The Boof! (Ebook) by Liam Montier 10.00 / $16.00
65 pages, 51 photographs
Available at: http://www.tricktastic.com/downloads/theboof.html
Right off the bat, youre wondering, What the hell is boof? Well inquisitive reader, Im here to tell you that boof means different things to different people. Before reading Liam Montiers definition of the term, I pondered its meaning and asked my wife to do the same.
Jan imagined that the term refers to a soft bark typically emitted by a large dog as a friendly greeting, or as a wind-up to more aggressive barking.
I knew that boof refers to a certain sexual act. I suspected that it might be an acronym for Bouquet Of Odious Flatulence, but then again Im due for a medication evaluation.
Research revealed that that the term also refers to a whitewater kayak maneuver; methamphetamine; and the act of hiding an object where the sun never shines.
Mr. Montiers definition is decidedly different.
Magic with boof is easy to do, straight forward in plot, and strong in effect. In short, substance over style, or the end result being more than the sum of its parts.
So now you know.
Mr. Moniter writes well and does a very good job of teaching the material. He includes presentational scripts for each effect. His appealing sense of humor is evident in both his patter and his teaching.
He duly cites his inspirational sources and provides proper crediting
The photographs are a bit fuzzy, but they do the job.
Scatter Shot: The performer shuffles the deck and holds it in his left hand. He states that he will produce the four Aces, beginning with a one-hand production. He places his right hand into his pants pocket and gives the deck a one-hand cut with his left hand. He removes an Ace from his pants pocket and tables it face-up.
The performer again gives the deck a one-hand cut with his left hand. He flips the top card of the deck face-up, revealing the second Ace. He places this Ace face-up on top of the tabled Ace.
Using both hands, the performer cuts the deck. He turns the top card face-up, revealing an indifferent card. He flips it face-down onto the deck. He directs attention to the tabled Aces which now have a face-down card sandwiched between them. A participant removes the face-down card, turns it over and discovers the third Ace.
The performer places the first two Aces face-down beneath the deck and flips the deck face-up. He retrieves the third Ace from the participant and places it face-up onto the face of the deck, displaying the three Aces.
The performer flips the Aces face-down onto the deck, removes them and tables them face-down.
He cuts the deck and states that he will cause the final Ace to flip face-up in the center of the deck. He turns the deck face-down and spreads it on the table, revealing three Aces face-up in the center.
A participant turns over the tabled packet and discovers that it is the final Ace.
I really like it.
Favouritism: The performer spreads the deck with the faces toward him, removes four cards and places them on the back (top) of the deck.
Two participants freely select cards which are lost in the center of the deck.
The performer states that the four cards that he previously placed on top of the deck are the Jacks. He spreads off the top four cards, takes them into his right hand and tables the deck face-down. He displays the four Jacks.
He fans the Jack packet face-down and a participant names a number from one to four. The performer counts to that Jack, removes it and tables it face-down.
The performer flips the Jack of Spades face-up onto the face-down packet, calling it his lucky Jack. He flips it face-down onto the packet and tables the packet face-down.
The participant inserts her face-down Jack out-jogged into the face-down deck. The performer flips her card face-up to reveal its identity and leaves it protruding from the face-down deck.
He spreads the deck between his hands and removes the face-up Jack and the face-down cards on either side of it. The performer turns over face-down cards, revealing two Jacks.
The performer turns the tabled packet face-up, revealing his lucky Jack sandwiched between the two selections.
I like it.
Psychic Blackjack: The performer deals four face-down Blackjack hands in a square formation. He retains the face-down deck in his left hand.
He hands the participant a poker chip and asks her to drop it on any of the hands, as a bet on the performers behalf. She does so.
With his right hand, the performer picks up one of the unselected hands. He places the bottom card of the pair onto the deck and flips it face-up, revealing a Six. He turns the remaining card face-up, revealing a King for an undesirable 16. He places the King face-up and side-jogged onto the Six and tables the deck with the face-up cards on top.
He turns the other two unselected hands face-up and they both consist of a Six and a court card.
The participant removes the poker chip, turns her selected hand face-up and discovers an Ace and a court card for a Blackjack.
In another scenario, the hand chosen by the participant consists of a Six and a court card. The three other hands are all Blackjacks.
Mr. Montier includes a single, powerful paragraph in which he offers an excellent argument for not letting a participant change her mind after she has made a choice. I will never again let a participant change her mind. Thats the good news.
The bad news is that placing an unselected hand onto the deck for the sole purpose of turning the cards face-up is a load of contrived hooey. The performer effortlessly turns the other unselected hands face-up while theyre resting on the table. What makes that first hand so special?
Considering that the deck is not used for the remainder of the effect, why is he even holding it? Because the unfortunate method demands it.
I dont like it.
Hard to Read: The performer spreads the deck face-down and a participant touches the backs of five cards. The performer out-jogs these cards and closes the spread. He peels the out-jogged cards onto his left palm and then places them on top of the deck. He thumbs them off of the deck and tables the deck. The performer hands the packet to his participant, who mixes it.
He retrieves the packet and tells the participant that he will name each card. He instructs her to deny that each of the cards is hers. He will attempt to identify her card by reading her tell.
The performer removes one card from the packet and tables the four remaining cards. He turns the card face-up and it is the selected card. The participant turns over the tabled card and discovers the four Aces.
I like it.
X-Static: The performer places a Joker face-up on top of the deck. He riffles the corner of the deck until the participant stops him. He takes the stopped-at portion into his left hand. His left thumb drags the selected card off of the right hand portion onto the face-up Joker on top of the left hand cards. He uses the right hand packet to flip the selection face-up on top of the Joker.
The participant signs her card. The performer uses the right hand cards to flip the selection face-down on top of the left hand cards. His left thumb pushes the selection off of the packet and inserts it in the middle of the right hand packet, leaving it side-jogged. He tables that packet.
The performer removes the face-up Joker from the packet and rubs it on his sleeve to generate a static charge. He rubs the Joker on the packet and the top card transforms into a second face-up Joker. He places the first Joker, side-jogged, on top of the newly minted Joker.
Using his right hand, the performer picks up the tabled packet, squares the side-jogged selection and spreads the packet face-down on the table. A face-down card appears between the face-up Jokers on top of the left hand packet. The performer turns the card face-up, revealing the signed selection. He squares the packet, leaving the selection face-up between the face-up Jokers.
The performer takes the packet into his right hand. He peels the first Joker onto his left palm, followed by the selection and the second Joker. He places the right hand cards on top of the tabled portion.
The selection vanishes from between the Jokers. The participant spreads the face-down deck and discovers her selection face-up in the middle.
I like it.
The Big Squeeze: The performer removes the Aces from the deck and tables them face-up. A participant selects a card, the Five of Hearts, which is lost in the deck.
The performer places the Aces face-up on top of the deck and displays them.
He pushes the uppermost Ace of Hearts off the side of the deck, revealing that the other three Aces have vanished. He tables the Ace face-up, stating that it tells him that the selection is a Heart.
The performer cuts the deck and places the face-up Ace of Hearts on top. He spreads the face-down deck between his hands and the Five of Spades appears face-up in the middle. He states that it signifies that the selection is a Five.
He removes the Five and places it face-up on top of the Ace of Hearts. He takes those cards into his right hand, pushes them through his fist and the Five of Hearts emerges and falls face-up onto the deck. He tosses the selection onto the table.
I like it.
Equidistant Transpo: The performer tables a face-down four card packet to the left and another face-down four card packet to the right. He picks up the packet on the left, flips it face-up on top of the deck and displays the four Twos. He removes the face-up Twos and tables them in a squared packet off to the left.
The performer picks up the packet on the right, flips it face-up on top of the deck and displays the four Queens. He removes the Queens and holds them face-down in his right hand. He flips the deck face-up in his left hand. He inserts the face-down Queens into the face-up deck and then he flips the deck face-down.
The performer places the face-up packet of Twos on top of the deck. He shakes the deck and the Twos instantly transform into the Queens. He tosses the Queens onto the table. He spreads the deck face-down on the table, revealing the four face-up Twos distributed throughout the deck.
I like it.
Straight and Narrow: The performer displays the Aces and places them face-down on top of the face-down deck. He flips the top card face-up, displays the Ace of Spades and refers to it as the leader Ace. He takes it in his right hand.
His left hand thumbs the top three Aces face-down in a row on the table. He places the Ace of Spades back onto the deck and uses his free right hand to adjust the row of tabled Aces. Then he tables the face-up Ace of Spades behind the row.
The performer removes four spot cards from the deck and displays them. He decides that four cards are too many. He turns the spot card packet face-down and deals the top card onto the Ace of Spades.
He picks up the Ace of the left end of the row and inserts it into the spot card packet. He flips the packet face-up and reveals that the Ace has vanished. He turns the packet face-down and places the top card onto the Ace of Spades.
The performer picks up the left-most Ace and inserts it into the spot card packet. He flips the packet face-up and reveals that the Ace has vanished. He turns the packet face-down and places the top card onto the Ace of Spades.
He picks up the remaining Ace and inserts it into the spot card packet. He flips the packet face-up and reveals that the Ace has vanished. He deals the spot cards into a face-up pile to the right of the leader packet. The Ten of Spades is the top card of the packet.
The performer turns the three face-down cards atop the Ace of Spades face-up and arranges them in a row between the Ace and the Ten to reveal a royal flush in Spades.
The initial tabling of the Aces is contrived and unnatural. Read those first two paragraphs again. No sentient being would use that awkward procedure to simply deal four cards to the table, unless the unsavory method demanded it.
I dont like it.
Munchies: The performer spreads through the face-up deck and up-jogs the four Kings, referring to them as cannibals. He strips the Kings from the deck and takes them onto his left palm. He drops the face-up deck onto the Kings and turns the deck face-down. He thumbs the top four cards into his right hand.
The performer tables the deck and cuts it into three piles. He turns the top card of each pile face-up to display indifferent cards that he calls victims.
He places one of the victims face-up on top of the face-down cannibal packet and cuts it. He counts the packet, revealing that he holds only four face-down cannibals. The victim has been eaten.
The performer repeats this procedure with the other two victims, leaving him with only four face-down cards. He tosses these cards face-up onto the table, revealing that they are the four Tens.
Im terrified of a certain Vernon technique that Mr. Montier employs. I would never consider using it. Im trembling just thinking about it. Fortunately, my phobia doesnt prevent me from enjoying the effect and appreciating the method.
I like it.
King King Thing Thing: The card case rests on the center of the table. The performer displays the four Kings face-up on top of the face-down deck. He flips them face-down onto the deck and thumbs them into his right hand.
To clear a space for the Kings, the performer uses his deck-holding left hand to pick up the card case. He places the face-down spread of Kings in the now open space. He removes the card case from atop the now face-down deck and tables it off to the left.
The performer cuts the deck and then fans it in his left hand. He picks up the face-down Kings, inserts them into different areas of the fan, pushes them flush and squares the deck.
The performer riffles the deck and turns it face-up, revealing the King of Clubs on its face. He cuts it back into the deck.
He flips the deck face-down and riffles it toward the card case. He picks up the card case and reveals a face-down card beneath it. He places the card case on top of the deck in his left hand. The participant turns the tabled card face-up and discovers the King of Hearts. The performer tables the card case.
The performer retrieves the King and buries it in the deck. He tables the deck and turns the top card face-up to reveal the King of Spades. He flips it face-down onto the deck.
The performer removes the King of Diamonds from his pants pocket. He places it face-down on top of the deck, shuffles the deck and slides it near the participant.
The participant snaps her fingers. She turns the top card face-up and discovers a King. She turns the deck over and finds another King at its face. She picks up the card case and discovers the third King beneath it. She removes the final King from the performers pocket.
I love the effect but I hate the method. The performer is holding the deck in his left hand. He is holding the four Kings in his right hand. His task is to insert the Kings into the deck. He is in the perfect position to do so right now.
But no! For no justifiable reason, he decides that he needs to table the Kings! Why? That irrational decision creates the laughable sequence with the card case that ultimately brings him right back to where he started with the deck in his left hand and the infernal Kings in his right hand!
After he picks up the card case to reveal the card beneath it, why oh why does he put the damn card case on top of the deck instead of simply tabling it near the revealed card? Because the horrendous, soul-sucking, dehumanizing method demands it!
I dont like it.
Britland Twist: The performer removes the Jacks from the deck, displays them face-up on top of the face-down deck, turns them face-down and picks them up with his right hand. He tables the deck.
The performer counts the Jacks to indicate that they are all face-down. He turns the top Jack face-up and places it in-jogged beneath the packet. He turns the next Jack face-up and out-jogs it on top of the packet.
He squares the packet and pushes it through his fist. He counts the packet to reveal that all of the Jacks are face-down.
The performer repeats the procedure of sandwiching two face-down Jacks between two face-up Jacks, pushing the packet through his fist and revealing that the Jacks are all face-down.
He again sandwiches two face-down Jacks between two face-up Jacks. He squares the packet and turns it face-down. He counts the packet to reveal that all of the Jacks are face-down.
The performer states that he will use the Jacks to catch an Ace. He counts the packet and the Ace of Spades appears face-up. He removes it from the packet and places it face-down on top.
He pushes the packet through his fist and another Ace appears on its face. He counts the face-up packet, revealing that all of the cards are Aces.
I like it.
Cheater: The performer removes the Ace of Spades and the Jack of Spades and places them face to face on top of the face-down deck. He lifts them off of the deck and inserts them into his left sleeve.
He removes a red Nine and a red Seven and places them face to face on top of the face-down deck. He thumbs over the top card, revealing the face-up Ace of Spades beneath it. He turns the top card face-up and it is the Jack of Spades.
He removes the red Nine and Seven from his sleeve.
I like it.
Retarded Departure (Liam Montier & Jack Tighe): The performer removes the four Queens and tables the deck face-up. He flips the Queen packet face-down in his left hand.
A participant cuts the deck to select a card. With his right hand, the performer picks up the original bottom half of the deck with the selection at its face. He peels the selection onto the face-down Queen packet and places the remainder of the deck on top of the tabled portion.
The performer turns the selection face-down and inserts it into the Queen packet. He flips the packet face-up and counts the cards, revealing that the selection has vanished. He tables the Queen packet face-down.
He picks up the face-up deck, spreads through it and a face-down card appears. He removes the card and holds it in his left hand. He tables the deck off to the side.
The performer turns the card face-up and it transforms into the four Queens. The participant turns over the tabled packet and discovers that it is her selected card.
I really like it
Collectable (Liam Montier & Jack Tighe): The performer removes three cards and tables them in a face-down packet.
With his left thumb, he riffles the deck until a participant stops him. He reaches into the break, removes the selection and flips it face-up on top of the deck. The participant signs the card. The performer flips the card face-down and inserts it into the deck, leaving it out-jogged.
He riffles the deck again (above the out-jogged selection) and a second participant stops him. He removes the selection, flips it face-up on top of the deck and the participant signs it. He flips the card face-down and inserts it out-jogged into the deck above the first selection.
The performer picks up the tabled packet and flips it face-up on top of the deck to display the three Queens. He cuts the deck between the out-jogged selections and completes the cut. He pushes the selections flush.
The performer spreads the deck between his hands until he comes to the first face-up Queen. He tables all of the cards above the Queen. He spreads the top five cards into his right hand, displaying two face-down cards sandwiched among the face-up Queens. He out-jogs these cards and turns the spread over, revealing the signed selections. He rotates the sandwich so that the Queens are again face-up.
He places the sandwich on top of the deck, then strips out the face-down selections and holds them in his left hand. He tables the top selection face-down and places the other selection face-down and out-jogged on top of the face-down tabled cards. He places the balance of the deck on top of the tabled portion to trap the selection.
The performer picks up the deck and holds it in his left hand. He picks up the other selection, flashes its face and inserts it face-down into the deck from the rear. He pushes the selections flush and immediately spreads over the top five cards, revealing the selections sandwiched among the Queens.
I really like it.
Whispersition (Liam Montier & Jack Tighe): The performer removes three Queens and places them face-up on top of the face-down deck. Two participants freely select cards that they place on the table and cover with their hands.
The performer picks up the Queens and tables the deck off to the side. He takes the first selection and inserts it into the Queen packet. He counts the cards, out-jogs the face-down selection and takes it in his left hand.
He holds the Queen packet to his ear so that he can hear the Queen whisper the selections identity. He correctly names the selection. He tables the selection face-down.
The performer repeats this procedure with the second selection. After correctly identifying the selection, he tables it face-down.
The first participant places her card onto the deck, cuts it and completes the cut.
The performer counts the Queens and a face-down card appears among them. He turns it face-up to reveal the second selection. The second participant turns her card face-up and discovers that it is the first selection.
I like it.
If youre bent upon bestowing bedazzlement, your best bet is to briskly buy The Boof!
Highly Recommended