difference between magic and mentalismandthatyouaregoingtousethegameofpooltoshowthedifference. Normally at this point I will talk about how pool is a great game to use in this demonstration because the game of pool is so random with thousands of possibleoutcomes.Havingsetupthepremiseoftheeffectbringoutthepacket trickwalletandtakeoutthepacketofcardsmakingsurethattheaudiencedoes notseethenumbersofthebackofthecards.Dealthesixcardsintoarowfrom lefttorightsothattheRed3isatpositionnumber1intherowandtheBlack8is atpositionnumber5.Whenthecardshavebeendealtoutplacethepackettrick walletofftothesideyouwillneeditlateron. Telltheaudiencethatmentalistsmakepredictionsandyouhaveapredictionof somethingthatwillhappeninafewminutes.Reachintoyourleftjacketpocket andbringoutthepacketofbusinesscards.BringthepacketoutsothattheRed 3sideisuppermost.Yourfingerscoverhalfofthepacketuptotheelasticband sothattheaudiencecannotseetheRed3atall.Telltheaudiencethatyouwrote thepredictiononthebackofoneofyourbusinesscardsandyoudonotwantthe audiencetoseewhatyouhavepredictedwhichiswhyyouarecoveringitwith yourfingers.Telltheaudienceyouwillplacethepredictiononthetableandget backtoitlater.Withtherighthandpickupthepackettrickwalletandcoverthe stackofbusinesscardsatthesametimeensuringthattheaudiencedoesnotsee what is onthere. Once the stackis coveredplace everything tothe sideinfull view.Fromtheaudiencespointofviewyouhavejustplacedastackofbusiness cardsofthetableandcovereditover. Younowdrawtheaudienceattentionbacktotherowofplayingcards.Explain thatyouwillgetaspectatortoselectapoolballandhopefullythepredictionwill match.Selectaspectatorandtellthemthatyoudonotwantthemtojustnamea poolballastheymighthaveafavouriteandthereforebeinfluencedsoinstead we will have one selected at random. Ask the spectator to name a number between 1 and 6, whichever number they name you will perform a different

action,whichwillresultinthespectatorbeingforcedtoselecteithertheBlack8 ortheRed3. 1If1isselectedcountthecardsfromlefttorightcountingaloud1,2,3, 4,5,6.Thentelltheaudiencethattheyselectednumber1andpointat thecardinposition1whichistheRed3 2If2isselectedcountthecardsfromrighttoleftcountingaloud1,2,3, 4,5,6.Thentelltheaudiencethattheyselectednumber2andpointat thecardinposition2,whichistheBlack8. 3If3isselectedtellthespectatortherearenumbersonthebackofall thecardsandturnallthecardsoveroneatatimeshowingthenumbers1 through6.Findnumber3andturnitovershowingthespectatorthatthe numbertheynamedcorrespondstotheBlack8. 4If4isselectedtellthespectatortherearenumbersonthebackofall thecardsandturnallthecardsoveroneatatimeshowingthenumbers1 through6.Findnumber4andturnitovershowingthespectatorthatthe numbertheynamedcorrespondstotheRed3. 5If5isselectedcountthecardsfromlefttorightcountingaloud1,2,3, 4,5,6.Thentelltheaudiencethattheyselectednumber5andpointat thecardinposition5whichistheBlack8 6If6isselectedcountthecardsfromrighttoleftcountingaloud1,2,3, 4,5,6.Thentelltheaudiencethattheyselectednumber6andpointat thecardinposition6,whichistheRed3. Oncethespectatorknowswhichpoolballtheyselectedgatherupthecardsinto apileonthetable.Pointoutthatyoucouldnothaveknowntheselectionahead oftimeandthenremindtheaudienceaboutthepredictionyoumade.Depending onthepoolballthespectatorchoseyouractionsalterslightly.Iftheypickedthe Red3allyouhavetodoislifethewalletoffthestackofbusinesscardsandthe audiencewillseeaRed3onthefaceofthepacket.However,iftheypickedthe Black8youpickupthewalletandstackofbusinesscardsand turneverything over which shows a Black 8 on the face of the stack. If this happens you then placethestackbackonthetableshowingtheBlack8.Thisturnovermoveworks duetothetimemisdirectionbetweenwhenthepredictionwasmadeandwhenit isrevealed.Eitherwayyouendupwithastackofbusinesscardsonthetable showingapoolball. Pick up the stack of business cards and explain that what the audience just experiencedwasmentalismbutyouwillnowshowthemwhatmagiclookslike. HoldthestackofcardsindealinggripandasinthestandardOuttoLuncheffect askthespectatorhelpingyoutosignthebusinesscardwiththepredictiononit. Ensurethattheysigntheothersideoftheelasticband,whichmeansthatthey are actually signing the blank card beneath the pool ball picture, however they

willassumetheyaresigningnexttothepoolball.Oncesignedturnthepacket over and using your right hand slide the signed card out from underneath the halfcardonthebottomofthepacket.Whenyouturnyourhandovermakesure thatyourleftfingerscoverthepoolballontheothersideofthestack,whichis whythestackwasheldindealinggrip.Onceyouhaveslidthesignedcardout place it on the table in front of the spectator and place the remaining stack of cardsbackintoyourlefthandpocket. Pickuptheplayingcardsandplacethembackintothewallet, whichwillreset the effect as long as you place them back in the correct order. If the audience selectedtheBlack8youwillnowplacethepackettrickwalletawayinyourright jacketpocket(wheretheBlack8ballis).However,iftheaudienceselectedthe Red3youwillnowplacethepackettrickwalletawayinyourleftjacketpocket (wheretheRed3ballis).Asyouareputtingthecardsawayaskthespectatorto cup their hands together. Asking them to do this will provide you with the misdirection you need steel out the pool ball and conceal it in your hand. The ball could be palmed in your right or left hand depending on the ball the spectatorselected.Oncethespectatorhascuppedtheirhandstogetherpickup the business card off the table with your free hand and transfer it to the hand palmingtheball.Thecardisheldbetweenthesideofyourforefingerandthumb effectivelyhidingthepalmedballfrommostangles.Nowbringthecardoverthe spectators cupped hands and with your free hand extend your forefinger and pushdownonthetopofthebusinesscard.Atthesametimeallowthepalmed ball to drop from palm position into the spectators cupped hands. When you allow the ball to drop do not open up your fingers, as this will telegraph what youaredoing.Insteadloosenthemusselsofyourrighthand,whichwillallow the ball to drop without any visible movement. When the ball drops the spectator will be shocked. Allow this moment to sink in and then turn the businesscardovertheshowthatthepictureofthepoolballasvanishedleaving justthespectatorssignature. Comments There are many advantages to this routine. Everything is reset for the next performance making it perfect for tablehopping. The premise is very compelling,asmostpeoplehaveheardofmentalismbutdonotreallyknowthe differencebetweenthisandmagic.Attheendoftheroutineeverythingisleftin thespectatorshandstoexamine.Inadditionitalsoleavesyourbusinesscardin the spectators hand, which is always good. Finally the visual of the pool ball fallingoffthespectatorssignedbusinesscardisgreat.

IntheCornerPocket Effect A blank card is shown to the audience and signed on the back by a spectator. Thisisplacedunderaspectatorshand.Acardisthenselectedfromadeckof cardsandshowntobea3ofDiamonds.Asecondspectatorsignsthiscard.The inkisthenvisiblyremovedfromthe3ofDiamondsandtransferredtothecard under the spectators hand. When the first spectator looks under his hand his signedcardisnowthe3ofDiamondsandthesecondspectatorisleftholdinga blankcard. Requirements 1.) ARed3PoolBall 2.) A pack of red backed cards (red backers will mean the spectators signaturewillshowupbetteronthebackofthecards). 3.) AMarkerPen 4.) ADuplicate3ofDiamonds 5.) ABlankFacedRedBackedCard SetUp 1.) Placethepoolballinyourleftjacketpocket 2.) Havethedeckofcardsinyourleftjacketpocket.Thedeckissetupwith theblankcardontopofthedeck,followedbya3ofDiamondsandthen therestofthecards 3.) Havethemarkerpensomewherehandy 4.) Placetheduplicatecardintoyourtoppocketbackoutwardssothatifyou tookthecardoutofyourpocketthebackwouldshowtotheaudience. Method Explaintotheaudienceyouaregoingtoperformacardtrick.Takethecardsout ofyourpocket,takethemoutthebox(placingtheboxonthetable)andshuffle thecardsensuringthatthesetupremainsontopofthepack.Onceyouhaveset upthepremisefortheeffecttelltheaudiencethatyouhaveaveryspecialcardin yourpocket.Asyouaresayingthisobtainapinkiebreakbeneaththetopcardof thepack.Withyourrighthandreachintoyourtoppocketandremovethe3of Diamonds. Without showing the face of the card place it on top of the deck whilst asking if anyone knows what the card might be. No matter what the answerisperformadoubleturnovershowingthecardtobeblankontheface. Allow this to register and then hand the pen to the spectator and ask them to signtheblankcardontheback.Performanotherdoubleturnoverandallowthe spectatortosignthebackofthecard.Theythinktheyaresigningthebackofa

blankcardhowevertheyarereallysigningthebackofthe3ofDiamonds.Once thecardissignedpickupthetwocardsasoneinBiddlegripinordertoblowon thebackofthecard(toapparentlydrytheink).Whatyouareactuallydoingis reinforcingtotheaudiencethatthesignedcardisindeedblank. Placethedoublecardbackontothedeckandimmediatelytakeoffthetopsigned card and place it on the table in front of the spectator who signed it. Ask the spectator to place their hand on the card. You now turn to a second spectator andtellthemthattheyaregoingtopickacard.Cutthepack(holdingabreak betweenthepackets)andperformariffleforcetothebreak.Whenthespectator saysstopcutthepacketatthispointandtellthespectatoryouwillshowthem thecardyoujuststoppedat.Performanotherdoubleturnovertoshowthe3of Diamonds.Youwillnowgetthisspectatortosignthebackofthe3ofDiamonds. Handthespectatorthepenandperformanotherdoubleturnoverbringtheback ofthecard(s)intoview.Havethespectatorsignthebackofthiscardandonce again pick up the double in Biddle grip showing the signed card is the 3 of Diamondsasyouapparentlydrytheink.Oncethisisdoneplacethedoubleonto thedeckandimmediatelythumboffthesignedcardontothetable. Take the remaining cards and put them into the card box and then place everything into your left jacket pocket. As you are doing this tell the audience you will attempt to transfer the red ink on the 3 of Diamonds off the card and ontothecardunderthefirstspectatorshand.Askthesecond spectatortocup their hands together and as they do bring out the pool ball palmed in the left hand.Pickupthesignedcardonthetable(whichtheaudienceassumesisthe3 of Diamonds) youre your right hand and transfer it to your left hand held in placebetweenyourthumbandsideoftheforefinger.Inthispositionmostofthe anglesarehiddenandtheaudiencewillnotbeabletoseetheball.Bringtheleft hand over the spectators cupped hands and as in the previous routine tap the top of the card with the right forefinger releasing the palmed ball at the same time, which will drop into the spectators cupped hands. After this production, turnthecardovertoshowthatalthoughstillsignedtheinkhasvanishedoffthe face.Telltheaudiencethatalthoughthislookslikearedpoolballitisactually the ink of the selected card (which is why there is a 3 on the ball). Tell the audiencethatyouwillattempttoputitontotheblankcardunderthespectators hand.Onceeveryonesattentionisonthefirstspectatorperformafalsetransfer apparentlyplacingtheballintothelefthandwhilstactuallyretainingtheballin the right hand. Bring the left hand over the spectators hand and push down showingtheballhasvanished.Youareholdingtheballoutintherighthandso drawallattentiontothecardunderthespectatorshand.Askthemtoturnthe cardoverandaseveryoneiswatchingthisdumpthepoolballintherighthand pocket.Themisdirectionyouhaveforthisisverystrongaseveryonesattention isonthetableandthespectatorssignedcard.Thespectatorwillturnhiscard overandshowthatitisnowthe3ofDiamondstoendtheeffect.

Comments. IfyouhaveaTopitsetupinyourjacketyoucanusethistovanishtheball,which meansthatyoucanshowyourhandsemptystraightafter.Theuseoftheballin thiseffectisinteresting.Insteadofbeingusedforaproductiontheballisalmost secondarytotherestoftheeffect.Inthisscenarioitisbeingusedtoshowthe audience when the magical moment of the ink travelling from one card to anotherisactuallyhappening.Additionallywithalittlethoughtthisroutinecan beperformedFASDIU(fromashuffleddeckinuse)justhavetheblankcardand the3ofDiamondsinyourtoppocket.Whenyouwishtoperformtheroutines cullthe3ofDiamondsfromthedeckyouareusingtothetopandthenwhenyou takethecardoutyourpocketholdthe3andtheblankcardasoneandplacethe card(s)ontopofthedeck.Youcannowgostraightintotheroutinebutwithout anysetupofanykind.

TheHardWay Effect Two different spectators select two playing cards. The magician tells the audience he will find the first card the easy way and the second card the hard way.Thefirstcardisfoundwhenitappearsunderthemagiciansshoe.Tofind thesecondcardthemagicianreadsthespectatorsmindandtellshimthename ofthecardheselected.Themagicianthentakesthepackofcardsandturnsit intoapoolball,whichmatchesthecardthesecondspectatorselected. Requirements 1.) ARed3PoolBall 2.) APackofCards SetUp 1.) Havethepoolballinyourleftjacketpocket 2.) Havethedecksetupwiththethreeofdiamondsontopofthepack.Place thedeckintoyourlefthandjacketpocket Method Tellyouraudiencethatmagiclikeeverythingcanbedonetheeasywayandthe hard way. Explain that you will show them the difference between doing somethingtheeasywayandthehardway.Bringoutthepackofcardsandhave thecardsshuffledretainingthe3ofDiamondsontopofthepack.Oncethecards are shuffled you are going to have two people pick cards remember them and thenputthembackintothepackwheretheyareapparentlylost.Whileyoudo this however you are going to force the second spectator to select the 3 of Diamonds (the first spectator has a free choice of card). When you have the cardsreturnedyouaregoingtocontrolthefirstspectatorscardtothetopofthe pack whilethe secondspectatorscard (the 3 of Diamonds) is reallylostinthe pack. How I perform the force is to use a classic force. I find this the perfect placetousethisforcebecauseyoubasicallyhavetwochancestomakeitwork. Sobrieflycutthepackholdingabreakbetweenthetwohalves.Asyouaskthe spectatortotakeacardspreadthroughthecards.Astheirhandapproachesthe deck spread all the way to the force card and they will be left with little or no choicebuttotakethatcardfromthepack.IfImissonthefirstspectatorIretake mylittlefingerbreakinthemiddleabovetheforcecardandrepeattheforceon the second spectator. If I miss with the first spectator I never miss with the second. Although this forcing technique works for me any force can be used whichwillleaveoneofthespectatorsholdingthe3ofDiamonds. TheprocedureIusetocontrolthecardsbacktothetopisverysimple.Ihavethe cardIwanttocontrolputbackfirst.Swingcuthalfthedeckintothelefthand

andhavetheselectionreturned.Thendribbletherighthandcardsontotheleft handpacketkeepingabreakbetweenthehalves.Ithendoubleundercuttothe break(bringingtheselectiontothetopofthepack)andina continuingaction cuthalfthepackoffwithmyrighthandinBiddlegrip(theselectionwillbeon topofthecardsheldintherighthand).Ithenhavethesecondselection(the3of Diamonds) replaced on the left hand packet and once again dribble the right hand cards onto the left hand packet but this time I do not hold a break. The forceprocedureandcontrolprocedurecanbemadeveryfairwiththiseffectas youareonlyforcingandcontrollingoneofthetwocards.Thereforethesecond selectioncanbereallyfairlookingwhichsellsthefairnessofthefirstselection eventhoughitwasaforce.Likewisethewaythesecondcardisreturnedtothe deck sells the fairness of way the first card was returned even though it was controlled. Nowexplaintotheaudienceyouwillfindthefirstcardtheeasyway.Asyousay thispalmthetopcardofthepackintorighthandclassicpalm.Oncethecardis palmedholdthetopofthedeckwiththerighthand,whichwillprovidecoverfor the palmed card. In a continuing action obtain a little finger break above the bottomcardofthepack.Askthespectatoriftheyknowwhythefirstcardisthe easyonetofind.Whatevertheiranswertellthemthereasonisyouhavealready founditanditisunderyourshoe.Assoonasyousaythis,theentireaudience willlookdownatthefloorandastheydoseveralthingsaregoingtohappenact once.Firstlyyouaregoingtobodyturntoyourleftsothattherightsideofyour body is facing the audience. Secondly you are going to lift your left leg backwardstowardsyourbottom.Yourrighthandisgoingtoapproachthesole ofyourleftshoeasthelegisliftedupandastheshoeandhandmeettheright handisgoingtopushthepalmedcardtothefingersasifyoupluckeditfromthe bottomoftheshoe.Asyouaredoingthiseveryonesattentionwillbeonyour feet and the card being produced. Their attention will not on your left hand, which gives you a huge amount of misdirection. You are going to use this misdirectiontoditchmostofthedeckandsteelthepoolball.Assoonasyour bodyturnstotheleftplacethelefthandintoyourleftjacketpocketandallowall the cards above the break to fall into the pocket. You will be left holding one card in your hand. In a continuing action pick up the pool ball under the left handcardandbringyourhandoutofthepocket.Althoughthisreadsasalotit onlytakesasecondtoaccomplishandeveryonesattentioniselsewhereanyway. Assoonasyouhaveproducedthecardfromundertheshoeturnbacktofacethe audience and hand the card to whomever selected it. The left hand is now holding just one card, which is covering a pool ball and masquerading as the entire deck. Do not worry about this situation; the last thing the audience is goingtothinkisthatyounowonlyhaveonecardandapoolball.Makesurethat youholdthesinglecardlikeitisafullpack.Therighthandcancomeoverthe cardsfromthetopaswellwhichprovidesmorecoverandmakesthecardlook even more like a full deck. Tell the second spectator that instead of physically findinghiscardyouwillreadhismindinstead.Lookdirectlyintohiseyesasif

reading his mind (this actually focuses the audiences attention away from the deck and up towards the spectators face). Using your best Derren Brown impressionannouncethatthecardthespectatorselectedisthe3ofDiamonds. Once the applause dies down ask the spectator to cup his hands together and bringthedeckofcardsoverhiscuppedhands(youarestillusingbothhandsto hold the pack therefore shielding all the angles). In one quick action bring the right hand fully over the left hand and take the single card into a right hand classicpalm.Inessencethiswillleaveyourhandscuppedtogetherwiththepool ballinbetweenthem.Inacontinuingactionmoveyourlefthandtotheleftand the right hand to the right allowing the pool ball to drop into the spectators hands. Everyones attention will be on this ball dropping and you have all the timeintheworldtoditchthepalmedcardintoyourpocket.Theproductionof theballissounexpectedandpowerfulthatnobodywillcatchtheditch.AfterI have read the spectators mind and told him his card I explain that it would be more impressive if I could find his card in the pack. I then tell him that I am lookingforaredthreeandafterIhaveperformedtheproductionofthepoolball Ilookattheaudienceandsay,thereyouarearedthree. Comments Thisroutineisarealworkerformeespeciallyinwalkaroundsituations.Iwill typicallyendaseriesofcardroutineswiththisroutineasaftertheclimaxfrom the audiences point of view there is no deck of cards therefore how can I continue.Thepoolballinthisroutineisusedtogivetheeffectanaddedkickat the end instead of being involved in the whole routine. This is the first time I haveseentheentirepackofcardsbeingturnedintoapoolball.Mostroutines involvethesurpriseproductionofapoolballbutthisroutinegoesfurtherandI thinkbenefitsfromthat. You do not have to have the deck preset with the 3 ofDiamonds on top. Most times when I perform this routine I will cull the three to the top as I am explaining the premise behind the routine. This way the routine becomes one youcanperformFASDIU(fromashuffleddeckinuse).

TradeShowHustle Effect Thisisaroutinethatisperfecttoperformatatradeshow.Theaudienceisasked if they have ever seen or used a magic eight ball, the sort you can get in a toy store,whichhelpspeoplemakedecisions.Themagicianthenshowsarealeight ballandtheaudienceistoldthisisarealmagic8ballthatwilltellpeoplewhat theyreallywanteveniftheydontrealisetheywantit.Aflatbagisshownand theeightballisdroppedinside.Thebagisthenclosedandgiventothespectator to hold. A packet of double blank cards is then shown and the spectator signs one and holds onto it in their pocket. The spectator is then asked to think of somethingtheyreallywantandthenopenthebagandlookinside.Whenthey look into the bag they find that the eight ball has changed into something that relatestothecompanyyouareworkingforatthetime(forexampleacoffeecup withthecompanylogo).Thespectatoristoldthatthisisbecauseeventhough theydontrealiseittheywanttodobusinesswiththecompanyyouareworking for. In order to facilitate this you tell the audience that you will give the spectatorthecompanysdetails.Whentheylookintheirpockettheyseethatthe cardtheysignedhasbeenprintedwiththecompanysdetails. History ThiseffectwasdevelopedseveralyearsagowhenIwasemployedbyagaming company to perform magic on their stand. They had promotional pool balls madewiththeircompanylogoonandIwantedawaytoincorporatetheseintoa routine.TheoriginalroutinethatIperformedforthiscompanywastochangean 8 ball into one of their promotional balls. The routines went down so well I looked into the cost of making up promotional pool balls for other companies that I was working for. The cost, however, turned out to be astronomical and therefore I shelved the idea. Then a few months later I realised that the ball couldturnintoanythingnotjustanotherball.Sincethentheroutinehasbeena mainstayofmytradeshowact. Inordertoperformthisyouwillneedtobealittlecreativewithregardstowhat youturnthe8ballinto.Dependingonthecompanyyouareworkingfortheitem youusewillbedifferent.ForexampleIrecentlydidanexhibitionforacompany that sells Rotary Lobe Pumps therefore I turned the 8 ball into a lobe pump. When I did an exhibition for a joke wholesalers I turned the ball into a big branded box of itching powder with their company details on. It could be as simple as turning the ball into a coffee cup with the company details on which mostexhibitorswillhave.Theoneruleisthattheweightoftheobjectshouldbe roughlythesameweightasthe8ballandthesizeoftheobjectshouldberoughly thesamesizeasthe8ball.Youdonotwanttoshowan8balltotheaudience andwhenitisdroppedintothebaghaveitdoubleinsizeandweight.Theshape of the object does not really matter as once the object is inside the bag the spectatorwillnothavetheopportunitytofeeltheshapeofituntiltheclimaxof theroutine.

Requirements 1.) ABlack8Ball 2.) 10DoubleBlankPlayingCards 3.) APacketTrickWallet 4.) A Flat Drawstring Bag. This needs to be fairly big. I tend to use an old changebag,whichIhadlyingaroundthehouse. 5.) Anitemfromthecompanyyouareworkingfor(asdiscussedinHistory). 6.) Amarkerpen(sothespectatorcansigntheirname) SetUp 1.) Ihavestickersmadewhenworkingatradeshow,whicharethesamesize andshapeasaplayingcard.Iprintthecompanydetailsontothesticker alongwithamarketingtagline.Youneedtotakeonofthesestickersfor thecompanyyouareworkingforandattachittooneofthedoubleblank cards.Placethiscardstickersidedownontopoftheotherdoubleblank cards.Thenplacethispacketofcardsintothepackettrickwalletandput thisawayintoouterrightjacketpocket 2.) Placethe8ballintoyourlefthandjacketpocket 3.) Place the marker pen into a convenient pocket. This will be used for whenthespectatorsignstheircard. 4.) Place the company branded item inside the drawstring bag so that it is rightnexttotheopeningofthebag.Thisneedstobeputwhereyoucan easilypickthebagupandgrabtheobjectinside,keepingithiddenfrom the audiences point of view. When I am working trade shows I will normallyhaveatabletomyrightwithanopenbriefcaseontop.Inside thecaseiswhereIkeepthebag.Fromthispositionitisveryeasytograb thebagandholdtheobjectinsidewiththesamehandthatisholdingthe bagkeepingithiddenfromtheaudience. Method The hook line for this effect is asking the audience if they have ever seen or playedwithamagic8ballbefore.99timesoutofa100peoplewillsayyes,ifnot youcangiveabriefdescriptionofwhattheydoandhowtheywork.Explainthat you have a real magic 8 ball that actually tells people their innermost desires eveniftheydontrealisetheywantthem.Takeouttheballandhanditoutfor examination.Asthisisgettingexaminedreachintoyourbriefcaseandremove thebagmakingsurethatyouareholdingitwithyourlefthand.Thethumbison theoutsideofthebagandthefingersareontheinsideholdingwhateverobject

youareusingagainstthesideofthebag.Inthispositionyoucanholdthebag veryfreelyanditwilllookempty.Therewillbenoperceivedweightinthebag astheobjectisbeingheldagainsttheside.Youcanevenuseyourotherhandto smackthebag(liketheeggbag)whichagaingivestheaudiencetheimpression thebagisempty.Ihavelecturedonthisroutineinthepastandhadmagicians askifthefactyoucannotshowthebagemptyisaproblem.Theanswerisnoat thispointnothinghashappenedyoudonotneedtooverprovebyattemptingto showthebagasempty.Aslongasyourgeneralattitudenoverballysaystothe audienceIhaveanemptybagyouwillbefine.Idonoteventelltheaudience the bag is empty I just introduce it and explain that I will be putting the 8 ball inside. Telltheaudiencethatyouwillplacetheballinsidethebag.Taketheballback withtherighthandandplaceitinsidethebagbutdonotletgowithyourhand. Atthesametimeallowthehiddenobjecttofallinside.Theaudiencewillassume this is the eight ball. Withdraw the right hand (keeping the ball palmed) and grab the bag with the right hand as the left hand pulls on the drawstring fastening everything up. The bag is currently acting as a wand substitute by holdingthebagwiththesamehandthatispalmingtheballitallowsthehandto appearnaturalandgivesmorecover,effectivelyremovinganyangleproblems. Askthespectatortoholdouttheirhandandhandthebagtothemmakingsure thattheyholditatthetopofthebag.Askthemtoholdithighintheairthisway theywillnotbetemptedtofeelaroundinthebagwiththeirotherhand.Asyou handthebagtothespectatoryourrighthandwiththepalmedballdropstoyour sideandoutoftheframeofaction. Oncethespectatorisholdingthebagtelltheaudiencethatyouhavesomething elseforthemtolookat.Reachintoyourrightpocketandbringoutthepacket trick wallet leaving the palmed ball in the pocket at the same time. It is importantthatyoutelltheaudienceyouaregettingsomethingfromyourpocket beforeyourhandmovesasthiswaytheactionofthehandmovingismotivated andnotsuspiciouslooking.Openthepackettrickwalletandtakeouttheblank cards.Telltheaudiencethattheyarejustblankpiecesofcardboardandspread throughshowingthemalltobeblank.Turnthepacketoverandspreadthrough the other side showing the other side is blank as well. Make sure you do not spread through to the very end else they will see the card with the sticker. Finallyturnthepacketoveragainsothatthestickercardisbackontopofthe packet.Explainthatyouneedthespectatortosignoneofthesecardsandthat later on it will become important. As you are saying this perform two quick doubleturnoversapparentlyshowingthetopcardisblankonbothsides.Hand the spectator the pen and ask him to sign the card with his free hand. As the spectatorneedstosignthecarditisagoodideatogethimtoholdthebagwith hislessdominanthandsonoreadjustmentisnecessary.Oncethecardhasbeen signed take it and without flashing the other side place it into one of the spectatorspockets.Asthisroutineisalwaysperformedattradeshows99%of menwillbewearingsuitssoIwilltypicallyslipitintohistoppocket.

Theremainderoftheroutineisallpresentation.Puttheblankcardsbackinthe pocket trick wallet and place it away. Tell the spectator to concentrate on somethingthattheyreallywant.Makesurethatyoubuildthisupanddontrush Icansayfrompersonalexperiencetheeffectofthetransformationofthepool ball in the spectators own hands is really strong. Finally ask the spectator to openthebagandtakeoutwhatisinside.Thisisquiteafunnymoment;therest of the audience always reacts when you take out some random object branded withthecorporateidentitythatyouareworkingfor.ItisatthispointthatItake theopportunitytogointoashortpitchaboutthecompanyIamworkingfor.For example if I was working for World Magic Shop I might say something like WhatsthataWorldMagicShopCoffeeMug.TobehonestIamnotsurprised, thismeansyoureallywanttodobusinesswithus.Letsfaceitwhowouldntwe are one of the leading magic dealers in the world, we have excellent customer service and a great track record. At the end of your pitch (almost as an afterthought) tell the spectator that if he really wants to do business with the companyyouareworkingforhewillneedtheircontactdetails.Smilethentell him to take the card out of his pocket that he signed. When he does he will realise that the company contact details are now on his signed card. When he showsthistotherestoftheaudienceyouareguaranteedtogetahugeroundof applause. Comments Thisroutineisprobablymyfavouriteroutinetoperformatatradeshow.Itisa fun routine with a load of audience interaction and really gets the message acrosswithoutrammingitdowntheaudiencesthroat.Thepremisebehindthe routineisalsoverycommercial.Everyonecanrelatetoamagic8ballandhas probablyusedoneatsometimesothismakestheroutineevenstronger. I have found that clients love this routine as well. It gets company branded merchandise out in front of prospective clients, their contact details end up in theirclientshandsanditisanexcellentleadinfortheirsalesstafftotakeover andsealthedeal.

TrickShotChange Effect Apackofcardsisshownandaplayingcardischosen(letsassumeitisthe2of spades)andthenlostinthepack.Themagiciangivesthecardsafancycutand tells the audience he has cut to the card. The card is shown to be the 10 of spades, which is wrong. The magician asks what the card was and after being told that it was the 2 of spades makes a black 8 ball fall visibly from the card. The magician tells the audience he has removed 8 spots from the 10 and that should fix things. The card is now shown to be the original selection, the 2 of spades. Requirements 1.) ABlack8Ball 2.) APackofCards SetUp 1.) Putthe8Ballinyourleftjacketpocket 2.) Setupthedeckofcardswiththe2ofSpadesontopofthepackandthe10 ofSpadessecondfromtop.Putthecardsinthecaseandplacethesein yourrightjacketpocket Method Takeoutthecardsfromthecaseandshufflethemretainingthetoptwocardsin position. You are now going to offer the spectator a choice of card whilst in realityforcingthe2ofSpades.Anyforcewillwork;Iwouldrecommendasimple riffleforce.Havethespectatorshowtheircardaroundandreassemblethedeck ensuringthatthe10ofSpadesstaysontop. Once the spectator has shown their card around swing cut half the cards into your left hand and have the selection replaced on top. This means that the selected card is being replaced onto the 10 of Spades. Dribble the remaining righthandcardsontopofthelefthandmakingsureyouholdabreakbetween thepackets.Younowneedtocontrolthebottompackettothetopsothatthe2 and 10 of Spades end up on top of the pack. Normally I will perform a classic passhoweverandcontrolwillworkincludingadoubleundercut. Telltheaudiencethatyouaregoingtofindtheselectedcardthehardwayusing yoursuperdupersleightofhandskills.Nowperformyourbestlookingfalsecut thatkeepsthetoptwocardsinthesameposition.Therearehundredsoffancy looking false cuts published and anyone reading this will have their own

favourite.However,fortherecordIperformaButterflyCut,whichlooksgreat andgivestheimpressionofrealskill.Telltheaudienceyouhavenowfoundthe selected card and perform a double turnover to show the 10 of Spades. The audiencewillwastenotimeintellingyouthatyouarewrong.Holdthisposition for a moment you want to ensure that everyone in the audience can see that youhavecuttothewrongcard.Afterasuitablepauseturnthedoublefacedown andtakeoffthetopcardofthepack(whichisnowtheselectedcard). Askthespectatorifyougotthesuitofthecardcorrectandtheywilltellyouthat youdid.Asyouaskthisplacetherestofthepackinthelefthandjacketpocket, leavethecardsthereandasyouwithdrawyourhandstealthepoolballpalming it.Dropyourhandnaturallytothesidesothatitdoesnotarousesuspicion.As this steal takes place you must be engaging the audience by asking them questions about their card. This will misdirect away from the steal of the ball. Eventuallyaskthespectatoriftheywilltellyouthenameoftheircardandthey will say it was the 2 of Spades. Act frustrated and tell the audience you were only 8 spots off getting it right. Then act like you have an idea and ask the spectatortocuptheirhandstogether.Transferthecardtothelefthandwhereit covers the palmed ball. Bring both of your hands up and over the spectators cuppedhands.Inonecontinuingactionbringyourrighthandupwardsandslam down on the card held in the left hand. At the exact same moment allow the palmed ball to fall into the spectators hand. As with previous routines do not movethefingerswhenyoureleasethepalmedballelsetheillusionwillnotlook asdeceptive.Fromthespectatorspointofviewapoolballasjustappearedfrom nowhere.Telltheaudiencethatyouhavejustknockedthecardsspotsoffand slowly turn the card over to show that it is now the 2 of Spades. Leave everythinginthespectatorshandstoendtheeffect. Comments Thisroutineisgreatinawalkaroundortablehoppingsituation.Itresetsalmost instantlyandcanbeperformedatanytimeinacardset.Itmakesagreatopener asitisveryvisibleandengagestheaudiencealmostimmediately.

BlackEight;CornerWallet Effect Themagicianshowsapackofcardsandtakesoutoneoftheblackeights.The audienceistoldthattheinkonablackeightisveryvolatileandtoprovethisthe magicianslapstheblackeightturningitblankandatthesametimeproducinga pool ball. This ball is then handed to the spectator and the now blank card is placedawayinthemagicianswallet.Anotherspectatornowselectsacardandit islostinthepack.Theeightballturnsinvisibleandissmasheddownontothe deckofplayingcards.Whenthemagicianrunsthroughthecardsfacedownone cardisshowntohaveablackeightprintedonthebackthespectatorscard.To finishtheselectedcardisnowtappedagainstthemagicianswalletandtheblack eight vanishes off the selection. When the wallet is opened the card inside is printedonceagain. Requirements 1.) ASmallHimberWallet 2.) APackOfRedBackedCards 3.) ABlankBackedEightofSpades 4.) ADuplicateEightofSpades 5.) AMarkerPen 6.) ABlackEightBall 7.) ARedDoubleBackedPlayingCard SetUp 1.) Take the duplicate 8 of Spades and place it into one side of the Himber wallet. Place this wallet into your inside jacket pocketmaking sure you knowwhichsideiswhichwhenyoutakethewalletbackoutagain 2.) Takethedoublebackedcardandononesidedrawablack8ball.Make the drawing look as good and as big as possible. This card is placed second from the face of the deck of cards so that if you are holding the pack face up the 8 ball side is facing down. Take the blank backed 8 of spadesandplacethiscardintothemiddleofthefaceupdecksothatthe eight side is visible. Therefore the order of the pack from the face is X, Double Backer Drawing Side Down, X cards, Blank Backed 8 of Spades, Remaining X Cards. Make sure that the regular 8 of Spades has been removedfromthedeck. 3.) Placethemarkerpensomewhereconvenient.Thiswill beusedlaterto havethespectatorsigntheirnameontheirselection

4.) Havethe8ballinyourlefthandjacketpocket Method Startoffbytellingthespectatorsthatyouaregoingtoperformacardtrickand thattheycanselectanycardexceptone.Asyousaythisremovethecardsfrom the case and hold them face up in right hand Biddle grip. Use the left hand to placethecardboxawayinyourleftjacketpocketandstealthe8balloutofthe pocket as the hand is removed. In one continuing action place the deck in the righthandintodealingdripinthelefthand,whicheffectivelycoversthepalmed ballfromtheaudience.Allthisisdoneontheoffbeat,fromtheaudiencespoint ofviewnothinghashappenedyet.Bythetimeyouhavefinishedsettingupthe premisethedeckwillbeindealinggripandthe8ballwillbehiddenunderneath it. Spreadthroughthedeckfaceupmakingsureyouspreadaclumpofcardsatthe beginningsoyoudontflashthedoublebackersecondfromtheface.Continue spreadingthepacktillyoureachthe8ofSpades.Upjogthiscardasyoutellthe spectatorthathecannotpickthe8ofspades,astheinkisveryvolatile.Offerto demonstrate and ask the spectator to cup his hands together. As this is being donestripthe8outandholditinyourrighthandattheinnerendofthecard betweenyourforefingerandthumb.Severalactionswilltakeplaceatonce.The right hand will swing upwards with the card and then swing back down again hitting the 8 onto the deck (which is now held by the left hand). The larger motion of the swing will hide the smaller motion of the forefinger and thumb turningthecardover.Youhavetomakesurethattheturnoveriscompletedas the right hand swings upwards. This will result in the blank side of the card facing the audience as the card comes downwards. The audience will not perceivethischangeuntilthecardhashitthedeck.Theillusionisperfectit looks just like the card becomes blank as it hits the deck. As the card hits the deckthelefthandreleasestheballintothespectatorshands.Aswithprevious routines ensure that the fingers of the left hand do not move as the ball is dropped.Combiningtherighthandandlefthandactionsmakesitlookjustlike aneightballdropsfromtheeightofspadesasitishitagainstthedeck. Havetheeightballexaminedandtelltheaudiencethatiswhytheeightofspades shouldneverbepicked.ReachintoyourpocketandtakeouttheHimberwallet openingitsotheemptysideisonview.Telltheaudiencebecausethecardisso volatileyouwillleaveitinyourwalletsoitcannotbepicked.Placethewalleton thetableturningitoveratthesametimesothatwhenitisopenedlaterthe8of spadesintheothersidewillshow. Pickupthedeckagainandholditfacedowninlefthanddealinggrip.Asyoutell the audience they are now going to get to pick a card double undercut the bottomcardofthedecktothetop.Thisplacesthedoublebackeronthebottom

of the deck. Spread through the cards and have the spectator take a card (obviously they cannot take the bottom card). Hand the spectator the marker penandhavethemsignthecard.OncethecardissignedstartaHindushuffle asking the spectator to say stop at some point. Try to time the shuffle so that they say stop somewhere in the middle of the deck. Have the selection placed ontothelefthandportionandplacethecardsremainingintherighthandontop ofeverything.Whatthishasdoneistoplacetheselectedcardinthemiddleof thedeckwiththedoublebackerontopoftheselection. Handthespectatorthecardstoholdandtelltheaudienceyouwillfindthecard inareallyuniqueway.Takebackthe8ballandholditintherighthand.Youare nowinapositionwhereyouhavetomakethe8ballvanish.Thissituationhas beendealtwithinanumberofroutinespreviouslysoyouwillrealisetherearea numberofoptions.Ifyouareconfidentwithyourfalsetransferyoucanpretend to place the ball into the left hand and palm it in the right hand. Then as you come forward towards the deck you can body turn and ditch the ball in your pocket. Another option is to use a topit and ditch the ball as you swing your hands together. Another option is to false transfer and as you go into your pocketforsomething(alighter,amagicwandetc)ditchtheball.Itisuptoyou which option you use the net result should be however that you slam the ball down on the deck of cards and as your hands hit the top of the deck the ball disappears. Most of the time I will use a topit as I feel this is the cleanest and most efficient way to achieve the desired result. From the audiences point of viewyouhavejusttakentheballtheyexaminedandmadeitdisappearintothe deck. Takebackthepackandspreadthroughthedeckfacedownuntilyoucometothe cardwithan8balldrawnontheback.Spreadthroughtherestofthecardsso theaudiencecanseethattherearenoothercardswith8ballsonthemandthen cutthecardssothatthe8ballcardisontopofthepack.Askthespectatorthe nameifhiscardandthendoubleturnovertoshowthatthiscardisactuallythe signedselection.Duetothedoublebackeryoucanimmediatelythumbthiscard off into the right hand and a back will show underneath. The spectator is convincedatthispointthattheirsignedcardhasapictureofaneightballonit. Focusallattentiononthesignedcard.Inormallyplacethedeckawayintomy leftpocketatthispointsotheaudiencedonotgetconfusedandlookelsewhere. Tellthespectatoryoucannotkeepthateightballonthebackoftheircardandso you will put it back where it came from. Focus attention on the wallet on the tableandthenhititwiththesignedcard.Waitabeatandslowlyturnoverthe signed card to show that the 8 ball has gone. Hand this card to someone to examine and let him see that the 8 ball really has vanished. Now for the final kickerslowlyopenthewalletandshowthattheblankcardthatwasinsidehas nowbeenreprintedwiththe8ofspades.Takethecardoutofthewalletandput thewalletawaytoendtheeffect. Comments What I like best about this routine is there is kicker after kicker after kicker. Every time the spectator believes the routine has ended they are shown that somethingelsehashappened.Itcomestoapointthattheaudiencearewillingto

believe anything as they have seen so many magical moments in such as short period of time. This alone makes the effect a great one to perform when you have a limited amount of time to show the audience a trick. So much is compressed into the one routine they will feel like they have seen more than they actually have. Due to the way that this routine starts it makes a great openingroutineandreallydoesmaketheaudiencesitupandpayattention.

PoolHallMatrix Effect A stack of business cards is shown to the audience. In full view the magician draws a black circle in each corner of the card, which he tells the audience represents black 8 balls. The spectator then signs the business card. The magicianthencausesthefour8ballstoassembleinthecornerofthecardmatrix style.Asakickerending,theballsaremadetovanishoffthecardandbecome realturningintoareal8Ball. History This was the natural extension of an effect of mine called BCM (Business Card Matrix) and makes a great routine especially with the final production. I have beenperformingthisforwellovertwoyearsnowandIhaveopenedmanytimes atatablewiththisroutineasitleadsverynicelyintoanyothereffect.Theidea of making the pictures of balls real is something I had been working on with a differentroutine,havingbeeninspiredbyaneffectinRichardsAlmanac. Requirements 1.) Astackofbusinesscards,whichareblankononeside. 2.) A Frixon pen (this is a special pen the ink vanishes when heat is applied to the paper it has been used on. It is available in most stationeryshops) 3.) Aregularpenwithdifferentcolouredink(Iusearedpen) 4.) Athickelasticband 5.) Alighter 6.) ABlack8Ball SetUp Firstyouaregoingtotakeoneofthebusinesscardsandcutitinhalf.Thishalf cardwillbethecovercardusedintheouttolunchprinciple.Nexttakeallthe cards (holding them in a landscape direction) and using the Frixon pen put 4 blankedoutcirclesintheupperleftcornerofeachcard.Thesecirclesshouldall beneatlyarrangedinalittlesquare.Nowplacethehalfcardoverthestackof businesscardshidingthecirclesyouplacedonthemandusetheelasticbandto holdthehalfcardinplace(asperthestandardouttoluncheffect). Younowhaveastackofbusinesscards,whichlookblankononesidewhilstin actual fact, have circles drawn on each one. Place this stack of cards into a convenientpocket.InanotherpocketplacetheFrixonpen,theregularredpen

andthelighter.Finallyhaveaneightballinyourrighthandjacketpocket. Method Tell the spectator you are going to give them one of your business cards but beforeyoudo,youaregoingtoshowthemaminormiracle.Takeoutthestackof cardsandpointoutthatonesideisblank.Holdthecardshorizontallyensuring thatthehalfcardisorientatedtotheleftofthecards.TakeouttheFrixonpen andopenlydrawfourblackedoutcircles,oneineachcornerofthebusinesscard when you are doing this make sure the circles you draw match in size and shapethecirclesyoupredrewduringthesetup.Showthecardtotheaudience sotheycanclearlyseethesituation.Nowtellthespectatorthatyouwantthem to sign the card as well. Go to hand them the Frixon pen and just before the spectator takes the pen, pull back and comment that it would be best if they signed in a different colour so that the circles stand out on the card. Put the Frixonpenawayandtakeouttheregularredonegetthespectatortosignthe card.Obviouslythespectatorhastosignonthecard,notthehalfcardandthey should not go over the circles. To be honest this is more a case of audience managementthananythingelse. Put the red pen away, turn the packet of business cards over and pull out the cardwiththespectatorssignatureon.Placetheremainingstackofcardsaway astheywillnotbeusedagainduringtheroutine.Youarenowgoingtogripthe card in a particular way which will allow you to flash the other side of the businesscardandgivetheimpressionthattherearestill4circlesin4cornerson thespectatorssignedcard.Todothis,turnthecardsothefaceistowardsyou thereshouldbe2circlesontherighthandsideofthecard,aclusterof4circles intheupperleftcornerandnothinginthelowerleftcorner.Holdthecardinthe left hand with the left thumb covering the entire left side of the card. Position thepadofthethumbsothatitcovers3ofthecirclesinthecorner(leavingthe circleattheextremeouterleftuncovered).Nowifyouflashtheothersideofthe cardtotheaudiencetheywillseetheirsignatureandacircleineverycornerof thecardexceptthelowerleftcorner(andtheywillassumethereisacirclethere aswell). IflashtheothersideofthecardasItelltheaudiencethatinordertomakethe magichappenIneedamagicwandIthenaskifanyonehasamagicwandthey can lend me. Obviously the answer will be no, at which point I explain that sometimesfirecanbeverymagicalandItakeoutmylighter.Holdthecardface towards you again and light the lighter, waving the flame over the side of the cardnearesttheaudience.Makesurethatyouwavetheflamearoundtheright side of thecard not the left side you want the circles on the right side of the cardvanishnotthecirclesoftheleftside!Thereisnoreasonfortheaudienceto suspectthatanythinghashappenedatthispoint,butinrealitytheeffectisover; the circles have gone from the each corner and there are four circles in the corner.Nextputthelighterawayandaskthespectatortoholdtheirhandout. Placethecardfacedownintothespectatorshandandaskthemtoconcentrate onmovingtheink.Afterbuildinguptheeffect,askthespectatortoturnthecard intheirhandoverandlookatit.Theywillbesurprisedtoseethecircleshaveall

assembledinthecorner. Reachintoyourpocketandtakeoutthelighteragainandheatupthecardonce more,sothattheremainingcirclesmeltawayaswell(obviouslyyoudonotshow this to the audience just yet). Your motivation for doing this is you tell the audienceifyouheatupthecardsomemoretheballswillmoveevenfurther.Put the lighter away and as you do palm the 8 ball in the right hand. Hold the businesscardfacedownintherighthand(whichwillhelptherighthandtolook natural) and tell the audience that even though that was a great trick it would havelookedevenbetterwithareal8ball.Luckilybeingamagicianyoushould be able to make the drawings of the balls real. Ask the spectator to cup their hands together under the business card and with the left hand forefinger push downonthebackofthebusinesscard.Atthesametimeallowthe8balltofall out of finger palm into the spectators cupped hands and immediately turn the business card over to show that it is now blank and the drawings of the balls havevanished. Toresetyouneedtogetthecirclesyoudrewonthehalfcardoff.ThebestwayI havefoundofdoingthisisbyusingtheotherendoftheFrixonpentorunthe circlesofthecard.YoucoulduseyourlighterbutIhavefoundthatthiscanleave scorchmarksonthecardsoIprefertousethepen.Assoonasthecircleshave beentakenoffthehalfcardthetrickisreset.Onceyouhavefinishedwiththe coinsplacethemawayinyourpocketagain. Comments To be honest I prefer this handling of the effect rather than the original BCM. There is something really magical when an effect is performed with drawings andthenthosedrawingsaremaderealasakicker.Itremindsmeinmanyways ofasceneoutofthefilmWhoFramedRogerRabbit?Theeffectisalsoagreat waytogiveoutyourbusinesscard.Thereisadiscrepantmomentintheroutine as there are four balls on the card and you only produce one real 8 ball. However, this is not an issue once that ball is produced that point is totally forgottenbytheaudience.

InkToday,GoneTomorrow Effect 8 cards are shown, four 3 of diamonds and four 8 of spades. These cards are alternatinginred/blackorder.Fourcardsaredealtontothetable,whichleaves fourcardsinthemagicianshands(stillalternatingred/black).Afterasecond the magician shows that now in his hand he has all the black cards and on the tablearetheredcards.Themagicianexplainsthatthetrickworksbecausethe inkonthecardsisvolatileandmoves.Inordertoprovethishetakestheblack cards in his hand and makes a black pool ball appear (apparently the ink) and shows that the cards are now blank. He then takes the red cards on the table makesaredpoolballappearandshowsthattheredcardsarenowblank.Heis leftwithallblankcardsandtwopoolballs. Requirements 1.) ARed3PoolBall 2.) ABlack8PoolBall 3.) 2BlankBacked8ofSpades 4.) 2BlankBacked3ofDiamonds 5.) ARegular8ofSpades 6.) 4BlankFacedCards 7.) APacketTrickWallet 8.) ABallHolder 9.) YouMustbeWearingaJacket SetUp 1.) Takethe4blankfacedcardsandlaythemfaceupontothetable.Ontop ofthispileplacetheregular8ofspades(againfaceup).Takethe4blank backedcardsandarrangetheminalternatingcolourorderred/blackwith ablackeightontheface.Takethispileoffourcardsandplacethemon topofthepileofcardsonthetable.Theorderofthispacketfromtheface is 8S, 3D, 8S, 3D (all blank backed), 8S, 4 Blank faced cards. Take this packetofcardsandplaceitinthepackettrickwalletandplacethiswallet insideyourrightjacketpocket. 2.) Placetheblackeightballintheinsiderightjacketpocket

 3.) Havetheballholderfittedtothebackofyourjacketontheleftside.This shouldbeplacedsothatthelefthandcanreachdownandstealtheball without fumbling. You will need to experiment with exactly where the ballholdershouldbeplaced.Insidethisholderplacetheredpoolball. Method Telltheaudiencethatyouwanttoshowthemsomemagicwithjustafewcards and take out the packet trick wallet, removing the cards. As you take out the cards you have to grab the ball in your pocket and drop it down your right sleeve.Thisballwillstayinthereuntiltheendoftheroutinewhereitwillfall downthesleeveintotherightpalmreadytobeproduced.Whenyoudropthe balldownyoursleevedonotfumbletrytomakeitonequickactionsofromthe audiencespointofviewitjustlookslikeyoureachedintoyourpocketforalittle wallet. The ball actually gets held under the armpit, although I know some performers hold the ball in the crook of their elbow. Either is fine and you shouldexperimentandfindthebestplaceforyou.Makesureyoudonotdrop yourrighthanddowntoyoursidetillyouarereadytoproducetheball.Keep the arm bent, if you drop your arm down the ball will make a much earlier appearancethanplanned! Explainthat you havea whole bunch of 8s and 3s and they alternatein order (do not mention exactly how many cards you have). Hold the cards face up in BiddlegripintherighthandinpreparationfortheHammondCount.Thiscount is used to apparently show that you have eight 3s and 8s by hiding the blank facedcardsattherearofthepacket.Todothisuseyourleftthumbtopullthe first card off the right hand cards into left hand dealing grip. Pull off the next card from the right hand packet onto the left hand card in the same way. Continuethisactionuntilyouhavepulledfourcardsfromtherighthandintothe lefthand.Asyouapparentlytakethefifthcardinthesamewayyouwillreally switchthepackets,takingallthecardsintherighthandintothelefthandand stealing the cards in the left hand back into the right hand. To dothis as your hands approach each other grip the right hand packet between the side of the leftforefingerandthumb.Theringfingerandthumboftherighthandgripsthe packetofcardsinthelefthand.Nowasyouapparentlypullthenextcardover takeallthecardsintherighthandintothelefthandanduseyourrighthandring fingerandthumbtopullthelefthandpacketbackintotherighthand.Tofinish offthecountpullofftheremainingcardsintherighthandoneatatimeontothe lefthandpacket.Theimportantthingtomakingthiscountworkistopractice the rhythm. Each card (including the switchof the packets) should be done at the same tempo. That way the switch will not look suspicious because it will blend into the overall counting procedure. Also do not count out loud as you execute the sleight instead just tell the audience that you have some cards and theyareinred/blackorderallthewaythrough.

 Turn the packet face down and count the top four cards onto the table on at a timeintoapileofcards.Theaudiencebelievethatthesecardsarered3sand black 8s however there are actually the four blank faced cards. Turn the remainingpacketofcardsoverandspreadthefivecardsoutasfourholdingthe lasttwocardstogetherasone.Thiswilldisplayblack,red,blank,redcards.As you display this spread of cards you are going to carry out a simple displacement,whichwillsetyouupforanElmsleyCountinaminute.Basically youaregongtoswitchthepositionsofthesecondandthirdcardfromthefaceof the spread. To do this place your left thumb on the card second from the face andholditinpositionasyourrightfingersunderthespreadshiftthecardthird fromthefacetotherightunderthefacecard.Youwillbeleftholdingtwoblack cardsintherighthandandtworedcards(withanextracardhidden)intheleft hand.Holdthispositionandsquareupthepacket.Theorderofthispacketof cardsisnow(fromtheface)8,8,3,3,8. Tell the audience that are going to try and make the cards jump and then perform some sort of action that means the magic has happened (snap the fingersetc).NowperformanElmsleycountshowingthatallfourofthecardsare black8s.ToperformanElmsleycountholdthecardsintherighthandpinched attherightside.Takethefacecardofthepacketintolefthanddealinggrip.As youapproachtotakethenextcardpushallthecardsintherighthandabovethe bottomcardtotheleftwiththerightthumb.Thelefthandnowtakesallthreeof thesepushedovercardsastherightfingersstealthecardinthelefthandunder the card remaining in the right hand. Now take the third card from the right hand onto the cards in the left hand making sure that you hold a little finger breakunderthiscard.Finallycountthelastcardontothepacketinthelefthand aswell.ThekeytothiscountisthesameastheHammondcountmakesurethat youarecountingeachcardatthesametempo.Thiscountwillshowallthecards inyourhandsareblack8sandatthesametimeleaveyouwithabreakunder thesecondcardfromtheface. Telltheaudiencethatobviouslyiftheblackcardsarealloverinyourhandthen theredcardsmustbeonthetablebutbeforeyoushowthemyouwillteachthem howthetrickworks.Asyouaresayingthiscutthecardsabovethebreaktothe bottom of the packet and then turn the packet of cards face down obtaining a breakunderthetopcardofthepackasyoudoso.Telltheaudiencethattheink on the cards you are using is volatile and as such can move from one place to another.Continuebysayingthatyoucanslowtheprocessdownandshowthem theinkleavingthecards.Askthemtocuptheirhandstogether.Assoonasthey do this you are going to use this misdirection to perform two secret actions. Firstlyyouwillexecuteahalfpassofallthecardsunderthetopcard(whichyou have a break under). A half pass is basically turning over a certain amount of cardswithouttheaudiencebeingaware.Inthiscaseyouaregoingtoturnallthe cardsoverunderthetopcard.ThebestplacetolearnahalfpassisCardCollege by Roberto Gobbi, however briefly your right hand holds onto the top card in

BiddleGrip.Asthisisbeingdonetheleftfingerspullallthecardsbelowthetop carddownswingthemoverandthenreplacethemunderthetopcard.Thereis a lot of built in misdirection with the spectator cupping his hands together, which covers this action totally. The second secret action you are going to performistodropyourrightarmtotheside.Thiswillcausetheball,whichhas beenlodgedinthearmpittofalldownthesleeveintothehandwhereitistaken into a palm. This should be done as the spectator holds their hands out. Immediatelyputthepacketofcardsintoyourrighthandcoveringtheballfrom all angles. The right hand and the left hand come over the spectators cupped handsandtheleftforefingerpushesdownonthetopofthepacketofcards.At thesametimetherightfingersreleasethepalmedballallowingittofallintothe spectatorshand.Aswithalltheotherroutinesdonotmoveyourfingerswhen releasingtheball,insteadallowittofallbyrelaxingyourhand.Asthespectator islookingattheballtellhimthatisrepresentstheinkontheplayingcards.To provethisturnthepacketofcardsoverandspreadthroughthem(holdingthe lasttwotogetherasone)todisplayfourblankplayingcards. Placetheblankcardssquaredupontothetableinapileblanksideshowingand as everyone is looking at the 8 ball steel the other pool ball from under your jacket.Duetotheballholderthisisverysimple,allyouhavetodoisdropyour handtothesideandtaketheballdirectlyintoalefthandpalm.Youhaveallthe misdirection in the world as everyone is looking at the black 8 ball you just produced.Askanotherspectatortoholdtheirhandsoutandtelltheaudienceit is harder to slow down the red ink but you will try. Pick up the cards off the tablewiththerighthandandtransferthemintothelefthand,whichwillcover thepalmedball.Bringyourhandsoverthespectatorscuppedhandsandrepeat theactionsyouperformedduringthefirstproductiontoproducethesecondball. The only difference here is that the actions are reversed the ball is being droppedfromlefthandpalminsteadofrighthandpalm.Afterthesecondballas beenproducedslowlyturnthecardsinyourhandsovertoshowthatthesecards arealsoblank.Youcanactuallyleavethesecardsinthespectatorshandsasthey canbeexaminedwhichindirectlysaystotheaudiencethatallthecardscanbe examined. Comments Thisroutineisverystrong.Whenthefirstproductionhappenstheyarestunned but when you produce the second ball the audience will have no clue what to think!Ialsolikethatthereisalesspowerfuleffect(theredblackseparation), whichsetsupthestrongerfinish.Ialsotelltheaudiencethattheredcardsare onthetablebutnevershowthem.Thisisnotaproblem;iftheyreallybelieve thattheblackcardsareinyourhandofcoursetheywillbelievetheredcardsare onthetable. Ifyoudonotwishtouseaballholderyoucanplaceoneballinonesleeveand anotherballintheothersleeve.Thiswayyoucandroptherighthandballfirst and then the left hand ball. I have played with this approach and prefer a ball holderasIfindholdingouttwoballsinmysleevescanbealittleconstricting.

FinallyinsteadofusingapackettrickwalletyoucanuseaHimberwallet.This wayyoucanputthecardsawayattheendoftheroutineandifpeoplewantto lookatthemswitchthemoutfor8blankcards.PersonallyIdonotbother,asthe productionof the balls is so strong theaudience does not care about the cards anyway.Plusashalfthecardshavebeenleftwiththespectatoranywaytheyfeel everythinghasbeenexamined.

ClearingtheTable Effect Themagiciantellstheaudienceaboutthetimehewasplayingpoolandcleared thetable.AJokerisplacedonthetabletorepresentthecornerpocket(whereall the balls were sunk). Three other cards areshown andsmall post it notes are stuckontothebackofeachofthesecards.Agreenballisdrawnonthefirstpost itnote,ablueballonthesecondpostitnoteandaredball onthethirdpostit note.Thesecardsaredealtoutfaceupintoarowonthetable.Theaudienceis toldthatthethreecardsrepresentthelastthreeballsonthetable.Themagician thenpointsoutthathecheatedwhenplayingthegameandusedmagic.Asway of explanation the magician makes the post it notes vanish off the back of the three cards and when the Joker is turned over all three post it notes are now stuck to the back of it. The magician then points out that the Black 8 was the hardestballtopotbutthatwasdoneaswell.Inordertoprovethisthemagician magicallyproducesarealeightballfrombetweenthecardstoendtheeffect. Requirements 1.) Asmallpostitnotepad 2.) AThickRedMarkerPen 3.) AThickGreenMarkerPen 4.) AThickBlueMarkerPen 5.) 3DoubleBackedPlayingCards 6.) APackofPlayingCardstoMatchtheDoubleBackers 7.) ABlack8PoolBall SetUp 1.) Drawalargebluecircleononepostitnote,alargeredcircleonasecond post it note and a large green circle on a third post it note. Place these threepostitnotesonthebackoftheJokerandplacethisintothemiddle of the pack of cards. Ensure that you remove the other Joker from the decksothatyoudontgetconfusedduringtheroutine 2.) Placethethreedoublebackedcardsontopofthefacedowndeck.Place thesetupdeckintothecaseandputthecaseintoyourinnerleftjacket pocket 3.) Placethepoolballintoyourinnerleftjacketpocket 4.) Havethepostitnotepadandthreedifferentcolouredmarkerpensina handypocketsotheygetaccessedduringtheroutine.

 Method Reachintoyourinnerleftjacketpocketandtakeoutthepackofcards.Asinthe previousroutineasyoutakeoutthecardstakethepoolballanddropitdown your left sleeve holding it out in either the crook of the elbow or under the armpit. Take the cards from the case and spread them face up allowing the spectatorstoseethatitisaregularpackofcards.Setuptheeffectbytellingthe spectators about the time you cleared the table in a game of pool. As you are saying this up jog the Joker and tell the spectators that it will represent the cornerpocketwhereyoupottedthelastthreeballsofthegame.TaketheJoker outthepackbeingcarefulnottoflashthebackofthecard(youdonotwantthem toprematurelyseethepostitnotesonthebackofthecard).HoldtheJokerin your right hand and use your left hand to flip the deck face down into dealers grip.PlaceJokerfaceupontothedeckandwhiledoingthisobtainalittlefinger breakunderthetopcardofthepack(adoublebacker).Thismeansthatyouwill havealittlefingerbreakundertwocards.AsyoupatterabouttheJokerperform twoquickdoubleturnoversflashingtheapparentbackoftheJokerandending withtheJokerfaceup.ThumbofftheJokerandplaceitfaceuponthetablein frontofyou. Nexttelltheaudiencethatyouneedthreecardstorepresentthelastthreeballs in the game. Spread the cards face down and have a card touched by the spectator.Upjogthiscardandflipitfaceupontothedeckcatchingalittlefinger breakundertheoriginaltopcardatthesametime(thereforesettingyouupfora double lift). Perform a double turnover apparently turning the selection face downandstickapostitnoteontothebackofthecard.Inormallyhandthepost itnotepadtothespectatorandaskthemtohandmeoneofthenotes.Oncethe note is in place take the red marker and draw a circle onto it. Make sure that whenyoudrawthecirclesinperformancetheylookassimilaraspossibletothe ones that were pre drawn. Perform another double turnover and deal off the cardfaceupontothetableplacingitabovethejokeralreadythere.Theaudience willassumethatthishasapostitnotestickeronthebackhoweverreallythereis nothingthere.Telltheaudienceyouneedanotherplayingcardandasyousay thisdoubleundercutthetopcard(thedoublebackedcardwiththepostitnote ononeside)tothebottomofthedeck.Nowyourepeatthisexactsamesequence twicemoreeachtimedoubleundercuttingthetopcardtothebottomofthedeck after you have dealt the new top card out onto the table. Basically during this sequenceyouhaveratherconvincinglymadeitlooklikeyouhavedealtoutthree cardsonthetablewithapostitnotestickeroneachone.Inrealitythreecards on the table havenothing on them, the post it notes inreality are stuck on the three double backers which are currently located at the bottom of the deck. Whenyoudealthesethreecardsontothetableensurethatyoudealthemintoa rowabovetheJokerformingtheclassicTformation. Thetechnicalsideoftheeffectisover.Allthatremainsistoperformsomeaction toaccountforthemagicandthenturnoverthethreecardsonthetableshowing thattherearenolongeranypostitnotes.ThenfinallyturnovertheJokerand showthatallthreepostitnotesarenowonthebackoftheJoker.Asallthisis

happening you have all the time in the world to drop your left arm to the side and allow the pool ball ton secretly fall into your cupped hand where it is palmed.OnceyouhaveshownthatallthepostitnotesareontheJokerallowthe spectatortolookattheJokerandastheydopickuptheotherthreecardsoffthe tableandholdtheminafannedconditioninthelefthand(thereforehidingthe ballfrommostangles).Finishtheroutinebycommentingthatinordertowinat pool you need to pot the 8 ball. Shake the fan of three cards over the table allowingthepoolballtodropatthesametimerevealingtheproductionofareal 8ball. Comments One of the strengths of this routine is the presentation. Most people love pool and love hearing stories. I present this routine in an almost conversational mannertalkingaboutapoolgameIplayedinthepastwhereIdidreallywellbut Icheatedandusedmagic.Thehookisveryenticingandreallygetspeopleinto whatIamabouttodo.Ialsothinkthattheactualeffectisaniceversionofthe classicaceassembly.Ratherthanthecardsmovingthestickersmove.Inmany ways this is more impossible as they are stuck onto the cards, from the spectatorspointofviewhowcantheymove. Youdonothavetohavetheballupyoursleeve;itcouldbeonaballholderorin yourpocket.Ifyouhaveitinyourpocketthebesttimetostealitisbeforethe endingisrevealed.Putthepackofcardsawayinyourpocketandstealtheball asyoubringyourhandout.Thenallyouhavetodoisholdouttheballuntilthe endoftheroutine.Finally,theballinthisroutineisusedplainandsimpleasa kickerending,kindofhowajumbocoinwouldbeusedinacoinroutine.Thisis notabadthinghoweverandthereisalotofmeritforperformingaroutinethis insteadofamoreinvolvedroutinecentredonthepoolballitself.

3DPool Effect A business card is shown with a number of pool balls on it. The spectator is asked which of these balls is used to finish the game. Obviously the spectator answersthe8ballandthemagiciancirclestheeightballwithapenandleaves the card on the table. Next a blank business card is shown and signed by the spectator.Thisisplacedonthetableandthespectatorisaskedtoputtheirhand onit.Themagicianannouncesthatheisgoingtoattemptatrickshotandpotthe 8 ball off the card without touching it. A piece on paper is shown and placed ontothecardwithalltheballsonit.Thepaperislitandinaflashtheeightball isshowntohavegoneleavingalltheotherballsonthetable.Themagicianthen explains that the card under the spectators hand is the pocket and when they lookattheirsignedcarditnowhasthe8balldrawnonit. History This routine is slightly different to any of the other routines in the book, as it does not actually end with the production of a real 8 ball. I wanted to include this however as it is a really commercial routine that is super easy to do. The routinecanbeadaptedtoincludetheproductionofan8ballbutIdontthinkit isneeded.Thisisdefinitelyacaseoflessismore. Requirements 1.) AStackofBusinessCards(thesecardsmusthaveablankback) 2.) AFrixonPen 3.) ARegularPen 4.) SeveralDifferentColouredPens 5.) ALargeElasticBand 6.) AFlashPad 7.) ALighter SetUp 1.) Takeoneofthebusinesscardsanddraw8to15smallcirclesalloverthe back in a haphazard manner. Each circle should really be done with a differentcolouredpen.Makesurethatoneofthesecirclesisdrawnwith the Frixon pen. The circles will represent pool balls and the one drawn withtheFrixonpenwillrepresenttheblack8ball.Makesurethe8ballis drawninaprominentpositiononthecardsothatitiseasilyvisible.Also ensurethereisalittlespaceallthewayaroundthe8ball(sothatnoother balls are touching it) so that you can draw a circle later around it later. Placethisbusinesscardinyourwallet.Ifyouarewantingtoperformthis

routine more than once in an evening you will need toprepare a few of thesecards. 2.) Takeoneofthebusinesscardsandcutitinhalf.Thishalfcardwillbethe cover card used in the out to lunch principle. Next take all the cards (holdingtheminalandscapedirection)andusingtheregularpendrawa large8ballononesideofthecard(thesidethatwillbecoveredwiththe halfcard.Trytomakethedrawingofthe8balllookasgoodaspossible. Now place the half card over the stack of business cards hiding the drawingofthe8ballandusetheelasticbandtoholdthehalfcardinplace (as per the standard out to lunch effect). You now have a stack of businesscards,whichlookblankononesidewhilstinactualfact,havean 8balldrawnoneachone.Thereasonforpreparingmorethanonecardis thatthiswaythetrickwillhaveaninstantreset.Placethisstackofcards intoaconvenientpocket. 3.) Placearegularpenwhereyoucangettoitlater.Thispenshouldreally contrasttotheblackoftheFrixonpen(Iuseabluebiro). 4.) Havetheflashpadandthelightersomewhereaccessibleaswell Method TheOpeningProcedure Explaintotheaudiencethatyouaregoingtoshowthemhowtoperformatrick shotinpoolbutusingrealmagic.Takeoutthepreparedbusinesscardfromyour walletandhanditoutforexamination.Askthespectatoriftheyknowwhichis themostimportantballinagameofpool. Most people will say the 8 ball, if not tell them. Explain that as it is the most importantballyouwilltrytopotthe8ballbutwithoutevenusingacue.Take outyourpenandcirclearoundthe8ballonthecardsothateveryone cansee whereitis.Leavethiscardonthetablewiththeballsinfullview HavingtheBusinessCardSigned Takeoutthestackofbusinesscardsandjustlikethenormalouttoluncheffect ask a spectator to sign one of the cards. Turn your hand over sliding out the bottomcardfromunderthehalfcardandplaceitonthetable.Askthespectator toplacetheirhandonthecardandplacetheremainingstackofcardsawayin yourpocket. IntroducingtheFlashPaper Telltheaudiencetomakeashotashardasthisyouwillneedtousemagic.Askif any audience members know a magic word you could use. Take out the Flash Pad and the pen again and write one of the magic words offered on a piece of flash paper and tear it out the pad. Put the pad away; show the word on the paperandcrumpleitintoaball.Placethecrumpledpaperontothecardsothat

itisdirectlyovertheeightball.Takeoutyourlighterandaftersuitablybuilding up the effect light the paper. There will be a flash and when he smoke has clearedtheaudiencewillbeabletoseethattheeightballhasvanished. RevealingtheOtherEightBall Tellthespectatorthattheymightnotbelievethatyoupottedtheeightballand thatinsteadyoujustmadeitdisappear.Offertoprovethatyoudidindeedpot the ball. Point out the card under the spectators hand and tell them that card representsthecornerpocket.Askthemtoturnthecardoverandtheywillsee thatonthecardtheysignedisnowtheeightball.Handoutbothcardstoyour assistantstoendtheroutine. Comments Ilovethisroutine,itsjustoneofthoseeffectsIdowhereIcanhavefunwiththe audienceandconcentrateontheperformance.Theroutineissoeasybutplays so strong. The initial hook of asking if the spectator would like to see what a trick shot looks like by magic is great. People love pool anyway; the whole conceptofitisingrainedinpopularculturesocombiningthiswithmagicisjusta realwinner. I mentioned earlier that I do not produce an 8 ball and the reason is I feel the effect is so strong adding that final kicker takes away from the magic that has justhappened.Youcanproducean8ball(afterreadingtheroutinesinthisbook youwillcertainlyknowhow)butIwouldnotrecommendit.

EightBallSandwich Effect The two black aces are removed from a pack of cards and another card is selected(letsassumeitistheEightofSpades).Thetwoblackacesareusedto findtheselectedcardnotoncebittwice.Theselectionisthenshuffledintothe deckandplacedawayinthebox.Themagicianstateshewillfindthecardone moretimedespiteallthecardsbeinginthebox.Thetwoacesarewavedover theboxandarealblackeightballappearsinbetweenthecards. History This was one of the first effects I developed with pool balls. Obviously John Bannons production out of a card box was the inspiration for the effect. I wantedtoturnthatonemomentofmagicintoamultiphaseroutinewherethe eightballappearingisthekicker.AtthesametimeIwasbecomingworryingly obsessive about sandwich routines. I realised that if you hide an eight ball beneath two sandwich cards you can create the illusion of the ball appearing betweenthem. Requirements 1.) Apackofcards 2.) ABlackEightpoolball SetUp 1.) Havethepoolballinyourleftjacketpocket 2.) Havethecardsinthecaseandputthemintooneofyourpockets Method OpeningProcedure Explain to the audience that you are going to show them the same trick three times. Each time you will be progressively faster until you are performing the fastesttrickintheworld.Asyousaythistakeoutthecardsandhandthemout tobeshuffled.Youcanputtheboxawayifyouwishitshouldnotbeusedagain untiltheendoftheroutine. IntroducingtheSandwichCards Takethecardsbackandspreadthroughthedecklookingfortwoblackaces.As youdothisculltheblackeighttothetopofthedeck.Ifyoudonotknowhowto cull you could simple cut the deck at the black eight as the aces are being removed.Explaintotheaudiencethatthetwoaceswillfindanycardinthepack andthatyouaregoingtoproveit.Handthetwoacestothespectatortoholdfor themoment.

HavingtheSelectionMade Asyouaretalkingobtainathumbbreakunderthetopcardandundercuthalfthe cards to the top of the deck. Once you have cut the cards convert the thumb breakintoalittlefingerbreak.Thenetresultofthissequenceisthatyouwillbe holdingalittlefingerbreakbelowtheEightofSpades.Takethetwoacesback andplacethemfaceupontothedeck.Spreadthetopacetotherightforhalfof itslength.Tellthespectatorthattheonlycardstheycannotselectaretheblack acesandwillthereforeplacethemfaceupontopofthedecksotheycannotbe selected. Nowperformariffleforcetothebreakapparentlyallowingthespectatorafree choiceofcardwhilstinrealityforcingtheEightofSpades.Raisetherighthand packetupwardssotheaudiencecanseethecardtheystoppedonandaskthem torememberit.Asyouassemblethedeckusetheleftfingerstopushtheforce cardtotherightforathirdofitslength.Thisisdoneastherighthandplacesits halfontothehalfheldinthelefthand.Theaudiencewillnotseethesidejogged selectionasthesidejoggedaceontopofthedeckwillcovertheirview. Tellthespectatorthattheonlythinyouknowabouttheircardisthatitisnota blackace.Asyousaythisyouwilltakethetopaceoffintherighthandasifyou were displaying both aces. This action will cover the steal ofthe selected card andsubsequentplacementinbetweentheaces.Todothisyourrighthandtakes hold of the right side of the top aces in Biddle Grip. At the same time the left fingers push the sidejogged selection further to the right until it is gripped betweentherightthumbandrightlittlefinger. This goes unnoticed by the audience because it happens under the sidejogged ace.Oncetheselectionisgrippedinplacetherighthandtakesthetopaceaway and displays it as the left hand displays the other ace on top of the deck. In a continuingactionreplacetherighthandcard(s)ontothedeck.Theselectionis nowloadedfacedowninbetweenthetwofaceupaces.Inpracticethisentire sequencetakesliterallyasecondortwotoperform. Phase1TheAcesFindTheSelection Because the control used also loads the selection in between the aces there is nothingyouneedtodooncethecardiscontrolled.Explaintotheaudiencethat theaceswillfindtheselectedcardinonesecondflat.Telltheaudiencetowatch the deck and after a second slowly spread the top three cards off the deck holding them in the right hand. The audience will be surprised to see a face downcardbetweentheaces.Waitabeatandthenraisethefanofthreecardsup totheaudienceshowingthatthecardinthemiddleistheblackeight. Phase2SandwichAgain Hand the aces back to the spectator and have the selection returned to the middle of the deck whilst making sure you retain a break above it. Using a doubleundercutcontroltheselectiontothetopofthedeckandthenfalseshuffle keepingitinposition.Whilstyouareshufflingexplainthatyouwillrepeatthe trickbutthistimeyouwilldoeverythingslower.

Obtainalittlefingerbreakunderthetopcardofthedeckandplacethetwoaces faceupontop.Youwillnowcreatetheillusionthattheacesvanishoneatatime intothedeck.PickupthethreecardsabovethebreakinrighthandBiddlegrip. Usingtheleftthumbpullthetopaceontothedecksothatitisflushwiththerest ofthepack.Thiswillleaveyouholdingadoublecardinthe righthand.Place thisdoublecardinjoggedontothedecksothatitisinjoggedforhalfitslength. Inthispositionyouwillnowuseapaintbrushchangetocreatetheillusionthat thefirstacesvanishes.Todothispushthedoublecardforwarduntilitisflush withthedeckandtheninacontinuingactionpullbackasinglecard.Theface downselectionwillbeleftontopofthedeckanditwilllooklikethefirstacejust vanishes. ErdnaseChange TomakethesecondacevanishyouwilluseanErdnaseColourChange.Square thesecondaceupwiththedecksothatitisfaceupontop.Holdthedeckfaceup in dealing grip in the left hand. Bring your right hand over the deck with the fingers extended, hand flat and palm down. As the right hand covers the deck pushAceforwardforaboutathirdofitslength.Thisisdonebyputtingthetips ofyourfingersontheAceneartheouterendandpushingforwardasyoucover. Thiswillexposethefacedowncardsecondfromtheface.Theheeloftheright handwillbepositionedovertheblankcardthatisexposed.Pushdownwiththe heel of the right hand and pull your right hand backwards again. From the audiencespointofviewitwilllooklikeyouareshowingtheAce.Howeveryou arealsopullingthefacedowncardbackwardsfromundertheAce.Asyouare pulling backwards you will hear a clicking sound, which indicates that the face downcardhascomeoutfromundertheAce.Yourrighthandandlefthandwill now work in unison. Your left forefinger reaches forward and pulls the out joggedcardinwardssothatitisflushwiththedeck.Atthesametimetheright handmovesforwardswiththefacedowncardhiddeninthepalm.Assoonas thefacedowncardisflushwiththedecklifttherighthandupwardsandshow thatthesecondacehasdisappeared. TheReappearance Once the Aces have apparently vanished spread through the face down deck tellingtheaudiencethattheyarelookingfortheselection.Asyoudothismake surethatyoupushoffaclumpofcardsatthestartsothatyoudontaccidently exposethefaceupaces.Squarethecardsupagainandtelltheaudiencethatif theywaitacoupleofsecondstheacesshouldreturnwiththeselectedcard.To maketheacesreturnyouwilljustperformtheErdnaseChangeagain.Thiswill create the illusion of a face up ace instantly appearing on the top of the deck. Wait and beat and spread the top three cards showing that the two aces have returned and there is a face down card between them. Hand the aces to a spectatorandslowlyturnoverthefacedowncardtoshowtheselectedeightof spades. Phase3ThePoolBallKicker Explain to the audience that you will repeat the trick one last time except this timeundertestconditions.Haveaspectatorputtheselectionintothedeckand

shufflethecardstilltheyaresatisfiedthatthereisnowayyoucouldknowwhere thecardis.Thenaskthespectatortoputthecardsawayintheboxmakingsure youcannotperformanysleightofhand.Placetheboxofcardsawayinyourleft handjacketpocketandatthesametimeaskthespectatorthatisholdingthetwo black aces to hand them to you. The audience attention will focus on the spectatorhandingyoutheaces,whichmeansthatthelefthandcanpalmthepool ballandcomeoutofthepocketunnoticed.Allowthelefthandtohandnaturally atyourside. You will now load the pool ball under the two aces while the audience are misdirectedelsewhere.Holdthetwoacesfannedoutintherighthandheldin placewithjusttheforefingerandthumb.Askthespectatortocuptheirhands togetherasiftheywereabouttocatchsomething.Astheaudienceattentionis drawn to the spectator cupping their hands you will use a cups and balls style loadtoloadtheballunderthecards.Bringyourrightandlefthandstogetherso thattheymeetinfrontofyourbody.Asthehandsmeettakehold of theeight ballwiththerighthandlittle,ringandmiddlefingers.Theaudiencewillnotbe abletoseetheballasthefannedcardscoveritfromview. Telltheaudiencethattheblackeightwillappearoncemoreinbetweentheblack aces.Bringthefanofcardsoverthespectatorscuppedhands.Thelefthandwill nowtakeoneofthecardsfromtherighthandandmovetotheleft.Atthesame timetherighthandwillletgooftheballandmovetotherightwiththeotherace. Done at the same time the pool ball seems to just appear in between the aces, hoverforamomentandthendropintothespectatorshands.Theproductionof theballisarealsurpriseandagreatwaytoendtheeffect. Comments It is very important throughout this routine that you constantly refer to the selectionasablackeight.Iftheaudiencedonotrealisewhyyouareproducinga poolballattheendoftheroutinethentheeffectwillfallflatonitsface. Thisroutinesucceedsbecausealaymensnaturalinstinctistoasktoseeatrick again.Theythinkthatiftheyseetheroutineasecondtimetheywillbeableto catchwhatyouweredoing.Inthisroutinethehooklineisthatyouwillperform the same effect three times and each time you will make the effect more impossible. The best part is because of the way the routine is structured from the audiences point of view the effect will look more impossible with each phase. It is important in any multi phase effect that the effect builds else it will get repetitive and ultimately boring. That has always been my problem with sandwich routines they can be boring without an ending. The pool ball providesanendingtotheroutineandisverymuchlikethefinalloadsinacups andballroutinetheaudienceneverseeitcomingandarealwaysblownaway withthefinalreveal.

EssenceTransposition Effect A spectator examines a handkerchief and whilst this is happening a white cue ballisshowntotheaudience.Thecueballiswrappedinsidethehandkerchief and given to the spectator to hold. A pack of cards is introduced and a card is selected(wewillassumethecardisthe3ofDiamonds).Theperformertellsthe audiencethathewillperformatrickandslowitrightdowntogivetheaudience a chance to see how it is done. The performer further explains that he will removetheessencefromtheselectedcardandtransferittothecueballthatthe spectator is holding tightly. The selected card is then shown to have become blankandwhenthespectatorhasalookatthepoolballtheyhavebeenholding fromthebeginningoftheeffectitisnowaredthree. History Ihadbeenplayingwiththeconceptofswitchingballsunderahandkerchieffor sometime.AtthesametimeIwasresearchingintoeffectsformyBlankDVD.I realisedthatyoucoulduseacueballandaballswitchtomagicallyprintawhite cueball.Theuseofablankcardtoenhancetheeffectwasthenextmostlogical progressionoftheidea. Requirements 3.) Apackofcards 4.) Ablankfacedcardwithamatchingback 5.) Anopaquehandkerchief 6.) Awhitecueball 7.) Aredthreepoolball SetUp 3.) Set up the cards in the following order from the top of the deck. Blank card,ThreeofDiamondsfollowedbytheremainderofthedeck. 4.) Placethedeckawayinyourrightoutsidejacketpocket 5.) Placethehandkerchiefinyourleftoutsidejacketpocket 6.) Placetheredthreepoolballinyourrightoutsidejacketpocket 7.) Placethewhitecueballinyourleftoutsidejacketpocket Method OpeningProcedure

Tell the audience that you are going to show them something with a handkerchief. Both your right and left hands reach into their respective jacket pockets.Therighthandpalmstheredthreepoolballasthelefthandremoves thehandkerchieffromitspocket.Asallattentionisonthehandkerchiefremove yourrighthandwiththeballpalmedandallowyourrighthandtodroptoyour side. Havethehandkerchiefexaminedbytheaudiencetakingitbackafterwardswith thelefthand.Telltheaudienceyouhavesomethingelsetoshowthemaswell and transfer the handkerchief to the right hand. The handkerchief covers the palmedballandallowstherighthandtolooknatural.Thelefthandgoesintothe leftjacketpocketandremovesthecueballwhichisalsohandedtotheaudience toexamine. SwitchingtheBalls Takeholdofthehandkerchiefwiththelefthandandtakethecueballbackfrom the audience with the right hand. Make sure that as you take this ball the audience does not notice that you have another ball in the palm. Hold the cue ball at the tips of the right fingers and in a continuing action throw the handkerchief over the right hand. Explain to a spectator that you are going to wraptheballupinsidethehandkerchiefandyouwantthemtoholdittightly. Under the cover of the handkerchief use your thumb to push the palmed red threetothefingertipsandallowthecueballtodropintotherightpalm.You haveallthetimeintheworldtodothissodonotrush.Theaudiencecannotsee through the handkerchief and therefore will not realise you are switching the balls.Tofurthercoverthisaction,astheswitchistakingplacereachoverwith thelefthandtograbtheredpoolball.Assoonasswitchisexecutedtakethered poolballandhandkerchiefawaywiththelefthand.Atthesametimedropyour righthanddowntoyourside.Askthespectatortotakeholdofthepoolballand makesurenobodycangetholdofit. DitchingthePalmedCueBall Telltheaudiencethatyouwillneedapackofcards.Reachintoyourrightjacket pocket and remove the cards whilst at the same time ditching the palmed cue ball. Take the cards from the case and put the case away. Shuffle the cards makingsurethatthetoptwocardsremainontopofthedeck. ForcingtheThreeofDiamonds Youwillnowforcethetopcardontothespectator.Thebestwaytodothisisto cutthepackinthemiddle,holdabreakandriffleforcetothebreak.Ofcourse anyforcecanbeusedinplaceoftheriffleforce.Assumingyouuseariffleforce cutthepackwhenthespectatorsaysstopbringingthetopstockbacktothetop ofthedeck.Performadoubleturnovershowingthatthespectatorhasselecteda threeofdiamonds.Turnthedoubledownagainandtakeoffthetopcardholding itfacedownintherighthand.Placetheremainingcardsawayinyourpocket theywillnotbeneededagain. TransposingtheEssence

Allthatisleftistoshowthatthecardyouareholdingisblankandthepoolball has been printed into a red three. There are several ways to do this. You can makeamagicalgestureandturnthecardovershowingitisblank.Anotherway wouldbetoplacethecardintoaspectatorshandsandhavethemturnthecard over. You could hit the card against the pool ball the spectator is holding and turnthecardoveratthesametimetoshowitisblank.Therearemanywaysto performthisfinalsequence.Youshouldpracticeallofthewaysofrevealingthe effectandtryoutthewayyoufeelmostcomfortablewith.Eitherwayonceyou haveshownthecardandtheballtheeffectisfinished. Comments IfyoutrythisroutinetorealpeopleIthinkyouwillbesurprisedhowstrongthe reactionscanbe.Oneofthemostimportantthingstoconsiderwiththisroutine isthehooklineatthebeginningoftheroutine.Peoplehaveaninherentinterest in learning how magic tricks works. If you open a presentation by telling the audienceyouwillperformatrickandgivethemachancetoseehowitisdone theattentionwillbeimmediatelypeeked.Obviouslywhenyouteachhowthe routineworksyouhaveyourtonguefirmlyplantedinyourcheek.Howeverby this time the audience have invested emotionally in the routine and therefore wanttoseewhathappens.. Inmyopinionhooklinesareveryimportantinamagicperformance.Especially when you are performing in a restaurant or bar and have to fight to get the audiences attention quickly. Regrettably many performers do not concentrate onthehookandinsteadtrytolearnthelatestsleightormove.Presentationsand especially hook lines are as important as any sleight and should be practiced withequaldiligence. I am sure you have realised from reading this effect but no table is required. Everything can be performed in the spectators hands. In addition the routine instantly resets and can be done with any shuffled deck (as long as you add a blankcardinatsomepoint). AsafinalpointIamsureithasoccurredtoyoubutthecardthespectatorselects canbesignedonthebackandgivenawayIitsblankstate.TobehonestIdont botherwithhavingthecardsigned.Iperformthisroutineinacocktailsituation andwouldmuchratherhavetheeffectresetthanneedtoaddanotherblankcard tothedeckeverytimeIperform.

EssenceDeal Effect Themagicianofferstoshowthespectatoratrickandthenslowtheeffectdown sothattheaudiencecanseehowitworks.Acardisselected(forexamplethe King of Hearts). Simply by shaking the card it becomes totally blank and then visiblybecomesprintedonceagain.Themagicianstatesthatheissimplytaking theessenceoffthecardandthenputtingitbackagain.Themagiciancontinues bysayingthathewillperformthesameeffectagainbutslowlythistime,which shouldgivetheaudienceachancetoseewhathappened.TheKingofHeartsis rubbed and becomes blank once again. However this time a small balled up pieceofpaperappearswhichisunfoldedtorevealtheKingofHeartsprintedon. The performer tells the audience that the piece of paper is the essence off the card.Thecardisthendealtfacedownontothetableandthepieceofpaperislit. Instantlyitvanishesinaflashandwhenthecardisturnedoveritisprintedonce again. Requirements Someflashcards(KingofHearts) Adeckofcards Ablankfacedcard Alighter

SetUp Crumple up a few of the flash cards into balls and put them into your outside rightjacketpocket.Puttingafewoftheseinyourpocketwillmeanthatyouare resettoperformtheroutineseveraltimesinanevening.Setupthedeckwith theKingofHeartsonthetopofthedeckandtheblankcardontopofthat.Place thecardsintheboxandplacethisboxinyourouterrightjacketpocket.Finally putthelighterinyouroutsiderightjacketpocket. Method OPENINGPROCEDURE Duringtheopeningpresentationreachintoyourrighthandpocketandpalmone oftheflashcardballs.Thepositionthisispalmedinisveryimportant.Theball should be clipped between the base of the middle finger and ring finger. It is important that none of the paper sticks out the back of the hand. This ball is goingtobeheldinthispositionthroughoutseveralcardsleightsandtherefore youmustensureitissecurelyheldinposition.Assoonasthecardisinposition bringoutthepackofcardsanddisplaythemtotheaudience. PHASE1THEKINGBECOMESBLANK Takethecardsouttheboxandshufflemakingsurethatthetoptwocardsstayin positionontopofthedeck.Cutthedeckinthemiddleandholdabreakbetween the two halves. Perform a riffle force cutting to the break whenever the spectatorcallsstop.Completethecutbringingtheoriginaltophalfofthedeck

backtothetop.Performadoubleturnoverturningthetoptwocardsoverasone showing the King of Hearts. Tell the audience to watch the king carefully. Perform another double turnover turning the top two cards face down as one. Takethetopcard(whichistheblankcard)intherighthandandshakeitback andforthinamagicalgesture.Slowlyturnthecardaroundtoshowthatithas becometotallyblankontheface. PHASE2THECARDISPRINTEDONCEAGAIN You will now magically print the card again. Obtain a little finger break under the top card of the pack. Place the blank card face up onto the deck. You will nowusethesnapchangetochangetheblankcardbackintotheKingofHearts. The snap change is the perfect sleight to use in this situation, as it does not requiretheringormiddlefingeroftherighthandtomove.Thismeansthatthe paperballcanremainclippedinposition. Toperformthesnapchangegripthetwocardsbetweenthethumbandmiddle finger at the bottom cards. The forefinger is pushing against the top of the card(s). Take the double off the top of the pack in this grip making sure you continue to hold the deck in left hand dealing grip. You will now use a larger actiontohidethesmalleractionofturningthedoubleover.Thelargeractionis moving the double up the left arm to the elbow and then down the arm again towardsthedeck.Astherighthandmovesuptheleftarmpinchyourthumband forefingertogetherandletgowithyourmiddlefinger.Thiswillcausethedouble card to flip over bringing the King into view. In a continuing action move the righthandbackdownthearmandplacethedoublebackontopofthedeck.The largeractionmeansthatthefirsttimethespectatorsnoticethecardhasprinted again is when it comes to rest on the deck. Immediately take the King off the deckwiththerighthandanddisplayittotheaudience. PHASE3ESSENCEREMOVAL Youarenowgoingtomakethecardblankagainbutthistimeyouwillactually producetheballeduppaperatthesametime.HandtheKingtoaspectatorto examine,afterwhatyouhavejustdonetheywillwanttoexamineit.Whilethe spectator is examining the King you will carry out a Braue Reversal to reverse the blank card under the face up card. To do this obtain a little finger break underthetopcardofthepack.Undercuthalfthecardsfromthebottomofthe deckandrotatethemfaceupontothetopofthedeck.Continuebycuttingthe remaining cards from under the break and rotate the packet face up putting themontopofthedeckaswell.Youwillbeleftinasituationwhereallthecards arefaceupandtheblankcardisfacedownunderthepack.Holdthedeckin right hand Biddle Grip and take the King face down in the lefthand. Place the KingunderthedeckandimmediatelyflipthedeckoverdisplayingtheKing. You will now carry out an Erdnase Change, which will create the illusion of turning the card blank again. The Erdnase change was fully explained in the routine Stealing Essence earlier in the book. The only difference here is that you have to perform the change with a balled up piece of flash paper clipped betweentheringandmiddlefinger.Howeveryouwillfindthatyoucanextend your fingers and perform the sleight without affecting the palmed paper. Just

beforeyouperformthechangeaskthespectatortoholdtheirhandoutflatand palmup.Assoonasthechangeisperformedmoveyourrighthandinagrabbing motion as if you have taken something away from the card. Without pausing bringyourrighthandoverthespectatorsopenhandanddropthepalmedball. Have the spectator open the ball of paper to show that the King of Hearts is printedonit. Itisimportanttonotethatthismomentisverypowerfulfortheaudience.First of all the Erdnase Change is a very deceptive move when performed correctly. Themomentyouliftyourhandandshowthatthecardhasbecomeblankagain theaudiencewillreact.Thisisespeciallytruewhenyouconsiderthattheyhave justseenthecardturnblankandarewatchingcarefullytryingtocatchyou.The bestpartiswhenyouopenyourhandandshowtheballedupflashcard.Firstly the audience will be confused and not understand. When the spectator opens theflashcardandseestheKingofHeartstheaudiencewillreactagain. PHASE4ESSENCERETURNED,INAFLASH Allthatyouhavelefttodonowisprintthecardonefinaltime.Askthespectator to hold their hand out. Turn the top two cards face down as one on the pack. Dealthetopcardfacedownontothespectatorshandandaskthemtocoverthe cardwiththeirotherhand.Thespectatorwillassumethattheyhavetheblank cardbetweentheirpalms.InrealitytheyhavetheKingofHearts. Telltheaudiencethatthereasontheycanseetheessenceofthecardisthatyou havesloweddowntheprocedureusedwhenthecardturnsblank.Thismeans thattheywillactuallybeabletoseetheessencevanishandappearbackonthe cardintheirhands.Reachintoyourpocketandtakeoutalighterdisplayingitin therighthand.Taketheflashcardandholditinthelefthand.Nowsimplylight theflashcardandtheessencewillapparentlydisappearinaflashoffire.Putthe lighter away and focus the audiences attention on the spectator holding the card. Have the spectator show the King of Hearts to the audience to end the effect. Comments IfyoutrythisroutinetorealpeopleIthinkyouwillbesurprisedhowstrongthe reactionscanbe.Oneofthemostimportantthingstoconsiderwiththisroutine isthehooklineatthebeginningoftheroutine.Peoplehaveaninherentinterest in learning how magic trick works. If you open a presentation by telling the audience you will perform a trick and then show them how it is done the audienceattentionwillbeimmediatelypeeked.Obviouslywhenyouteachhow theroutineworksyouhaveyourtonguefirmlyplantedinyourcheek.However bythistimetheaudiencehaveinvestedemotionallyintheroutineandtherefore wanttoseewhathappens.HavingsaidthatIhavehadpeoplebelievewhatIam sayingwhenItellthemIwillslowdowntheprocess. Inmyopinionhooklinesareveryimportantinamagicperformance.Especially when you are performing in a restaurant or bar and have to fight to get the audiences attention quickly. Regrettably many performers do not concentrate onthehookandinsteadtrytolearnthelatestsleightormove.Presentationsand

especially hook lines are as important as any sleight and should be practiced withequaldiligence. I am sure you have realised from reading this effect but no table is required. Everything can be performed in the spectators hands. In addition the routine instantly resets and can be done with any shuffled deck (as long as you add a blank card in at some point). Overall this is a super commercial routine to performandIamsureyouwillagreeifyoutryitout.

MentalDilemma Effect A business card is signed and placed away in a spectators wallet. Another business card is shown and left on the table. Five cards are introduced with a poolballdrawnoneachone.Theaudienceshufflesthecardsandfivespectators each take one. While the magician is facing the other direction the cards are gathered up and put away. Following this each spectator draws his or her chosen pool ball onto the blank business card. The magician now faces the audienceagainandbylookingatthedrawingstellseachspectatorwhichsymbol theydrew.Thecardisnowhandedtooneofthespectatorsandtheyareasked to concentrate on their chosen pool ball. When they turn the card over the symbol they drew has vanished completely. Assuming they selected the black eighttheyareaskedtoremovethebusinesscardplacedintheirwalletfromthe beginning.Upondoingthistheyrealisethecardnowhasablackeightdrawnon it. History ForthoseofyouthatdonotknowthefrixionpenisapenmarketedbyPilot.The ink from this pen can be made to disappear off a piece of paper or card using heat. A good example would be the heat from a lighter or the heat from some flash paper. Matthew Bich was one of the first performers to create routines with this principle when he released his manuscript Sympathetink. This routine evolved from another routine by Ethan Mark called Misty. I have combinedtheoriginalMistyroutinewithAndyNymansMagiciansGraphology routine to create an effect I am very proud of. The vanish and subsequent reproductionofthesymbolputsthisroutineintothecategoryofmentalmagicas apposedtofullonmentalism. Requirements ARedSharpie 5BlankFacedRedBackedCards ABlackSharpie 2PilotG2Pens APilotFrixionPen AStackofBusinessCardsthathaveablanksurfaceononeside SomeElasticBands APairofScissors ALighter APacketTrickWallet

SetUp Takethe5playingcardsanddrawdifferentpoolballoneachone.Pickfivepool balls with different numerical values and a combination of stripes and spots. Lets assume for ease of explanation you picked ball number 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. Obviouslyyouwouldnotreallywanttodothisasyouwanttheballstoappear more randomised but these are the numbers we shall use in the explanation.

Draw one ball on each card making sure that the balls look as detailed as possible.Forexampleifyouaredrawingtheredthreemakesureyouuseared pen.Likewiseifyouaredrawingastripeballmakesureyoushowthestripeon theball. The backs of these cards should be marked so that you can tell one from the otherveryeasily.Iuseasimplemarkingsystemthatworkswellinthecontext ofthisroutine.IfyoulookatthebackofaBicyclePlayingcardyouwillnotice thatthereisanangelineachcorner.OnthelowestvaluecardIcolourinoneof the angels heads with a red Sharpie marker. On the next highest value card I colourtwooftheangelsheadsin.OnthenexthighestvaluecardIcolourthree of the angels heads in. On the next highest value card I colour all four of the angelsheadsin.FinallyIleavethehighestvaluecardblankanddonotcolourin anything.ThismeansIcanveryeasilyspotonecardfromanotherevenfroma distancealthoughtheaudiencewillnotbeabletospotathing.Placethesecards intoapackettrickwalletandplacethemawayinyourjacketpocket. NowyouneedtosetupyourFrixonpen.Basicallytheinkrefillfromafrixion pen can be taken out and installed easily into a Pilot G2. This will result in a normal looking pen, which will actually act like a frixion pen. Even better the frxionG2canbeswitchedforaregularG2meaningyoucanwriteinnormalink orfixioninkjustbyperformingapenswitch.PlaceboththeregularG2andthe frixionG2inyourinsideleftjacketpocketmakingsurethatyouknowwhichpen iswhich. Now take one of the business cards and cut it in half for the Out To Lunch principle.Takeabusinesscardandontheblanksurfacedrawaredthreepool ball at one end. Repeat this with a few more business cards until you have a small stack of eight to ten. Now assemble a packet of business cards by alternating a red three pool ball card and a blank card all the way through. Thereforethefaceofthepacketshouldhavearedthreepoolballon,followedby ablankcardthenaredthreecardandsoonandsoforth.Placethehalfcard over the pool ball on the face of the stack and hold it in place with the elastic bands.Youwillbeleftwithapacketofcards,whichissetuptorepeattheeffect up to ten times. Place these cards away in your jacket pocket so they are accessiblewithyourrighthand.Finallyplacethelighterintoyouroutsideright jacketpocket. Method THEOPENINGPROCEDURE Bring out the stack of business cards and tell the audience that before you do anything you will have the spectator sign a card. Take out the regular G2 pen and hand it to the spectator. Have them sign the face card of the stack of businesscardsbutbecarefultheydonotsignthehalfcard.Thespectatorwill assumethatthecardtheyhavesignedisblankwhilstinrealitythankstotheout tolunchprinciplethecardhasacrossonit. Turnthepacketfacedownandpullouttheregularcardfromunderthehalfcard. Placethisintothespectatorspocketmakingsurethattheydonotseethattheir

signedcardnowhasapoolballonit.Takethepenbackandputitawayinthe samepocketitcamefrom.Nowflashthefaceofthepacketofcardsandpullout thenextbusinesscard(whichwillbeblank).Placethiscardonthetableandtell theaudienceyouwillgetbacktoitlater.Byplacingthiscardonthetableand lettingtheaudienceseeitistotallyblankitsellstheaudienceonbelievingthat thefirstcardwasblankaswell.Placethestackofbusiness cardsawayatthis point,theywillnotbeusedagainandareresetforthenextperformance. INTRODUCINGTHEPOOLBALLS Takeoutthepackettrickwalletandbringoutthepoolballcardsshowingthem totheaudienceoneatatime.Handthecardstoaspectatortoshufflemaking sure that the audience knows that they are completely mixed up. During this procedurelookatyouraudiencementallyselectingfiveaudiencemembersthat are going to assist you with the effect. In your head you are going to number thesepeopleone,two,three,fourandfive.InordertomakethingseasyIliketo pickfivepeoplesittinginarowandnumberthefirstpersonontheleftnumber oneandthelastpersonontherightnumberfive. Takethecardsbackthathavenowbeingshuffledandtelltheaudiencethatyou aregoingtopickfivepeopleandeachpersonwilltakeacard.Youwantittolook likeyouarepickedpeopleatrandomandhandingthemplayingcards.Inreality youarelookingatthemarksonthebackofthecardsandgivingthemtospecific people.Thepersonontheextremeleftyouwillgivethelowestvaluepoolballto andyouwillcontinuetotherightuntilthepersonattheextremerighthasbeen giventhehighestvaluepoolball.ForexampleifIlookatthebackofthetopcard andInoticeoneangelhasbeencolouredinIknowthisisthelowestvaluepool ballandhastobegiventothepersonontheextremeleft.Theimportantthing hereistoactnatural,itshouldnotlooklikeyouarestudyingeachcardandthen handing them off to specific people. You should act very laid back, tell the audienceyouaregoingtogivecardsouttodifferentpeople.Whentheaudience thinks back to this effect they will remember the cards were shuffled and then givenouttotheaudience.Thisisalsowhythemarkingsystemcanbesobold. Nobody really looks at more than one card at any given time so they have no chancetodetectasystem. THEDRAWINGSBEGIN Tell each spectator to look at their pool ball and put the cards away in their pockets.Youwillnowtelltheaudiencethatoneatatimetheyaregoingtodraw theirsymbolsontothebusinesscardleftonthetableuntilallfivesymbolshave beendrawn.Theimportantthinghereisthelastshapetobedrawnhastobe theredthreewhichinourexampleisthethirdhighestpoolballatthereforehas beengiventothepersonthatImentallyassignednumberthreeto.Itherefore havetoensurethatspectatornumber3iskepttilllast.TakeouttheG2andhand ittooneofthespectatorstellingthematthesametimetopickupthebusiness cardanddrawtheirpoolball.Makesurethattheyunderstandthattheyhaveto makethedrawingasdetailedaspossibleandincludethenumberoftheballand anymarkings.Turnaroundasthisisbeingdonesothatyoucannotbeaccused ofcheatingorpeeking.Aftertheyhavefinisheddrawingtellthemtoplacethe carddrawingsidedownonthetable.Turnbackroundtofacetheaudience,take

backthepenandhandittoanotherspectatoraskingthemtodothesamething. Thiswholeprocedureisrepeatedfourtimesuntiltherearefoursymbolsdrawn onthebusinesscard. Aftertheforthpersonhasdrawntheirsymbolplacethepenawayinyourpocket and start to explain that now everyone has drawn their symbols you can continue with the effect. One of two things will happen, either spectator three will say they have not yet drawn their symbol or the rest of the audience will comment.Eitherwayapologisetospectatorthreeandhandthemthepenback. This time however you will take out the frixon pen. This means that the red three pool ball will be the only symbol on the card, which can be removed by heat.Turnbackroundafterthespectatorhasfinisheddrawingandtakethepen backplacingitinyourpocket,thepensarenowresetforanotherperformance. DIVININGTHEPOOLBALLS Therestoftheroutineisjustacting.Telltheaudiencethatyoucanlookatthe drawingsandgetcluesaboutwhodrewwhat.Onebyonestarttalkingaboutthe poolballsandhowtheyhavebeendrawnandrevealthatyoucantellwhohas whichsymbol.Asyourevealeachsymbolhavethespectatortakethecardoutof theirpocketandshowittotheaudience.Thisdoestwothings,itshowsthatyou areindeedcorrectandalsoservesasanapplausecue. Leave the red three to the end so that it is the last symbol. Explain to the audience that revealing that you knew who drew the red three is not a great effectasthereisonlyonepersonleft.Continuetotellthemthatinsteadyouwill trytohypnotisetheaudience.Takeoutyourlighterintherighthandandhold thecardbacktotheaudienceinyourlefthand.Wavethelighterinfrontofthe card backand forth telling the audience to watch theflame. The audience will assumethatyouaretryingtohypnotisethemwhilstinrealityyouareusingthe flametoerasetheinkoffthecard.Youwillfindthatafteracoupleofsecondsthe redthreewillhavetotallyvanished. Putthelighterawayandaskspectatortwotoholdtheirhandout.Placethecard intheirhandandtellthemtheywillforgetaboutthepoolballtheychose.Waita beataskthemwhattheirpoolballistowhichtheywilltellyoutheythoughtof the red three. Turn the card over to show that the symbol they thought of has vanished proving they never thought of anything. Wait another beat and then askthemtolookatthebusinesscard,whichwasplacedintheirpocketfromthe beginning.Whentheydotheywillfindtheirsignedcardnowhasaredthreeon itrightacrosstheface. Comments Thisisaverycommercialeffect.Allyouhavetodoattheendoftheeffectisput thepoolballcardsawayandyouarereset.Thereareanumberofclimaxeseach of which becomes more and more powerful. The actual revealing of the pool balls is a very powerful moment but when the last spectators chosen symbol vanishesthereactionsareamazing.

Animportantthingtonoteisthattheroutineshouldbedonetothecorrecttype ofaudience.Adrunkenbarcrowdisnotaveryreceptiveaudienceforthistype ofeffect.Likewiseitdoesnotmakethebestopener.Howeverperformedatthe right time to the right group of people there really are few effects that are as strongasthis.

PsychicLighter Effect The magician announces that he has a lighter that is psychic and can read peoples minds. The performer then hands a silver Zippo lighter and a black handkerchiefoutforexamination.TheZippolighteristhenwrappedupinthe handkerchief and held by a spectator. The magician then shows various cards withdifferentsportsonthemandhasthespectatorchooseoneofthecards.The spectatorfreelyselectsthecardwithPoolonit.WhentheZippolighteristaken out of the lighter it is shown to have changed from silver to blackwith a black eight ball printed on it. The magician then says that you cannot play pool withoutaballandreachesintothehandkerchiefandproducesa real pool ball. Asanaddedkickerthemagicianthentellstheaudiencethatyoucannotfinisha game of pool without an 8 ball and reaches back into the handkerchief to produceaballeightpoolball. History MyfriendEthanMarkhasawonderfuleffectcalledJFKESPinwhichahalfdollar becomes printed with a freely chosen singer. This was the inspiration behind thiseffect.IwaslookingthroughtheZippoCatalogueandsawaZippowithan8 Ballprintedonit.AtthetimeIwasdevelopingalotofroutineswith8ballsand thought there could be some way I could tie the lighter into an effect. After seeingEthansroutineIputtwoandtwotogetherandthefollowingroutinewas born. Requirements 1.) ASilverZippoLighter 2.) ABlackZippoLighterwithaBlackEightPoolBallprintedonit 3.) TenBlackFacedCards 4.) ABlackSharpieMarker 5.) ABallHolder 6.) ARedThreePoolBall 7.) ABlackEightPoolBall 8.) YouMustbeWearingaJacket 9.) AnElasticBand SetUp

1) UsetheBlackSharpietowritetendifferentsportsonthefacesoftheten blankfacedcards.Trytomakethesportsasstrangeaspossibleasthis willbereallyfunnyduringtheperformance.IputsportsdownlikeDodge Ball,CheerLeading,andProfessionalStampCollectingetc. 2) StackthecardsmakingsurethattheonethatsaysPOOLisontopofthe stack.Wrapthecardsaroundwithanelasticbandandplacetheminyour rightjacketpocket. 3) PlacetheSilverZippoLighterinyourleftjacketpocket 4) PlacethePoolBallZippoLighterinyourrightjacketpocket 5) Placetheredthreepoolballinyourleftjacketpocket 6) Usetheballholdertoholdtheblackeightpoolballinandplaceitunder therightsideofyourjacket. 7) Putthehandkerchiefintoyourinnerjacketpocket Method OpeningProcedure Reachintoyourpocketandtakeoutthehandkerchiefandhandittoamemberof theaudienceforexamination.Asitisbeingexaminedtelltheaudiencethatyou haveamindreadinglighterandyouwouldliketoproveittothem.Bothyour handsgointoyourpocketsasifyouaresearchingforsomething.Yourighthand palmstheblacklighterwhilstthelefthandremovesthesilverlightershowingit totheaudience.Asallattentionisonthelighterinthelefthandtakeyourright hand out your pocket and allow it to drape naturally at your side. Hand the lighter out for examination and using your left hand retrieve the handkerchief. Whilsttheaudienceisfocusedonthesilverlighterplacethehandkerchiefover therighthand,whichturnspalmupunderneath.Theaudiencewillnotbeable to see the palmed lighter as the handkerchief will be covering everything from view.Takethelighterbackwiththerighthandandtellyourspectatoryouwant themtoholdthelighterfornow.Youwillnowswitchthelightersintheactionof placing the silver lighter inside the handkerchief. This is done using a sleight calledtheGypsySwitch. TheGypsySwitch Place the silver lighter onto the handkerchief so that it is resting on top of the hiddenlighterunderneath.Obviouslymakesurethatthelightersdonotmakea noise when you place one onto the other. With your left hand reach over and gripthehandkerchiefjustinfrontofthelighters.Foldasmallpieceofmaterial overthetopofthesilverlighterandgripthelightersandthematerialwiththe lefthand.Theleftthumbshouldbeholdingthematerialagainstthesilverlighter

and the left middle finger and forefinger should be pushing up against the undersideofthehiddenlighter. Inthispositionpickupeverythingandflickthehandkerchiefforwardswiththe lefthand.Inacontinuingactionplacethehandkerchiefbackintotherighthand makingsurethesilverlightergoesintofingerpalmposition.Donecorrectlythis should look like you placed the silver lighter on the handkerchief and in a flourishwrappeditinsideandplacedthewrappeduphandkerchiefbackintothe righthand.Waitabeatthentakeholdoftheendsofthehandkerchiefwiththe lefthandandpullupwardstakingthehandkerchiefawayfromtherighthand.At the same time the right hand should rotate so the palm is away from the audience hiding the silver lighter from view. Allow the right hand to drop naturally to the side and hand the bunched up handkerchief to a spectator to hold. The audience will be convinced the spectator is holding a silver lighter whilstinrealityyouhaveswitcheditout. IntroducingtheCards Reach into your right pocket ditching the silver lighter and bringing out the bandedupcardsinthesameaction.Takethebandoffandshowthecardstothe audience.Explainthateachofthecardshasadifferentsportandtheyaregoing toselectone.Youwillnowshufflethecards,whichwillapparentlyrandomise theorderwhilstinrealitypositioningyourforcecardsecondfromthebottomof the packet. To do this hold the cards ready for an overhand shuffle with the backspointingtotheaudience.Milkthetopandbottomcardsoffatthestartof theshuffleandshuffleofftheremainderofthepacket.Yourforcecardwillnow be second from the face. Of course if you wish you can move the card to this positionusingyourfavouritemethod.Youarenowreadytoforcethepoolcard ontothespectatorusingthePaulHallasFortuneForce. FortuneForce Starttodealcardsontothetableoneatatimeslowly.Asyoudealthefirstthree cardstellthespectatoryouwilldealcardsontothetableandthattheycanstop anytimetheylike.Onceyouhavesaidthisdonotsayanotherword.Youwill have already have dealt three cards onto the table so the spectator will stop probablywithinthenextthreecardsdealt.Thiswillleaveyouwithapacketof cardsinyourhandandapileofcardsonthetable.Indicatethetopcardofthe packet in your hand and explain to the audience that the spectator could have stoppedanywherebutstoppedrightthere. Nowsimplyperformablockpushoffturningoverallthecardsabovethebottom cardofthepacketasone.Youshouldhavenomorethanthreeorfourcardsthat you need to turn over as one because of how you timed the force. The block turnoverwillshowthecardasbeingthepoolcard. Continuebyturningover thetopcardofthepileonthetableandsayingthatiftheystoppedonecardless there would have been a totally different outcome. Rotate your left hand and showthebottomcardofthepacketexplainingthatiftheyhadwaitedtilltheend therewouldhavebeenadifferentoutcomeagainbuttheystoppedonthepool card.Blockpushoffthecardsfacedownagainandreassemblethepacket.Wrap

the elastic band around the packet again and hold it in the left hand. You are nowsetfortherevealofthelighter. RevealingTheLighter Younowbuilduptheeffectbyexplainingthatthespectatorhasbeenholdingthe lighterfromthebeginningoftheeffect.Askthespectatortounwrapthelighter andshowittotheaudience.Asthisishappeningandthereforealltheattention isonthespectatorcasuallyputthepacketofcardsawayinthelefthandpocket. Whilst in the pocket palm the pool ball and immediately bring your hand out from your pocket hiding the ball from view. Nobody will notice this as all attentionisonthechangeofthelighter,whichtheaudiencewillassume,isthe endoftheeffect. StealingTheBalls Takethehandkerchiefbackwiththerighthandandtransferit tothelefthand covering the palmed ball from view. Immediately drop your right hand to the sideandstealthesecondballfromtheball holderunderyour jacket.Waitfor theaudiencetofinishreactingtothelighterchangeandexplainthatpoolisyour favourite game and one other thing you need in a game of pool is a pool ball. Reachoverwithyourrighthandandtakethehandkerchiefaway revealingthe redthreeatthefingertipsofthelefthand.Asyoudothismakesurethatyoudo notflashthepalmedeightball.Asthehandkerchiefistakenawaywiththeright handitwillcoverthepalmedeightballfromviewreadyforthesecondkicker. TheFinalKicker Handtheredthreepoolballtoanaudiencememberandexplainthatwhenyou playpoolthereisonlyonewaytoendthegamewithaneightball.Waitabeat andthenpullbackthehandkerchiefwiththelefthandtorevealtheproduction of a second pool ball. When you are producing these balls make sure that you positiontheballsothatitisheldatthetipsofthefingers.Thisiseasytodoas thereisahandkerchiefprovidingallthecoveryoucouldpossiblyneed.Having theballatthefingertipslooksmoreimpressivethanholdingitinthecentreof yourhand.Handoutthesecondballtoendtheeffect. Comments Thisisaverystrongroutinewithmultiplemomentsofmagic.Althoughitcanbe performedwalkaroundIprefertoperformthismoreinaparloursettingonor bigtablesinacorporateenvironment.Theroutinemakesaperfectopenerasso muchhappensinquicksuccession.Havingsaidthatitwouldalsomakeagreat closer. Youdonothavetoproducetheballsattheendoftheroutineifyoudonotwant to.Tobehonesttheendingcanbevarieddependingonthetypeofperformer youareandyourperformingconditions.Youcouldproduceoneball,twoballs oreventhreeballs.Ihavetoyedwithusingthiseffectinacompetitionactand producing six balls and a full sized triangle as well as a pool cue. I think that wouldreallymakeanimpressiononthejudges!

Finallythepresentationforthisroutineisimportantyouwill need to try the routineinordertofindthebestwaytoperformitthatfitswithyourperforming style.Theroutinestartsoutasacomedymentalismandthenmovesintoalmost a manipulation style act. Normally this would not mesh although the way I perform the routine it works very well. I start very tongue in cheek and act surprisedateverythingthatisappearingoutofnowhere.Ifyouchoosetolearn thisroutineyouwillhavetofindapresentationthatsuitsyou.

 OtherIdeas I wanted to give you a few more ideas that you could play with now that you havecaughtthePoolBallBug.Hopefullytheseideaswillhelpyouthinkofyour ownroutineswithpoolballs AFLURRY YoucouldperformaDavidRothstylecoinflurrywithchalkinsteadofacoin.At theendoftheflurrythatiswhenyouproduceyourjumboloadinthiscasea poolball ACHOPCUP Tellyouraudiencethatyourchopcupisthecornerpocketandtheballisapool ball. Show the audience how easily you can pot the balls on the table because you use magic. At the end of the routine tell everyone that you cannot win withoutan8ballandthenproducethe8ballfromthecupasakickerending CHINKACHINK Chink a Chink is a classic routineso how about performing it with chalk cubes insteadoftheclassicbottlecaps.Chalkcubesarereallyeasytopalmandifyou havean8ballonaballholderyoucanproducethatforyourkickerending MATRIX ThisisthesameideaasChinkaChink.Usechalkcubestoperformmatrixandat theendoftheroutineproduceareal8ball BLACKBALLOONS DavidHarkeyhasaneffectwhereyoublowupablackballoonandthenpulloff the nozzle whereupon it turns into an eight ball. It was written up in his short seriesinGenii,appearsinhisvideoandwasthenpublishedinhisbook,Simply Harkey.Itsawonderfulroutinethatyoushouldlookupbuttheremustbemore that you could do with black balloons. Depending on how you blow them up theylooksomuchlike8balls.Foodforthought? NUDISTDECK How about performing the classic nudist deck routine but havea card selected first and force the 8 of spades. Have all the cards go blank instead of the card theypickedandthentakethiscardproducean8ballfromitandshowthatcard hasgoneblank.Thenasakickeralltheothercardsbecomeprintedagainexcept forthecardtheypicked.Youcouldtalkabouthowthecardsbeingblankisan illusion unless you see the ink come off (produce the 8 ball) which means that thecardswereneverblanktobeginwith(showthedeckisprintedagain).Illlet youworkoutthedetails!

 Credits PoolHallMentalism MichelHoutmarketedaroutinecalledDirtyPoolwherethespectatorpickeda card with pool balls on and then a pool ball was produced from a card box. GarrettThomaspublishedahandlingvariationonhis3DVDsetthroughL&L Publishing where the pool ball was produced from a packet trick wallet. AlthoughmyeffectwascreatedindependentlyIwouldliketoacknowledgeboth of these wonderful routines. The advantage of Pool Hall Mentalism is that the predictionisshownonabusinesscardandthenthepictureisbroughttolifeas anaddedkicker.Thisalsoleavesthenspectatorwithabusinesscard,whichis alwaysnice. IntheCornerPocket ThisroutineisoriginaltomeandnocreditsarerequiredasfarasIamaware TheHardWay This is based on a Matthew Dowden routine from his excellent DVD set Party AnimalpublishedbyAlakazam.TheroutineinquestioniscalledSoleSelection, andlikemostofMatthewssworkisbrilliantlythoughtout.Iaddedtheending where instead of the deck vanishing except for the second selection, the entire pack vanished and you are left holding just a pool ball, which represents the secondselection TradeShowHustle ThisisapetroutineofmineIhavebeendoingatTradeShowsforyears.Asfar asIamawarethereisnobodytocreditwiththisroutine. TrickShotChange ThiswasbasedonaroutinebyJoshuaJay,whichhepublishedinhisfirstbook TheMagicAtlas.Inthiseffectthewrongcardwaschangedtoacorrectcardby knockingthediamondsonthecard.Withmyroutinetheeffectresetsasinstead ofneedingapocketfullofcutoutdiamondsyoujustneedapoolball. BlackEight;CornerWallet TheInitialproductionofthe8ballisDavidRegals.Itwaspublishedinhisbook Constantly Fooling under the title of 8 ball. The second half of the routine is basedonRedHotMomma(alsoknownastheChicagoOpener).Thisisaroutine conceivedbyFrankEverhartandpopularizedbyJimRyan. PoolHallMatrix M magicians have published effects with a Frixon pen including Mark Oberon, Alan Rorrison and Matthew Bich. Jay Sankey has published a matrix using the out to lunch principle and business cards, but his effect uses 4 business cards

and a completely different method. There have been many routines published where coins printed on cards assemble all onto the same card and in Richards Almanac there is a routine where the coins are popped off the card at the end leaving holes in the card this uses a completely different technique and involveslapping. InkToday,GoneTomorrow This routine is based on Oil and Queens by Roy Walton, which was first, publishedinIBIDEMmagazineNo34&35,page812.Itwasoriginallypublished as Vanishing Water and later was renamed Oil And Queens. The use of blank cardschangestheroutinefromanoilandwaterwithakickertooneoftheink vanishingoffthecards.Thepoolballsreallyaddtotheeffect ClearingtheTable The idea of sticking post it notes on the back of double backed cards has been published by Liam Mortimer in his DVD set The Wicked World of Liam MortimerproducedbyBigBlindMedia. 3DPool Ihavebeenperformingthisroutineforyears.HoweveronTheWickedWorldof Liam Mortimer Volume 2 there is a routine using a Frixon pen and business cards where a circle is drawn around a man drawn on a business card and he disappears.Insomewaysthisissimilarto3DPoolsoIwantedtoacknowledge Liams wonderful routine. On his DVD he credits Alan Rorrison for his inspirationforaroutinecalledHeadlessonhisFingersofFuryDVD(againbyBig BlindMedia