Richard Osterlind - Mind Mysteries Guide Book Vol 1

© 2006 by Richard Osterlind All rights reser reserved. ved. 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 per mission from the publisher. publisher. First E-Book Edition February 2006

© 2006 by Richard Osterlind All rights reser reserved. ved. 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 per mission from the publisher. publisher. First E-Book Edition February 2006

VOLUME 1: THE ACT A LESSON IN STAGECRAFT • Written by

RICHARD OSTERLIND Text & Layout by

JIM SISTI

www.osterlindmysteries.com

Foreword It’s been said of Dai Vernon that he never finished working on an effect. Even his classic routines that had already been cemented in print and analyzed and performed by countless magicians—his Cups and Balls routine, the Symphony of the Rings, and dozens more—were always considered works in progress by the Professor. Richard Osterlind thinks of his creations in much the same way. While it’s true that his Mind Mysteries video series is one of the best-selling instructional magic videos of all time, Richard has never stopped thinking about the effects that were immortalized on these seven volumes. The performances that were filmed on July 13, 2002 and again on July 10, 2004 simply captured these effects at that particular stage in their development. To the casual observer, it might seem that these performances were definitive and the audiences on hand for both of these filmings certainly seemed to agree. However, Richard is a very deep thinker and while he has certainly endured the slings and arrows of outrageously jealous “wannabe’s” and “never-were’s” since the ver y conspicuous success of Mind Mysteries with remarkably good humor, this is mostly due to the fact that his toughest critic will always be himself. Never content with an effect being good, he is always combing through every nuance of a routine looking to wring every last drop of entertainment and mystery out of it until it’s great. This brings us to the current work. Never before has an artist gone back through a set of magic instructional videos and attempted to take the student through all of the thought processes and subtleties that are, in truth, what make up the almost Golden Fleece-like objective that is usually referred in

hushed tones as the “real work.” The Mind Mysteries Guide Book will take the thoughtful and diligent student through each of the effects that make up a successful working professional’s act piece by piece, move by move, subtlety by subtlety. The “real work” oozes out of every pore of this book. The material that is so well-captured on Mind Mysteries has taken Richard Osterlind literally around the world. These are the effects that not only made his reputation as a worldclass performer but also the routines that he uses to make his living. To commit these to video so that others could reap the rewards of these commercial, polished gems was unbelievably generous. Other mentalists have released instructional videos where some of their trademark effects were conspicuously absent. For Richard to now revisit these effects so that those who have purchased the Mind Mysteries series can now benefit from Richard’s further thoughts, reflections, additions and, in some cases, improvements on these effects is simply unprecedented. I was honored to have had a small part in the Mind Myster- ies project and am very pleased that Richard is getting the recognition and attention that I’ve always known he so richly deserves. Jim Sisti Beacon Falls, CT February 2006

Introduction The success of my seven-part video series, Mind Myster- ies, is truly exciting. Not only has it become a best seller, but the feedback from magicians and mentalists using the material has been wonderful and humbling! I feel truly honored by this response and I want to thank all those who have been supportive. You certainly deserve some background about the material and the reason for this book. All of these effects were developed and tested over a period encompassing approximately 35 years. Before going into the studio, I made the decision to include everything, every small performing detail, on these videos and to hold nothing back. I have always believed this is the right way to teach and all my cherished, classic books on magic abide by that rule. That meant giving away hard-earned knowledge that came only after years of experience. Rest assured that there is probably not a single mistake I haven’t made or pitfall I have not plummeted into during my career. Sheer endurance is the only redeeming quality I can claim! I began originating these effects when I first started performing and those shows were the typical ones we all have done. Birthdays, company banquets and even (I hate to admit this now) stag parties were the normal fare. I still cringe a bit when I remember doing mentalism and hypnotism shows for motorcycle clubs and raunchy crowds at local comedy clubs. Still, the experience gave me a firm understanding of what sells and what doesn’t. I often hear discussions about the difference between working professionals and amateurs. I admire any magician or mentalist who does a good job and value all contributions equally. The distinction, however, is when you take money for a performance; your employer will be quick to tell you when

you’re not good! If magic is your total occupation, your income, or lack of it, will quickly provide motivation for improvement! Paying your dues has become a cliché, but the truth is you don’t become successful until you have done so. No matter how much you study, you will never really learn until you actually do it. After spending many years playing the local circuit, I was signed by a managerial company that specializes in the corporate market. Before I knew it, I found myself flying to shows around the country and then, later, around the world. I have been to Monte Carlo three times, China, the Dominican Republic and many other exotic locales. I am blessed for the life I am able to lead and to be able to support my family doing something I love so much. The material in Mind Mysteries is what has enabled me to do so and I will always be grateful to L&L Publishing and Louis Falanga for giving me the opportunity to commit this material to DVD. While I am on the subject, it’s my opinion that the L&L shoots are an example of state-of-the art videos. The DVD format allows you to jump around between performances and explanations and makes learning exceptionally easy. The picture and sound quality is always top notch and the multiple cameras allow the viewer to see the action from all angles. Let me dispel a rumor. I have heard it said that L&L audiences are pushovers and their reactions are staged. Let me assure you this is not the case. Outside of the four or five company employees, the audience is made up of members of the Lake Tahoe community who are not prepped in any way. These are normal people reacting in a normal way. Their responses are typical of what you can expect to get from this material. As further proof, let me assure you I have received countless letters from mentalists performing these routines who tell me they get the same kind of reactions in their live shows as those seen on Mind Mysteries. Filming a set of videos is a grueling experience. There is a

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Mind Mysteries Guide Book

lot of mental strain knowing that every word you speak and every move you make is being permanently captured and will be scrutinized by thousands of viewers. Many critics are far from kind in their reviews and that knowledge can haunt you throughout the shoot. By the end of the day, I found myself both physically and mentally drained. I am telling you all this so you will understand that when the recording of the explanations began, the performances of the previous day were a haze! Since multiple cameras were used and the video was not yet edited, Jim Sisti and I could not look back at the performances. The explanations were based solely on memory. Since these are effects I have used for most of my life, that was not a problem. We were certainly able to cover all phases of the actual mechanics of the material. Still, having been able to review the finished product for some time, I can now offer a lot of further insight. Since the release of all seven videos, I have been deluged with e-mails, letters and phone calls asking me about further details of the routines. It is a bit shattering to find out someone was caught doing one of the effects or that it didn’t play well. Usually this is because they didn’t understand a crucial part of the working or they left out something they didn’t think was necessary. Often, this is a presentational aspect that they thought was secondary, but is not. I do encourage each and every magician and mentalist to personalize these methods to their own style, but it is mandatory to thoroughly understand the reasoning behind each and every part of the effect before you make changes. Sometimes a small thing can make or break an effect. Let me relate a story to illustrate my point. Early on in David Copperfield’s career, he asked me to come down to one of his performances. After the show and the autograph signing, he marched me back into the empty theater and we sat down to discuss some of his newer routines. One was the illusion of walking through a mirror. Although it was a great effect, it was not quite up to par yet with the rest of the show.

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He asked for my advice and I spent a week calling his manager with ideas for adding to the effect. These ideas were mostly based on trying to make the effect stronger such as first just putting just his arm through or showing himself halfway through, etc. When I finally saw the finished effect on TV, the solution David had come up with was to incorporate the business of having the spectator first tap the mirror and then giving him a cloth to wipe off the fingerprints he just put on it. That was followed by the appearance of a bottle of Windex to further clean it! It was a stroke of genius and made the illusion complete and entertaining. That was an important lesson and I now try to use that kind of thinking when developing my own material. A little incidental filler is often what gives a routine the power it has and makes it so deceiving. I sometimes will get a letter that says, “What do you do when this happens?” The fact is (and please don’t mistake this for conceit), it doesn’t ever happen to me! There are reasons it doesn’t happen and that is one of the things I want to talk about in this book. I should also mention that I have seen a few postings on the Internet forums suggesting that the routines on Mind Mys- teries are older ones that I no longer use or that some of the contents is filler . Let me assure you again that I still make my entire living doing exactly what you see on these videos, and that includes all of the material. Hopefully one day you will be able to attend one of my shows or be at a convention I am performing at to see the effects in action. One of the things I love most is watching the extra features DVD that comes with many movies today. These are the ones which show how the movie was made, some of the methods used to achieve the effects and feedback from the producer’s as to why they did things the way they did. Whether it is the newest movie out utilizing the latest technology or a re-issue of a classic such as the original King Kong , where the movie magic

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was accomplished with basic, down-to-earth methods, I enjoy them all. I find great inspiration digesting this extra material as it makes me want to construct my own performances with the same attention to detail. Hopefully, the Mind Mysteries Guide Book will have the same effect on you, whether you wish to do my routines or just apply the thinking to your own. This book, then, is meant to be just what the title says – a guide book. It is meant to be used in conjunction with the DVD series, Mind Mysteries . In fact, it is almost imperative that you watch the videos as you read this material in order to make any sense. You will not find any methodology in here unless it is an update from what appeared on the videos. What you will find is something much more valuable. These are practical principles that will make this material, and other material you perform, much stronger! I will be looking forward to your feedback. Richard Osterlind Falmouth, KY January 2006

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MIND MYSTERIES Volume 1 The Act

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Initial Thoughts This is probably the most important volume in the entire video series. It deals with my entire stage act and the chief close-up effect I perform, The Perfected Center Tear . Please note that there are a few differences in my actual act and what appears on the DVDs. Since I am almost always booked to do a period of close-up material during the reception, I will have already performed the PCT many times. I do not repeat it in the stage segment. I only do it on stage when I have not already performed close-up. Since I wanted to include it in like manner for the L&L audience, I decided to place it where I did. The Radar Deck is also part of my close-up repertoire and does not usually go into my stage act. It is the Card Calling routine with the jumbo cards that fills that slot. We wanted to keep all the Breakthrough Card System routines on one DVD for the sake of those who wouldn’t be purchasing the entire series. Still, the Radar Deck does work fine in the act if the group is a smaller one and I do use it there if I am performing at a house party or similar function. Given these changes, you can see that my stage act faithfully falls into the five-part format as described by Tarbell in the chapter Routining a Magic Show found in volume 3 of The Tarbell Course in Magic , Lesson 34 and beginning on page 31. The modified act, as seen on Mind Mysteries , still does if you consider the Perfected Center Tear and Radar Deck as part of the same segment. The Linking Finger Rings serves as an encore effect and does not figure into that routining. The act, as I perform it on stage, usually runs for about one hour. That is, of course, a lot longer than seen on the DVDs. As we proceed with the notes, I will tr y to give you an idea of what extensions, segues and other bits I use to give it that length.

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Before I begin analyzing each effect on Volume One, I would invite you to take particular note of the first thing I say to the audience on these videos. When I come out, I immediately assure them that nothing was set up ahead of time and that no one has given me personal information about anyone. This accomplishes two things. First, it emphasizes for both the studio and home audience that there was no pre-show work or behind the scenes set-ups. Second, the remark about personal information instantly suggests to the audience’s subconscious that I may be telling private things about them. This is important as it puts a bit of anxiety into their minds!

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BANK NIGHT

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History When I first decided to specialize in mentalism, I, like the majority of aspiring performers, bought every mental effect I could afford. I had a number of Bank Night or Just Chance routines that depended on special racks, burning envelopes and other such devices. I knew early on that such an effect would make a great opener, but I didn’t like all the fuss these methods utilized. The lowly thumb tip is often dismissed by serious-minded mentalists, but I have always considered it one of the best gimmicks ever invented. If it is invisible, who would know what you are using in the first place? The famous $100 bill switch can be done right under the nose of your spectator without a thing being seen. Since that routine uses the very bill I wanted to use, it just made perfect sense to me to use that subterfuge. I have to admit the idea of naming envelope number 2 as the one that always contains the money was not how I began using the routine. At first, it was just a straight Bank Night effect. One of the routines I had read about suggested putting a small bill, perhaps a dollar, in all the other envelopes so that everyone would be a winner. That idea seemed a bit hokey to me, but gave me the idea of the lottery tickets. Since I was playing a game, it made perfect sense to use them as a consolation prize. My first thought was to put one in each of the envelopes. Then I got the brainstorm about leading the players to wards one envelope and having the tickets in that one. Little by little, the routining fell into place until it worked itself out into what you now see on Mind Mysteries . Over the years, there was a bit of a controversy as to who actually came up with the lottery ticket idea. Others had claimed they invented it. An older video showing me performing this

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routine at a 13 Invitational meeting cleared that up. I should also mention I initially started out using smaller size Number 3 coin envelopes. These are 2.50 by 4.25 inches in size. I decided to use the larger Number 6 envelopes, size 3.375 by 6 inches for the sake of greater visibility and ease of working when inserting the thumb into it. Not only does the large size look better from the audience’s point of view, but it is easier to spot them in the audience once you have given them out. That helps you remember who you gave each one to! Finally, many of the little jokes used in the routine came from the spectators themselves! One of the benefits of performing the same routine for years is that you get such feed back. Someone will say something like, “Maybe he’s using re- verse psychology!” and it gets a great laugh, so that becomes a permanent part of the show. Likewise, all the little subtleties to keep the routine flowing and from going off-track are learned from these years of experience.

Analysis I carefully devised this routine at the start of my professional career for a number of important reasons and it has not changed much over the years. A number of reviewers have mentioned this is a nice, light routine that is an ideal opener, but I believe its subtleties go much further. It is one of the most important lessons in this book and, for that reason, I intend to go into great detail. Please view the actual video as you read this to completely understand all the logic. Notice that I call this routine a game. Please think about that for a second. Almost every person of any age enjoys a game! Whether it is a sporting event, playing bridge, a video game or the ever popular television game show, we all look to games as a form of recreation and fun. Relating it to the old TV pro-

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gram, Let’s Make a Deal further enhances that feeling. In reality, you actually become a sort of game show host as you perform this routine! When you think of all the laughs those hosts get, is it any wonder that you can get so much entertainment from this version of Bank Night ? Game show hosts are for the most part, nice guys. Going into this role helps to create a friendly feeling with the audience. It also offers a bit of relief to the audience after that personal information line! They think, at least for the moment, “Well, I don’t have to worry for a while!” The line, “Remember that old show? ‘Pick me Monte!’” always gets the first laugh of the evening. Visions of audience members jumping in their seats and wildly waving their hands spring to mind! This is a perfect lead-in to explaining about the envelopes and hundred dollar bill. The next important moment is the serial number bit where I announce the number on the bill and say, “You right there. Remember that number as a means of verification!” That is another great line that gets a strong laugh. As a matter of fact, if you replay this routine after reading this, you will see that there is a built-in laugh about once every 30 seconds throughout the entire routine! There is no better way to make an audience like you than to get them laughing! One of those laughs, “If no one picks the right envelope, I get to put it away and you all have to give me a tremendous round of applause for being so clever!” is, in fact, a set-up for the later line in the show, “Spontaneous applause here would be appropriate!” This is a guaranteed applause getter! The idea of mentioning that envelope number 2 has been the winning envelope over and over again is something I consider to be one of the cleverest ideas I have ever devised. Not only does it lend itself to great comedy, it adds tremendously to the standard Bank Night effect by setting up the performer in a situation of apparently trying to out-think and out-talk the spectators as the routine goes along. It becomes a battle of wits and that is the very nature of a game .

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It is important to impress upon you that, even though I may seem to be having fun with the audience and their responses, I try to keep total control during the entire routine. Whenever I do this effect I know almost exactly what is going to happen at every step even though you might think the audience’s reactions would play a large part in how it plays out. Let me show you why. On the video, when I explain to the first girl that she can take whatever number she wants, please notice my speech pattern. I do not leave any openings for her to shout out a number before I can finish my sentence about envelope number 2. When she responds and said, “Not number 2!” I don’t give her a chance for any dialogue. I don’t say, “Why not?” or anything like that. I just say, “OK. What number?” Pushing the person allows me to stay in control the whole time so that the lines can play correctly. I also make sure that I pick cooperative looking spectators so as to insure that things will go right at the end. You might also notice that I pick women for most of the routine. I will tell you why in a second! As each person takes an envelope, I instruct them not to open their envelope until I say so. I say this almost in a com- mand voice, but still mannerly. Again, setting up this type of control early on accustoms the audience to do what you say and to pay attention. Another example of this control is when I get down to the last two envelopes. At this point, I make sure I tell the audience I am only giving one more away and that I get to keep one. That line comes from having too many people over the years try to turn the joke on me by shouting out the number on the last envelope in my hand! Although it is not a huge problem, it slows down the pacing and makes it appear as though someone got the upper hand on me. Again, I want to establish control during this first routine and, even though I am interacting with the audience, I want to leave nothing to chance. I know I am repeating myself but, if I can set the mark at this

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level early in the performance, I am far more apt to have audience cooperation later in the show. When it comes time to have the first three spectators open their envelopes, I tell them to hold the contents high above their heads . Besides visibility, there is a reason for doing so. This stops any smart guys from trying to pull out a hundred from their wallet and hold it up pretending it was in their envelope! That is the reason for using mostly women! Very rarely will a woman dive into her purse to pull this stunt. If, even with those safeguards, it still does happen, I would immediately say, “Right! As though no one has ever thought of that before!” Then I would move right on and forget about them. Now let’s talk about the final person. The interplay on the video clearly shows that when I give her the option of switching, it is only a yes or no option without leaving any openings for further comment. Whenever someone does try to take control, I usually interrupt and ask the audience what they think they should do. The resulting “Switch!” or “Don’t switch!” yells stop that person in their tracks! Again, I don’t want to seem harsh here, but I want you to understand how you can direct the spectators while still keeping your “nice guy” image. When it comes time for me to open my envelope and show the $100 dollar bill, please look at how I reiterate to that last person that she should not open her envelope yet. On the video, I even hold up my hand in a stop gesture. You can see I also keep an eye on her to make sure she is listening. If she had started to open it too early, I would have stopped her by saying, “No, don’t open it yet!” When I withdraw the bill, I immediately ask the question “Does the serial number XXXX sounds familiar?” while pointing to the guy in the audience I earlier asked to remember it. You should notice how that first little joke has come around full-circle. It now, in retrospect, has meaning. I immediately follow that up with my line, “Let’s not forget the deal. Spontaneous applause here would be appropriate!” I

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say this without any pause . I don’t want the audience to applaud before I can deliver the punch line! Please review the video again here and notice how my speech pattern has no gaps from the time I withdraw the bill until I deliver that line. Also notice how the use of the line, “Let’s not forget the deal!” ties everything together with the opening of the routine where I talked about the TV show, Let’s Make a Deal . Although it is a small point, the audience will pick up on the fact that the entire act was well thought out and has gone around full circle. I will talk about completing the circle a number of times in this book. It is a very important concept! We now come to the lottery ticket revelation. I ask the last person to open their envelope and take out what’s inside. Before she can say anything, I say out loud, “That’s not blank paper, but four California lottery tickets!” Again I keep control and use my own voice, rather than hers, to explain what is in her envelope. Everyone can hear me clearly and they react with an “Oh, that’s nice!” type of response. Calling out that information myself also allows me to put finality in my voice which leads the audience to suspect the routine is over. If I let the girl talk here, I would not be able to do that. This builds up to the next laugh when I say, “You can keep one of them!” This plays perfectly at that point because it catches everyone off guard and leaves that last person with still another choice! You can hear the huge laugh! That is immediately tempered when I tell her she will have to give each of the other three players one of the envelopes. This makes perfect sense since we are playing a game and it seems fair to the other players. Now it seems as if the routine is finally over. Then, out of nowhere, I come out with the line about last year’s accounting and how I had given away over $31,000 worth of winning lottery tickets. Notice how I say this in a very serious tone so that the audience is not sure whether or not to believe me. Look at the faces of the audience members during this segment and you will see that look that says, “Is that true? ”

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Then, when I finally do the bit about feeling real good about one envelope and suddenly turn away without another word, the applause cue is perfect! The audience finally knows, for sure , the routine is ended. This whole effect is sort of a mini-drama that accomplishes an incredible amount of stagecraft in a small amount of time. I hope you can understand why I spent so much time in describing all the little nuances. I truly believe a newcomer can learn a lifetime’s worth of performing knowledge by studying all these little points. Also, make sure you don’t leave out any of the lines if you intend to perform this routine as is!

Further Thoughts When I do this routine on stage, I am in the audience at the end. At that point, I always approach a gentleman and bring him back with me to the stage for the Card Calling routine. I use the funny line, “Thanks for volunteering!” even though I have volunteered him myself ! Before I finish, I would like to mention a few practical tips and ideas. I obviously have played around with different ways to get the bill inside that last envelope. I have experimented with palming, stealing the bill from a clip under the jacket, under the wristwatch, etc. I dismissed all these ideas as being not nearly as practical as the good old thumb tip. I am covered from all angles and I never have to worr y about the conditions I perform in. On the video explanations, I mentioned how you could have the thumb tip in your pocket which you could retrieve when you put the elastic away. I dismissed that idea as not really worth the effort. Now I have to eat my words! I do sometimes use this method when the person introducing me is on stage and I know he will probably shake my hand when I get up

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there. (I don’t want to do that wearing a thumb tip!) To get away from all the fumbling, I now have the thumb tip in my right jacket pocket and the envelopes in my left jacket pocket. I can therefore walk on stage empty handed, which looks good, and shake his hand. After he leaves, I can start the routine by reaching into both pockets and coming out with the envelopes in my left hand. The right hand has adjusted the thumb tip so it is ready to go. Now I remove the elastic from the envelopes and put it into my right pocket and easily retrieve the thumb tip. Going into both pockets initially also takes the heat off the second time when you do the dirty work. I also feel I need to mention this to you. For a while, I stopped doing this routine. The clients at my shows were so wealthy that I thought they would not care about a $100 bill and would almost feel insulted if I talked to them about winning one. After a while, I missed doing Bank Night and decided to re-think matters. I realized the routine is not really about someone winning the $100; it is about whether or not the mentalist can outsmart the audience! That is the fun part, not the dramatic need for the money. Still, I needed a way to get into it without worrying about the rich folks. Finally, I thought about Tarbell and how he could use words to make sense of almost anything. I devised the following lines to use as a prelude to the Bank Night routine. They are: “Ladies and gentlemen, I have been fortunate enough to travel around the world performing for the top corporate lead- ers of the world’s largest organizations. If there is one thing I have found they all have in common, no matter what kind of business these men are in, it is that they all have respect for – the almighty dollar!” With that line alone, I now have no difficulty doing the Bank Night routine for any group. I’m sure you can see the mental state that places them in and why that is so. There is power in words!

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THE PERFECTED CENTER TEAR

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History Al Mann was a great friend of mine. Over the years, he did a marvelous job in chronicling the history of that wonderful mentalism classic, the Center Tear. Most of his work on the subject can be read in his lasting legacy, The Purloined Thought . My original read-as-you-tear method, The Ultimate Center Tear , is recorded there. (There is a reprint of this in my newer The Perfected Center Tear and Other Assorted Routines.) What is not recorded in either of those places is the motivation that originally got me working on such a method. It involves Al Mann, but in an indirect way. Here it is, for the first time. I had just gotten a copy of Al’s brilliant Lexicon Phenom- enon. I was dying to try it out and a friend of mine (another magician) was having a party. He invited me as a guest and agreed to place the LP dictionary on his shelf as though it were his. That night, I arrived and he introduced me to everyone as a world-famous mentalist. He invited me to perform and I grabbed the book as though it were his. I also had a clipboard that had the vital information on it. I had decided to do another test in conjunction with this so I began with a Center Tear. After tearing the paper, I stole the center and stuffed the other pieces in my left front pants pocket as I ditched the stolen center in my right rear pocket. Then I went into the Lexi- con Phenomenon and it killed. While I was doing the work, I also retrieved the stolen center and opened it behind the board. Then I ended the show by telling him that information. The guests thought I was wonderful! The next day, my friend called and wanted to know how I did the Center Tear! When I told him, he was astonished. He said he thought I had read it while I was tearing the paper! I laughed and forgot about it for then, but later started thinking

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about that concept. Imagine how great it would be to just do the tear anywhere without ever burning the paper or having to steal away the center and then read it! I was working in my Dad’s tool and die shop at the time and brought in some old newspapers I had cut into billet-sized pieces. After weeks of tearing and experimenting, I finally had the workings of the Ultimate Center Tear . I published this through Al and it received widespread acclaim. It also started an avalanche of other methods! As the years went by, I continued to work on the idea. Although the UCT worked fine, I wanted something even better. I had studied the other methods fellow mentalists had developed and came up with a completely new way to do the move. This was finally published as the Slow Motion Surrounded Center Tear . That book was equally well received and, once again, the method found widespread use. Not content, and after even more years, I developed a more streamlined version which I called the Perfected Center Tear . This is what is seen on Mind Mysteries . Although this final version has ser ved me well for years, I try to never stop thinking. As you read these pages, you will see even one more step in the development of the effect!

Analysis As explained in the introduction, methodology will not be discussed unless I have something new to add. In this case, I do and will a bit later. For now, however, I want to use the first performance on Mind Mysteries (there is another later in the series for the Ashes on the Arm effect as well as in the bonus materials on this DVD) to demonstrate a number of principles I have been talking about for years. As already mentioned, I normally do the PCT during the

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reception segment of the evening. This creates a buzz about me and, by the time I walk onto the stage, most people in the room have heard stories of me telling guests the names of their children, parents, pets, etc. See, this is what they remember— that you told them those names. They don’t remember the paper because it is incidental and not important . If there is one thing I always want people to remember about Richard Osterlind, it is that he is able to tell them the names of loved ones! To start with that premise gives me a stature that ever ything else feeds off. Since I didn’t get a chance to meet anyone before the show and start that buzz, I included the PCT at this point in the act for the purposes already mentioned. Notice when I approach Brittany, I start with a joke. This is a sort of continuation of the laughter from the Bank Night game, but this is also the last joke I use for the rest of this routine. It gradually becomes more and more serious with the intention of stunning the audience for the first time in the show. Brittany’s was not the greatest reaction, but I will show you how even that fact doesn’t hurt the presentation. On the video, you can see how I begin by talking about nothing being set up ahead of time and there being no hidden cameras. This is the beginning of the use of the cancellation principle . By mentioning how I would not dream of using hidden cameras, secret assistants, etc., I am indirectly telling the audience that I would not use any form of trickery. To say things in this type of subtle manner is the professional way to get your point across without generating a challenging attitude. The Center Tear is often thought of as strictly a close-up effect. I hope the demonstration on Mind Mysteries will show you that is not the case. I recently performed this routine exactly as shown at two shows at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah for audiences of 4500 people! It played as strong as any stage illusion. I am telling you this to reinforce my old saying, “People are your best props!” No one

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except the person on stage needs to see the paper and no one will care about it. What they do want to see is if you can get the name right! The reaction of the person on stage is not even that important! Please re-read that last sentence. See, even if the assistant doesn’t react wildly (and Brittany didn’t), when the audience sees that the name is correct, they will! On the video, Brittany almost looks stunned and acts as if she doesn’t want to admit I got the name. You can see that on her face. Then she realizes she has to come clean and finally reacts. The audience is following her facial expressions and, when they finally see I am right, they go crazy at the end! There is another huge advantage when working with a single person on stage. The audience’s attention and scrutiny of your actions will drop tremendously when you are in this situation. They will assume the helper standing right next to you is in a far better position to keep you honest than they are. Therefore, it is only necessary to worry about that person’s attention and where they are looking. The Perfected Center Tear is a technique that can be used in any performance situation. You can do the effect while your hands are being burned. My later perfor mance, using it for the Ashes on the Arm, captures me doing it right in front of the assistant’s eyes with absolutely no misdirection. Still, I like to vary my methods and often do the peek on the offbeat. If you review the bonus material at the end of the first video, you will see me using a number of different variations to get that peek. On this first performance, I am only worried about Brittany’s attention. Please study her gaze as I ask her different questions. Watch how she looks up and down from the paper to my eyes with each question. I am learning her visual responses as I go! It is a strong instinct for anyone to look into a person’s eyes when they have been asked a question. In fact, it is almost impossible to resist. Malini had a famous saying, “It’s all in the eyes,” that has been debated for years. It is my belief that he meant you do your secret move when the person

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is looking into yours! In this routine, I ask Brittany a question, she looks into my eyes, I look down at the paper to get the peek and, by the time she can look back down, the move is done. Again, check out the later bonus material. It is amazing to see how straightforward you can do this peek, without anyone noticing, if you do it at the proper moment. I hope you will appreciate how powerful a routine this is and how adaptable it is. I would now like to add something new to the PCT that makes it even better. The forerunner to the Perfected Center Tear was the Slow Motion Surrounded Center Tear published in 1986. That routine required some additional folding before each tear. The PCT was a spin-off from the Speed Tear in that manuscript. Over the years, even though the PCT can be done with any paper, I have experimented with many different types and weights. Together with my partner, Jim Sisti, we have found the perfect paper (it is really almost index card stock) to do the routine with. It is thick and opaque and rips quite easily. There is another quality to the paper which I have never mentioned before. You can allow the spectator to fold the paper twice (with their name on the outside) before handing it back to you! If you take it back and do the normal PCT , you will have no problem with getting your thumb into that first fold! That is because of the thickness of the paper and the way the grain runs. No matter how much they might crease the paper, it will still pop open perfectly! Now let me explain why that is so important. Over the last few years, there has been a tremendous amount of material written about Center Tears and peeks. For the most part, it is all excellent material and what I’m about to say is in no way meant to put down or diminish the importance of those techniques. All such methods have their upsides and downsides. A peek allows you access to the information without having to tear the paper. For most of these methods, however, the information must be written in one of the four corners of the card and not in the middle. Let me ask you a question. If I

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were to take two identical cards and write a word on each, one in the corner and one in the middle and then fold each card twice and hand them to you, which one would allow you to peek at the word easier? Do you see my point? The one with the word in the middle is much more locked . With the word in the corner any spectator might think of bending a corner if left with that slip for a minute or two. On the other hand, a paper folded twice with the word on the center is a much greater challenge. Try it yourself. See if you can bend back a corner, or even all four corners, and see the word! This is a very important point that always seems to be overlooked in discussing these matters. Now, with the information just given to you about that second fold, do you see the importance? You can have the spectator write their word or name in the center, close it up (as in the normal handling of the PCT ) and then fold the paper in half once more before you take it back. If he or she later tries to reconstruct what you did, there will be no clue as to how you could have read the paper. This is a strong secret and one that you should cherish. Finally, and I am so tired of discussing this, there is the often raised issue of tearing the paper. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen all Center Tear methods criticized with the statement, “It makes no sense to tear the paper.” First, it does make sense. You take back the paper, hold it for a minute to get impressions, absent-mindedly tear it up so that you can’t see anything and hand back the pieces. It is a procedure and you are allowed to come up with your own procedures. I deal with this extensively in The Principles of Magic , but let me touch upon it here. Many mentalists believe their audiences think like they do! They do not ! To them, you are a guy (or gal) who can apparently read minds! They don’t know how this works or why you can do the things you do. When they go to a fortune teller, that person looks into a cr ystal ball, reads Tarot cards, looks at their hands, or whatever. No one really under-

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stands all that, they just accept it as necessary in the same way they accept the doctor knocking on their knees, looking into their ears, etc. You are the expert, not them; if this is what it takes for you to do the impossible, then so be it! On a more practical level, I have been doing Center Tears for over 40 years. If anything, I might sometimes get a few people who want to know if they have to write the information down. (I just tell them it helps me do what I do!) But I never have anyone question the tearing! Again, look at the performances on the videos. It just flows by without a word being said.

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RADAR DECK

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History Early on in my career Jeff Busby gave a very good review of my Ultra Board in his newsletter. I sent him a thank you letter and asked if he would be interested in marketing a couple of other ideas I was working on. When he replied positively, I sent him the manuscript for The Linking Finger Rings and The Coin in the Bottle and he agreed to publish it. Feeling myself on a roll, I also sent him what I thought was my new idea for the Si Stebbins stack. I had come up with the idea of stacking the cards 4 apart instead of 3 apart as is the nowcommon method. He wrote back to tell me the 4 apart idea was the original way the Si Stebbins stack was developed! I was a bit crestfallen and felt rather embarrassed I had not known that. It all worked out as it was that slap in the face that got me to working on what would probably be my greatest achievement, the Breakthrough Card System. But there was another side benefit out of the whole affair. The reason why I had been working on the 4 apart stack was, with that arrangement, a series of cards would often fall into the low - medium – high arrangement. The 13 cards would come out as: Ace 5, 9 ,King 4, 8, Queen 3, 7, Jack 2, 6, 10 You can see how each group of 3 cards has that quality. After developing the Breakthrough Card System, I went back to work on the stack. Since I no longer needed a new

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complete deck stack, I started working with using the idea in a Koran type of deck. My good friend, Richard Hatch, gave me the idea of using more than one person for Ray Grismer’s excellent effect, What’s My Sign? By using more than one person, you could use the ruse, “Which one of you has the letter …?” instead of, “Do you have the letter …?” Translating this to the Koran Deck type of effect I was working on made perfect sense. The idea of using two different banks of forcing cards was a direct spin-off of that. I should point out that an earlier method of this effect was published in The Linking Ring many years ago.

Analysis As already mentioned, this effect is one I normally do closeup when walking around in a crowd. I should point out that in that situation, I usually do it right after the PCT , and so what you have on this first video is an accurate representation of how it segues after the tear. Notice how I use the effect of guessing a name as a lead-in to talk about how I pick up thoughts. I often say, “People ask me all the time how I learned to do this.” I tell them that I began when I was only 6 years old trying to guess the name of a card that someone was only thinking of. Then I ask, “Would you like to see the same thing here that I used to do as a little boy?” Who can resist that and it just feels charming. When I bring out the deck, I don’t hesitate to talk about magicians and how they use cards. I do not do this in a degrading way, making it sound like magicians only do tricks while I am so much more above that. Instead, I talk about how wonderful magicians like David Blaine are and how I don’t understand what they do anymore than the audience. I put myself on their side of the fence when it comes to such things. For

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anyone who has had professional sales training, I don’t need to tell you how important this concept is! Then I explain what I do with playing cards is simply different . Please think about how much more civilized and decent this approach is rather than trying to demean fellow performers. When I begin the effect, I announce that I will try this with four people at once. In truth, when I do this in my actual shows, I will very often pretend that I have never done it with that many people before and that I’m not sure I can handle it. Although some take that with a grain of salt, it does put a little more anticipation into the works and there is nothing wrong with building up the impossibility of a routine even before you begin. If you look carefully at the routine on the video, you will see that I cancel out up front a number of possible problem areas before I even begin. I caution the spectators to only decide on a card they’ve seen and not merely thought of. I also make sure that I tell the last person not to think of the bottom card. (That often happens if you don’t do this.) Sometimes I follow that line up with, “Don’t anyone think of the bottom card” just to make sure. Since the filming of the videos, I have changed slightly how I show the cards. I try to pick two people close together on each side of me to do the routine for. Think of Spectators 1 and 2 as the first set and 3 and 4 as the second. When I show the cards to each group of two, I sort of slide over both people at the same time. This is done in a continuous move from left to right so that I may run over the six cards, but I am at the second person in that group as I do so. Then I repeat the procedure for the second two people. The reason for this variation is it makes more sense if both people on either side choose the same card. As soon as I finish showing all the cards, I say, “Was that fair?” This may seem like a minor point, but this is so very, very important! I use this ruse again and again in my work. By

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asking the audience “Is that fair?” and having them agree, they are locked into their belief! I learned this technique in sales training. It is one of the most powerful things you can learn in magic. If you can get a person to say something themselves— to actually verbalize it—it is almost impossible to make them change their mind later! If you are selling a car and you get a person to verbally say they want and need that car, you will sell the car! In my work, if I get the audience to admit that everything I have done so far is fair, they will believe that and have no place to go with their later deductions. They will swear to others afterwards that what I did was impossible! On a little side note, I have to mention one more technique than I told to Banachek years ago and he has taken to heart. He even mentions this on his videos. If you ask a person a yes/no question and shake your own head yes at the same time, they will almost be compelled to do likewise! If you use this in conjunction with the “Is that fair?” line, you have one powerful tool at your disposal! I detail on the explanations section of the videos all the ruses for dealing with the different responses you can get when doing this routine so I won’t go into them here. I also explain how to handle things if you are right or wrong in your red/ black statements and other aspects of the routine. But let me add to all that. Notice how I break up the red/black—high/low questions with the statement about the odds of my getting all four cards right. I am referring here to the 52 X 51 X 50 X 49 statement. This is another proving statement and is designed to make the audience stop and think about what I have just said. Since the mathematics are correct, no one can fault me and thoughts of lottery odds immediately spring to mind. But it also breaks things up so it doesn’t appear that all I am doing is asking questions. After the second question (and clarifying, secondary question!), I am ready to name the cards. I know that Janelle has great reactions, and I want this for the first revelation, so I

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chose her. (She was so great that Louis used this in the intro to all the videos!) You can see the audience reaction when she almost screams and this is just what I was going for. That became the starting point and it goes up from there. As each person admits I got their card, the excitement level gets higher. After all four cards are named, the audience assumes that the routine is over. They would be quite satisfied at that point, but then I take it one step higher by talking about the cards they changed their mind from! This becomes an almost encore effect within the routine and you can see the results. I always shoot for this whenever I perform the Radar Deck . Please notice how I use my own voice to build up the excitement! You may have missed it, but I am almost shouting at the end! This is a technique I learned from the master, Kreskin. A lot of mentalists believe he is a bit hokey, but I am not in that category. He is a genius when it comes to this sort of thing and a master in building up the excitement of his accomplishments. Doug Henning did the same thing and I’m sure Houdini was no slouch at building up enthusiasm! I even had the last person stand so as to make the final revelation even stronger! Having a person stand is a great way to add just one more visual element in stagecraft. I want to end this discussion of the Radar Deck by talking about the deck switch. In my normal working situation, I switch the deck for a straight deck set-up in my Breakthrough Card System order. (The bottom four cards of the Radar Deck match the bottom four of the BCS deck.) On the video, I just used the switch so as to be able to give the deck to Jon afterwards, but when I do this in a close-up situation, I go into one of the effects possible with that deck. The point is that I want you to see how open the switch is. Even though I don’t try to hide it in any way, it goes completely unnoticed. That is because there is such a thing as mental misdirection as well as visual misdirection. In the same way that a person cannot look at and concentrate on two things at

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the same time, an audience cannot think of two things at the same time. It is because I am occupying their minds on the mechanics of the test we are attempting, that the innocent gesture of starting to put the deck away and then not doing so goes by completely unnoticed. Again, in my close-up work, I use the deck for another routine thereby indirectly showing the cards are all different. In the video version of the effect, I actually gave the deck away as a convincer and still nothing was questioned! That shows how powerful mental misdirection can be!

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THE WATCH ROUTINE

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History I met Richard Bloch at a convention and really admired his thinking. At the time, he was taking advantage of the new digital clocks and was marketing a number of clock and watch effects through Collector’s Workshop. He was also Kreskin’s attorney! It was only natural to see the Amazing Kreskin performing some of these routines when he did guest appearances on television. I wanted a watch routine for my show! Since I didn’t have the funds to invest in one of the expensive Collector’s Workshop watches, I sought out other methods. One was a less costly routine from another Richard—Richard Mark. The watch had a locking stem like a Rolex and Richard had some very nice ideas with it. Along with all the above, I had also received the very first copy of Al Mann’s new manuscript called Acidus . This was supposed to be the acid test of any mentalist! I won’t speculate here about the similarity of this method and that of Raxon! At the time, I didn’t even know who Raxon was, but what I did know was that it was strange that Al restricted the writing to the lower right corner of the card. I reasoned, “If I want to see the word, why do a switch, a one-handed opening, a peek, a refold and another switch? If I want to see the word, I can just bend back the corner!” I immediately started to work out a method. It turns out that Millard Longman was like-minded. Before I could tell Al about my idea, he had a new book out called Acidus Plus which contained Millard’s new move, Acidus Novus ! Now in all honesty, I did not think of the overlapping edges and a few other details that make the move so easy to work. I was more concerned about how to get the peek without it being obvious. Millard deserves complete credit for everything having to do with this move. He has a new work out on

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CD that covers every possible aspect of Acidus Novus and it is worth every penny! I decided to combine the Acidus Novus idea with the new watch I got from Richard Mark and the Watch Routine was born. All the performing details were worked out and I performed it for a period of about a year before it finally settled into its final version. Still, it took many more years to add all the little particulars you see on Mind Mysteries . It is noteworthy to mention that I first performed the routine in Bermuda! I later came up with the Bermuda story in retrospect. I should end by mentioning that the watch I used on Mind Mysteries is a thing of the past. At the time I recorded the series, I was only using my own watch about half the time. Since then, I have given it up completely and always borrow the watch.

Analysis I am especially proud of this routine and it has become one of my trademarks. I love it because it is as big as any stage illusion and yet I can do it anywhere with whatever props are at hand. To be able to do your reputation-making effects at the drop of a hat is a great accomplishment and was one of Malini’s greatest secrets. In my normal stage show this routine follows my Jumbo Card Calling . As you will later see, my patter for that effect is one of gambling. This routine starts by my talking about all the traveling I do and about the country of Bermuda. In addition to setting the stage for the effect, it also imparts to the audience that I am a successful entertainer who travels the world performing the very same mysteries they are witnessing here. That kind of prestige-making talk makes a performer look so good without it being obvious and makes the audience feel they

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are seeing something very special. I much prefer this kind of banter to talking about ESP and defining what this or that term means. After my little speech about comparing the difference people feel about time , I tell the audience that I have created a little experiment in time and ask them if they would like to see it. This is a very old trick in stagecraft and works beautifully. It is like the singer who talks about the background of a particular song and then asks if the audience would like to hear it. Of course they would, but their response gives the impression they are begging him to perform! It is a wonderful ruse. This is the reason I always advise magicians and mentalists to study the performances of other art forms. There is so much to be learned. When I get Annie up to help me, I again make sure the audience knows nothing has been set up ahead of time. (If television performers would do this more often, their shows would come across as so much more believable!) I use the explanation of being “in sync” for the reason of writing down the explanatory numbers in the corners of the card. Showing the card to Jon at each stage has a very definite purpose. Not only is it a funny bit, it also shows the card to one other person and will set up the ending for the final showing of the chosen time at the end. Again, you will see the routine come around full- circle and will look well thought out and professional. There is another important reason for this bit of business. By making it into a running joke, there is a secondary reason for using the card. It goes back to the old (and in my opinion, ignorant) question some mentalists pose, which is, “If you were a real mind reader, why would you have anyone write anything down?” In this case, at least, it is to give you a visual prop to use for the running joke. Even if you didn’t need the card to do the routine, you would probably want it just to be able to do the bit! Let me digress for a moment from the videos to explain another bit I use during my actual stage shows. This is one of

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those things that is great theater and becomes a vital part of the routine. When I begin the effect, I mention I will need a lady to help me with it. With that, I walk into the audience slowly walking around the room looking at people’s faces. When I notice someone who has not made eye contact with me and who looks suitable for the routine, I say, “What is your name?” I usually get a timid reply like, “Sally.” I then say, “Sally, do you know why I chose you?” This not only confirms her worse fears that I am going to use her for the routine, but gets a little laugh from the audience. I then say to everyone, “Remember when you were in school and the professor was asking a question and you thought that if you didn’t look into his eyes, he wouldn’t choose you? Well, Sally here was the only person who wouldn’t look at me just now!” This always gets a huge laugh and lightens the burden of me picking her out and bringing her up on stage. If I can get her to laugh a bit, it makes it that much easier. More importantly, it also sets up another huge laugh I get later in the routine. When I get that person up on stage and go through all the stuff about the writing—and you can see all this from what I say to Annie on the video—I tell that person not to write yet. I ask them to wait until I go back into the audience to get another person to help me. This looks really fair as I am off the stage as they write the time, but it also is perfect for the next line I use. When I get into the audience I say to everyone in general, “And now as I walk around ever yone is thinking, ‘Do I look him in the eyes or not?’” This is one of my favorite lines and it gets a great laugh! I suppose the audience again realizes how carefully prepared the show is and appreciates the fact they are seeing a really professional show. I choose the second person based on how friendly they look without further comment about where they are looking. The routine continues just as explained on the video when I return to the stage. I should point out here some stage management that comes into play when I get my glimpse of the

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time. I position myself in between the two spectators. The person on stage left cannot see the card because my back is to her. The person who wrote the time cannot see it because of Millard Longman’s wonderful Acidus Novus maneuver. We also have the same factor at play here as on the Center Tear work. The audience believes the two spectators to be good representatives of the entire audience and leaves it to them to make sure nothing sneaky is happening. They, in turn, are on stage probably feeling very much on the spot and are not very likely to act up. If all the moves are well rehearsed, the single move of the peek is over and done with in a flash with no one the wiser. When I write my impressions on the blackboard, I am very careful not to let the second person see that writing. If she did, she would probably react prematurely when the first person announces the time. I usually position her off to the side and stage front. I tell the first girl how to visualize the time for a definite reason. I mention the different ways they can picture the time, but also mention they can also imagine how it would sound if someone said the time. After I write the time on the blackboard, I say, “I got the impression that you thought of the time in two ways. You not only saw it—but heard it, too!” This is a result of my previous statement. You will not find one person in a thousand whose inner voice hasn’t said the time in their mind regardless of how they pictured it. To play on this is a sure winner. Now we come to the second spectator. Since the time I made the videos, I don’t think I have used my own watch for this routine. I always borrow the watch. Because Rolex watches work really well (see the explanations on the videos), I always go for one of those. Because of the typical audiences I get, I can usually ask if anyone is wearing a Rolex and get one. This turns into a funny joke in itself as the person reluctantly gives me the watch. I set it aside, but later, when I show it to the second person, I ask them if it isn’t a beautiful watch? When they say, “Yes” I say, “Keep it!” Again, this is a really funny

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line. If I can’t get a Rolex, I at least try to get a very expensive one so that I can still use the above line. An important point must be made here about the control issue with the second spectator. It is imperative that, after they stop spinning the stem, they do not look at the watch until the proper moment in the routine. I therefore make a big point out of giving very commanding instructions as to how she should hold the watch, how she should turn the stem and how she should look right into my eyes! I know that on the video, I almost make it a bit of a joke, but when I look into her eyes, I am dead serious . I want to put a bit of that hypnotic intimida- tion into her as she turns the stem. More importantly, I want to make sure that after she stops and the stem is put back in, she follows my instructions of “Don’t move!” This is the point that can make or break the routine. If she looks at the watch too soon, it spoils the entire flow of the routine and lessens its impact tremendously. Let me sidetrack here for a second. You might think it really wouldn’t ruin things too much if she looked at the watch ahead of time. All the climaxes would still be there and the mystery value would not diminish. That is wrong and is the whole point of this book! To look at just the effect , without looking at the drama, is what separates most magicians from the successful few. Please understand the following concept thoroughly. The production of the entire magical effect is what is the most important. That includes all elements of stagecraft. A strong effect produced in a poor way will not have half the impact or memorable qualities of a weak effect produced in a finished way! The entire routine must be thought of as a whole with each part of it, regardless of whether it is the magical secret or part of the staging, having equal importance! This is why the spectator must not look at that watch until you say so! Following my advice above will almost guarantee that won’t happen. Now there is a discrepancy on the video that I have to mention here. In the explanations, I talk about showing the black-

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board to the spectator first and then the audience in order to get two moments . That was a mistake. I do this for the magazine test later, but not for the watch routine. To do it twice would look staged. So I am sorr y about that. But do notice how I register surprise and satisfaction on my face when I hear the proper time and how I whip that blackboard around with great energy. It’s almost as if I am saying with my actions, “Look! It worked! The time is right!” The routine continues and ends as shown. I have an alternate ending that I use if the group is fairly small and refined. I wouldn’t do this in a typical show, but occasionally do it if I think it will play stronger. In the routine shown on the video, I set the time for about two minutes before the time chosen. That allows the watch to run out and match the chosen time exactly at the end. For a real thinking crowd, I will sometimes set the time just a minute or so before the chosen time. That means at the end, it will be a minute or two beyond the chosen time. When I get to the end and ask the person to read the time on the watch out loud, she usually will hesitate and then say, in a rather timid voice, the exact time. For explanation, let’s say the chosen time was 10:32 and the time on the watch is 10:34. When she says it out loud, there is usually a moment of a little letdown followed by applause. You can almost hear what is going on in the audience’s mind. It is, “Well, it’s not exact and that is too bad, but it is almost the right time and that is still remarkable.” I accept the applause and then turn to the audience and say, “I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that’s pretty good, but it wasn’t right on the mark!” This gets a laugh and some heads will nod. I then say, “But you need to remember something. After she stopped spinning the hands she pushed the button in and the watch started running again. After that, I asked for the time, picked up the blackboard and you all applauded! Then I said, ‘That’s my job!’ Then we went over to this person and looked at the watch. All

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that took about two minutes—DIDN’T IT?” There is always a moment of contemplation, then comes the applause! You can see that this ending requires a little more audience thinking and should be used sparingly. Finally, I want to talk about the ending. As I call for applause for my two helpers, I take back both the watch and the folded card. I walk with them back into the audience to return the watch. When I get back to the stage, I am the only one on it. I still have the card in my hand. By now the applause has ended and I don’t say anything. I just look down and open the card. Then I walk over to the person I had earlier been showing it to, shove it in their face and say, “10:32!” This is just like I do on the video and I always get another laugh and round of applause. Again, the routine has come around full circle with all the little details falling into place like at the end of a great movie or book!

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THOUGHTSCAN

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History I have never concealed the fact that I am a mentalist because of The Amazing Kreskin. I grew up watching his television show and his many appearances on the talk shows of the day. I finally saw him live in the 70’s and was even more thrilled with his stage performance. After that, my mind was made up as far as my career choice! Much of Kreskin’s act was developed from that of Joseph Dunninger. Dunninger resented Kreskin doing his act, but there was nothing he could do about it. He was retired and the country needed a new foremost mentalist! Both Dunninger and Kreskin used a pad for their thought reading act which was more of a portfolio than a writing tablet. The sides folded open similar to the lid of those cardboard boxes we all use for gift giving. I made one for myself, of course, and used it for a num ber of years. It was around 1980 that I decided to develop a totally different show with all new props. I knew the thought reading act had to be part of it as it was always the high point of the evening. At that time, my cousin had his carpentry shop in the basement of my father’s business and he had told me he could make any prop that I could dream up. I had thought about replacing my Kreskin/Dunninger pad with something more modern looking and my thought was to use something like the desk paper holders sold in stationary stores. I had also reasoned out that I would use small pieces of cardstock instead of paper and that I would collect these unfolded. (My experience had shown me that audiences really don’t seem to care if the papers are folded or not.) I finally sat down and drew up my plans for the ThoughtScan board. My cousin came through with flying colors and the board

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was a work of art! (He charged me accordingly!) I used that board in my shows ever since. Although we now market our own and I have redesigned a few features to make it even better,, I still drag ter dr ag out the old one occasionally and use it. As I will point out in these notes, the design of the t he board worked better than I ever imagined. It has just the right look of innocence and the subtle design makes the working safe even when one is completely sur surrounded. rounded. It also allows for variations of working and I have received a lot of feedback from those who bought one to tell me of clever ideas they have de veloped for its use. If there is one routine I would call my money routine, this is it!

Analysis This routine accounts for what is the most memorable part of my show. This is my basic money routine and and is what I am most known for. I will get into the subtleties of ThoughtScan in a moment, but first I have to cover a few basic necessities. It has been mentioned that including a few routines like and the Ultra Board ThoughtScan, the Stainless Steel Blindfold and on my videos was simply advertising for these marketed props. I take great objection to that suggestion. Mind Mysteries was was meant to be a complete representation representation of what I have created. To leave out such effects would have made the work incomplete especially considering the importance of these items. In addition, many owners of the above products had asked me to include demonstrations of them on the series. They wanted to see the proper handling and the audience response. To assume that their inclusion ruins the perfor performance mance value of these items is nonsense. Unless you perform for magicians and other mentalists, no one will have the slightest idea of even

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the existence of my videos. It has been over four years since the first Mind Mysteries hit hit the market and I have yet to have one person approach me and tell me they knew of them. If there were anyone who should be worried about any exposure— e xposure— it would be me! I am not. It is also completely possible to manufacture any of these props yourself. I did when I first began. I thought I was being veryy generous in offering to show how these props were con ver structed and even offered alternatives in their manufacture. There is not a single prop that is so complicated that it cannot be homemade or or,, at the most, fabricated by a competent handyman. Finally, even the most expensive of these props represents only a small portion of what you are capable of making in just one professional show using this material. The board for ThoughtScan is quite remarkable. When I first designed it, I couldn’t be sure it would work as I anticipated. Experience over 30 years proves it does! The design does not look so far removed from what you can find on the shelves in Staples or Office Max that it never attracts undue attention. Its basic simplicity is its greatest asset. And yet, it allows the cards to be read openly in any performing situation. There is one camera at the L&L shoot that I call the troublemaker! This camera shoots from a stage right angle far removed from any audience members. It is easy to forget about it while playing to the live audience. Later, when viewing the results, things may show up that were never meant to be seen! Notice that even when the troublemaker is shooting directly at the board from fr om a close-up position on the extreme right, you can never see a card. I often am forced to do my whole act in the center of a room. I never have to worry about leaving out my strongest routine because of that. Let me remind you again the entire act plays on stage for exactly one hour. hour. The show was condensed somewhat for these videos. On Mind Mysteries , I pass out the cards, make my steal and work with the cards directly on the board. When I

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perfor m on stage, however, perform however, I break up writing wr iting the material on the pad and doing the readings. Here is what happens. I first pass out the cards and pencils penc ils and give all the suggestions for the categories of topics the audience can write about. I then go into the audience and pass out the envelopes. During this time, I make my steal and these cards go into my right pocket. This is all the same as is covered on the videos. The departure comes when I do the psychological readings. The stolen cards are still in my pocket and I ask everyone in the audience to close their eyes and picture a playing card. It is incredible that most audience members will do so! I use the fact that they have their eyes closed to reach into my pocket, palm the cards and lay them on the board! Although this move is entirely covered in a natural gesture and the cards are totally hidden even if the audience was looking, I still do it. I just get a kick out of finding a ruse to have the audience, in a professional, high-paying show, actually close their eyes while I do the dirty work! I have to amuse myself, too! On the videos, I went into the first reading directly after the Ace of Spades/Queen of Hearts test. In live shows, I continue with the psychological testing. I use a method derived from my Miracle Thought Projection from my book, Dynamic Mysteries . It goes something like this. “Let’s try tr y another another test. Since we already used the Ace of Spades and Queen of Hearts, let me think of another card that is not either an Ace or picture card, but just a regular card. OK, everyone ever yone think of that card!” The card that I announce as the target card is the 7 of Clubs . Psychologically sychologically,, this is a ver y good choice. Many people think of a 7 as as that is a lucky number and Clubs is is a good choice since Hearts and and Spades were were already used. Since the first card, the Ace, was black and the second, the Queen, was red, I go back to a black card and use the other suit. Following this, t his, I offer to try still another card. This time I go with the 3 of Diamonds . The basic idea is to go with a card four down from the first and then six up on the next, alternating colors and

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suits. Therefore the next card after the 3 of Diamonds would be the 9 of Spades , followed by the 4 of Hearts , etc. The sequence is where the mind would go if trying to come up with different, random cards and the idea is to get the audience to subconsciously fall into the pattern without even realizing it. It is easier to do with a whole audience than a single person. Even a third of the audience reacting will appear like a majority! Additionally, you can mention that if they get the right number and color, it still counts even if they get the other suit. I usually do three or four cards like this. You can also, of course, do the 37/68 bit which all mentalists are familiar with. This is all fun and quite amazing, but during all this, I am copying all the information from the cards I now have on my pad. It is quite easy to get all this information down by the time I have done the three or four cards. I always use a catalog case to carry all my props in. This sits open on a chair on stage during my show and can be clearly seen on my videos. After I have all the information from the cards copied, I casually place the Thoughtscan board into my case upside down. This dumps all the cards into my case. I ask that everyone who has an envelope please hold them up and pass them forward. I collect them at the front of the audience and hold them high above my head. After I have them all I say, “Remember when Johnny Carson used to do the Amazing Karnac?” Here, I hold up the envelopes to my forehead the way Johnny used to. Then I say, “I am not going to do that!” This gets a laugh. Then I toss the envelopes into my case as I retrieve the now-empty Thoughtscan board and say, “In case your wondering what I do with your envelopes, let me tell you. Later, when I get back to my room, I open them, read them and laugh like crazy all night long!” Again this gets a great laugh which I follow up with, “Seriously, by asking you to write down your information, I allowed you to choose whatever you wanted to think about. Even if someone had given me a dossier for each and every one of you here, it wouldn’t help me know

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what you would elect to think about tonight. By writing your information down, you made choices. You decided what thoughts you want to try to send to me and, in the action of writing them down, you committed yourself to those decisions. Now please, think of your thoughts.” If you are a serious performing mentalist, you will have seen a lot of substance in what was just said. The little speech gives perfect justification as to why the audience must write down their thoughts. The most often voiced explanation of this type of act is that somehow the performer got information about the audience ahead of time whether it be from the company itself or by computer research. This method of working is offered as a safeguard that didn’t happen. When I explain that writing their thoughts down represents their decisions as to what they will think about, who can argue with that? It all seems totally fair and is never questioned. The bottom line is, however, I now have their private thoughts written on my pad, the cards are safely in my case as are the envelopes. There is no incriminating evidence left in their hands and I haven’t even started the mind reading yet! This is a real good position to be in! The act now continues as is represented on the videos. There is another added benefit to working the act in this way. I now have in front of me all the information I need for the next 15 minutes or so. The ending of the act on Mind Mysteries shows how effective it can be if there are two longer numbers to finish with. I alternate back and forth between the two spectators and it plays sensationally. By having all the information already written out on the pad, the performer can plan this type of finish or another equally as powerful. I now want to talk about an aspect of this act that has received some unfair criticism. I have seen it discussed that it somehow weakens the show if the performer has to go into the audience repeatedly to do the work . In reality, the performer only needs to go into the audience one time. When I initially

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hand out the cards and pencils, I just give a bunch to a few people sitting right up front and ask them to take one and pass the rest back. As this is happening, I give the instructions as to what information the audience might choose to write down. Then I go into the audience to disperse the envelopes. Most of them are simply given away and the few cards that are collected come from all different areas of the house. The whole process takes just a few minutes and I am back on stage in no time. The later collection of the envelopes is done from the stage and they are simply passed forward. Even so, let me dispel a notion that is not only wrong, but a complete example of backwards stagecraft ! Contrary to what I have seen advised and written about, it is a very good thing to occasionally break down the barrier between the performer and the audience and to go right into their midst! Audience mem bers love it when you come out to them. Take an example from a rock concert. For most of the show, the artist is on stage doing his thing, but when he wants to raise the crowd to a frenzy, he steps up to the edge of the stage and reaches out to those nearby. They go crazy! The same holds true for top Vegas night club singers. When Wayne Newton steps forward to shake a few hands, the audience loves it! David Copperfield will often go into the audience for a closeup routine and people love it when Kreskin does the same when passing out the small papers for his act. Personally, I can see the smile on the faces of my audience when I walk right out among them for part of one routine or another. How much I can do that depends on the conditions of the show, but I al ways manage to get out amongst them at least two or three times. Once, many years ago, I was doing a show for a mentalist gathering called the 13 Invitational . When I walked into the audience to pass out my cards, the mentalists there began humming a song as though to take up the slack! They probably thought I was making a blunder leaving the stage. That just

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shows how even experienced mentalists can be lacking when it comes to stagecraft and how much ingrained bad thinking there is in general magic thinking. It reminds me of seeing some magicians, even in this day and age, refusing to use a microphone because they want to project! Let me end this discussion of ThoughtScan by explaining why this act is so powerful. You have to put yourself in the position of the audience. They have no idea of how I am able to tell them their personal thoughts. They do not know if the information I am giving was written down or not. They do not know if I am restricted to just using a few people or everyone. From their viewpoint, they might be called next, regardless of where they are sitting and even if they sealed up their own card. Each time I have a person stand and read that person, the rest sit there wondering if, just by thinking, they are making themselves vulnerable! This is why the room gets so quiet and why this act is so long remembered and talked about. It is a true reputation maker!

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THE MAGAZINE TEST

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History This has been my closer for just about my entire career. Even, at times, when I had decided to change my show, my clients would inform me that they wanted to see it again! (The same thing happens with the Watch Routine!) The genesis of this effect began with a trick pen I got from Tannen’s. It came with a trick that Harry Lorayne put out called Predicto-Pen. It was a card trick, of course! The pen had two refills, one of which wrote and one that didn’t. I saw Kreskin on a TV show use it for a prediction effect. I liked the concept, but thought I could make it a bit better for my own use. Even back in those days, I was aware of the necessity of proper routining. The Tarbell Course in Magic is, as every magician in the world knows by now, my favorite magic series. Volume 3 contains invaluable advice on routining and that taught me, way back then, that my closer had to be special. In analyzing the rest of my new show, I realized it consisted of mostly thought reading. A prediction effect would be perfect for that final spot. The course also contains a marvelous effect in Volume 5 called the Dai Vernon Magazine Test. It dawned on me I could use this page force in conjunction with my special pen for my new Magazine Test. There was a lot of development in store for this effect. I recently saw a video of one of my earlier shows. I did the test on it, but it looked completely different. It is amazing how much was added and changed over the years. (On this video, I actually used my business card for the page selection instead of the drop-out card. That meant the entire story about “the most incredible thing I ever saw” was missing!) It was such a gradual process that I can’t recall when I started doing this or that. Even now, after over 25 years of doing the routine, I am prob-

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ably still making fine adjustments I am not even aware of. The last major change I remember making in the routine was the use of the Cross pencil. I had gone through many write/ no write pens and they always developed problems after time. Cross pens (along with Zippo lighters) are America’s best products! They are perfect, never break, always work and are perfect for such a crucial part of my show. It was while playing with the pencil that I realized the same move I use for twisting the special pen worked with the pencil for the lead withdrawal. I was scared to death the first time I tried this in my show, after going for so many years using the pen, but it worked perfectly from day one. After I made the switch to the pencil, I realized how much more freely I was able to work with the lighter writing. And, of course, there is the nail writer issue which I will deal with in these notes when we get there.

Analysis The ending for my show, the Magazine Test , is about as perfect an ending as I could ever want. In order to top the impact of the ThoughtScan act, I needed to have something that was different. If you examine the whole act, the first routine is one of a game. The rest are all examples of telepathy (although I never use that term) with the watch routine also injecting a bit of hypnotic control thrown in. At no point is there any type of prediction effect in the way we mentalists think of a prediction. (That is, something is recorded, a spectator does something freely of their will and the prediction matches what they did.) The Magazine Test is one and therefore stands out from the rest of the show. It is not necessary to call this to anyone’s attention; it will subtly speak for itself. Let’s examine its makeup. Remember that I am standing on stage having just finished

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the ThoughtScan act. When I announce that, “I would like to show the audience the most incredible thing I have ever seen in my entire life,” they have to take notice. If things have gone right, they have to be thinking, “What more can he show us?” Even though I next show the magazine and tell them the incredible thing is about it, I don’t say what. I let the statement hang for quite a long time while I get someone on stage to help me. This is the most important spectator I use all night, so I try to make it a good choice. I also always use a female and I will explain why in a moment. (I, of course, chose Janelle. She is always the perfect assistant!) I continue to let the thought about the incredible thing hang while I write on the blackboard. Notice that during this entire time the audience is left wondering what I am up to. Since they have seen so many amazing things before now, they are very willing to give me a bit of slack while I set things up. The business of changing my mind only adds to the anticipation. They sit there waiting for the culmination of it all. When I finally take the magazine and tell Janelle the joke about the fallout card, there is a tremendous laugh. When I then say, “ And if that isn’t the most incredible thing I ever saw, then I don’t know what is!” it gets an even bigger laugh! Please try to understand now why this pretty lame joke gets that kind of reaction. The audience has been sitting there for about four minutes wondering what new miracle they are about to see. They are imagining all kinds of things about that magazine and blackboard. Then they finally find out the whole thing was about a stupid joke! That is why it is so funny—not the joke itself. But then, in just a second’s time, the joke becomes serious as I use the card for the page selection. Immediately they see there was a reason for the joke. This is a small full circle ! Please take a minute to think about that whole setup. A very theatrical thing has just occurred. I have manipulated the audience’s feelings a number of times to my advantage and, during all of this, I have set up all the preliminary

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work for the revelation. There have been laughs (don’t forget the one about my beautiful assistant and—of all people— Jon!) and yet we are back into business in the serious end of things. There is not a minute that is unspoken for and everything is under control at all times. At the end of my show, I don’t want even a second wasted. I have to diverge for a second. A reviewer for one of the major magic magazines felt that my handling of the Tarbell page force used in this routine was sloppy. That was his main concern. Now I have looked at the video time and time again and can’t see a thing wrong. Everything looks smooth and efficient to me, but even if it weren’t absolutely perfect, why would that be even worth mentioning? That is, to me, a perfect example of misguided magician thinking! With so much good stuff going on here, with so much stagecraft at work, why even bother worrying about the mechanics of the force? One might as well be concerned with what is on the cover of the magazine! That is the problem with so many of today’s magicians. They worr y about sleights and angles and whatever and have no conception of theater and what is really important! But back to the routine. I recently got an e-mail from a person who told me he did this routine and, afterwards, someone suggested that the circle was already on the page. He asked me what I did when that happened. I had to tell him that never happens to me! Please look at the video carefully from the moment Janelle chooses the page and writes her initials on the page. Look carefully at how I handle the magazine and how freely I show it. There are a number of times I actually hold the page right out in the open, keeping it moving and on the side away from Janelle. The use of the Cross pencil is a subtle thing here, as the writing is much lighter and allows me to get away with that. But the important thing is that I leave the impression I am showing that page freely . The little joke about “ taking a step towards me—one more!”

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also has a reason besides being a joke. Everyone laughs, I get Janelle to hold the pencil behind her back and I show her the page one last time. See, the laugh loosens everyone up, attention dies for a moment after the laugh and I am able to show her the page, covering the circle with my arm, at that crucial moment when that attention is down. It all flows without a hitch. That last showing is crucial to the routine. Later, if anyone tries to reconstruct things, they will remember I showed the signed page to Janelle just before she put the circle on it. This, as you probably will have deduced by now, is why I al ways pick a pretty girl or woman to help me with this effect! When I tell Janelle she is to draw a “single circle approximately the size of a dime,” I am reminded of how, years ago, I carefully constructed that line. I spent a week tr ying to get just the right words so there would be no mistakes. You have to believe me that, in over 30 years of doing this routine; I have never had anyone say to me, “That’s not the circle I drew!” That is due to two reasons, the one I just discussed and what I consider to be the best example of stagecraft I have ever come up with! That is the question, “You call that a circle?” I covered this on the videos, but I want to elaborate a bit more here. When Janelle brings the magazine forward and I say that line, she is immediately put on the defensive. Her immediate response is, “Well, it was behind my back!” or words to that effect. This always happens with everyone ! I am sometimes amazed myself that I get that same reaction time and time again. But the real important point is, the moment they have defended how the circle looks, they have admitted drawing it! And just like I mentioned earlier about verbalizing wanting and needing that car, the moment they verbally admit they drew it, they have bought it! They will be convinced forever they drew that circle and no one will ever be able to change their mind! Another convincer happens immediately when I mention the circle has a tail and I cross it off. I should explain that,

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during that line about the circle, I have casually taken back the pencil and changed the point back to normal. When you add up all these little convincers (her initials on the page, me showing the page freely, her seeing the page just before it goes behind her back, her agreeing it is her circle and me crossing off the tail), is it any wonder why that circle is never questioned? I am particularly happy with the ending of this routine. I have to ask you this and please be honest with your answer. When you first saw this routine, did you forget that I had earlier written a word, crossed it out and wrote another? If you did, there was a reason. Here it is. When I ask Janelle what word she thinks is most in the middle and she says Weinstein, I act as though it is the wrong word. I really play this up in a very subtle way by acting a bit crestfallen. Then I lead her to abroad , but manipulate the situation again so that she definitely chooses Weinstein over abroad . I really make it appear that it is her free choice, but if you look carefully, you can see how I am leading her. This little back and forth byplay does two things. It creates some fun as we banter about it, but it also focuses attention on whether or not I will be right or wrong. This detracts from the fact that I earlier crossed out one word! See, they have to forget that or you lose a huge part of the ending! That realization that I actually got both words, and apparently predicted Janelle’s indecision, has to hit home in their brain just a split-second before they remember about the crossed-out word earlier! That is what makes it all look so miraculous and, combined with the two moments revelation of the blackboard, gets the maximum punch possible. And finally, that crossed-out word once again has the routine come around full-circle and the audience realizes, in retrospect, that I was in control of everything the entire time! This routine has just about every element you could want from a closer and has been mine since the beginning of my career.

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History I remember getting my first copy of Al Koran’s Legacy . I had never heard of him before, he was now dead and yet he was still amazing me with that picture of him holding a pencil with three linked rings hanging from it! I have remarked about this more than a few times in my writings, but that picture is really magic. It shows a magical state of being that is very rare in pictures. I knew I had to do that trick! I sent away for the Koran routine and received a cheap ring with a slot in it, a pencil with a small hook and the instructions. I immediately knew I had to have a real Himber Ring and a ride to Tannen’s was in order. I was able to get a goldplated one that wasn’t too expensive and it has lasted me for over 30 years. Now I have to tell you something that I am almost ashamed of and will explain why I feel so strongly about the use of stooges. When I first decided to add the ring routine to my show, I was afraid to do it! I had planned to do the Koran routine, but couldn’t get up the ner ve to do so. I was about to do a show for a friend and decided, on the night of the show, to plant the ring with him. Then, I reasoned, I could just concentrate on presentation and not worry about messing up the moves. Well, I did it and the routine went over sensationally! The problem was I couldn’t sleep that night or for a number of nights after. All I kept envisioning was him telling all his closest friends and relatives how he had helped dupe everyone at the show by pretending my trick ring was really his! In addition, I felt that I would have to do this at each and every show I did in order to maintain my new-found reputation! I couldn’t live with that. I decided to examine the Koran routine and make it work for me. I took apart every little move and tried to analyze it. In

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truth, the basic structure of the routine is pretty much the same as Al’s with most of the changes being handling ones. It is funny now to look back and think about how scared I was. I do the routine under any and all circumstances. I even performed it in a jewelry store that I was shopping in at Christmastime!

Analysis As I mentioned earlier, this routine is an encore routine. It is meant to appear that you are finished with your show, but the audience just can’t get enough of you and won’t let you leave! Not only is that good in itself, but (and this is a piece of very secret stagecraft!) once you do an encore, a standing ovation is almost always mandatory! I suppose the subconscious reasoning is this: if the audience loves you so much they just have to have one more number, then you certainly deser ve that standing ovation at the end! Based on that, it is important that you do that encore. Again, stagecraft assures this. Look at the video at how, at the end of the Magazine Test , they are applauding. Notice that I am assuming a “Thank you very much—it’s all over” type of posture. Then I appear to hear someone say, “One more!” and I repeat it! As soon as I do that, others take up the call! Before you know it, everyone is hollering “One more” and I graciously acquiesce! Do you see the clever subtlety? The Linking Finger Rings is perfect here. It makes sense to do it as an encore since the only props, besides the pencil you carry anyway, are borrowed. If you took out a prop for an encore effect, everyone would think, “So he had that planned, anyways!” But if you do something that you appear you could do anywhere, on the spur of the moment, it makes all the sense in the world. It is also totally different than anything they have seen up

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to now. Hopefully the Magazine Test comes across as the ultimate mentalism feat and I cannot even try to top it. The encore effect must be different and yet equally amazing! This one is. I would hope that the age old question in mentalism—can you mix magic and mentalism?—is answered here. You can certainly see from the reactions of the crowd, they are not experiencing any kind of come down watching this routine! As long as the feeling of the routine matches your mentalism, there is absolutely nothing wrong with mixing the two. Besides, can’t an entertainer do two things? What is wrong with a mentalist who can also do some magic? Kreskin used to do this all the time on his television show. Al Koran would make it a point to differentiate between the two. One moment he would say, “OK, this is a mental stunt.” Then he would say, “Ok, here is some magic.” Dunninger mixed the two as well as Annemann. I intend to show you the introduction of such an effect in a mentalism routine actually strengthens both the magic and mentalism instead of diminishing each. When I begin this final routine, I give no indication of what I intend to do with the borrowed rings. The audience probably believes it will be some type of mental effect as I am a mentalist and all they have seen, up to now, has been mentalism. This belief is maintained throughout the borrowing of the rings, the squeezing of the rings in the hand and right up to the point where they are slid off the pencil—linked! Suddenly, the audience sees what has happened and you can see the gasps on the DVDs. This surprise hits home much more than it would in a straight magic show as it is so completely unexpected. It can be likened to a serious speaker who suddenly introduces a magic effect in his lecture. Another charm of the Linking Finger Rings is that they remain in a magical state ! Unlike most other magical effects that rely on a moment for the happening of the magic, the rings stay in a magical condition that can even be photographed. It is one of the most unique ideas in magic.

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Now let me analyze this routine in the context of the entire show. The act is meant to gain momentum and slowly prove the powers of the mentalist as it progresses. At first it is just a simple game although there are overtones of ESP. As the act moves along, the mentalist next demonstrates his ability to know a name, then playing cards, then a time on a card and then the ability to be able to control a person spinning a face-down watch. Each effect appears to be just a little stronger than the preceding. The culmination of all this is ThoughtScan where the mentalist shows he is able to just look at anyone in the audience and know their innermost thoughts. Just when the audience thinks they have seen everything, the Magazine Test shows the mentalist even has complete control over the apparent free choices of the spectator and that he can predict the outcome of the test. Somewhere along this journey, many people may become convinced that what they are seeing cannot be tricks, but rather some kind of ESP. Even hardened skeptics may start to believe a bit. When no kind of suitable explanation can be found, outside of the psychic phenomenon one, many will just throw up their hands in resignation and accept that. Then, out of the blue, an occurrence happens that cannot even be explained by ESP! That is what the Linking Finger Rings accomplishes. Neither mind reading, clairvoyance, ESP nor any of the commonly recognized sixth sense stuff people have seen on TV or read about can describe how three wedding rings can become linked. It seems incredible. Now I am not so naïve as to not realize that, after the initial shock, many people will start looking for a trick. The routine is designed to deal with just that—in stages. First, the rings are shown linked. The first question on people’s minds will be, “Are they really linked?” This is answered quickly enough when they are shown around. The next question will be, “But are the same rings he borrowed?” Many people will think that all three rings were switched. (That is how lay people think. They don’t

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instantly rationalize that only one ring needs to be switched.) After the first person verifies their ring, the audience starts to try to reason things out. This is why I elected to make the switch at that point. By the time the audience realizes that only one ring needs to be switched to make a chain, the work is already done. Spectators 2 and 3 can now be shown their rings very openly. Please notice a very special bit of psychology for the second person on the video. I place the rings in his hand and ask him, “Is your ring there?” He says, “Yes, it’s there!” and I immediately pick up the rings by the center ring , holding them right in front of his eyes and say, “It’s there?” and he repeats, “Yes, it’s there!” To anyone looking on, it appears that I am holding his ring in the center and he is verifying that it is his ring. It is a small move, but it’s all these minor points that make a major mystery. The third person’s ring can be dealt with very openly as there is nothing to do except place them in her hands. You can see I don’t leave them in her hands for very long, just long enough to make the point. After this I walk back to center stage and make the joke about everyone going home together. Again, laughter causes a drop in attention and I use that break to make the switch back to the original three rings. (Actually, on Mind Mysteries, I had an unexpected laugh when, in answer to my question about where they live, one person said to me, “You tell me!” It got the laugh ahead of time and I did the switch then!) The first is handed back quite openly, but then I go for the shot right between the eyes of anyone who is still trying to reason out a method. In truth, there can only be one method. One ring must have been replaced by another with an opening. Yes, all three rings were shown to their owners, but there is no better proof than showing just the last two rings still linked together, immediately unlink them and give them back. (If you think about it,

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it also subtly implies the second person’s ring was the center ring!) That is exactly what I do. But before that, I use the cancellation principle to actually tell them the exact explanation! I say, “Whenever I do this people accuse me of switching rings, having trick rings and not using the rings that I borrowed!” Then I use finishing moves to prove I am not doing any of that! By canceling out the only possible (and true) explanation, where can they go?

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Final Thoughts I hope you have enjoyed this little run through of my act as performed on Mind Mysteries . I also hope you may have been a little enlightened to see all the little nuances that go into making everything work. If you have been hesitant about doing any of these routines, maybe now you will be reassured that they have to work. If you do other material, perhaps something I talked about will be useful for your own show. Good luck in all your magical adventures!

Richard Osterlind - Mind Mysteries Guide Book Vol 1

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