Secrets of a Peurto Rican Gambler and For Your Entertainment Pleasure!

[erdnasephile]

Two of my absolute favorite all time magic books have just been reprinted: "Secrets of a Puerto Rican Gambler"
and "For Your Entertainment Pleasure" -- Magic by Daryl. Written by Stephen Minch.

Back in the day, I learned and performed every routine in the first book and nearly every routine in the second. Several routines remain in my permanent performance repertoire and are just as strong today as when they were first published. (One routine in particular has been one of my openers forever). No novelty for novelty sake here--you won't find pipedreams with plastic robots, playdough, or silly string. What you will find are practical, high impact full routines that are easily adaptable to your own personality. Technical requirements are about intermediate, but with Minch at the writing helm, it's all crystal clear. Since I perform several of these routines regularly, I'm not terribly happy they are back in print, but I am glad that those who haven't read them are going to have a great time learning and using these routines.

http://www.daryl.net/product_detail.php ... =40&id=784

[Richard Kaufman]

Coincidentally, the person mistakenly identified as a "Puerto Rican Gambler" (who was not), died yesterday. He was my good friend Jose "Pepe" Sousa.

[Gordon Meyer]

Some of my favorite books, and definitely a big influence when I was young. I'm also a bit sorry to see them come out again, but the work here by Daryl, and the great writing by Minch, do deserve a new audience.

[David Moore]

How does the publishing of these new editions affect the value of the originals?

[fredreisz]

We have been down this road before on this Forum. My former original "collector's" copies, preserved carefully through the years. just plunged in value in the last few days. Daryl has a Collector's Edition of the combined books for $100, I believe. Limited numbers, of course....but don't hold it too long. Given a decade or so it will be re-printed with colored photos of all moves. Certainly Daryl has the right to re-issue and reap the money himself. I will file my older versions with my Maven color series mentalism books. Perhaps I should unload my Marlo Magazines quickly! Age has its risks.....and rewards. Peace...Fred (Reisz)

[erdnasephile]

How does the publishing of these new editions affect the value of the originals?

I'm sure the reprint has impacted the monetary value of the originals, but since I've had a chance to sell my copies for about 35 years, I think reprinting them in the format they deserve is OK with me.

I also look at it as having had an exclusive on the material for 2 decades or more, and I've performed the heck out of some of those routines (and haven't personally seen anyone else do many of them), so I feel I got more than my money's worth from the originals.

I hope Daryl sells a bunch of them, and that the books spawn a lot of excitement and creativity in the new generation who haven't had a chance to experience this material.

[I.M. Magician]

I am wondering how difficult the effects are to learn and perform. Can you expound on the technical requirements being intermediate statement. In essence, what sleights, etc. are required to master what's in these books?

[erdnasephile]

I am wondering how difficult the effects are to learn and perform. Can you expound on the technical requirements being intermediate statement. In essence, what sleights, etc. are required to master what's in these books?

Some of the sleights required: Hofzinser Spread Cull, Double Lift, Vernon's Triple Break Control, Charlier Cut, LePaul Bluff Pass, Vernon's Triumph Shuffle, Forton Pop-Out, Secret Subtraction, Elmsley Count/Elmsley-like Counts, Bobo Switch, L'Homme Masque's loading move, Convincing Control, False transfer, Sponge Bunny loading move, etc.

That may sound like a daunting list, but everything is described in sufficient Minchian detail to make them easy to understand and learn. There were a few sleights that I remember took extra time to learn: Daryl's Hot Shot cut and the Boomeranging Card sequence come to mind. However, a bit of focused, intentional practice pays off quickly. There are no "sleight-free" routines, and the easiest routine in either book is "The Mysterious Cross of India" (which is in the video above). There are no what I would consider to be "knuckle busters." All of the material is quite doable with intermediate skills with some work. In addition, several of the routines have been published in video form as well which may be of use in learning.

On a "Magic Hardness Scale" (based on my personal perception of the average difficulty of published routines), I'd probably put it like this:

(REALLY HARD) Kosby, Nash, Price, Wimhurst > Ortiz, Swain, Vincent, Carney > Daryl > Lorayne > Beam (SLEIGHT FREE)

I hope that helps!

[I.M. Magician]

That certainly does help. Thank you erdnasephile!

[Leonard Hevia]

Thanks Erdnasephile for the news about the new editions of these two books. A friend loaned me Secrets of a Puerto Rican Gambler a while back and I guess I can return it now.

Your Magic Hardness Scale looks accurate to me.

[Richard Kaufman]

The tricks in Secrets of a Puerto Rican Gambler are not remotely easy. Darryl used to be an incredibly talented cardman who did really difficult stuff. Don't know if he still does, but the book's the proof. Don't think you're buying a Harry Lorayne book.

[I.M. Magician]

Good to know. I'll stick with Harry Lorayne books.

I was going to start learning a short stack of card tricks and then Tenyoism came out so I got distracted. I am hoping to get back on track soon. I want to start doing card tricks again. It's been a long time!

[Joji Matsuo]

Daryl was the main guest at Hakone last April. There is a little contest we have where about a dozen participants volunteer to show a single effect each.
I did Triumph straight out of Secrets of a Puerto Rican Gambler and Daryl complimented me on it. I knew it was a nice gesture by the master, but when I later asked him to settle a 30-year long mystery about the timing of the control he uses in this effect, he replied, "I don't do those difficult sleights anymore and honestly, I don't think I can. You do it well." That compliment made my day. After a brief moment, he did show me the timing, and it was interesting to see because the timing was much slower than I had imagined from the description in the book.

The real happy moment for me was when Yuki Tomo asked me to teach him the routine because he had forgotten it and wanted to reacquaint himself with it. I helped him remember the parts he forgot and we had some fun dissecting it. Yuki liked my presentation, which is something I've developed over the course of 30+ years.

[erdnasephile]

Cool story, Mr. Matsuo!

It's funny, the control in the book is the one thing I've replaced with something else. I just never found that particular control to be very deceptive (in my hands). I should probably restudy it.

I have also heard Daryl make a similar statement about how he prefers easier material these days, but I'll bet dude still has mad chops.

[Gordon Meyer]

Funny, I devoured these books in my youth. Not saying I mastered any of it, but I worked on every routine. Then I got a copy of Harry Lorayne's Quantum Leaps and felt completely completely over my head.

[Joji Matsuo]

It's funny, the control in the book is the one thing I've replaced with something else. I just never found that particular control to be very deceptive (in my hands). I should probably restudy it.

You're not the first person to mention that. I don't think any magician will ever find it deceptive, but I've never had a laymen question me on it. I realize that doesn't mean that laymen are fooled by it, but I'm willing to think they are left in the dust if executed properly. As a magician, I think it's more like a "did he do what I think he did" moment.

[Joji Matsuo]

Funny, I devoured these books in my youth. Not saying I mastered any of it, but I worked on every routine. Then I got a copy of Harry Lorayne's Quantum Leaps and felt completely completely over my head.

I couldn't visualize what Piet Forton's Pop Out Move should look like. Luckily, there were lots of Japanese magicians doing it at the time, so I had some good visuals, somewhat akin to what YouTube is today.

[erdnasephile]

For those who are interested in a brief preview of the material, there is a coin routine from "For Your Entertainment Pleasure" published in this month's MAGIC.

To be honest, this particular routine does seem like a bit of a weird choice to use as a preview, as I think some of the card routines are more representative of what Daryl is better known for (perhaps that was the intent?).

The routine is a solid one, but requires lapping. I actually prefer Carney's take on the similar theme (in his "Seasons" DVD set) for that reason. Nevertheless, the routine will give someone new to the books a sense of the writing style and level of detail included in the books.

Enjoy!

[erdnasephile]

The two books arrived today. [I ordered the deluxe limited edition, which I typically don't do, but I esteem these books so highly that I decided to live a little ]

In terms of the physical plant: I was a little surprised at the size of the books--they appeared oversized to me in the ads, but they are the same size as "The Paper Engine" and "One Degree". This is a good thing: they are very convenient to carry about. The 2 deluxe books are black, leatherette covered and have a nice solid binding. The matching slipcase fits well and is very sturdy. All items are gold stamped with their respective titles and are personally signed and numbered (only 250 printed). The paper is of good quality with an enamel-like finish. The books are very pleasing to hold and to read.

I won't comment much on the quality of the material as that has been amply covered above. The writing is typical excellent Minch (although he tended to be a little wordier in those early years). Full patter is included within the routines, but I can't imagine anyone but Daryl using many of those lines, which is how it should be. (Indeed, I have never seen anyone but Daryl perform "Papa Rabbit hits the big Time" effectively). Some of the real value in these books occurs in the detailed descriptions of the sleights involved in the routines. Little professional touches abound to make the work look or operate cleaner. For example, the use of the left ring finger during the Convincing Control and the tip on concealing multiple breaks are the type of things that experienced cardworkers take for granted, but this is where many of us first learned these finesses. There are also some useful brief essays on "Jazz magic" and "canceling".

I did not find much in the way of new material. The text of the base routines appear essentially unchanged without any additional variations. This doesn't bother me. It may be a reflection that these routines were so solidly constructed in the first place, that they have been able to hold up well exactly as written, despite their vintage. Indeed, I believe that even Daryl himself says he still does these routines exactly as they appear in the book.

The "new" 2016 material included are 2 manuscripts that were originally sold separately. In volume one, Daryl includes his award winning "Double Dazzling Triumph", which actually does contain some additional work. Volume two contains, "The Psychological Assembly", an dead easy, but fooling Joker assembly. Both of these bonus routines are worthy of your study and use. The first routine is based off of his Puerto Rican Triumph, but with just a little extra work gives you an added humorous kicker (Jamy Ian Swiss has a nice script for this routine in his "Theatrics" notes). In addition, I especially like how Daryl has structured the latter assembly routine: giving versions that range from easy to the expert.

If there is one small niggle (and it is a small one in the context of how great these books are), it's in the reproduction of the photos. The photos are clear, large, well shot, and demonstrate what you need to see. There's also a whole lot more of them than in the original books (Indeed, the second volume originally had excellent line drawings). However, on the printed page, the photos appear soft and fainter than what I'm used to seeing. Consequently, I wish the photos had been printed with more contrast and sharpness. The original photos are apparently very nice (some appear in color in the above cited MAGIC preview). For some reason, I think they just didn't reproduce as well during the printing process, and it's a shame that having color photos is still cost prohibitive for projects of this size. The bottom line though is that the photos are well-chosen and you can definitely learn the routines from them.

All in all, I'm very happy with my purchase. Sure, some new material or updates would have been very welcome (I was a little surprised there wasn't at least a new author's foreword). I was going to say that I enjoyed reacquainting myself with the routines, but I've been using much of the material regularly for years and know it well. If anything, this was a fun chance for me to see how I've subconsciously changed the routines to fit me throughout the years.

Who should buy these? For someone who does not own these books but has a serious interest in classic close-up plots, sleight of hand, and real world "workers" this is an easy "Buy it Now" recommendation. If you already own the originals, I'm not sure the 2 bonus routines are enough reason to repurchase the set, as the two original manuscripts that contain them can still be found pretty easily. (In fact, most Daryl fans probably already own them.) However, as I said earlier, it's nice to see this stellar material get the publication treatment that it deserves. Plus I'm an obvious fanboy of Daryl's stuff, so I'm glad I bought them.

PS: Daryl circa 1980's is featured in 2 clips in the current Magicana "The Magic Palace" video exhibition if you'd like to see how some of this material plays.

[AJM]

Great post erdnasephile.

Cheers

Andrew

[Richard Kaufman]

It's no longer "cost prohibitive" to have color photographs in books like this.

[erdnasephile]

I certainly defer to RK's expertise and stand corrected. Thanks!

[Richard Kaufman]

It's my hope to publish several books in the next few years that will have color photos where, in years past, they would have been black and white. This I can do through my printer in China who did Tenyoism.

[erdnasephile]

That sounds great, Richard--the pictures in Tenyoism are beautiful and having a series of sleight of hand books with color photos would be wonderful.

Hard to beat a good Ton Onosaka line drawing though.