The Effect

This is (one of) Mark Elsdon’s take on the classic ‘which hand’ effect. The premise for this utilises the Truth Teller/Liar puzzle which you may well know. Briefly, the spectator chooses whether to play the role of a truth-teller or a liar, and then hides a coin or small object in their hand. They also have the option of switching hands or not. And yet the performer is able to reveal exactly where the object is hidden.

The Pros

This is a fabulous method for this effect – which doesn’t need any of the electronic tomfoolery of some modern methods – and is incredibly easy to do allowing all effort to go into presentation. Irrelevant to the magic, but I also love the derivation of the title!

Mark explains the whole thing very clearly in the early pages of a 36 page booklet or pdf (we had the download version). I love the method and presentation. He then outlines several variations utilising slightly different objects and presentations.

And if this were not enough, we then get Colin McLeod, Peter Turner and Michael Murray’s presentations/extensions of the idea.

The variations

Colin’s version extends it to a showier piece with more participants. Peter’s uses a slightly different premise which I personally preferred. And is full of other little gems on the ways. In fact I think I might well try to combine this with one or two other effects which a related premise (e.g. Lolli Hero).

I love Michael’s work generally and applaud his desire to get a further reveal out of the thing. But I found his take a little too complicated – certainly on first reading. Perhaps it would come across more clearly in performance, or if I wasn’t reading the day after I flew to the other side of the world…

The Cons

I’m really not sure there are any really. Tequila Hustler is delightfully impromptu (you can work with the people and objects that happen to be around) and wonderfully simple. I suppose the standard drawback of all these kinds of routine is the fact that at the end of the day they are only 50/50 choices. But with good presentation and moderate repetition you can overcome that.

So I would highly recommend you grab a copy of Tequila Hustler and get hustling! It’s available as a download or physical booklet.

MagicShop.co.uk stock both – the physical book is £20.99 or the ebook is £18.99 (at the time of writing).

Review copy kindly provided by Murphys Magic to whom dealer enquiries should be directed.

Mark Elsdon – Tequila Hustler – review

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The post Mark Elsdon – Tequila Hustler – review appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

It is difficult to write a review of this lecture in the conventional way since this is far from a series of “tricks”. Yes, there are a number of effects on the DVD, many of which are extremely powerful, but to coin Peter’s phrase, it is the journey that counts.

On the way through the performances and explanations you get an incredible insight into Peter’s own philosophy of performance and magic – what it is and what makes it powerful. It is the kind of DVD which I got to the end of and felt like I needed to watch again – to take more in and to deeply understand some of the truth buried in here.

Most of the effects are ‘propless’ – so you can perform there anywhere anytime within reason. There is a Pin Code divination (so cheeky – and yet powerful) combined with a star sign revelation (this one isn’t really explained – but is fully explained in Isabella Star 2). There’s an ACAAN type effect and a ‘Psychic Lift’ where you appear to be able to control a spectator’s movements without touching them.

But there also lots of shorter effects on the way – and additions to these effects which make them stronger. Although much of the magic is ‘propless’ Turner isn’t afraid of setting things up in advance for a stronger impact – you’ll be amazed at how bold yet effective some of these methods are.

There is a clever utilisation of language and ‘dual reality’ in some of the effects – this is a mentalism master-class. And there’s a brilliant answer to the classic mind-reader’s question – “What am I thinking of right now?” – and I’m not going to spoil it by giving it away here!

The nature of the material makes it very difficult to say what level of skill you need to perform these effects. Much of it is about confidence rather than ‘skill’ per se – but if you are at all interested in mentalism you will know that this is very often the case.

Turner himself is an unassuming and self-deprecating man – a joy to listen to, tangents included. His passion for magic and his sincerity about producing beautiful moments for his spectators is inspiring.

If you don’t know Turner’s work (and he has published quite a bit) you will find some similarity to Luke Jermay (you can read our review of his recent DVD set here) – I even though they look a little similar when you see the photo on the front of The Experience. But they sound very different in performance!

All in all, with my leanings in the direction of mentalism, I really enjoyed this DVD. The experience is well named since the message of the lecture is it is the experience that counts. Well worth a look if you perform any kind of mentalism.

The Experience is available direct from Merchant of Magic for £28.99 (at the time of writing).

Review copy kindly provided by Murphys Magic to whom dealer enquiries should be directed.

The post Peter Turner – The Experience – Review appeared first on Bicycle Cards.