Card under glass.

A place where beginners can participate, ask questions, and post their views. However, beginners typically ask a lot of questions about sources, tricks, books, and so on. In fact, all magicians are interested (or should be) in the provenance of tricks, ideas, and related matters. This department will service these needs.
Guest

Card under glass.

Postby Guest » August 11th, 2006, 1:48 pm

Hi everyone,i'm looking for the definitive card under glass routine and best method,and also where to get hold of said routine,thanks in advance guys. :help:

Guest

Re: Card under glass.

Postby Guest » August 11th, 2006, 1:49 pm

Mike Close, John Bannon, JC Wagner all have good work on this.

Guest

Re: Card under glass.

Postby Guest » August 11th, 2006, 1:57 pm

Thanks Chris for your very prompt reply. :)

Guest

Re: Card under glass.

Postby Guest » August 11th, 2006, 5:01 pm

Hi there John

To add to this list, check page 175 on The Complete Works of Derek Dingle. Derek Digle performed this for me at The Cobblestone Bar in New York in 1982 and fooled me badly by loading the card on top of the glass, I didn't see a thing.

I have used this method successfuly over the years.

Keep well buddy and see you in October

Mike Vincent

Guest

Re: Card under glass.

Postby Guest » August 11th, 2006, 6:19 pm

The original (?) can be SEEN on the video tape of Heba Haba Al that was released by Randy Wakeman.

Guest

Re: Card under glass.

Postby Guest » August 11th, 2006, 6:27 pm

Doc Easson also has some work on this effect in print.

Guest

Re: Card under glass.

Postby Guest » August 11th, 2006, 6:34 pm

Don't forget Bob Sheets and Doc Eason . If I

remember the story right Sheets learned it from

Heba-heba Al and taught it to Doc Eason.Ive seen

both the above as well as J.C.Wagner do it and

all do it well. Its on Doc Easons DVD and in

J.C.'s book if you are interested.......Mike

Guest

Re: Card under glass.

Postby Guest » August 11th, 2006, 8:53 pm

Originally posted by JOHN STAR A.I.M.C.:
Hi everyone,i'm looking for the definitive card under glass routine and best method
I'm sorry; I can't resist.

The best method is: steal the card out of the deck and put it under the glass when they're not looking.


:D :D :D

Guest

Re: Card under glass.

Postby Guest » August 12th, 2006, 9:49 am

I'm also interested in this effect, but find it hard to get away from 'HAHA I fooled you again! Aren't you dumb'

Any thoughts?

Guest

Re: Card under glass.

Postby Guest » August 12th, 2006, 11:29 am

My initial thought is to treat it like a card to impossible location effect instead of a challenge effect. Although is you repeat it more than two or three times, this effect inevitably meanders towards a challenge effect, akin to, say, Ambitious Card.

Personally, I like keeping it between the two: Doc Eason's handling of putting more and more time between each revelation is a great model; the challenge is still there, but it also allows for each revelation to be completely distinct in the scheme of a longer routine. Check out his Rocky Mountain Series; #1 has his 30 minute card act and CUG tips.

Guest

Re: Card under glass.

Postby Guest » August 12th, 2006, 3:27 pm

The best method is: steal the card out of the deck and put it under the glass when they're not looking.
Or Dingles method, which is Steal the card out of the deck WHILE theyre looking and put in under the drink when theyre not

Or Closes method, which is Keep them wondering where the damn card is going to show up until the DECK ends up under the saltshaker.

Honestly though, anyone interested in this sort of effect MUST study Michael Close's work in "The Card, The Forehead and the Saltshaker". It is a masterpiece of constuction.

Guest

Re: Card under glass.

Postby Guest » August 12th, 2006, 3:38 pm

Originally posted by mrgoat:
I'm also interested in this effect, but find it hard to get away from 'HAHA I fooled you again! Aren't you dumb'

Any thoughts?
Yeah, the entire first chapter of my book Tubthumping is my routine for card on forehead and on how to take away the sting of such effects while still using them to control your audience.

The basic thrust of which is this: If you can stick a card on your face while everyone is watching they have NO CHANCE of catching you so they might was well sit back and enjoy the ride. The script is designed create that degree of control, while still seeming like a fun and friendly guy.

I should point out that it is NOT adaptable to the Card under Drink effect. You must use your forehead with my script.

I consider the card in plain sight a distinct effect from card to impossible location, because when the card appears in plain sight (unless its somewhere you couldnt have gotten to, like the other side of a porthole in a submarine) the audience knows that you put it there when they werent looking. And thats OK as long as you make the trick into a game (try a Monte routine) or a practical joke rather than trying to declare it a mystery. And having a trick they can figure out makes them happy...

They dont know HOW you managed to put it there when they werent looking, but theyre happy that it didnt completely fool them Thats why I like COF as an opener. I can get control of the group, make them laugh and look like a fun guy to hang out with then later I can bend their minds with something thats not possible as Simon Aronson says.

Card Under Drink is a bit limited because only those close to the drink can see it. Better, under most circumstances, to bring things up to eye level, in my opinion.

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Re: Card under glass.

Postby Michael Close » August 12th, 2006, 4:24 pm

My thanks to Bill Duncan for his kind words.

In the write-up of The Card, the Forehead, and the Salt Shaker I discuss two performance restrictions. One has to do with the shape of the table. The other has to do with the nature of the spectators. Here is that text (the paragraph with the brackets is part of the recent annotations):

The other performance restriction is this: you must size up your audience very carefully. The two people who assist you (especially the lady on the right) are going to pay some dues. A routine of this nature can be very frustrating for an audience, since they are never able to catch you. You want people who will laugh at the futility of their situation, not become angry over it. This is not a routine to use for spectators who are challenging or belligerent in nature. However, if your audience is laughing and getting into the spirit of the performance this routine is perfect.

[I cannot overemphasize the importance of the above paragraph. One night at Illusions, Chris Moore (one of the founders) was in attendance. He had not seen the salt shaker routine, and I was anxious for him to see it. There was only one more table to perform for, and as I sized up the couple I was sure that the woman was going to hate the shaker routine. I did it anyway, so Chris could see it. It was a miserable experience. When I do this routine at magic conventions, I always try to watch part of the set of the performer ahead of me. I scan the audience, looking for a woman who will be a suitable helper. I try to never choose blindly.]

Another important point, which I have not discussed in print, is the importance of what you say. I never say the words "I put the card (wherever)." I only say, "The card is (wherever)." To some degree this softens the "stick it in their face" aspect of a routine of this type.

For those interested, The Card, the Forehead, and the Salt Shaker is available in The Complete Workers Series ebook on my website. The routine has been extensively annotated.

Close
www.michaelclose.com

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Richard Kaufman
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Re: Card under glass.

Postby Richard Kaufman » August 12th, 2006, 5:06 pm

One interesting thing which I learned from doing the Card on Forehead (after learning it from Dingle) is that I could only get away with it if the spectators were sitting and I was standing. My control over their attention wasn't sufficient to misdirect them if both of us were standing--my face was too near their line of vision. So, when if the spectators are standing, I actually turn away for a moment and make a comment to someone standing off to my far right or left, done while the spectator is spreading through the deck and looking for his card.
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Guest

Re: Card under glass.

Postby Guest » August 13th, 2006, 4:56 am

Fascinating replies from some people I feel a little humbled have taken the time!

Thank you gentlemen

Damian

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Re: Card under glass.

Postby r paul wilson » August 13th, 2006, 5:02 am

By far the most magical card under glass experience I ever had was when Gordon Bruce performed it several times (with a killer ending I won't spoil for you). It was in a bar in Glasgow around 1989 and I remember every load catching me off-guard. Gordon discusses the effect in his lecture.

An excellent handling is also taught on one of the Opus videos by Chris Power. Watching Chris perform CUG is a lesson in timing. I don't think he ever gets caught and his way to load the glass is exceptionally clever.

P

Guest

Re: Card under glass.

Postby Guest » August 13th, 2006, 10:16 am

I've seen Gordon Bruce perform this a number of times, and it is one of the most wonderful pieces of magical entertainment I have seen.
And as for mrgoat's concern; it is a good concern, but at no point did I feel that I was being made a fool of. Now, that must be down to the performer's personality, however, as far as I know, no footage exists of Gordon performing this. But there is footage of Heba Haba Al, who also does not make the spectator look dumb. And I'd also recommend the DVD of Al Goshman, who, while not performing card under glass, does repeat his coin under shaker effect many times, and at no time does the spectator look stupid. There is a sly humour involved, and while, yes, it does feel a bit like a challenge, the reality is you just end up helplessly amazed.

Guest

Re: Card under glass.

Postby Guest » August 13th, 2006, 1:33 pm

Thanks all again. I have the Goshman performace, and is it the continued and drawan out reptition of the coins that makes it work as less of a challange and more of a running joke?

Are the card under glass routines that follow the same idea? Playing it as a running joke intersperesed with other effects?

Thanks again, what a great forum this really is.

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Dustin Stinett
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Re: Card under glass.

Postby Dustin Stinett » August 13th, 2006, 4:24 pm

Do you have the International Magic DVD (The Albert Goshman Lecture) or the original Magic by Gosh video? If its the latter, I highly recommend getting the International Magic edition because the two performances are like night and day and the answer to your question is in the performance on the IM edition. So, if you already have it, watch it again and again and study it.

Its all about the performers character, not the trick. I was very fortunate to see Albert do his act many times and it was because of his character that people reacted as they did. The young ladyand it was always a young ladyobviously never felt threatened by Albert (somehow they knew right away that he was harmless) and, as Dom mentioned, he never made them look foolish. Thats because she, and the other gal as well, became important players in his act! Show them, he would say. The implication was, Look how we fooled them not, Look, I got you again! Ha-ha-ha!

And I wouldnt call it a running joke or gag either. It was magical call-back, not comedic call-back (though it got laughs, as a lot of good magic does; its inherent). The magic was great, but that act was all about Albert.

Dustin

Guest

Re: Card under glass.

Postby Guest » August 13th, 2006, 5:03 pm

Check out Tommy Middleton's "Bottoms Up!"
It's a streamlined little card-under-glass gem that was published in as a booklet by David Harkey several years ago.

Guest

Re: Card under glass.

Postby Guest » August 29th, 2006, 6:22 pm

When magicians ask me how I get the card under the drink ... I tell them that the physical act of putting the card under the glass is pretty simple and I show them how it works. Then I tell them they gotta figure out when to do it. This is the hard part. Difficult if not impossible to learn from a book. The interaction factor is missing.

It is something that you have to learn under fire. Harkening back to Schulien's advice ... go get caught, it's the only way you'll learn.

After doing CUG for thousands of performances, I can tell you there is a LOT of *physiological* misdirection involved as well. Gary Kurtz' book Leading with your Head covers a lot of this work. So does a lifetime of study of Slydini. Kurtz incidentally has a wonderful version of CUG in that book to be done at a table.

Re the sting factor. There is a feeling of power that one gets when you realize that you have snuck the card under the glass and NO ONE has seen it. I really think that it is a factor of personality as to how you proceed. It is easy to adopt a stinging attitude. Reread Michael Close's way of handling it. You don't HAVE to be a jerk about it. I often make the comment... "Whoa! I didn't even see that one and I am over here!" As if I am as amazed as they are.. That sometimes helps with the sting factor.

Tommy Middleton's nicely produced little booklet contains a different way to steal the card and load it. It should be listed in a bibliography of written material on the subject but it is just one way of doing it.

Doc

Jeff Eline
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Re: Card under glass.

Postby Jeff Eline » August 30th, 2006, 8:15 am

I have what is probably a silly question, but I'll ask anyway. When performing CUG, are you concerned with the condensation from the glass and the possible effects on the card?

I know you can (and maybe should) use an empty glass. But I have seen guys perform using the spectators glass.

Mark Collier
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Re: Card under glass.

Postby Mark Collier » August 30th, 2006, 10:08 am

I do the CUG all of the time with the spectators glass. I use John Bannon's version (among others) from Smoke and Mirrors since it doesn't use table space for a ribbon spread. This version also puts the selection under the glass twice and an indifferent card under the glass once.

The cards do get wet. I use this primarily when doing walkaround. When doing walkaround, I am doing card to pocket, CUG, and having cards selected etc. The deck is going to get a workout. I accept this. I have a rapid fire style of performing and I keep the deck in my pocket uncased so I can go right into performing w/o having to repocket the case or recase the deck. This is hard on the cards and sometimes I have to get a new deck before the night is over but that's OK with me.

I think the CUG is more surprising when it appears under the spectators glass. I just wipe the card off on my pantleg and continue. By the end of the night, the deck is ready to throw away (after picking out certain cards to use for for Twins, Stan, Kate and Edith etc.)

Getting the cards wet and wiping them off on a pantleg may not be very elegant (and I don't do it in all situations) but it suits my style in the right venue. I work in a very popular Cajun restaurant in Santa Barbara. It's a fun but noisy environment. CUG is a great trick in venues like this.

As far as taking the sting out of the effect, it comes with learning to read people. There are times I don't do the trick because it's too invasive. In a very high class setting where people are acting snooty, the CUG can cause them to look at you like they just came home and found you in their house. You were in their space. You touched their drink. CUG definitely pushes on comfort zones.

Learning to deal with people's comfort zones is every bit as important as learning the correct timing when doing CUG.

I think good comedy and good magic both push on comfort zones. They both challenge the way you look at the world. It can be a bit uncomfortable to have your world rocked.

It's something I think about a lot. How can you fool an educated, intelligent adult and then get them to not only forgive you but thank you? Every successful magician has to figure out how to do this.

Mutual respect, a likeable character, a fun easy going manner, an obvious passion and dedication to our craft, confident and comfortable with the technical demands are what is required but difficult to teach.


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