VOLUME 3:

ASSORTED MYSTERIES

•
Written by
RICHARD OSTERLIND
Text & Layout by
JIM SISTI

www.osterlindmysteries.com
© 2006 by Richard Osterlind

All rights reserved. Reproduction or utilization of this work in

any form by any means now known or hereinafter invented,
including, but not limited to, xerography, photocopying and
recording, and in any information storage and retrieval system,
is forbidden without written permission from the publisher.

First E-Book Edition

August 2006
 Foreword
Richard Osterlind is a musician who happens to read minds
and create wizardry.
He noticed that, with only twelve notes, an infinite variety
of music (good and bad) has and will be played.
So he looks at basic human psychologyand the classic work-
ers of magic & mentalism. He observes what combinations of
those notes, at what pitches, cause specific responses. And he

produces routinesthat
like harp strings, which arepeople
some so realistic,
accusedwhich
his pluck
videosemotions
of being
staged with stooges.
I was one of those people who called Richard’s audiences
“the L&L Professional Audience.” Smug though I was, I found
the routines impressive and used a few. And I got the sort of
responses which we’ve seen on the Mind Mysteries DVDs –
including not a few Jon or Janelle type reactions. So maybe this
Osterlind fellow knew what he was doing...

Really,
(which willthe
beroutines on the third
all but dissected in volume of Mind
this book) Mysteries
sound awfully
simple. A card turns over in your fingers. A torn sweetener
package is restored. A spoon bends. Simple. A short clause
describes each one.
So simple, in fact, that an audience has absolutely no trouble
following what seems to be happening. So simple that the im-
possibility of it strikes like an uppercut.
How did we get from music to boxing?

The psychic
power” title of the DVD isMind
material. Mysteries
Yet there are atand we two
least expect “mind
routines
which definitely fall in the sleight of hand category, and he
makes it work.
Have you ever heard a piece of classical music which uses
Volume 3: Assorted Mysteries 5

conflict to create an impact? Didn’t it seem like a musical ver-

sion of a punch? Yet it wasn’t unpleasant, though it set up
conflicting feelings in you, and you were hopelessly caught up

in “What
That’shappens
how we next?!”
got from music to boxing – and maybe to
mystery.
It may surprise you, as it did me, to learn some of Richard’s
mysteries are of less recent vintage than we thought. It seemed
to me that I’d seen magicians doing a vanishing sugar packet
all my life, so I srcinally thought this was a new version of an
old standard. Not until I read this section, did I remember that
there were no sugar packets until the late 1960s or early 1970s

– and were
cubes they what
weren’t
onecommon
found, not until wellpackets,
sugar into theuntil
1970s. Sugar
then.
May I strongly urge you to study the autobiographical “How
I Create” chapter? It is, so far, the most significant thing which
I think Richard has written, and it applies to a lot more than
“just” magic and mentalism. No, you’re not going to get an
easy-to-follow checklist – that would defeat the entire purpose.
What you’ll learn is how Richard learned to create and how
his methods of creation still work today. You’ll find real secrets

in this chapter,
anyone real secrets
who wants which
to expand have
their been openly
thinking. available
And you’ll to
learn
how to look at something old, something borrowed, and find
something new.
At the end of the DVD, he comes right out and asks the
audience if they’d like to see a little magic trick, even though
“everyone” knows you can’t mix magic and mentalism. To
really disprove this common misconception, he actually uses
the politically incorrect phrase of “magic trick.” And he still

blows
mentalthem
powersaway! They’re
on them! Andstillif not sure there,
we were if he’s even
not using some
though we
know how he does it, we’d still be blown away. Remember a
key moment on the video when someone blurts out the “an-
swer” that the bill’s not in the burning envelope? And how did
6 MindMysteriesGuideBook

Richard, far from denying it, use that to increase the tension?
You’ve probably seen the DVD; that’s why you’re here. You
learned how these effects worked. You’re about to find out

why they work.

Chet Cox
Farmington, MO
August 2006

P.S.: On the video, Richard says, “No matter where you are,
people drink coffee.” Obviously he’s never been to a Mormon
party, so Cherie and I extend an invitation to him, his talented

wife,
Green Lisa, andprovided
Jell-O their newatgranddaughter,
the door! (Yes,Kadence
this P.S.Raine
was anWalton.
excuse
to introduce Kadence to you.)
 Introduction
This edition begins a new phase in the Guide Book series.
Whereas Mind Mysteries 1 dealt with The Act and Mind Mys-
teries 2 with the Breakthrough Card System, the remaining
videos each contain diversified material from many categories
of magic and mentalism. The composure of each was not struc-
tured for the purpose of reaching as many performers as
possible, as has been suggested, but rather represents those

effects I have developed and used constantly over the last

thirty years.
I perform in diversified situations and create for those en-
vironments. Each of these videos is not some type of category ,
but rather part of the whole of the accumulation. Neither was
the sequence of these individual effects chosen for any particu-
lar reason nor the spanning of the two-part series, Mind Mys-
teries and Mind Mysteries Too. It was only logistics and my
availability that created the series as it finally finished out.

Interestingly
three enough,
videos of Mind there Too
Mysteries are more effects
than on on the four
the srcinal final
of Mind Mysteries. With a little investigation, the reason be-
comes clear. The first video, The Act, had to stand on its own.
(This single video, by the way, has become one of the best sell-
ing in all magic history!)
The second video, The Breakthrough Card System, also
needed its own entity. This left the remaining material, recorded
at that time, to be dealt with. There was far too much for one

video so the Mind

fine. When decision was made
Mysteries to was
Too break it into two
recorded, weand it worked
followed the
same procedure and simply divided up the material as equally
as possible.
There are always critics and some have suggested that there
8 MindMysteriesGuideBook

are effects in the series that are filler. This has always struck
me as an easy way for those with an agenda to attack the series
without having to put themselves on the spot by explaining

which
Theones
factare filleris
is there ! not a single item on the Mind Mysteries
series that can be considered a lesser or minor effect nor is
there any material offered that was not totally audience-tested
and used professionally over many years.
I have written about the necessity of variety and emotional
diversity extensively in my trilogy (Making Magic Real, Mak-
ing Real Magic and Essays) and in The Principles of Magic.
The material on Mind Mysteries illustrates these principles in

aless
practical way.than
significant Nor in
was
thethe material
initial in Mind Mysteries Too
offering.
There is, in fact, much more of my classic material (i.e.
that from the discontinued Challenge Magic, Dynamic Mys-
teries, etc.) on Mind Mysteries Too than Mind Mysteries. The
entire series is meant to be viewed as a nearly complete repre-
sentation of my output up to 2004.
Finally, there needs to be some discussion concerning
srcinality versu s derivation. L et me draw an analogy . There

are
andonly t welve
yet look whatnotes in the
has been musical
done scale notes!
with those (Western music)
It is mind-
boggling to consider how much music has been created down
through the ages and what continues to be shaped.
Those inexperienced will write songs they think are new
and revolutionary, but which are really simply minor variations
of what has come before. The truly gifted, on the other hand,
will create new themes and sounds that startle us with their
depth of emotion and srcinality. Yes, it all comes from those

twelve notes,
bination but somewhere
has crossed over ontoin the
newcreational
ground. process the com-
That is what I have always strived for with my magic and
mentalism. In an effort to sound analytical, not egotistical,
I would like to think there is something ver y “Osterlindish”
Volume 3: Assorted Mysteries 9

about the effects I create. I would like to think there is just

something a little bit different about what I do and the ef-
fect it achieves.

Richard Osterlind
Falmouth, KY
August 2006
MIND MYSTERIES

Volume 2

Assorted Mysteries
SWEETER AND LOWER
 History
I have no idea when I first created the effect Sweet and
Low . I know it was long before I recorded my Challenge Magic
video and that was a long time ago! I do remember that my first
impression was that someone else must have done this before.
It seemed so logical that I couldn’t imagine it was srcinal. I
did lectures, asked other magicians, and investigated it thor-
oughly and still no one claimed ownership. Finally I put it out

on the video
invention. and no
Since onebeen
it has ever came forththirty
well over and claimed
years, Iitam
as their
now
officially claiming it as mine!
As I recently told a fellow performer, the hard part of creat-
ing magic is to come up with a simple idea that is new. It is easy
to make up a long and complicated routine based on previous
works. The majority of the new books and manuscripts being
offered contain such material, whereas the older tomes are
where you find the basic ideas that form the backbone of magic.

To come up with material that is of this genre is the highest

achievement.
I am not suggesting Sweet and Low is of that caliber, but it
certainly is beautiful because of its simplicity. And, as I will
show in the bonus chapter of this book, Sweet and Low creates
a new effect. That is rare.
I have always studied Max Malini. Much of what I try to do
comes from my own interpretation of his methods and mindset.
If you examine the effects Malini performed, they were almost

always
special with
propordinary
to do an articles. Whenever
effect, and younot
here I am have to pull
talking out aa
about
pad or pen, but rather some little metal box or tube or some-
thing like that, the audience will assume the magic is in the
prop. But if you can do magic with things just lying around
Volume 3: Assorted Mysteries 13

which the audience can keep later, the effect is tremendously en-
hanced.
In Dai Vernon’s Malini and His Magic, there is a nice story

about the
would Tornfar
prepare and Restored
ahead Straw
of time Cover
for this on page
effect 51. Malini
and have dupli-
cate straw covers for every hotel in town. He knew the value of
doing a standard effect, i.e. the torn and restored cigarette pa-
per, in a novel and different way.Sweet and Low falls into the
same category. It is an effect that you can always perform no
matter where you are.
As per the opening patter I use on the video, no matter
where one goes, there is always a coffee pot. Whether you are

in a fine hotel,
person’s a greasy
home or spoon,
apartment or an
anyoffice
otherbuilding, a factory,
place where peoplea
spend any amount of time, there will always be coffee! And
wherever you find coffee, you will find a container of sugar and
sugar substitute.
I have never found it a challenge to swipe a packet of Sweet
and Low (or whatever brand there is in the dish) while at the
table. If you wish, however, you could do as Malini and have a
few of each type with you. This is really not much of a problem

as there
switch in are
andonly
out isa never
few brands.
visible In
for addition,
very long the packet
so, even you
if your
packet differs slightly in the printing, it will never be noticed.
Personally, I usually just take whatever is in my hotel room
with the in-room coffee maker. That usually covers me wher-
ever I go.
It was over twenty years from the time I first demonstrated
Sweet and Low on Challenge Magic to the time I put it on
Mind Mysteries. It was inevitable that certain changes would

be made.
prefer Weitdecided
to call to call
Sweet and Sweeter
Lowit(most and Lower
magicians , but
do as I still
well). To
keep consistency with the video, however, it will be referred to
as Sweeter and Lower here.
I can offer no bigger accolade for Sweeter and Lower than
14 MindMysteriesGuideBook

to tell you that of every routine I have ever created, this is the
one I am told that is most used by other professional magi-
cians.

Analysis
The beginning of Sweeter and Lower is a bit artificial as I
bring out the packets. This routine would usually occur at din-
ner with a bowl of sweeteners sitting on the table. Although a
minor point, I think you can see how much stronger it would

playSpeaking
if it seemed impromptu
of Malini, I havelike Malini’s
to tell strawisroutine.
you there a lot to learn
from watching me get that thumb tip on in the beginning of the
routine. Notice that after I toss the packets on the table and
ask Jon to choose and sign one, both of my hands go into my
pockets and come out adjusting the flaps. The right hand, of
course, has copped the tip. But the point I want to stress is
that the move is done right out in the open and goes by with-
out anyone paying attention to it. There are reasons for this.

I havearticles
different made it a habit
and of often
also just goingthe
to adjust into myand
flaps pockets for
the way
the jacket is hanging. Putting my hands into my pockets has be-
come a normal tendency for me now and I always do it whether or
not I am performing. It is an entirely natural motion and it has
become my standard method for getting and ditching such things
as thumb tips, nail writers, etc. Since the movement means noth-
ing to me, it means nothing to the audience.
I truly believe that Malini worked with this same mindset,

enabling him tosmall

the notorious vanish and
size ofproduce objects
his hands. at will.
He had to We
relyall
onknow
this
type of misdirection to be constantly so successful. Another
factor that makes these kinds of moves invisible comes from
years of experience in doing them so many times your subcon-
Volume 3: Assorted Mysteries 15

scious mind puts no importance on them. Truly, a performer

can get away with murder if his attitude while doing the dirty
work is nonchalant and innocent.

A small
packet, I do point that
so with theIleft
should
handmention is when I place
and immediately pick up the
it into
my right hand. It is difficult to pick things up while wearing a
thumb tip. You have no feeling!
I make a big deal out of the fact that my sleeves are no-
where near my hands and even push my arms forward to cause
them to slide back further. This is a type of the cancellation
principle where it is implied that nothing can go up or down
the sleeves and that’s the only place trickery could come from.

It seems could
gimmick impossible that a duplicate
be introduced. packet
It is also ortouch
a nice some that
kindthe
of
top of the packet has to be torn off. This makes it mandatory
for the hands to come together without a wasted move. I have
rewound the video at the point where the packets are switched
over and over. There is really nothing to see that looks out of
the ordinar y.
After the top is torn off and the right hand takes the packet
proper, you will see that I stand up a bit straighter and stay

away from
tice his Jon. It is
signature would be the
not on nextpacket,
to impossible for him
but I don’t give to
himno-a
chance. The packet is crumbled, covered by my fingers and far
enough away from him to cover any problems. In truth, in all
the years I have been performing this, no one has ever asked to
see the signature at this point in the routine.
I would like to mention a moment that occurred during
this taping. As I was pouring the sweetener into my right fist, I
used my standard line of, “How do you like it so far?” That

always gets a laugh.

I was totally Then
surprised Jon
that topped
I had methought
never by saying,of“It’s sweet!”
saying that
myself! It is a great line and I have used it ever since! This is a
perfect example, caught on video, of how routines and all the
little niceties grow over the years from audience feedback and
16 MindMysteriesGuideBook

them writing the funny lines for you! As I have mentioned in

my previous Guide Books, the actual method of an effect is
only a small part of the presentation. It is the finished produc-

tion , withdetails,
finished all those
thatlittle
makejokes,
for a asides, facial expressions
totally polished and
performance.
I like the nice close-up work the camera did when I was
pouring the powder into my hands. The routine is just about
angle-proof and that is so important in close-up performing.
Even if someone were to look into the top of my fist (my view)
while I am pouring in the sweetener, they really could not see
anything. The only time the routine is not totally angle-proof
is when the thumb tip is angled down, behind the fingers, after

the
the torn
handtop is put
closer to in.
theAchest
slighttakes
twistcare
of the wrist The
of that. and bringing in
benefits of
doing the routine in this way far outweigh the slight problem of
angles.
The new finish of Sweeter and Lower uses a flash restora-
tion. This, I believe, is far better than the srcinal method of
just opening the hand and showing the packet restored. Be-
sides being more visible, it has another advantage. The right
hand can be shown completely empty just before the climax. If

you watch
fingers the video
together again,
as I say, you willThe
“Watch.” see finger
that I movement
rub my rightis
meant to look like I am getting ready to work the magic, but
the secondary reason is to draw attention to the empty hand
and show its innocence. I never design any of my routines to
fool magicians, but this move does have that effect for anyone
looking for a thumb tip.
The blowing at the hands at the flash restoration also has a
twofold reason for taking place. It looks magical, but it also

scatters
Now, overpowder into the
the years, air. It’s
I have hadalmost
somelike a little puf
magicians f of smoke!
criticize the
routine because there is some powder left over on the hands
and the table. I never could understand the logic of the criti-
cism. If you really tore open a packet, poured the contents into
Volume 3: Assorted Mysteries 17

your hand and then restored it, it would be entirely natural for
some of the sweetener to be scattered in the process. It only
proves that the packet was really opened and the powder

dumped out. is also a perfect one. The restored packet com-

The ending
pletely covers the thumb tip and the hands can be shown very
freely. If you look at the faces of the audience members, you
can almost see their thought process as they shake their heads.
First is the obvious look of astonishment at seeing the packet
restored in such a clean manner. The second rush of astonish-
ment comes when they realize that Jon’s signature is still in-
tact! I would never even consider doing this routine without

having the packet signed. That is what puts it into such a miracle
category.
I want to make a very important point here. Notice how at
the end of the routine I hand the packet back to Jon and say,
“Check it out. Is that your name on it? Is it all sealed up?” I
use questions, not statements. If I had said, “There is the packet
all sealed up and your name is on it,” it would not play nearly
as well. By asking the questions, I am causing the spectators to
admit that the miracle has happened. Even if they don’t ver-

balize
impliesit,that
theythe mentally
arefocus is onadmitting it. It
the miracle andalso subconsciously
not me. It comes
back to me, of course, but that is not the main focus. I write
about this in The Principles of Magic extensively. To sum it up
here, ego is never recognized as a desirable trait. You don’t
want to come across as, “Look what a great man I am.” Instead
it should be, “Look at this wonderful thing that has happened!”
I’m sorry for being blunt, but if you get nothing more out of
this book than that, you will have spent your money well.

Notice
get rid at thumb
of the this point
tip. in thewhen
Even routine
mythat
handI drops
am in to
nomy
rush to
side,
I don’t make an attempt to pocket it yet. I wait until I see the
audience attention has dropped before going south with it.
Let me finish by saying I am always leery about routines
18 MindMysteriesGuideBook

that need to be reset or cannot be repeated immediately. I ac-

tually wrote about this in my book, The Principles of Magic,
where I stated that a routine should be so good that you should

be
feelable
thattoSweeter
repeat and
it instantly. I still hold
Lower violates thatby that ruleItand
principle. don’t
could be
repeated before the same audience with the same results, but
just as in stage performances, there are feature effects and the
same holds true in close-up magic. Sweeter and Lower is one
of them. It is a mini-illusion.
I always give it a good build up and even invite people at
other tables to come over to see this. I let them know before I
begin that this is going to be very special and I don’t want them

to miss
I can This
tellit.you alsoyears
from implies that I am not
of performing goingand
Sweeter to do it again!
Lower that
people realize they have seen an event that will not be repeated
that night!
CHANGE OF MIND
 History
This routine actually consists of two inventions. I have al-
ways been enamored with the one-ahead principle and Mental
Epic type effects. I must have owned a dozen different ver-
sions over the years. Additionally, as of this time, I have put
out the Ultra Board, the Epitome Board, two versions of Steno
ESP (there is actually an improved, no-force version on my
new videos to be released in 2007) and the method I use here

which IEpic
Mental the Turnover
call effect Padmanufacturer
that a noted . (I also havewill
invented a new
be making in
the near future.) So I have given a lot of thought to the effect.
The Turnover Pad was developed about a year before I came
out with Change of Mind in the 80’s. I used it for other pur-
poses before that, but it seemed to go perfectly with the COM
gimmick. I recently had a friendly debate with another mental-
ist who asked, “How can you say you own the idea of turning
over a pad?” The fact is, up until I developed and published

the idea,effect
number no one else he
where had. That’s
used why! Yes,
the move Max had
to switch a setanofadd-a-
num-
bers, but no one had thought of using the idea for a one-ahead
routine. It is the very simplicity of the idea that makes it so
good. To be complete, I should also mention there are versions
of the Himber Wallet that have pads in them. You could use
one of these in the same way. You will, of course, have to work
out a handling where you have to open and close the pad for
each prediction. That should really not present too much of a

problem
Thereforis the thinking
a version mentalist.
of the Change of Mind gimmick in J. G.
Thompson’s, My Best. It is called Ghost Coins by George
Starke on page 188 of that tome. The truth is that I had not
seen that prior to inventing COM. It was brought to my atten-
Volume 3: Assorted Mysteries 21

tion by another magician. I still would have put out the effect,
however, as the effect in the book had nothing to do with my
own. The purpose of that gimmick was to vanish a handful of

coins
Onsilently.
the video explanations, we happened to have used a
Vermont quarter. At the time, these state quarters were rela-
tively new. Now, they are very abundant and that only helps
the routine. Instead of just predicting the coin and the date,
you can also predict the state if the chosen coin is one of those.
Additionally, if you notice a mark or any dirt or discoloration
on the coin, you can add that to your prediction. Finally, you
don’t have to stick to coins. You can keep the money theme by

predicting
the last fourthe last of
digits four numbers
a credit card,ofand
a bill’s serial
finally the number,
coin. Youthen
can
also dispense with the money theme completely and predict
anything. Although this works, it is a bit harder to justify using
the coins at the end.
Finally, I would like to add that the stage coin prediction
has been widely overlooked. Looking back, I almost wish I had
performed that routine on one of the videos to show how strong
it plays. There seems to be no apparent way for you to control

the
side spectator’s
of the stage.actions whenafter
Hopefully, they areread
you standing on might
this, you the other
give
it a try.

Analysis
Although I had to rely on Scotty to produce some coins to

use
thatin this routine,
detracted. Thein reviewing
whole thing the performance,
looked very normal I don’t think
and every-
one could see the coins were all different. When I asked Jon
and Janelle to put the coins in their pockets, I said to Jon, “In
your own pocket! I just read Jon’s mind!” This got a nice laugh.
22 MindMysteriesGuideBook

This is about as far as I would go in using this kind of humor. It

was just the slightest bit risqué, but not offensive. I only men-
tion this because the biggest blunder I see some magicians make

is
of becoming too familiar
double entendres. with ladyyou
Whenever volunteers
perform,and
youthe over
have to use
as-
sume the lowest common denominator of prudence in your
audience. What might seem mildly offensive to one person
might be hugely offensive to another. Once you cross that line,
it is hard to ever go back.
To some, placing the pad on the table and walking away
while Janelle signs her name might seem a bit risky. You might
think there is too great a chance someone might pick up the

pad andin
learned turn
myitmany
over.years
Oneofofperforming
the most valuable lessons
is that you can’tIthink
have
that way. If you go into a routine worried about what things
might go wrong or who might try to mess you up, you will have
problems. But, if you are confident and put those thoughts out
of your mind, they simply never happen. This, perhaps, is one
of the hardest lessons to learn in magic. Let me quote Edwin
T. Sachs from one of my favorite books,Sleight of Hand:
“If to this delicacy of manipulation is added a suavity of

manner, accompanied
perfection of a conjurerbyisaattained.”
never-failing cool daring, then the
As soon as Janelle is finished and I pick up the pad I say,
“Did you even look at the coins as you put them into your
pocket …?” I really don’t care here what she will say. It is the
question that is important! When you ask a person a question,
they immediately look into your eyes and think about it. That
takes all the heat off the pad immediately. If you review the
video, you won’t find one person looking at the pad.

not”I as
then “I don’t
say,my
I write know whether
first prediction. thisuse
I often is going to work
this ruse. or
I really
want the audience to believe I am unsure of myself and might
miss. If you take out the element of the possibility of failure,
you destroy much of the punch of the climax at the end.
Volume 3: Assorted Mysteries 23

When she brings forth the coin, a quarter, I look at it, but
do not mention the date. I just slide it over next to the predic-
tion I just made. That is important. Although later I will sepa-

rate
here the coins
to put from
each theseright
paper papers asto
next I open them,
its coin. I am
This careful
forestalls
anyone from thinking there is any funny business going on.
I have to tell you my eyesight is not all that good. I had to
ask Janelle to call out the date on the penny Jon chose because
I couldn’t see it! If you have better vision that me, then please
just note the date and do not announce it yet.
When I get to my own prediction, I try to make it sound as
if I just got the idea to use one of my coins. I say, “You know

what I’m going

It’s almost to do since
as though I am Ionly
havedoing
somethis
coins in my Ipocket?”
because do have
some coins and wouldn’t if I didn’t. At least that is what I hope
they are thinking. I have developed a style of working where I
sometimes seem unsure of just what I am going to do. This is
my personality and how I work, but I would never tell you to
do the same. If it is natural for you, let me tell you it is very
effective. The idea that you are creating the conditions of each
test as you go makes it all seem ver y fair. Again, you will have

to decide if this is have

You probably the right approach
already forhow
noticed your ownof
I sort style.
jiggle my
hand when I display the gimmick and loose coins. This, as per
the explanation, is what really makes the coins all appear sepa-
rate. Then I had one removed from my own coat pocket. Please,
please, please do not do what I saw one magician do that used
his pants pocket, thinking he was clever. That isnot acceptable!
As soon as the coin is selected and handed to me, notice
how I immediately slide the coins in a line and say, “So this

was
pers kind of the order
untouched. things happened”
The audience attention iswhile leaving the
momentarily pa-
on the
coins. Then, in one motion, I sweep up all the papers together
and say, “Each time you signed the paper, I made a prediction
and then you removed a coin.” This is the only time there is a
24 MindMysteriesGuideBook

move of any sort. Please rewind and watch this section again
and notice how quickly it all goes by. If anyone suspects how
the papers are now bunched together, they are immediately

reminded
coins werethat each paper was signed ahead of time before the
chosen.
As I open them, I also say, “OK, and this last one was mine.”
Let me tell you a little subtlety I did not mention in the expla-
nations. I always give my own billet a special little twist so that
I can tell it apart from the other two. Then I make sure I open
it last so that I can use the above line and make it all seem so fair.
Here is another subtlety. As I open the three papers, I turn
to the girl on my right and say, “You keep an eye on me. Make

sure I don’t switch

tion principle. anything!”
By suggesting Again,
that only Ia am using
switch the allow
would cancella-
me
to cheat, I am canceling out the true solution!
Now I recap. I tell Janelle, for about the third time, how
first she signed the paper, then I wrote a prediction and finally
she selected a coin. I am trying to lock in the order of events.
When I get to Jon, I even add, “You signed the paper. There’s
no way I could have switched this prediction!” Again I am us-
ing the cancellation principle.

YouFinally, I recap
might notice with
the lastCassandra
thing I sayand end theabout
is, “Think demonstration.
that one!”
I say this because, after years of performing this routine, I have
learned that people do go back and retrace the steps. I often
have spectators come back later in the night and say, “That was
totally impossible what you did with those coins!” It is almost
as though they had to think it through thoroughly to really
grasp how impossible it was!
SPOON BEN DING
 History
There is so much to say about this subject. It has been
many years since Uri Geller made his appearance. His metal
bending demonstrations made him famous and controversial.
To this day, he is still well known and talked about whenever
things psychic are discussed.
It was about 17 or 18 years ago that I did a lecture tour that
started in New Orleans, ran through Texas and Okalahoma

and ended
month. Whilein Philadelphia.
on this tour, IWe
metwere on the in
Banachek road for overHea
Houston.
had already been one of the Alpha Kids and I had been bend-
ing spoons for years. We had a great time showing each other
what we had developed and this is where I learned how to twist
a spoon.
Later, I became friends with one of Japan’s top performers,
Mr. Maric. While having dinner, I showed him how I bent a
spoon. He used a variation of this method on his next TV spe-

cial
that and fooled
is the me Ibadly
method with it! Ion
demonstrate then changed
this video. it further and
What one has to remember when it comes to spoon bend-
ing is that even a slight change in angles or methods can make
the effect look totally different. It is amusing to read on the
Internet how different posters think this person or that person
can do it better.
Another person who I have to give credit to for giving me
great inspiration for this bend and others is Meir Yedid. It has

nothing,
him do hishowever,
amazingto Finger
do withFantasies!
spoon bending. I was
He later toldwatching
me that
many magicians believed he was double-jointed and could bend
his fingers in all manner of contortions. In reality, he said, it
was angles! He told me that getting the perfect line of sight
Volume 3: Assorted Mysteries 27

made even a simple move look like a miracle. I applied this

same logic to my metal bending.
One thing I can promise you is a fact is that almost no

other effect
tion. In my hits
otherasbooks,
hard asI ahave
goodtalked
metalabout
bending
the demonstra-
power that
magic should demonstrate. It should somehow reflect an idea
that has meaning. When you just wave your hand over a metal
object and it bends, the audience sees pure power! It can al-
most look a little scary at times and certainly thoughts come
into the spectators’ minds such as, “ What else can this guy do
with his abilities?”
When working close up, I will often approach a table that

is
andvery
thenoisy and
result is loud.
alwaysI almost always
the same. begin
A hush by bending
falls over theacrowd
spoon
and I gain instant respect! Since it is so different, people don’t
automatically assume you are just a magician wanting to do a
few tricks! Additionally, other tables can see what is happening
and soon everyone in the room wants you to come to their
table. That is why I always do the Matrix bend, which I dem-
onstrate later on the video. It can be seen from everywhere
and tells the house who you are and what you do. I often hear

remarks like, “Look

when I approach at table,
their what that
theyguy
areover there
all set is doing!”
to listen Then,
and watch.
This routine has to be the most powerful of all those on
Mind Mysteries.

Analysis

When
strate I begin Ithis
something didroutine, I sayshow,
on the TV that IFox
am and
goingFriends
to demon-
and
later picked up by the E Network’s Talk Soup. Please under-
stand how diabolical this is. Television is seen in many people’s
minds as the supreme test of whether or not you are famous
28 MindMysteriesGuideBook

and important. In reality, it means little unless you have a sitcom

that pays you a small fortune or a public performing venue, i.e.
David Copperfield, where your appearance may bring in bigger

crowds. For–most
able to say entertainers,
you were being on
on television. television
That’s about means
it. Still,being
say-
ing it can mean a lot as to how you are accepted and what kind
of prestige you have. Tell them in the wrong way, however, and
you come across as a braggart. If, for instance, you say, “I am
famous and have been on television!” most people would look
at you and think, “Who cares?” regardless of whose show you
were on! There is a technique to talking about your past ac-
complishments. This includes not only television, but anything

prestigious thatalways
You should you might want this
mention yourkind
audience to know
of event about.
in a manner
that applies to what you are going to demonstrate. I did this
here by explaining that I was surprised the guy on the show
Talk Soup did not make fun of me when they put my perfor-
mance, srcinally done on Fox and Friends, on their weekend
edition. I made an interesting little prelude while talking about
a national TV show I was on! Let me give you a few other
examples I use all the time.

“Let
it for me show
President youhe
Ford, something
told me itthat,
was when I was performing
his favorite!”
Or …
“I use this large deck of cards because sometimes the crowds
I work for are quite large. Last year I did two shows at the Salt
Palace in Salt Lake city for 4500 people each.”
Or …
“When I was in Beijing, I did this for 600 Chinese busi-
nessmen who didn’t speak English! I had to use an interpreter!”

Throwing
tance in one
level 500% (or of theseinstantly
more) little asides cando
if you boost your
it the accep-
right way.
When I get to the spoons, I toss out four of them and offer
a choice as to which one I should use. Let me elaborate on a
very important point here.
Volume 3: Assorted Mysteries 29

In this instance, I to use my own spoons as we were shoot-

ing a video. For real shows, there is always a question as to
whether it is better to bring your own silverware or use what is

on the table.
antique table The
comesstory of Malini
to mind. The stabbing a card
hostess was through
appalled an
at the
knife marks, but Malini told her she should be thrilled as it
was the Great Malini who did it! This makes for a good story,
but I would hesitate to offer that as good advice.
I always bring my own silverware. If no one objects, I can
always use what’s present. I buy large tablespoons very cheaply
at a local dollar store or Wal-Mart if they are carrying the right
type. I also use a small vinyl pencil case that will hold about 15

spoons. By bringing
them examined out atletting
and then least four or five atchoose
the spectator a time,the
having
one
to use, I never have a problem with anyone suspecting trick
spoons. Additionally, I always let the spectator keep the spoon
once it has been bent. It’s amazing how many people hang on
to them as souvenirs!
I always take the chosen spoon and hold it up next to an-
other one to show it is exactly the same shape. That is impor-
tant as, later, I will demonstrate how much the spoon has bent

by repeating theI movement.

Notice that explain that what I am about to show them is
different. I tell them that whenever this has been done before,
people never see it happening. They just see the results. Then
I tell them they will actually see bending take place.
Again, I have to stop here for a second and talk about an-
other technique I often use. It is the technique of making what
I do special! You have to be able to do this without openly
putting down another performer, but you certainly can make it

sound likeYou
business. you are become
don’t miles ahead of what
successful others
unless do! think
people This you
is a
are the best. There is nothing wrong with promoting your indi-
viduality while performing. You don’t have to do srcinal mate-
rial to talk like this. You just have to have srcinal presenta-
30 MindMysteriesGuideBook

tions! I used to do the standard Linking Rings. I used it as an

opener and would say, “Although you have probably seen this
before, most magicians do it very fast and try to fool you with

speed. Tonight
demonstrate theI way
am the
going to do itperformed
Chinese for you very
this slowly and
over 5000
years ago!”
The technique not only accomplishes a very important
purpose, but also gives the necessary misdirection to make the
first bend. Since the conversation is interesting, and apparently
necessary, people listen to me and don’t watch my hands. Some
magicians think that just talking will provide misdirection. It
won’t if you don’t say something interesting. Then some magi-

cians
but if think
the gagthat a big
is too joke
large or causes
and gag is the
too way
muchto of
go.a That is OK,
commotion,
people will know they missed something later after the effect is
over. That is when you always hear: “Do that again. I wasn’t
paying attention!” You have to divert attention, but you have
to do it without the audience knowing you did it!
I now need to talk about angles. The camera angle on this
effect was not the best for the first bend, but I was playing it for
the audience. You can still see it, but not as well as they could.

This is what
line of sight Iof
was talking
the in theisHistory
about that
spectators section.inItspoon
so important is the
bending. You can certainly see the reactions on the faces of the
audience as it bends and see they are impressed. Later, in the
explanations, you get the full effect. You can also see it better
in the bonus sections.
Now I do the comparison with the unbent spoon. This is
more important than you might first think. First, you get an-
other moment! Please think about this and understand why I

think
bend, this is holding
but by so important.
it up toThey have spoon,
the other alreadythey
reacted
reacttoagain
the
without me having to do anything! Not only do they react, but
applaud! It is during this applause that I am able to put in the
next bend! So not only is the first effect reinforced by this ma-
Volume 3: Assorted Mysteries 31

neuver, but I can get one-ahead for the next effect!

Here I do two things I want to bring to your attention. I
talk about the accusation that I have strong fingers and dis-

prove I could
at another. Dobe bending
you se e thethe spoon tion
cancella at one
pripoint
nciplebya tholding
work? it
I
am suggesting that the only way the spoon could bend by
force is if I apply force it during the bending process. They
will be looking for that next time and it won’t happen since
it’s already bent.
That brings me to the second point. The wonderful thing
about bending items it that it is nearly impossible to compare
the degrees of a bend. At this point in the routine, I am hold-

ing a spoon
going that to
to pretend I have
bendjust put another
it some more andbend
thenin,show
thenthat
I amit
has bent some more. That is three effects even though they
only see two! Let me explain. When I talk and show the spoon
after the second secret bend, I am still showing it as having the
same degree of bend as after the first bend. That’s the first
hidden effect. Next, I pretend to bend the spoon a second time.
That’s the second effect, which is open. Finally, I show the
spoon to have bent more. That’s the third open effect even

though the degree

thing. That’s what’sofso
thewonderful
bend is the same
about as before
spoon I did any-
bending!
The next two bends, the Karate bend and the Matrix bend,
both get their additional bends through the wider use of move-
ment. Since I don’t want to overuse the ruse of putting in a
bend and then talking, I prefer to openly hold the spoon while
the dialogue is going on the put the bend in at the last minute.
For the Karate bend, I swing my arms left to right and get the
bend in just as the spoon goes under the tabletop. The spoon

immediately comes
the karate chop. up take
Please into aposition ready
look at the forofthe
faces themotion of
audience
in the background shot as this is taking place. You can see their
obvious reactions. This is the bend I use in restaurants while
standing to attract attention to myself from other tables and
32 MindMysteriesGuideBook

areas of the room. When I want to do that, I make sure I stand

on the side of the table that allows most of the other tables to
see me as I stand there. I actually think about this kind of

thing
allowswhen
me toIbe
first walk
best over
seen andrest
by the always choose
of the room!the side that
For the Matrix bend, I actually place the spoon on the table
while talking to subtly imply that I am not even touching it ahead
of time. I then pick it up and put in thebend as I move it upwards
to my face. This is the only place on the video where I felt a bit
restricted. Since I normally stand when I work, I had to adapt to
my seated position. This worked fine for everything except this
last bend. I was forced to almost lean backwards to get the best

angles and maximum

that strained position.effect. When
For your ownI edification,
look at the just
video, I can
know see
this is
usually done standing and there is no such cramping.
An important point I have not mentioned before is to make
sure to swivel the spoon around after it bends so that the entire
audience can see how much it has bent. If you don’t, those who
are sitting in less ideal positions won’t get the maximum effect.
This applies to any effect where the audience has to see some-
thing. I have watched other mentalists do prediction effects and

sometimes
the time to they
makefailed to turn
sure the wholethe prediction
room sees what everyone
to you are. Take
doing!
Notice how Cassandra jumps when I hand the spoon to
her! This is not an uncommon reaction and I get it often. It
shows how strongly this type of effect plays. And, also notice
how I give away the spoon to her at the end. This tells every-
one, not only her, that the spoon is normal. That, I should
mention, is the most often expressed explanation of how the
spoon bends; that it is rigged! You must give it away at the end.

One
up of of the companies
engineers. I workfound
I have recently for onout
a steady basis of
that some is made
them
have actually taken the spoons back to their laboratories to test
them! How I love this work!
RADIO SUM TOTAL
 History
Larry Becker is a good friend who I have known for many
years. When his World of Super Mentalism came out, I fell in
love with Some Total. I loved the idea of reversing the addition
process so that you begin with the problem and the audience
provides the answer! That was a stroke of genius! I immedi-
ately saw the potential to use the effect on the radio. Over the
years, I must have used it over a dozen times and it always got

adrive
tremendous
home, turnresponse.
on the Iradio
wouldto always leaveand
the station thelisten
building to
to the
callers raving about it.
Many years later, I got a call from Larr y and he asked me if
I could give him something for his new book, Stunners! I told
him I would be happy to, but it would be one of his own. He
laughed, said, “OK” and we hung up. After he got my write-up,
he called me back and told me he loved it. Later, when I did
Mind Mysteries, I called him again and asked if I could in-

clude it.not,
course Hebut
said, “Sure.
thank It’s yours anyways!” I said, “Well, of
you!”
I made only a few changes in the effect. I used cards in-
stead of the wallet with the window and I changed the posi-
tioning of the numbers. Since people at home would be writing
this down, and therefore studying it later, I wanted to make
sure there was nothing to find. There isn’t as the way the num-
bers are situated, even if you knew the math and tried to say
the certain numbers at those positions are always one less than

the
the total,
same itsituation
would only be ahappen
would guess. In a really random
normally. No one,problem,
in fact,
has ever come up with the solution.
Larry deser ves 99% of all the credit. He even added a very
nice point to the routine by adding the drawing of the line just
Volume 3: Assorted Mysteries 35

before making the switch. That was the finishing touch and I
don’t know if this could be improved anymore.
You have to think it out to appreciate it. From the home

listener’s
been laying point of table
on the view,since
the card with
before youthe numbers
begin. on it has
You apparently
never touch it. The listeners actually take part in the whole
procedure by just listening or by calling in. Usually, in this kind
of routine, the audience has to take the host’s word that every-
thing is on the up and up and that what the host says is written
really is. In this case, however, they can see everything! They
write the problem, write down the total, and then do the addi-
tion themselves. They take an active part!

haveDon’t
you think theya won’t
watched do theshow
television work,with
either
a .touch-the-screen
How many times
effect and someone goes up to the TV and does it? Someone
always has to! Likewise, if you set this up right, people at home
will really go and get a pencil and some paper. How many other
effects can you think of that can do that?
I have found that in almost any magician’s career, at one
time or another, they will be asked to come onto the radio and
do something. This is perfect! Even if you are a magician, this

will
formedworkonfor you.
TV, And
the unlike the
audience can touch-the-screen effects over
back track this routine per-
and over again and never see the work.
It is the perfect radio routine!

Analysis

enceTobefore
save awe
bitbegan
of time I passed
this out Isome
segment. pencils
decided not to
to the
passaudi-
out
the cards until we began, thinking that maybe some people
would think that some cards had writing or instructions on
them. This is a minor point, but one which I went into in great
36 MindMysteriesGuideBook

detail in my new videos which will be released in 2007.

As I begin, I mention how often I have performed what I
am going to show them on radio stations across the country.

This is done
previous for exactly
chapter. the same
Although reason as radio
not television, I pointed
still out in a
denotes
importance and makes you look good.
My silent script sometimes goes beyond just a script. Some-
times I find myself assuming a silent personality! I remember
sitting at the table as we filmed this and acting like David
Letterman on The Late Show ! I also remember letting myself
go with it as that happened and, if you study my mannerisms
and speech pattern, you will see I really did do that!

Asthird
at the I show the card
position. withis,the
This numbers,
of course, notI necessary
cover the numbers
if you do
the routine on the radio, but I wanted those watching this video
to have no clue as to any changes.
When I mention that the problem has over 100,000 possi-
bilities, I just tell them to write the number 1 on their card. I
don’t offer further explanation, I just do it. I explained this
technique in my earlier Guide Books. If you just tell the audi-
ence to do something, without trying to get fancy and justify

why,You
theymay
willnotice
just dothat
it. I glance over to my right just before
the second number is called. This has nothing to do with this
routine, but let me tell you why I did that. We were being video
recorded and there were three cameras. Because of my experi-
ence on TV, I am always leery of a potential camera shooting
over my back when I have something I need to hide. If you
ever work on television, be aware of the fact that often camera-
men, tired with just shooting a straight on shot, will look for

waysThis
to capture
routinesomething thatdifferent
requires five shouldn’t be seen! Just for the
responses.
record, you could ask for a 2-digit number and a 3-digit num-
ber to speed things up. I wanted to use five people, however,
for maximum effect. I knew that could get tedious. So, after
Volume 3: Assorted Mysteries 37

the third number was called out, I turned to the gentleman

sitting next to me and said , “You didn’t get a card, did you?”
I’m sure the audience expected me to give him a card. Then I

said, “Well,isyou’ll
The lesson just to
you have have to when
learn watch!” Thatmay
things got abegreat laugh.
dragging a
bit. Some mentalism routines are a little longer. By putting in a
few jokes or clever asides, you break it up into smaller seg-
ments that don’t seem to be overly long.
Notice how perfectly the card switch works. I am talking
and making sense in what I am saying and that distracts any
attention from my hands. In the radio station format,you would
most likely have only the one host to fool, but the move is so

good that it goes bythe

the explanations, even a roomful
idea of people.
of drawing the lineAs
wasmentioned in
Larry’s and
it is the perfect compliment to the switch.
When I ask Cassandra to call out the numbers on the card,
I realized she has a slight accent. That is why I began calling
out loud the numbers with her. Although it was not a major
concern here, let me advise you that whenever you need to
have a spectator reveal some information out loud, be prepared
to call it out with them in case they have a weak voice, are

timid or just
Notice areIunable
how to speak
get more clearly.
and more excited as the numbers
come together. When I finally call out the total, I almost shout ,
“164,728 – the same number you folks just formed!” Then, if
you listen carefully, you will hear me yelling, “Isn’t that crazy?
How could that be?!” I am building up as much excitement as
I can muster.
The final line, “Man! Sometimes I spook myself!” is not
only very funny but also portrays me as a regular guy who is

sometimes
provides a just
niceaswarm
startled by these
feeling things
to the as my audience.
audience That
and denotes a
feeling of humility and fun.
If you ever do this in a radio station you will miss all that
great audience feedback. It is a funny feeling. But, when you
38 MindMysteriesGuideBook

get into your car after the show and start driving, it is wonder-
ful to listen to callers going crazy over how it worked for them
right at home. This is a wonderful routine and is possibly the

best radio magic/mentalism ever!

UNCANNY
 History
I grew up with Frank Garcia’s Million Dollar Card Secrets
and Super Subtle Card Miracles. Those two books contain
enough great card material for any magician to make a living
the rest of their life as a close-up card worker. Jim Sisti, my
business partner, knew Frank well and they were good friends.
Time and time again, he has expressed the highest admiration
for Frank’s incredible skills and remarkable character. The books

mentioned
The Close-Upwere released
Magic in 1972
of Frank and, Volumes
Garcia 1973. Ten years2,later,
1 and were
released. Within the pages of the first volume is the effect,
Uncanny. In its srcinal dress, a card is selected and lost in the
deck. The magician shows that neither the top or second card
is the selection. That top card is taken and held face-down by
the fingertips. Suddenly it turns over and it is the selection!
For a card worker, I would not suggest changing a single
thing. It is perfect for the purpose of showing off one’s skill

with a deckapplication.
a different of cards. ButI Idiscovered
am a mentalist andcarefully
that by immediately saw
applying
less and less pressure, I could cause the card to turn over very
slowly in a very eerie way. The effect looked more like one of
telekinesis than magic.
I used it for many years and then forgot about it until I
wrote the book, Making Magic Real. In that book is a chapter
called The Magic State of Mind which deals with effects that
work using your own ideo-motor reflexes. The idea was to just

think
muscles.theThe
effect to happen
result without
is the magic feelsconsciously
real becausemoving any
you simply
will it to happen! I chose to use the Haunted Key and Un-
canny as examples. When planning the contents ofMind Mys-
teries, I decided to includeUncanny to show those who had read
Volume 3: Assorted Mysteries 41

the book how real it could look. Hopefully, my point was made.
Some changes had to be made to the srcinal routine for
this routine. I decided to discard the srcinal idea of an indif-

ferent
effect. Icard changing
decided to useinto the selection
a just-think since
type of cardthis is a mental
selection which
is explained on the video. It alone is very powerful as can be
seen from the first effect (mistake!) with Cassandra. Next, I
altered the grip so that the card is held from beneath instead of
above. I found this looks much better for my purpose. Finally,
I had the card turn over very, very slowly to enhance the ap-
parent psychic nature of the effect. I am very pleased with the
results.

Frank
Dollar GarciaI was
Hands.” known
consider himasa “The
geniusMan with thefor
responsible Million
some
of the greatest close-up magic ever created. I encourage the
reader to look up the srcinal routine for Uncanny to under-
stand how clever it is. The opening proving sequence is re-
markable for its simplicity and effectiveness. As a matter of
fact, everything Frank Garcia did was remarkable for its sim-
plicity and effectiveness!

Analysis
The analysis of the first part of this effect should be titled:
What to do when things don’t go the way you planned! As you
will see, you have to stay on your toes all the time.
Some people are much better spectators than others! In
the opening of Uncanny, I begin the effect with Cassandra. I

spring the
sands of cardsand
times, in front of her
I am sure sheeyes,
had which
seen a Icard.
haveI done
followthou-
with
my standard line of questioning which is, “If I took these cards
like this, and went in front of your eyes like this, could you
think of a card that quickly?” She says, “Yes” and I am sure
42 MindMysteriesGuideBook

she has the one I saw. The ruse at this point is supposed to be
that I say, “Do you have one already?” She is then supposed to
say, “Yes” at which point I act surprised that she already thought

of one and
happen! nowcan
As you I am
seein
onathefix!video,
That she
is what is supposed
says “No.” So I doto
it
again and the second time, she tells me she is not sure and
wants to do it one more time! Finally, on the third attempt, she
gets a card. At this point, it suddenly dawns on me that if I just
continue, it might look like I am trying to force a card on her
and failing. After quickly thinking that out, I say to her, “Did
you think of different cards each time?” and she says, “Yeah!”
This gets me out of that fix and makes the routine look even

fairer
Nowthan planned.
I am So,I so
thinking far so
better good.
play it safe and I ask her, “Is it
a lower card?” She says, “Yes” and I am OK. But my plan goes
wrong again! I meant to spread the cards, keeping the selection
under my finger, appear to get a feeling about one card and
pick it up. In the process of spreading the cards however, the
selection sticks to my hand and accidentally flips over! But it
flips over in a very elegant way. I say, “Was that your card?”
and Cassandra screams out, “Oh my God!” The audience goes

nutsI and I am
decide to thinking, “Man,
try it again, but that’s two
elect to in good,
use a row!”
old faithful
Janelle. Let me tell you, Janelle is the perfect spectator! She is
so good that I have heard magicians accuse her of being a plant
or set up. She is neither of those, just someone who instinc-
tively has fun with magic and knows how to react.
I do the riffle in front of her and ask her to think of a card.
I know exactly what the card is at this point, but decide to ask
her if it was another black card. Besides the fact that this mim-

ics what I did

a question earlier
just withitCassandra,
to make I will Isometimes
look as though am unsurethrow in
of my-
self. As I have said before, if the audience doesn’t feel any sus-
pense that you might miss, you won’t have even half of the
effect. I now am getting my confidence back and am thinking
Volume 3: Assorted Mysteries 43

clearly again. I say, “Let me try something a little different

with yours,” as though everything I have done so far was
planned!

thatAt this
this is point,
specialIand
want
nottojust
impress
a cardthe audience
trick, with the
but I don’t wantfact
to
say it that way and sound like I am degrading magicians. So,
instead, I say, “This is different. I’m sure a good card magician
could do something better than this.” Do you see what that
accomplishes? It takes away any comparisons with card tricks
and yet makes me sound humble at the same time. If some-
thing miraculous does happen, it certainly can’t be the result
of sleight of hand!

As I pick
thinking of theupcard.
the Icard and
don’t begin
know if Ithe
caneffect, I say,
do this. “Keep
It’s been a
while since I did something like this.” This may seem as though
I am overanalyzing, but you have to know that I really do think
out these things. Notice I didn’t say,“It’s been a while since I
did this,” but rather, “something like this.” The wording im-
plies that I am talking about moving objects with my mind, not
this particular card effect and that I am unsure of whether or
not it will work. This is immediately enhanced when I say,

“Look. Is itand
your video starting
listento
to move?” Please turn
the background upasthe
voices volume
I stare of
at the
card and it begins to turn over. You can hear the gasps of amaze-
ment. I get the audience reacting vocally by asking, “Is it mov-
ing?” and then saying, “This is kind of weird, isn’t it?” This
requires a response from them. The effect here is not one of
finding someone’s card, but moving an inanimate object with
the power of the mind. I keep saying, “Come on!” as though I
cannot let my own mental willing of the card to move to over-

flow
card!”verbally. When
it’s almost Janelle finally
an anticlimax screams
to the the“That’s
out,
effect of my
animation
of the card. It certainly looks more psychic than magical.
I love this kind of effect. The ability to move something is
as fascinating as bending something. Please don’t restrict your
44 MindMysteriesGuideBook

thinking to just using playing cards. This method will work

equally well with a business or index card. I’m sure, with a
little thought, you can think of at least one of the myriad of

effects using such

as an adjunct. cards
There whereso
is really this principle
much could
in magic be applied
waiting to be
found!
LOTTERY EFFECT
 History
I really cannot claim any credit for either this effect or the
one that follows, the Cell Phone effect. The Swami Gimmick
has been used to predict just about anything imaginable. I can
tell you that I have been doing the Lotter y Effect for as long as
I can remember. It always seemed so much more logical to
predict something of value, i.e. the lottery number, than just
any three numbers called out. It also gave me the perfect ex-

cuse to use
do the three
writing onspectators instead
the off-beat whenofmoving
one. In that
fromway,
oneItocould
an-
other and addressing them. Even though it is a thoroughly con-
trived situation, people do really wonder if you can predict the
actual lottery numbers! This is fascinating to me and just proves
how your audience wants to give real world value to your powers!
You should always bear this fact in mind. Corinda gives
many great routines in the opening chapter of 13 Steps. One of
them is the Living and Dead Test which he credits to Al Baker.

Like Corinda,
I decided to tryI it.
amI couldn’t
not a fanbelieve
of this kind of effect,
the reaction butwith
I got one this
day
simple test. Again, because it has real world meaning, i.e. pick-
ing out who has passed on, it strikes home with ten times more
effect than simply predicting a number or color. Please read
this step.
I remember sending away for an effect where newspaper
reproductions of famous events in history were shown. One
was freely chosen and, when your prediction was checked, it

matched!
was a nailWhen
writer!it Then
arrived, I was upset
I realized that at first.been
I had The taught
methoda
valuable lesson. There is nothing you can’t predict with a nail
writer and do it effectively! Besides, the newspapers really were
worth the price of the effect.
Volume 3: Assorted Mysteries 47

This little gimmick is “The Greatest Little Gimmick in the

World” as Eric Mason says of the Boon Gimmick and Corinda
about all Swami Gimmicks. Corinda also states, “The impact

of the itSwami
times Gimmick
appears that youused
mustin
beMentalism is so strong
using a stooge.” As the that at
reader
may know, the use of stooges is something I feel very strongly
about. Here we have a single gimmick that can do anything a
stooge can! So why even go there?
There are a lot of different types of gimmicks being pro-
duced these days. I read of them on the Internet forums. That
is great and I hope, in time, to explore them all. But I am
reminded of when I first started playing the drums. Even though

Icould
keptplay
getting
muchbetter and
better if better
I had adrum
reallysets, I was always
professional set. Itsure
tookI
years to learn the real truth.
Rather than spend all your time looking for that perfect
Swami, may I suggest you put in as much time practicing with
it. I know on the video I talk about how even getting close to
the word will pass, but the fact is, the better you get at writing,
the more relaxed you will be and the better you will present
your mysteries. I always have a gimmick on me and am ready

to go for
make it at anythe
it through time. And
metal here’s ainlittle
detector hint: they will even
the airport!

Analysis
This is going to be a real interesting comparison between
this effect and the Cell Phone Effect which follows. Both are

really one inis the

day. There samesomewhere
an idea and yet they are different
in The Jinx for aascard
night and
effect.
You either learn the card taken (stack?) or force a card. The
spectator thinks of the card. You pick up the pad and write
something. When the person announces the card, you turn
48 MindMysteriesGuideBook

over the pad and show you have drawn a picture of the card!
Now is the really the most basic card effect you can do, but
dressed up in a way that has tremendous appeal and presenta-

tional value.seem
I sometime It is the anti-thinking
harsh of most
with magicians, butmagici
I haveans. (Sorr
known a ylot
if
of them!) Many magicians look at a new effect and say, “That’s
really just the so-and-so routine done a bit differently.” Instead
of seeing what makes magic so great and what is important,
they are always just looking for new secrets. The truth is there
are only so many basic principles in the art of magic. That by
no means limits the possibilities. There are only twelve notes
in the scale and less than that many colors in the spectrum, yet

look
mendedat what has been
the Tarbell donein
Course with them.
Magic I have
as the bestalways recom-
place to learn
magic’s basic principles. I could show you how my entire act
comes from variations of ideas from those pages. There cer-
tainly is nothing new in these two effects, but they hit home
like dynamite!
Normally I stand when I perform. When shooting a video,
things are a bit more restricted. Because I had a number of
people up close, if I stood while performing these effects, the

camera angles would

next to impossible. have been
Because atrocious
of this, and
I had my close-up
Swami shots
Gimmick
inside my jacket pocket instead of my pants pocket (my prefer-
ence). This is why it took me a bit longer to get the gimmick
on. The opening spiel about gambling and Connecticut serves
as both a set-up for the effect and as a means of allowing me to
get my gimmick on. Notice how long I have my hand in there
and how no one is paying the slightest bit of attention to that.
Instead, they are listening carefully to me talk.

Afterthe
putting I pretend
pencil attothe
write
far my
endforecast, I make
of the table. I doitthis
a point of
not to
prove that it is too far away for me to sneak it back, but to draw
subtle attention to it so that they will remember it was out of
my hand. I have always used the patter here when I do this
Volume 3: Assorted Mysteries 49

effect. Talking about them being in my living room has a kind

of feeling of intimacy about it. I always notice a slight change
in facial expressions when I do this. Perhaps people think of a

performer
coming into asmy
a distant
house, type of individual.
it changes When Iof
the complexion talk
theabout
rela-
tionship ever so slightly.
I try to make the spectators actually visualize the lottery
ball container. People really do try to see a picture like this in
their minds if you ask them to. By not just naming a number,
but seeing a number on an imaginary ball, their minds are more
occupied and less likely to try to look for some trickery. I don’t
write the first two numbers down as they are called out, but

rather
secondwork
personone-behind,
to see the writing the sometimes
ball. Note: first number as I actually
I will tell the
be holding the card in my left hand when the first number is
called and then transfer it over to my right as I turn to the
second person.
It is interesting to note that I again unconsciously look over
my right shoulder to make sure there is no camera as I talk to
Jon!
Here is something I didn’t mention in the explanations.

After
to my the
lap.third
Thatnumber
is whenisI called,
ditchedI write it in andIdrop
the gimmick. just my hand
placed it
on my lap and then leaned forward to show the card. Look at
how clean the ending of this effect is with both hands obvi-
ously empty. Also notice how I retrieved the gimmick immedi-
ately and actually was putting it back on while I displayed the
card. The reason was that I didn’t want to leave it in my lap too
long and take a chance that it might move. It is easy to find a
nail writer in your pocket, but not so easy to find one in your

lap As
if you can’t look!
I talked about on the video, the reason this plays so
strongly is that it is about gambling. It is about making big
money using the abilities of the mentalist. Who would not like
to be able to know the winning lottery number ahead of time?
50 MindMysteriesGuideBook

I can remember from my childhood, magic books talking about

the Miser’s Dream having so much appeal because it shows the
magician producing money. If a crowd can relate to seeing a

few
that silver
seems,dollars beingmore
how much pulled out of the
pertinent is itair,
to as
seefar-fetched
someone ac-as
tually predict a lottery number worth a lot more than that?
You may be wondering what I say if someone comes up to
me afterwards and asks me if I can really predict the lottery
number. Here is the secret of handling that! I tell them, “I was
able to do that because I was working with peoples’ minds.
The real lottery numbers are chosen by stupid machines that
don’t have minds!” That always gets an understanding nod and

then they walk away.

CELL PHONE EFFECT
 History
I was on stage, nail writer in place, ready to do a prediction
effect, when someone’s cell phone went off in the audience. I
immediately decided to use the person on the other end of the
phone instead of picking a volunteer. Since then, I wait for the
opportunity.
There is not much to be said here that I haven’t already
covered in the Lottery Effect section. Perhaps I should use

this opportunity
is such a thing asto point out that in magic, as in music, there
improvisation!
You should always be on the lookout for opportunities to
apply a magic principle to something new and on the spot.
Malini, who I mention often in these pages, was renowned for
just that. A quote from Malini and His Magic reads:
“Malini was undoubtedly a magical opportunist – he was
always on the look-out to surprise people when they least sus-
pected he was going to work an effect. Many of the effects or

miracles
or attributed
twice in to Malini were performed by him only once
his lifetime.”
The Swami Gimmick is tailor-made for this kind of work. I
was doing a show a while back in Palm Springs, California for
the Betty Ford Foundation. I had the honor of having dinner
with President and Betty Ford.
We were discussing his early years at Yale, close by to where
I used to live. I asked the President if he ever had a dog as a
child. He smiled and said he had. It was his first dog. I asked

him thefrom
napkin namethe
of table
the dog
andand he told
handed me.
it to Then I picked up a
him.
On the back was the name of the dog he had as a child over
80 years ago!
That is the kind of thing that makes a reputation!
Volume 3: Assorted Mysteries 53

Analysis
This effect is exactly like the previous. So is the method.
And yet, it looks totally different and has a completely differ-
ent effect on the audience. This, I feel, makes my claim that
knowing a basic principle is far superior than chasing around
after all the latest books and props.
The idea of doing any effect over the telephone is an old
one and I have countless books in my library with different
methods of guessing cards using mathematical principles,

stooges, etc.a The

effect with nail premise
writer is has alwaysmore
so much beendirect.
sound and doing the
A nice factor with this effect is, by asking who has a cell
phone with them and who has someone they can call, you are
actually getting a volunteer in the audience without having to
actually pick one out. The routine allows them to stay in the
audience and gives them little chance to try to mess you up.
There are no props for them to touch or any other liberties
they can take advantage of that might be harmful to the effect.

ask You have totoask

the person getquestions and keep
out the phone things
and turn moving
it on. Thatastakes
you
a bit of time and you don’t want the routine to drag. Luckily,
she says her boyfriend’s name is Rex and that gives me the
opportunity to make a joke about it and get the audience laugh-
ing. Go back and time out how long it takes her to get that
phone out and turn it on and think about the tremendous dead
time there would have been if there had been no conversation
and jokes. Then look at how long it took her to actually get

someone on the
All along phone.
I was saying things and making little remarks to
both her and the people around me. Whenever you do a rou-
tine where the spectator has to do something, assume it will
take them twice as long as you think is reasonable and be pre-
54 MindMysteriesGuideBook

pared to talk through it all while they are doing it.

The “Hi Luke” thing is always funny and I have never had
an audience who didn’t want to scream that out. It is fun! I

talked
back andcontinuously about
listen to all the funny my first Guide
this in remarks in thisBook , butand
routine go
how I am chattering almost constantly throughout. This kind
of effect can go very badly if you aren’t prepared to do so and it
can seem like hours before you actually get the number called
out. Also, because the ending is so killer, the joking causes a
relaxing of the tension of seeing a mystery until the end when
they get hit right between the eyes!
I say, “OK, we have Luke on the phone. Let me write some-

thing
on thefor Luke!”
other end This
of theisphone
so important! I am
with Luke putting
! Please theunder-
don’t effect
estimate this concept. The verbiage is vital! It is the fact that I
am controlling his response on the other end of the line that
puts this effect 1000 times above a simple one-on-one nail writ-
ing effect. Proof of this is in the reaction of the audience at the
end. You must make this effect happen onhis end, not yours!
Re-read that last sentence ten times!
Look at the way I toss the pencil aside. Who could miss

that? Look at1Cassandra’s

ber between and 1000. Ifeyes.
you Then I have
are going him name
to learn a num-
to nail write
a number, at least practice enough to make it a 3-digit number.
There is something that just sounds so much more impressive
by asking someone to name a number from 1 to 1000 rather
than from 1 to 100.
The number chosen is 420, which has a drug-related con-
notation. Whenever I get something like that, I play dumb.
The same thing goes with the number 69. I just don’t go there.

IAlso,
would
if Irather seem
pretend prudish
I don’t knowthan
the try to fallof
meaning into
thethat mindset.
number, it is
much better for the finish than if I acknowledge the reference and
then have everyone think,“Oh, yeah. Everyone must say that!”
Now before I tell you, are you looking at the video and
Volume 3: Assorted Mysteries 55

wondering where the Swami is at the end? Again, I was forced

to improvise on the set. I usually am standing and can ditch
the Swami in my pants pocket or use a ruse that I teach later in

the
nailseries.
writingOn here,Sohowever,
effect. when youI know this
see my is going
hand droptotobe myfloor,
the last
that’s when I ditch it! I just drop it on the floor right behind
my right foot! I want to be as clean as possible for a finish I
know is going to be spectacular!
And spectacular it is! The reaction is what makes it all worth-
while! And no, no one is coaching the audience. They are just
hit that hard and are showing it. I am delighted! The final bit
of fun happens right before the cut when someone asks me

how I knew
of lame whatI number
reason, just say, he woulda say.
“I took shot!Instead of some
Sometimes youkind
just
have to take a shot!” That is a great line, is funny and dis-
creetly tells the audience, “Don’t ask!”
BILL I N CIG ARETTE
 History
I mention in my final chapter that there came a point in my
career that I made the decision to risk losing my magic shows
and become a mentalist. I had devised the Bill in Cigarette
routine and had used it for about a month. It had been my
opener and it was about to be replaced with my Bank Night
routine.
A close friend of mine, Peter London, was doing a ton of

magic
long asshows
he wasand I offered
doing it to him.
it, I would neverI do
promised
it again.him that up
I typed as
the whole thing, gave it to him and kept my word. For many,
many years, he used it in every show as his opener and it was
his trademark. He was a very funny comedian and had a mil-
lion lines in the routine. It was hysterical!
He retired from show business over fifteen years ago and
so I felt I could now demonstrate it on the videos.
I could never understand why so many advanced magicians

disdain
the thumb thetip!
useItof
is what is perhaps
an invisible magic’s
gimmick greatest
so there gimmick–
should not be
any way for someone to see it: that is, if it is used in the right
way. Still, I see magicians who think they are more sophisti-
cated if they do the Bill Switch without a thumb tip, eventhough
they now have angles to worry about.
I have even heard of one mentalist who thinks he has im-
proved on my Bank Night routine because he holds the bill
behind the envelopes instead of using the gimmick. I suspect

thisThe
person never
thumb tipperforms
is the mostinperfect
front ofinstrument
real audiences!
for vanishing
anything that will fit within it. A bill is perfect. When I decided
I wanted a Bill to Cigarette routine, I never even considered
another method. Why complicate things when the simple ap-
58 MindMysteriesGuideBook

proach works so well. I wanted everything to be straight for-

ward with no spots in it so that someone could look back and
say, “He must have done something when he went into his coat

for aThat
penisorwhy
some such itthing.”
I make a point to keep both the cigarette and
the bill as visible as possible at all times. I also wanted some-
thing that was easy to do.
That is another point that bothers me about some magi-
cians’ thinking. They would rather do something the hard way
instead of the easy way! There are enough sleights and moves
in magic that are inherently hard, like writing with a nail writer,
so why make other moves hard when you don’t have to?

I knew
plain sight that thethe
before cigarette needed
bill was to be
burned. Myplace
goodfarfriend,
away and in
Chet
Cox, who wrote the Introduction to this book, sent me an e-
mail and said:
“Your positioning of the cigarette far from you has even
those who saw such an effect, and (somewhere in their minds)
must have realized that XXXX had the lemon in his posses-
sion all that time, he could have done something – well,
their thought processes seem entirely short circuited at that

point.
ing theBy gettingfar
cigarette them
fromto you,
anticipate the climax,
you effectively while keep-
cancelled out
the method.
I am positive that, because the cigarette was far from
you, you cancelled the thought that you brought the bill with
you to the cigarette. That’s how it affected me when I saw it
– and, thanks to Bank Night , I already was certain that’s
what you were going to do. It still made me mi s-remember
that you had to approach the cigarette at all – one actually

remembers, ‘ Heisdidn’t
This routine bettertouch
than the cigarette
I think evenatyou .’
allrealized.”
The smallest things make the biggest differences! It is easy
to pass over what can be the crucial factor that makes some-
thing work. That is why I write these guide books.
Volume 3: Assorted Mysteries 59

Analysis
“Would you like to see like a magic trick? Would that be
cool?”
As a mentalist, would you expect those lines, based on what
the cognoscenti of mentalism advise, to be ever spoken? And
yet, here they are, at the end of a lot of strong mentalism, from
a guy with a big sign right behind him that says, “The Power of
the Mind.” Let’s see how it plays out!
The question of smoking and cigarettes can be quite touchy

these
admit days
they and I try toScotty
do. When get a brings
laugh out
out of getting someone
a cigarette, to
I try to do
everything I can to impart the idea that it will never leave
anyone’s sight or be touched at all. There are two things here
that are important points to follow. First, I always have the
cigarette placed in the audience somewhere near the spectator
who loaned it, and second, I never have any kind of special
container to place the cigarette into. I always find someplace
there, on the spot, to put it on or into even, as is the case here,

to have
way, it just
shape or dropped
form to on
do the floor. You
anything that do not suggest
could want, inyou
any
switched the cigarette. This is vital!
There are lots of jokes that have become standard when
borrowing a hundred dollar bill and having it signed. These
are very funny…the first eight or ten times you hear them.
Then, after seeing every magician who does this kind of rou-
tine run through the same ones, in the same order, you begin
to lose interest. The only joke I use here is to acknowledge

“Yes, is
that,There I think signing
an idea here your name
on the on the
video thatbill is illegal.”
I came up with
many years ago and want to talk about now. I remember dem-
onstrating this on that lecture tour in Texas. It is a major im-
provement over the way this kind of thing is usually handled
60 MindMysteriesGuideBook

and is the type of suggestion I have tried to put in these Guide-

books that is worth its weight in gold.
The problem: I have always disliked having someone in

the
Youaudience write
have to pass down
out the serial
the paper andnumber
pen andofhope
a borrowed
they getbill.
the
number right. You probably even have them repeat it to be
sure. Since the audience knows someone is writing the num-
ber down, they don’t even bother to try to remember it. At the
end of the routine, at the very moment the serial number is
most important, the only person who knows for sure you are
right is the one who wrote it down. Then, as often as not, they
spoil everything by saying, “Nope, that’s wrong!” or some other

nonsense, trying
you look like to be funny. The whole climax is killed and
an amateur.
The solution: It is common knowledge among mentalists
that to memorize the serial number on a bill, just break it down
into two dates. That is the idea I use, but applied to the whole
audience. I give half the group the first four numbers as a date
and the other half of the group the last four numbers as a date.
Then I give the person who loaned the bill the letters. All this
causes the whole audience to pay attention. They, in fact, usu-

ally
date remember
as well andmore than
usually thejust theirtoo!
letters, ownSo,
date, butvery
at the theend
other
of
the routine, when this information means everything, the en-
tire audience knows it and can react! There is no way to be
messed up and no way can anything go wrong!
Besides the specific idea above, I really want to impart to
you how this kind of creative thinking can completely change
the polish of your show. Look at how the major problem above
is completely eliminated while, at the same time, the whole

procedure is streamlined.
way even when you mightItnot
is imperative tothere
even realize striveistoathink this
problem.
Constantly examine your performance and reexamine every-
thing you do to see if there might not be a better way to put
things together and get where you need to go. Now, let’s get
Volume 3: Assorted Mysteries 61

back to the routine.

After I fold the bill, I hand it to Cassandra while I get the
envelope from my pocket. I want to make sure it stays in sight

with
openly noput
monkey
it intobusiness going on.
the envelope. Thenhow
Notice I take it back
I keep and
asking,
“OK?” until the audience repeats, “OK!” Even though there
is a lot of humor in this effect, I still am going to play it up for
maximum mystery and I want to use the principle of getting
them to admit everything is fair (see my earlier Guide Books)
to lock that thought into their heads.
I have always hated the idea of pretending to light the en-
velope on fire in the Bill to Wallet routines. If you are not a

master
That is like
whyTerr
I asky Seabrooke, it usually
if they can see the billcomes across
through the as so fake!
envelope.
When they say, “No,” I borr ow a lighter and hold it behind the
envelope. Then, instead of pretending it is a mistake, I very
openly light the envelope on fire and say, “You can see that,
can’t you?” That move comes as a bit of a shock as it is so
deliberate! As it starts to burn I say, “Do we have a fire alarm
in here?”
Now comes a very interesting moment that needs discuss-

ing. As fun,
having I amone
walking
of thearound
ladies bantering
says, “It’swith the audience
not really andI
in there!”
was a bit surprised and this should go a long way in showing
that an L&L audience can sometimes be trouble and say things
you wish they wouldn’t! I decided that to try to argue with her
would be pointless. So instead, I stare at the envelope and say,
“Maybe you’re right. Maybe it’s not in there. I hope it’s not in
there!”
Please learn something from this. See how what could have

been
being aconfrontational,
very big problem just
I take hergot turned and
statement around? Instead
go with of
it. When
I hear another audience member agree with me and say, “I
hope it’s not!” I know I am home free. The whole thing is now
simply part of the routine!
62 MindMysteriesGuideBook

As the envelope burns and I put it into the ashtray, I have

some fun by talking about a card trick. This gets a laugh. Then
I make a reference about helicopters! Let me explain here what

was going
forest fireson. The Tahoe.
in Lake day of Helicopters
our shoot, there
were were
flyingaoverhead
number to
of
drop chemicals on them. Every time one flew over, we had to
stop shooting and wait for things to quiet down. Since I was
playing with fire, I thought that would be a funny inside joke
for the group!
After all the byplay, I just say, out of the blue, “Your ciga-
rette has been sitting there that entire time. Just sitting there,
right like that on the floor, hasn’t it?”This is the part I love!

Listen carefully
rette. You to “No,”
can hear, the comments
“No way,”as“Get
I walk
out over to the
of here,” ciga-
“That’s
impossible,” all before I even open it! Everyone knows what is
going to happen, but no one can believe canit possibly happen!
This illustrates a misconception I wrote about in The Prin-
ciples of Magic. You don’t always have to surprise your audi-
ence. Sometimes it is much better if they know exactly what is
going to happen and they still can’t believe it! This is the case
here. You can see in their faces as they are re-thinking what

theyAsjust saw.walking over to the cigarette, they are trying to

I am
remember if anyone approached it. They are seeing if there is
any way that bill could have gotten from the envelope or the
ashtray over to the cigarette in the middle of the floor. The
“No way!” comments tell you they are realizing that the ciga-
rette was never approached. They have already been convinced
they have seen a miracle before they have even seen it!
“Does the serial number 5158 1964 ABU …” was spoken

by me – but
audience not alone
– saying ! Listen
it right forwith
along the me!
audience
And – most
not justoftheir
the
numbers – but all the numbers! Do you now see what a signifi-
cant improvement this is over having the number recorded and
read back? The whole audience now has an emotional attach-
Volume 3: Assorted Mysteries 63

ment to the finish and can feel the same degree of mystery!
What an amazing thing the thumb tip is!
Bonus Chapter

HOW I CREATE
 How I Create
I was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut on March 6, 1948.
My first house was a multiple story apartment building on
Columbia Court which has since been torn down. It was just
blocks from Seaside Park, home of P. T. Barnum. My father
took me down to the park every Sunday to play ball or swim at
the beach and, when it came to town, to the circus! In the 50’s,
the Barnum and Bailey troupe didn’t set up in the local arena;

it used
wire a real
artist Bigdoing
was Top, his
a huge tent,
thing, in the
you park.
could When
stand theathigh
right the
bottom of the line where the rope was staked into the ground.
You could walk right up and touch the cannon that shot the
Human Cannonball into a net that seemed miles away. And, if
your parents allowed you to, you could go to the sideshow and
see the Lizard Lady. You could also buy revealing pictures of
her if you were an adult!
Besides the freak shows, there were other acts such as ma-

gicians and fortune

of the latter – I wastellers. I have
too young to admit,
– but I never
I did see did see Be-
the former. any
sides the shows, there were booths where they actually sold
incredible items including real magic secrets! My first purchase
was the Chinese Handcuffs and the Coin Slide Box. The hand-
cuffs proved to be a disappointment as my friends could es-
cape easily, but the Coin Slide was a wise investment. Put in a
penny, close up the slide, open it and it was gone! Just like
that. Slide it closed again and, if you did it right, the coin

rematerialized whendead,
Vaudeville was it wasbut
opened.
not allI was off vaudeville
of the and running!
artists
were. The Bridgeport Police force sponsored an annual Vaude-
ville Show at the Klein Memorial Auditorium, a few blocks
from my home. My dad and I went every year until we moved
66 MindMysteriesGuideBook

away. I patiently sat through all the singers, dancers and come-
dians waiting for the magician, who was sure to be on the bill.
I have no idea who the magic men were who I saw back then,

but I bet some of

I remembered, them
not to have names
werebeen . They were too good, or so
famous.
My grandma worked in the srcinal Reads Departme nt Store
on Main Street in Lady’s Fashions, on the second floor. If,
however, you got on the elevator and told the lady wearing white
gloves to take you to the top floor, she would close up the steel
gate and then the heavy elevator doors and move a big brass
handle. At the top of the building, when the motor stopped
and the doors were opened, stood the Toy Department! I re-

member it totally
in the midst decorated
of erector sets, for thebicycles
dolls, Christmasandseason and th
chemistry ere,
sets,
was not a Daisy Red Ryder air rifle, but an imported German
Magic Kit which I wanted more than anything! I could see metal
rings, silver boxes and other arcane objects inside the black box
and it was the only one left.
I got it that Christmas! The only objection I had with my
wonderful present was the lack of any instructions to go with
the props. Still, it really didn’t matter much. I figured out some

of
theit time
and made up the the
and having rest.directions
I was onlyprobably
about seven years old
wouldn’t haveat
changed a thing.
That wasn’t the only Christmas that was magical. A year
later, I got a Sneaky Pete’s Magic Show set made by Remco.
Although mostly plastic, it was good stuff. The yellow cabinet
would allow me to vanish and reproduce anything that would
fit inside, and I could saw a little lady right in half. I could read
your mind with the Talking Dice or make spirit writing appear

on a slate.
write on it!Actually, it was black cardboard, but you could still
My dad got a veteran’s loan and we bought a house in
Ansonia to get away from the slums of Bridgeport. I didn’t
know at the time that we had been living in a slum, but that’s
Volume 3: Assorted Mysteries 67

what they said. In Derby, the next town over and Ansonia’s
biggest football rival, was a United Cigar Store, something you
don’t see much anymore. In the back was a small magic depart-

ment!
genuineThe stuff
metal in there
Walsh was expensive.
Appearing It cost
Cane. I never did$12.50 for a
get enough
money to get that, but I was able to save up for Chinese Rice
Bowls, the Vanishing Quarter in a Glass and a very special
clipboard that, when you took off the clip, revealed…well, I
think you know what it revealed! All in all, I had a lot of magic.
I could keep going on like this, but I am starting to bore
myself so I can imagine your own feelings. Let’s jump ahead a
few years. By the time I was in my 20’s, a friend had told me

the Tarbell
At the time,Course was a necessity
that included and I That
six volumes. took him
had at his word.
a profound
influence on me which I will get back to. It took me about four
months to get them all and it taught me the value of the clas-
sics. After that came Sachs’ Sleight of Hand, Our Magic, The
Fine Art of Magic, Modern Magic, Greater Magic,Bobo’s Mod-
ern Coin Magic, Stars of Magic, etc. I had, by this time, joined
the IBM and Ring 59. The members were extremely helpful in
recommending books and I soon had a small library. I have

always been
As my a voracious
knowledge of reader and read
magic grew, I waswhat I bought!
attracted more and
more towards mentalism. It just seemed to fit my style. The
final push was the Kreskin TV series and his numerous ap-
pearances on all the talk shows. I already had Practical Mental
Effects and Corinda’s 13 Steps, but now I made it a crusade to
get every book on mentalism I could find. Frequent trips to
Tannen’s (then on Broadway), Flosso’s and Hank Lee’s in
Boston netted me quite a library. I also met Al Mann and he

was another
buying great influence. One could spend a fortune just
his books!
I had been doing magic shows since I was a kid. I had also
learned hypnotism while in college. Yet I still continued to work
primarily as a magician. I was unwilling to take the chance to
68 MindMysteriesGuideBook

switch to a mentalism show and lose all my work. Finally, one

day, I decided it was now or never. I immediately got some
literature printed and started calling myself a mentalist. When

Ishow
turned
themupsomething
for a show, I would
a bit just
different say that
! Then I was
I just did going to
it! I also
made it a point to find those types of magical effectsthat worked
in a mentalism context, such as the Linking Finger Rings and
Coin in Bottle, and interject them into the show. This made
the transition smoother. It was easy to do since I had already
studied Dunninger, Al Koran, Kreskin, Annemann and Al Baker.
They all did some magic in their shows.
In 1980, I was approached by the Landerman and Jarvis

Entertainment
It was a choice Agency
I have who
neveroffered to manage
regretted. me exclusively.
Paul Landerman and
Tom Clark set out to introduce me into the corporate market.
Paul later retired and Tom has been my manager and friend for
over a quarter of a century.
Working corporate shows required a very careful selection
of material and presentation. I didn’t want to take any chances
so I went straight to the classics. I knew this was tested and
proven material that I could rely on if I did my part. I analyzed

my choices
people thinkcarefully and on
the material practiced them
my video relentlessly.
series, Many
Easy To Master
Mental Miracles, was compiled just for those videos. In truth,
when Louis Falanga of L&L Publishing approached me with
the idea, I knew I had the material already! Everything I
performed on those DVDs was from my repertoire of those
early years.
That is not to say I didn’t change things a bit from the
written word. Sometimes it was minor and sometimes I per-

sonalized it crib
slate pencil to a greater extent.
notes for ExtraFor example,
Sensory I never, liked
Perception the
so I just
memorized them and stacked the cards in reverse order so that
I didn’t have to work backwards. I didThe Modern Mindreader
the way I published it in my book, The Very Modern
Volume 3: Assorted Mysteries 69

Mindreader. I used a corner short for Magic vs. Mentalism and

divided the envelopes over justtwo pockets instead of six. These
may seem like minor variations, but to me, who looked on these

routines with thought

cause I really reverence, they were
it suited bold moves
me better. This ismade
how Ionly be-
started
to invent – by just making minor changes because it made sense
to me, not for the purpose of change for change sake.
A big move forward in my creativeness came when I de-
cided to work on a new center tear. Here is how that happened.
I had just gotten hold of Al Mann’s Lexicon Phenomena. It
was a wonderful dictionary test using a very clever principle.
My friend, Nelson Nicholson, was having a party. We set it up

that I would
he would comeIin
suggest doassomething.
his friend, The
an incredible mentalist,
dictionary would beand
on
the shelf and I would grab it as though it were just one of his
books laying there. Then I would perform the test.
That day, at home, I decided to also add in the center tear
as I wanted to make the routine a bit longer. That night, at
Nelson’s house, I began the performance. First, I had some-
one write a name, then I tore it up and stole the center, stuck
the pieces in my pants pockets while I ditched the center in

another
ing on a pocket!
clipboardThen I didtest,
for that the Idictionary test. As Ithe
secretly retrieved wascenter
writ-
and read it. Then, after the finish of the Lexicon Phenomena,
I revealed the name. Everyone was stunned, including Nelson!
I didn’t know that until the next day when I went over to
get my book. “How did you get that name?” he asked. I told
him and he said, “I thought that somehow you had read it
while you were tearing it!” That’s all it took to get me going on
the quest! I figured that if it looked that good, reading it while

tearing would
would turn outbetothe
be way toof
years go.development
So I began working on what
starting with the
Ultimate Center Tear, then The Slow Motion Surrounded Cen-
ter Tear and finally The Perfected Center Tear! As you can see,
it was developed from an idea that was already proven, not just
70 MindMysteriesGuideBook

from wanting something new.

After seeing Kreskin perform live a number of times, and
after reading about the workings of Dunninger’s act, I knew I

wanted
differenttoDunninger
do something
Padssimilar. I must
and even havemade
had one madebyaadozen
book
binding method. I never was happy with any of them. I tried
different vinyl folders, but they never were quite what I wanted.
In my mind, I could see the perfect design. My cousin had his
cabinet-making shop in the basement of my father’s tool and
die business. I took my idea for the ThoughtScan board, drew
up a blueprint and had my cousin make it up for me. It came
out beautifully and worked perfectly. I was happy even though

he
mycharged
cousin! me $200.00, and that was in the 80’s! And he was
The same thing happened with the Ultra Board. I was us-
ing the Mental Broadcasting slate, but it always jammed. It
also looked quite gimmicky. I had Syd Bergson’s Eclipse. I
thought the principle was clever, but wanted to improve the
clips and make the idea work with an ungimmicked blackboard
while using no force. I went back to my cousin and, for another
$100, I had it! So, in this case, the creation came from fixing a

problem,
I havenot looking
already for something
written about hownew for its the
I created own sake.
Breakthrough
Card System many times.Card Calling was already in my show,
but I wanted a better stack to use for it. I understood how impor-
tant a mathematically-stacked deck, which looked completely ran-
dom, would be for mentalism. I wanted no exceptions to the rules
and I wanted it to be cyclical so that it could be cut. I knew whatI
wanted and wouldn’t stop until I found it.
Sometimes my creations stem from entirely different rea-

sons.
BlochIn theout
came early days
with of digital
some clockswhich
great effects and watches,
Kreskin Richard
used on
TV. I wanted something like that myself, but wanted it to be
different and simpler. By this time, my show was coming to-
gether and I wanted a watch routine that would fit the feeling
Volume 3: Assorted Mysteries 71

or genre of what I was already doing. I had a watch I had gotten

from Richard Mark and liked the simplicity of the method. I
was also working on my own handling of Acidus Novus. One

day, theTo
had it! two thoughts
this day, thecame together
Watch Routineinismy
stillmind
one and there
of my mostI
popular pieces.
I could go on and on, but that is not necessar y. Everything
I have created is on the Mind Mysteries series and the hist ory
of each one has been or will be discussed in the Guide Book
series. The point that I wanted to make clear in this article,
however, is nothing was ever created just for the sake of inven-
tion alone. There was always a reason, whether it was to solve

atoproblem, make aperforming

fit a particular routine better or find an entirely new effect
agenda.
Along with that, I need to point out that no Osterlind ma-
terial has ever been offered that was not field-tested for a great
deal of time. One of my pet gripes is the number of new magi-
cians who, when they think they have a new idea, want to pub-
lish the routine immediately! I have seen them openly admit
they have never performed the material and that the invention
was only a few weeks old! You cannot offer material to the fra-

ternity
I never in this how
know manner.
a newEven
ideaafter
willover
play40 years
until of performing,
I use it over and
over. Even if it plays strongly for ten shows, if it bombs in the
eleventh, it needs fixing! In my book, The Principles of Magic,
I quoted the following:
“I’ll tell you what the problem withthe magical power you’re
using here. It didn’t require any discipline to attain it. You read
what others had done and you took the next step. You didn’t
earn the knowledge for yourselves so you didn’t take any re-

sponsibility for it. Youasstood

accomplish something onyou
fast as thecould
shoulders of geniuses
and before to
you even
knew what you had you patented it and packaged it and slapped
it on the Internet and now you’re selling it.” – Jeff Goldblum
from the film Jurrasic Park (paraphrased).
72 MindMysteriesGuideBook

This, to me, hits the mark exactly. Magicians have to have

respect for that which has gone before them and try to earn
that knowledge themselves before building on it. All this brings

me The
to myopening
final point.
lines of this commentary were to show you a
short history of my life in magic. I have loved the art since I
was a child and that love has never diminished. I have great
respect for it and always want to honor it. I have also, to my
complete surprise and amazement, become known as a sort of
teacher. I accept that responsibility with pride and commit-
ment and wish only to pass on whatever small knowledge I
have earned in this field to those who are interested. You can

see from
tance on this brief
books andoverview of myOf
knowledge. lifeevery
that bit
I place great impor-
of advice I have
ever offered, the most important is for you to obtain and study
the Tarbell Course in Magic. I have been talking about this my
whole career, but let me now show you why it is so important
in learning how to create.
If you read the chapter, The Science of Magic, in Tarbell
Volume One, you will understand what I am about to say. Tarbell
teaches you the principles and fundamentals of magic. To para-

fiftyIftricks.
phraseishim,
know you learn
But fifty
if youtricks,
learnbut
theno principles,
rudiments ofall you
magic
and why they work, you become a real magician and can always
create new magic! What I love so much about Tarbell is that he
clearly proves he is not talking pipe dreams. Each chapter not
only teaches the fundamentals, but then goes on to show ac-
tual routines created from that knowledge. But there is far more
that has never been talked about and is what I want to reveal here!
A common phrase today is to “think outside the box.” This,

of course,
Tarbell refersdo
doesn’t tothis
using srcinalTarbell
because thinking
wastonever
solveinproblems.
the box in
the first place! If you take a volume and randomly open it to
any subject, let’s say Card Stabbing in Volume 3, you will find
nine different versions of that effect, each one of which is to-
Volume 3: Assorted Mysteries 73

tally different! Unlike current magic books which will give you
page after page of a magic problem with a slightly different
variation for each one, Tarbell offers solutions that come at

you from
– Card all different
Transition , or angles!
chapterCheck out Volume
57 – Slate 4, chapter
Mysteries 51
, each one
offers a multitude of effects using entirely different methods.
It is amazing how many principles this course touches upon
within its eight volumes. Tarbell forces you to see magic from a
scientific viewpoint. If you study his words with diligent atten-
tion, you can’t help but become a creator!
I firmly believe that because I grew up with this course and
studied it my whole life, I have learned to think according to

Dr. Tarbell’s
hemmed advice.
in by what When I have
has been donea magic
before.problem, I never
I don’t try feel
to solve
it by trying to slightly change what others have done, but rather
consider the problem matched against all the principles Doc
has taught me! When I created ODDS, I thought, “Why do I
need to use mirrors or impression devices or stooges to dupli-
cate a design. What if I just know what the design is?” This led
to a totally new concept in design duplication.
When I created my Miracle Flying Cards, I thought, “Why

do I need istolooking?
everyone get the actual
Why signed
not usecards into cards
dummy my pocket when
and switch
them back when they think it’s over?” This effect, before I ex-
plained it, fooled some of the best card magicians in the country.
I always loved the Torn and Restored Newspaper , but
wanted it to look even better. I first got the idea to give it away
at the end. Then I thought it would be good to have it signed
first. Finally, I got the idea of having any page chosen to do it
with. I never let the word impossible enter into my thinking

and didn’twith
magicians stopthis
trying until
effect I solved
for over the problem.
ten years I floored
before I decided to
share it on my videos. The method is based on principles I
learned in Tarbell. But, more importantly, it was Tarbell who
taught me to think that way!
74 MindMysteriesGuideBook

Even now, I still have a few effects I won’t part with. One of
my favorites is my coin bending. Everyone keeps arguing how
it must be done and I like to keep doing it right in their face!

TooItmany
is so magicians
good to bethink
truly they
amazed andit to
know all.see real mystery.
When they get
there, they lose the wonder and that is sad. You can’t create
wonder if you can’t feel wonder. I like to knock them back a
notch for their own good! And yet, I don’t want to be only on
that side of the fence. I want to see miracles myself. I want to
be so badly amazed that I am stunned. I want to see magic that
I can’t even begin to understand!
I hope I am hitting on some dormant emotion within you.

Ibegan
hopestudying
I am sending
magic you
and back
thoughta few
thatyears
eachtonew
when
bookyou first
would
bring you miracles that would stun the world. I hope I can
bring you back to that frame of mind that didn’t put bound-
aries on what you thought could be done with magic. How ab-
surd is it to think that magic could have limitations?
I live in a magical world filled with miracles. It is my hope
and prayer that you will see the magic in yours.