Best "card to wallet" wallet???

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aoftelie
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Best "card to wallet" wallet???

Postby aoftelie » October 12th, 2009, 11:19 am

Hi everyone.

I am looking to add the signed card to wallet to my everyday close up routine (and because I always have a wallet on me a great effect).

Can someone reccomend a good wallet to by? I have seen a few bi-fold wallets, and one with a clear plastic drivers license type window for the revealed card.

I am not sure which one would work best for this effect, and also as a general wallet.

Thanks in advance

Jim Maloney
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Re: Best "card to wallet" wallet???

Postby Jim Maloney » October 12th, 2009, 11:27 am

I've always been a fan of the Real Man's Wallet, which I carried for a number of years as my normal wallet. I don't see that listed over at http://www.rfaproductions.com anymore, though it looks like Steve Draun still has it: Real Man's Wallet. Also, I know that Tony's "Modifier" is good as well. That allows you to turn any wallet into a CTW. You can check that out here: The Modifier. The actual load with the modifier is pretty much the same as the Real Man's Wallet, but you can convert just about any wallet (without any damage to the existing wallet).

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Richard Kaufman
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Re: Best "card to wallet" wallet???

Postby Richard Kaufman » October 12th, 2009, 11:30 am

Just get yourself a Balducci Wallet with the slide.

If you feel compelled to produce it from a "sealed" envelope, get the LePaul Wallet.

If you can't palm a card, get a Mullica Wallet.

You can also just do the LePaul original, producing the "sealed" envelope form a batch of envelopes and do away with the rather unnatural looking (in the USA, at any rate) wallet.
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Re: Best "card to wallet" wallet???

Postby Jim Maloney » October 12th, 2009, 12:37 pm

Richard Kaufman wrote:... do away with the rather unnatural looking (in the USA, at any rate) wallet.


This is precisely the reason for the two recommendations I gave above. The Real Man's Wallet looks just like any other you might see in the US. And the Modifier, by nature of it being added to your existing wallet, is the same.

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Richard Kaufman
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Re: Best "card to wallet" wallet???

Postby Richard Kaufman » October 12th, 2009, 1:14 pm

I think the most natural thing is LePaul's original stack of envelopes, as found in his book. It's disarming to pull a stack of apparently used letters held together by a rubberband from your pocket. There's also something interesting about it--the impromptu nature of it, as opposed to a big wallet, which looks like a prop.

Unfortunately I don't care for any of small hip-pocket style card to wallets that are made, though Danny Garcia's idea (using a gimmicked card) in the Ellusionist Ultra Gaff set is both clever and practical.
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erdnasephile
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Re: Best "card to wallet" wallet???

Postby erdnasephile » October 12th, 2009, 1:56 pm

1+

Also, please see Roberto Giobbi's thoughts on this subject in the Card College series.

Magic John
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Re: Best "card to wallet" wallet???

Postby Magic John » October 14th, 2009, 8:27 pm

The Bendix Bombshell is a good wallet, though it is a bit unnatural here in the states as it is quite large. However it does have a great built in switch system as it is a Himber wallet. Add the card from zipped pocket and it is just that much better.

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erdnasephile
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Re: Best "card to wallet" wallet???

Postby erdnasephile » October 14th, 2009, 9:11 pm

I realize that many pros have used the Bendix Bombshell in their professional work (John Mendoza chief amongst them). It is a rather clever idea.

However, IMHO, there is just something that seems unnatural about wallets with Himber straps in them--they just look a little fishy to me personally. (The cable commerical on the "magic wallet" that exposed the principle didn't help much).

I'm sure with great presentation and routine construction, laypersons don't notice them (but I noticed them right off the bat when I first encountered such a wallet.) It's worth noting that Mr. Mendoza himself has written that audiences don't care whether a wallet has bills, credit cards, licenses, etc.--and they never question them on that basis.

Just my two cents--if it works for you--go for it!

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Re: Best "card to wallet" wallet???

Postby Bob Farmer » October 14th, 2009, 9:18 pm

Ignored by everyone, but the wallet with the cleverest and simplest idea is Ross Bertram's. I have one. It's described in one of his books. The card appears inside a zippered compartment. With absolutely no change in the handling you can have the card come out face up or face down (no matter which way you palmed the card). There is no slide, no slit, nothing like that at all -- there is no reset -- it's always ready. In fact, I once handed it to my wife, told it was gaffed and asked her to find the gaff. She found nothing -- because there is no gaff in the usual sense -- it's all psychological.

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Re: Best "card to wallet" wallet???

Postby Jonathan Townsend » October 14th, 2009, 9:19 pm

Doesn't it depend on the attitude of the performer when they take out their wallet and the congruence of the wallet with the rest of the performer's presence? Most performers don't try to make it look like they mugged a guy from over in Europe, are trying to produce the necessary papers as demanded or the right envelope for the correspondence they carry on their visit to this part of the country. So what's left is ...
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David Alexander
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Re: Best "card to wallet" wallet???

Postby David Alexander » October 14th, 2009, 9:57 pm

In my restaurant magic days I did the LePaul Stack of Envelopes hundreds of times. I found it so strong I closed with it. Leaving the signed card and the envelope with the spectator always left them with a strong mystery.

Wallets are fun to play with, but the envelope is something everyone knows and understands and is far more commercial...and far cheaper than an expensive gimmicked wallet...and you can have your name and contact info on the envelope. Those envelopes helped make me extra money over the years. A wallet couldn't have done that.

Jonathan Arturo
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Re: Best "card to wallet" wallet???

Postby Jonathan Arturo » October 29th, 2009, 5:26 pm

On the subject of envelopes over wallet I have used that idea as well with the twist from Paul Harris (or at least it is from one of his books)using the brown paper bag.
It is a very simuliar idea but with a single bag.
I do have to say that The "Leveridge Wallet" is clever as well. Here is a tip if you have not thought of it; instead of the stickers doing the dirty work, use a couple of dollar bills. Those that have the wallet will know what I mean.

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Re: Best "card to wallet" wallet???

Postby Pete McCabe » October 29th, 2009, 6:27 pm

I believe "Super Sack" is the name of the paper bag trick from the Art of Astonishment, although I'm pretty sure it was one of the contributions and not Paul's idea (Don Tanner?). The idea is that you pull out a small brown paper bag whose end is completely stapled shut. The bag can be shown on all sides. The spectator tears it open to discover their signed card; all is examinable. Very clever idea.

I tried this a couple of times years ago, and it worked but was touchy. But I'm a lot better at palming nowI should have another go.

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erdnasephile
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Re: Best "card to wallet" wallet???

Postby erdnasephile » October 29th, 2009, 8:48 pm

"Super Sack" does appear in AOA, and was originally published in "Close-up Fantasies, Book II" as "Super Sack" by Randy Tanner & Bud Dietrich (pg 39) (in this description, however, the spectator does not do the tearing).

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Re: Best "card to wallet" wallet???

Postby Jonathan Townsend » October 30th, 2009, 12:26 pm

The whole biggie about the card to wallet is that it resets when you put your wallet back in your jacket.

How is the reset on the envelopes or the super sack?
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erdnasephile
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Re: Best "card to wallet" wallet???

Postby erdnasephile » October 30th, 2009, 12:45 pm

The reset for the "Super Sack" is simply to get another prepared sack out of your close-up case and stick it in your pocket.

For the LePaul envelopes, you just slip another prepared envelope in the apparatus, or you just exchange the used set for a new loaded set.

Others are very adept at loading their LePaul/Washington/Jennings wallet with a new envelope right in front of people.

Certainly, none of those are as carefree as resetting a Balducci/Kaps wallet, but they have been certainly proven manageable by some real world workers.

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mrgoat
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Re: Best "card to wallet" wallet???

Postby mrgoat » October 30th, 2009, 2:33 pm

I do love Whit Hayden's "I'll just totally reset blatantly in front of the audience" audacity during his ambitious card/card to wallet.

PapaG
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Re: Best "card to wallet" wallet???

Postby PapaG » October 30th, 2009, 3:43 pm

... a la Derek Dingle.

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erdnasephile
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Re: Best "card to wallet" wallet???

Postby erdnasephile » October 30th, 2009, 9:03 pm

. . .and several others :grin:

Jonathan Arturo
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Re: Best "card to wallet" wallet???

Postby Jonathan Arturo » December 22nd, 2009, 7:01 pm

I know that The Swoppper by T.A. Waters is not a card to wallet in its truest form but it has some very good ideas. It can be used for a a very good card to wallet routine inspite of this!

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Re: Best "card to wallet" wallet???

Postby Paul Gordon » December 23rd, 2009, 12:20 am

Methinks a Balducci wallet is best. Simple and direct. Most importantly though, use a (magic) wallet that looks like a real wallet. Some just look like weird magician's props. (Or, put it this way; they don't look like real wallets.)

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Doc Dixon
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Re: Best "card to wallet" wallet???

Postby Doc Dixon » December 23rd, 2009, 8:44 am

Richard Kaufman wrote:Just get yourself a Balducci Wallet with the slide.

If you feel compelled to produce it from a "sealed" envelope, get the LePaul Wallet.

If you can't palm a card, get a Mullica Wallet.

You can also just do the LePaul original, producing the "sealed" envelope form a batch of envelopes and do away with the rather unnatural looking (in the USA, at any rate) wallet.


For whatever it's worth, a "sealed" envelope can be used with a Kaps/Balducci with a simple modification to the wallet.

DD

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Re: Best "card to wallet" wallet???

Postby Glenn Bishop » December 23rd, 2009, 9:52 am

I never liked the LePaul wallet or the Le Paul envelopes when working walk around - table to table magic. Just because I do not like to set up the envelopes between tables. For table to table I like my Dads business card wallet idea he used in the Vernon Travelers routine.

As I said before when my Dad saw Vernon lecture he climaxed the last ace in that routine with the LePaul Envelopes.

For me I like to use the LePaul Wallet in a formal close up show when I do one close up performance. Then I do not mind the prep work that goes along with it.

Just my opinion.

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Re: Best "card to wallet" wallet???

Postby Harry Lorayne » December 23rd, 2009, 10:24 am

I did my Pecking Bird routine - wherein a selected card ends up in my wallet - at every table when I was doing table magic decades ago. People always talked about it, requested it, and etc. The point - I didn't have to decide on which "trick" wallet to use; I didn't know about trick wallets; don't even know if there was such a thing back then - I used my own regular wallet. HL.

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Re: Best "card to wallet" wallet???

Postby AnthonyBrahams » December 23rd, 2009, 11:05 am

For the Le Paul Card in Sealed Envelopes I carried a few Envelope Set-ups in one inside jacket pocket in front of a cardboard divider. It was my closer so while acknowledging final applause I would put used the envelopes behind the divider and then between tables transfer the next set to my other IJP. About five or six sets are convenient without too much bulge, I got the idea for use at The Magic Circle At Homes where there were only three tables.
Anthony

Mark.Lewis
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Re: Best "card to wallet" wallet???

Postby Mark.Lewis » December 23rd, 2009, 11:51 am

Dearie me, Anthony old chap. You really are not being terribly efficient. Of course if you got the idea at the Magic Circle that would possibly explain it.

You don't need all those envelopes and that cardboard divider crap. One envelope only will do for one performance. Who the hell wants to carry about a bunch of old letters? One envelope only with the usual slit. Just have something hard backed in the pocket so you can lean the envelope against it and ease the card in. I always use my passport. As a grafter I always carry it in case I have to leave the country quickly.

If you have to go to another table have another envelope handy. No problem.

You don't learn things like that at the Magic Circle you know. People that wear three piece suits aren't too well up on magic I am afraid.

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Tom Frame
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Re: Best "card to wallet" wallet???

Postby Tom Frame » December 23rd, 2009, 12:08 pm

My favorite version of Card to Wallet was created by Frank Chapman. A regular, bi-fold hip pocket wallet is used and no palming is required.


The Second Encyclopedia of Card Tricks (Gravatt, 1936), p. 67, "'Easy' Card in Wallet" - (uncredited)

Encyclopedia of Card Tricks (Hugard, 1937), p. 22-23, "The 'Easy' Card in Wallet" - (uncredited)

My Best (Thompson, 1945), pp. 42-43, "Again - The Card in the Wallet" - Franklin M. Chapman

Three Six Bits (Chapman, 1947), p. 7, "Again - The Card in the Wallet"



THE "EASY" CARD IN WALLET


Slip a heavy rubber band around one side of the wallet. Open it so that the covers touch, back to back, and hang it over the edge of your inside coat pocket, the rubber band side in the pocket, the other side hanging out.

Have a card freely selected, marked and returned to the deck. Control the card to the top. Place both hands and the deck behind your back, stating that you will attempt to locate their card, sight unseen.

Take the marked card in your left hand, reach up under your coat at the back and push the card under your right armpit, retaining it with a slight pressure of the arm against the body.

Bring the deck forward and table it, stating that you're having difficulty finding their card. Ask the participant to name their card.

Show both of your hands to be empty. Grip the right edge of your coat with your right hand. With your left hand, take the card from under your arm, slip it into the wallet, lift this from the pocket, flipping it over and closing it, and bring it out with the band side to the front.

Put your right fingers under the band and pull it off as if it really encircled the wallet. Open the wallet and invite the participant to remove their marked card.

Great stuff!

DrDanny
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Re: Best "card to wallet" wallet???

Postby DrDanny » December 23rd, 2009, 1:28 pm

It's hard to beat the wallet Steve Draun sells. I use it as my every-day wallet, and it can be set in 3 seconds without looking.

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Re: Best "card to wallet" wallet???

Postby Jonathan Townsend » December 23rd, 2009, 1:33 pm

I'm starting to like David Regal's item - maybe with business cards or post cards. It seems more contemporary. Never mind the rubber bands - have a look here: http://www.davidregal.com/product_passport.html

Jonathan Arturo
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Re: Best "card to wallet" wallet???

Postby Jonathan Arturo » December 24th, 2009, 9:19 pm

One of the first card to wallet ideas I used before I could buy one of those top end models was a simple double back card. Hmmm...maybe I should go back to that routine!


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