No Standing from Tony Chang on Vimeo.

Every magician knows it.  Every magician has a version of it.  It’s the staple of any card worker.  Besides the routine being a playground to practice your amazing controls to the top, the routine has lost its magic.  Here are some problems I see with the routine in general.

Too many phases. I have seen magicians do up to 20 phases in a Ambitious Card routine.  First of all, It ruins suspense and surprise that we all love about magic.  Of course the card will come to the top… it has the last 19 times.  A friend of mine, Gary Au once told me in a drunken haze that in order for magic to become a miracle we can’t dilute it.  If Jesus H. Christ back in the days cured some person of their blindness (I know a method) it would be a miracle.  If he then turned and said “…and for my next act…” and performed the water to wine miracle (I know a method) then he would be lessening the impact of the first act.  I see it like this.  If the audience can only go from 1 to 10 on the WOW Scale®.  The first trick would usually be up to a 9 or 10 if they never seen good magic.  If you keep performing, then the audience will only have your other tricks to compare to on the WOW Scale®.  This is why I try not to perform to laymen when I have other magician friends around.  Instead of the audience saying “Wow that was great!” They say, “Tony Chang was clearly the best out of all you magicians.  Stop what you are doing please.”

The raping of the D.L.. Now don’t get me wrong this move is great.  It is basically in every crouch magic card trick known to man.  But the use of it in almost every phase of Ambitious Card?  I personally think using this sleight and showing the card coming back to the top is the BEST method there is.  Then why do it 5 times in a row?  You dilute the impact it has to give.

So here is my challenge.

Create a Ambitious Card Routine that only has three phases and the last phase is the standard D.L.. This means there is no D.Ls until the last phase.  I think it will be a good exercise to strengthening your magic without adding more phases.  Make those three moments last.  Make them different.  Make them connect together as a single piece of magic.

I will be posting my version in a week.  I have never given much thought to it, so it will be fun.  Also give some good patter with it.  If you talk about a puppy that lost his way home and the only way to bring him back to the “top” is to pet the deck like a dog… then I will kill you.  Magically of course.

Ever accidentally drop a coin while doing a routine?  Make sure you brush it off by saying “don’t worry, that’s the sound of magic.”  Its funny.  ha ha.

This kid has taken that joke to the next level.  Make sure you turn up your speakers.  Its hard to hear the sound of magic.

Link Dead

I wanted to talk more about visual noise in magic as mentioned in Lesson #1.  I really want to stress the importance of having less tension and awkward moves just for the sake of the method.  Laymen’s perception of magic usually boils down to a few things.  We are “faster” than the eye and misdirection.  It’s not good if the spectator says “Well you did it while I was looking away.”  Even if they can’t figure out the real method, they will tell you that you are just doing sleight of hand (horrible at that).  What other explanation do they have since all they see is you man-handling the cards.  These are prime examples of having visual noise.  Does it make the effect weaker?  Would people even understand what is going on?  Dai Vernon said it best, “Confusion is not magic.”  Roll Film.  Excuse my language.  This stuff pisses me off.  Please don’t do it.

Link Dead

you are god damn right.  It is fucking confusing.

Link Dead

did you catch his “classic” pass?

This will be my diary on learning the classic pass.

I had never really thought about the classic pass before but the blog has given me a new excitement for this move.  I will be able to share my thoughts and thinking process.  I think the best way to learn from others is to also learn side by side with them.  I am not a beginner in any sense but I am aware of the weaknesses I have with the move.  Every time I post, I will post a video of me doing the classic pass.  Hopefully looking back in a few months it should get better.

Whoever wants to tackle this with me please feel free to send me a link of you doing the classic pass.  (preferably on vimeo and passworded).  I will put your video side by side as this diary progresses.  I think it will be a great experiment for all of us.  So here is a video of me doing the classic pass as of 11.26.08.

Password is “What is a form of a pass/shift that the basic packet movement is opposite of the classic pass?” Answer is “______ Pass.” I mis-spelled it. It only has 1 “r” and 2 “n”

Since the new website. I need new people to have the “embed” option on. for now here it is.

Alex’s Pass is here
Frank’s Pass is here

If you guys think this is a stupid idea, feel free to express it in the comments.  I feel this would be a interesting way to collectively try to learn one of the most difficult moves out there.

I am taking off the tutorial because of the lack of credits for the move.  I too hastly put the tutorial on without giving credit and references to the move.  That is my fault and I apolagize.  I will put the tutorial back on in the future when I find proper credit and also make it better and more refined.

I am taking off the tutorial because of the lack of credits for the move.  I too hastly put the tutorial on without giving credit and references to the move.  That is my fault and I apolagize.  I will put the tutorial back on in the future when I find proper credit and also make it better and more refined.

————-

Here it is guys.  The nitty gritty on the push off double I use.  If you have any questions, post them in the comment page and I will try to help you out.  Here are some wishes I hope people respect when viewing this.
This is intended for people who respect the art of magic.  If I see anyone post this anywhere else or passing it off and not crediting this blog, I will take it down.  It’s free so hopefully none of this will happen.
If I see some person trying to do this on youtube and is horrible, I will take it down.  Take the time to perfect it.  Please.  That’s all I ask.
Have fun with it.  This isn’t a easy sleight and is really for people who really love sleight of hand.

Password is from The Expert at the Card Table.  In the description of the S.W.E shift, he writes “We have not dubbed the following process with our initials because we wish to appear ‘big on the _____,’”.  Fill in the blank.  Hope you like it.

Think we got a small group of people reading the blog (thank you by the way) that I will begin to start giving little tips and advice on card magic.  If you guys hang in with me, down the road will be some good lessons that wouldn’t want to miss.  Any feedback would be great.  Thanks guys.

Password is the answer to this question “What state is the U.S. Playing Card Company located?”

Lesson 1 Visual Noise from Tony Chang on Vimeo.

At a bar with some friends.  Sooner or later you get drunk and throw up, or do card tricks… Its not perfect I know, but you know what? Its my blog and its shielded from the public so fuck the police!

Password : Who invented the card trick “Twisting Aces”?  Answer: Dai ______

Random magic trick from Tony Chang on Vimeo.

So I have a confession to make.  The only thing that gets me through the day is to watch kids ruin the name of magic.  It’s like watching someone torture a turtle.  I don’t like it, but I sure hell would watch it.  For fun only of course.

Ever since Dan and Dave Buck came out with two card transpo trick Tivo, there has been a shit-load of “variations” from kids trying to make it better.  They don’t.  Which comes to the topic for today.  Why do these kids think that their variation is better, more visual, and more magical?  Roll film.

LINK DEAD.

I won’t go into all the little things he is not doing well since it seems like he is a beginner.  The major things that stand out is the construction of the trick itself.

After the first insertion, he does a DL but uses a KM move to get the card in place.
Besides using the KM move at the worst time, the logic behind it is just plain horrible.  There are much better ways to get the card into position for the change.  This is a case and point of a magician doing something different for the sake of difference so he can call it his own.  If it doesn’t add anything to the effect, its not worth it.

After the transpo, he takes way too long to reveal the card has changed places.
Did the kid forget where the card transported to?  The fact that he takes more than 10 seconds to turn over a card is enough to say that this method is poor.  Is it really that hard to turn over a card?  I mean, can’t you just turn the fucking card over?  Instead, you pull it out while holding the double, then put the card back on top of the deck putting the double card back on top, then thumb off the top card to show the card that was in the middle?  I mean watching this guy makes more sense than the method of this trick.

The only reason this kid made this variation was that he wanted to be “original” and get praise from the chat groups.  In fact, many kids put videos on solely for this purpose.  It is amazing how these kids even think that their variations are improving the original method.

I will leave you with a post that the creator of this video wrote.  It says it all…

"Yes it is a simplified tivo  more cleaner though"

To quote from the show Boondocks, “Bitches love the smiley face.”