The Effect(s)

You’re supplied with the necessary poker chips (see below) and a link to some online instructions. The instructions only run to just over 15 minutes, and include an almost 3 minute introduction! So the teaching for the three different methods is necessarily brief. Let’s talk about the three methods.

Method One – The Tango Touch

In this version, the performer stacks three blue poker chips on top of one red one. With a ‘flick’ the red chip is seen to climb to the second position. And this is repeated three times so that it reaches the very top.

This is a pure sleight of hand method using ordinary chips. I say sleight of hand – like many sleights it is a bit of a knack. In my experiments the surface you were performing on made some difference. It will take you some practice to get it looking as effortless as Mr Tango – no matter how many times he tells you ‘it’s easy’.

In my experience it becomes easier the further up the stack the ‘ambitious’ chip is.
If you can get the knack this is an effective and visual piece of close up magic.

Ambitious Chip Method Two

This method is in many ways easier because it utilises some gimmicked chips – but nonetheless the larger portion of the teaching is given to this routine. It requires much less technique – though the ‘Tango Touch’ is utilised for the last rise of the first phase. This is the easiest use of the ‘Tango Touch’.

The second phase looks the same as the first, but uses a slightly different method for the final chip – which doesn’t use the sleight. So I suppose if you wanted you could just do phase two without needing to master the Tango Touch.

Method Three

This is actually a slightly different effect because the ‘ambitious’ chip is amongst four other chips. It is placed in the middle of the stack and jumps to the top twice. Like the second method this uses gimmicked chips, but also requires some sleight of hand.

I think this felt less like a routine and more like a ‘phase’. So you might want to work this into a bigger piece. Perhaps you could start with one of the earlier methods and then ‘make it more difficult’ by adding a further chip?

The Props

These are nicely made as you would expect from Tango Magic and are pleasantly weighted. Personally I have a bit of a soft spot for poker chips and think they are visually pleasing and pleasantly tactile. You could work these into other routines with Poker Chips if you wanted to.

I would have a small concern that if you were working in very close proximity the gaffs could be exposed from their sides. Best viewing angles would be from more overhead than side.

If you like magic with poker chips, then this would be a useful purchase. The Tango Touch could be utilised in conjunction with other sleights and gimmicks and routines. In fact given the nature of some of the moves in these routines, I wonder about combining these chips with an Okito Box or similar – a One Dollar size ought to match. Then the possibilities would multiply…

Ambitious Chip is available from the Merchant of Magic for £32.99 (at the time of writing).

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

Tango Magic – Ambitious Chip – review

3.6 / 5 Reviewer

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The post Tango Magic – Ambitious Chip – review appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

What is it?

The effect is simple – you appear to pull full sized dollar coins out of the ‘hole’ in a Chinese coin using a pair of tweezers! It is a lovely premise and when done well looks amazing.

What do you get?

All the necessary props (coins and tweezers) and a link to an instructional video which lasts only around 11 minutes.

The video tuition is necessarily limited (at that length) and has been shot with a single camera angle. The quality of the video is fine, but I would say that most magicians would benefit from a little more time and detail in the explanation since some of the moves are a little bit ‘knacky’.

If you are hoping for some special gaffed coins – which Tango has an amazing reputation for – you will be disappointed since this relies entirely on sleight of hand. That may also mean the price tag surprises you slightly…

What do we think?

You need a little set up to get in to the routine – and although a method is taught for getting into that in the middle of a longer set, I would have thought this works best as an opener. Not least because it is an excellent way of producing 3 (ordinary) coins for any other routine (3 Fly etc.) that you perform.

I love the whimsical nature of the effect – especially the little touches like the tweezers disappearing through the same hole – and when it is performed with competence it really is fantastically visual. (I’ve put the demo video at the end of this post so you can see for yourself.)

You will need to put in the practise to get it really good; and I would say that it was a little bit angley (the demo appears to show people all around – but I don’t really think that is possible).

If you like coin magic and are prepared to put in a little practise I think this is a visual gem.

Chinese Tweezers is available from the Merchant of Magic for £47.75 (at the time of writing).

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

The post Mario Lopez/Tango Magic – Chinese Tweezers – review appeared first on Bicycle Cards.