Back in the day, my debut to the magic community was a project I did with Jay Sankey, Underground Jam. The DVD was a huge hit, and is completely sold out everywhere. You can’t even get it from Jay.

I can’t get you the whole DVD, but I can get you my 5 contributions!

• Jacked Up
• Key-Oh-Nee-Buh-Lo-Nee
• Dream Vacation
• Kingside Castling
• The Coolest Ace Trick in The World

Underground Jam and my material in particular seemed to have struck a chord with a ton of magicians out there. If you don’t already own it, now is your chance.

Order Now!

Working with Jeff on Underground was a treat. He’s a real pro with a great sense of humor. I also really respect his knowledge of card magic. A serious student. – Jay Sankey

Jeff Stone has two killer vanishes on there, and “Jacked Up” is a great routine.– Cameron Francis

Jeff Stone is an excellent performer and thinker and it shows on this DVD – Chris Kavanaugh

“Jacked Up” is an easy yet mind-blowing find the aces (or jacks) with a color changing deck climax. I find that Jeff Stone is my favorite contributor. He has great ideas, including a novel key routine with a killer vanish. His use of the film cannister really got me thinking, and it’s the thought-provoking ideas that make DVD’s worthwhile to me, the sort of thinking that has you digging up props because an idea (or several) just occurred to you. – Darrin Cook

Jeff’s work is STUNNING!!! It overshadows the others. Jeff is the star of the show in my opinion. – Kip Stevens

Order Now and you get an instant download of the performance for each effect, the Explanation video downloads for each effect, plus three bonus videos:

The original audition footage I sent to Jay:

• Key-oh-nee-buh-lo-nee (alternate version – Performance only)
• Kingside Castling (alternate version – Performance only)
• Dream Vacation (alternate/extended version – Performance only)

Additionally you get two instant download e-books:

• Kingside Castling (full color with photos – 26 pages plus alternate presentation)
• Stone Cold Magic (9 killer card effects taken from the SCM DVD – 78 pages)

That’s a total of 13 videos (8 performances and 5 explanations) plus 2 e-books! A total of 15 instant downloads and a total of 14 effects ALL FOR ONLY $10 BUCKS!– Order Now!

You’ve got nothing to lose. Even if you never perform a single one of these effects, the theory section in the Stone Cold Magic Ebook is worth twice what you’re paying.

I’m only giving this away at such a cheap price for a few days. Wednesday Night (June 30, 2010) at 11:59 PM MST, this is gone. Each of these sold individually would cost almost $50.00 total. I’m giving it away for only $10 bucks!

What have you got to lose?

Remember, this offer ends Midnight Wednesday Night.

Order Now!

Thank You All for your magical support!

Jeff Stone

The post 15 Instant Downloads for Only $10 Bucks Total! appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Four Kings are shown and the deck is placed aside.  The four Kings vanish one at a time, and then reappear in a flashy manner.

Preparation

Remove the four Kings from the deck and place the deck aside. Place it in front of you and to the right.  Place it in a somewhat sloppy and not-so-squared manner.  Arrange the Kings with two reds sandwiching two blacks.  I usually follow The Coolest Ace Trick In The World with this effect.

Performance

Hold the packet of Kings face up.  Turn over a double face down onto the two other face up cards.  You’ve apparently turned over a single red Ace.  Next, turn the entire packet over.  You now have, from the top down, red face down, black face down, red face up, black face up.The audience thinks that only one card is face up.  Next, perform the glide to show the second from the bottom card (apparently the bottom card which the audience thinks you turned over a second ago).  (See fig. 1).

This next move is going to visually change the red King into a black King.  Here’s how:  Place the protruding face up King into the lower most crease of the middle finger of the right hand.  At the same time, the right middle finger gently touches the bottom card (face up black card). (See fig. 2).

Note: figure 2a is the upside down exposed view; figure 2b is the normal view.

Now quickly, but carefully push the red card flush with the deck, and at the same time, move your right hand back to the right bringing the black King into view.  Apparently the red King quickly becomes the black King.  Be careful not to drop the King with your left hand.

Now remove the black King as follows.  Grasp it from above by the outer edges with the right thumb and middle finger tips (see fig. 3).

Then with the right index finger on the face, snap the card face down by releasing the middle finger grip and pinching the card between the index finger and the thumb.  Then place the card face down on the bottom.  The situation is as follows:  from top to bottom, face down red, face down black, face up red (the vanished red) and face down black.

Now turn the pack face up and spread the bottom two cards to the left holding the back to back double in place with your right middle finger and thumb (see fig. 4).

Now with your right hand, place the double, black side up, on top of the deck as you draw attention to the two remaining cards in your left hand.  You’ll say, “let’s put this one aside for a minute, and we’ll just use these two.”  This ditches the “vanished” red card onto the top of the deck.

Now you have two Kings in your left hand.  Using the tent vanish, vanish one of the Kings: Hold the cards as in figure 5.

As the right hand comes over to apparently grab the card resting on your thumb, the card is simply released and falls flush with the card in your left palm.  Make sure your left thumb holds its position as you move your right hand away with the apparently palmed card.

Close your right hand and reopen it to show that the card (that was never there) has vanished.  Now you have a double (apparently only one card) in your left hand and a single card face up on top of the deck.  Next, transfer the double to the right hand.

Display the card (double) as shown in figure 6.  Then with the left hand, pick up the face up King from the deck and display it in the left hand the same way you are displaying your right hand double.

Now say, “We’re down to two cards.  Let me show you something interesting with the King of Clubs (or whichever King is showing in your right hand). If I place it on the bottom of the deck, it will actually rise to the top.”

As you say this, here’s what you do.  In an act to scoot the deck closer to you, place the double face down on the deck and slide it toward yourself.  Once you’ve moved it a few inches toward yourself, lift the top (single) card off of the deck (don’t show its face to the audience) and slide it under the deck.

Then riffle the back of the deck, and turn over the top card to show that the card apparently rose to the top.  You have now made it appear as if the face up card you were holding in your right hand just went from the bottom to the top of the deck.  This is your sneaky way of ditching the unwanted half of the double.

Now you have two cards left, and you’re going to vanish one of them by using my variation of the tent vanish;  I call it the open flap vanish .  It’s very similar to the original tent vanish, however, it’s done face up.

Now obviously  for a face up vanish, you can’t just let the card fall flush with the card in your hand, so instead of letting the card fall, you’re going to execute a one handed cut, or the Charlier pass.

Basically, you use your left index finger to push the card on your left palm up and over the top of the card in “tent” position (see fig. 7).

Then you let both cards fall flat on your palm.  All of this is done under guise of your right hand apparently grabbing the face up King and palming it.  You again squeeze the right hand shut then open to reveal the vanish.  You’re now left with a face up double in the left hand.

Now grab the double face from above with the right hand middle, ring and pinky fingers at the top, index finger on the back, and thumb on the bottom (see fig. 8).

Show the “last” King to the audience.  Shift the position of the index and pinky fingers to the outside edges of the deck and remove the thumb (see fig. 9).

Now reach forward in front of the deck and slide the double under the deck, and immediately flip it over into the left hand.  You were merely using the “last card” to pick up the deck.  Now hold the deck face down from above in Deep Overhand Grip with the right hand.

Using the left thumb, pivot the bottom card (“last King”) up and over the left edge of the deck and face up onto the deck (see fig. 10).

This displays the face up “last King” on top of the face down deck.  As you’re doing this, you’re recapping with the audience what has happened this far.  Now you are going to vanish the top card by using the Houdini Color Change as follows.  Hold the deck in left hand dealer’s grip.  Now cover the entire deck with your right hand.

As you do, your right finger tips will ever so slightly up jog the top face up King.  You want this to be as undetectable as possible.  Next, draw your right hand down to expose this slightly up jogged King.

As you expose this card, use the base (where the fingers and palm connect) of your right fingers to slide the second card from the top (the one below the face up card) down (see fig. 11).

It will remain concealed under your palm.  You will continue sliding it until it clears the face up card.  Then you will apply pressure slightly downward with your right palm.  This will cause the second card to kind of be palmed.  Then you will simply lower the “palmed” card onto the face up card.

You will then slide it forward as your left index finger squares up the up jogged face up card (see fig. 12).

Then you will remove your right hand to reveal that the last King is gone.  All you’ve done is placed a face down card on top of it. Now you are left with no Kings.  You can either stop here or you can quickly and visually reproduce the Kings in such a way that will even trip up the most skilled card men.

Reproduction

The deck is now stacked as follows two Kings on the bottom, two Kings on the top (the second from the top is face up).  For the first production, slip cut to reveal the face up King.  Place this packet off to the right. Now in your left hand is a small packet of cards with one face down King on top and two on the bottom.  Hold pressure on the top and bottom cards as you toss the pack to the right hand.

This will maintain the top and bottom cards in your left hand while the center of the deck lands in your right hand.  Place the right hand’s packet face up on the table next to the other King. Then simply turn over the two Kings in the left hand.  This is all done in less than a second. It’s very flashy.

Notes

The first King that you produced by means of a slip cut is in an interesting situation.  It’s face up on a face down deck, but this will slip right past your audience. In fact, you’ll even fool yourself if you’re not careful.  This leaves you in a position to do something with a reversed deck without having to reverse the deck because it’s already done for you.  I’ll leave the creating up to you.

Earlier I mentioned that I usually perform this after The Coolest Ace Trick In The World. You can find that effect of mine on Jay Sankey’s Underground Jam. It’s also the October 2007 Free Trick of The Month. It’s also available as an instant download for only $3.99 on StoneColdMagic.com.

Please Take a Moment to Reply To and “like” This Effect.

The post Dethroned appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

But First:
Before we dive into this month’s free trick, I think you’ll be very interested to know that you can now see a video demo of two of our past free tricks of the month. Both The Coolest Ace Trick in The World from the October 2007 issue, and Jacked Up from the October 2008 issue now have video demos. Likely there will be more to come, so stay tuned!

Introduction:
This effect can be found in the Stone Cold Magic DVD and companion E-Book. This is another one of those simple effects that can be done with a borrowed and shuffled deck. It has a fun presentational angle, and is quite a stunning effect. Pretty much every strolling gig I do includes this effect in my set.

Effect:
A signed selected card disappears from one packet of cards and reappears in another packet of cards right next another signed selection.

Performance:
Have a card selected and signed. While the card is being signed, you are holding the deck in left hand dealer’s grip. Your right hand is holding it from above, with the right fingers at the front of the deck and the right thumb at the back.With the left little finger, pull down (or buckle) two cards from the bottom of the deck and get a break above them with the right thumb. Use the right index finger to kick cut the top half of the deck into the left hand.Have the spectator place the selected card on top of the left hand packet. Use the right hand (which is still holding a break under the deck) to slide the selected card forward with the right finger tips (see fig. 1).

Rotate your left hand palm down as you release the thumb break, allowing the two cards to be added above the selection (see fig. 2a). Note: the right hand has been removed from figure 2a for the sake of clarity. This is a Wesley James add on move. Figure 2a shows your left hand before you turn it over. Your situation should be as follows: The right hand is holding half of the face down deck from above. The left hand is holding the other half of the deck face up with the signed card third from the top, jogged forward about two inches (see fig. 2b).

As far of the audience is concerned, the signed card is on top. Next, using the right index finger, point to the face of the signed card. Say, “This is going to be the bullet.” Use your left index finger to push the bullet square with the deck. Then turn the deck face down at the same time, and hold it in your left hand in dealer’s grip. Your right index finger now breaks the pack like you would for a kick cut.

The left hand thumbs the top card (apparently the bullet) into the break of the right hand packet (see fig. 3).

Close the break and table the packet as you say, “This is our gun (so you just loaded the bullet into the gun).” Now turn over the top card of the left packet and have it signed. Take it back, and replace it face up on top of the face down left packet. Now pick up the top two cards (back to back), as one, with the right hand (you will actually have the two selected cards back to back). Say, “This is our target card.” Revolve the left hand palm down, and riffle with the left thumb about half way down the deck. Place the double in the break jogged forward about two inches (see fig. 4).

With the right fingers under the double and the thumb on top, secretly push the bullet (which is under the target) flush into the deck, and leave the target card jogged as you turn the deck face down again (see fig. 5).

The action in figure five should not be seen by the audience. This is the upside down view of the move. Push the target card flush with the deck. Next, table the packet, and pick up the other packet (the gun). Perform the best Incomplete Faro you can. It doesn’t have to be very good at all. Now bend the two packets to form a “v” shape or a gun (see fig. 6). The idea of shaping the deck into a gun using the Faro Shuffle is an idea by Peter Kane.

Say, “This is our gun.” Hand it to the spectator, and ask him to shoot at the target packet. Take the gun back, and square up the cards. Spread them, face up, to show that the bullet has left the chamber (the bullet card is gone from the spread). Spread the other packet face down, and the bullet card will be face up. “Well, it looks like you hit the target pile. Let’s see if you hit the target card.” The card under the bullet will be the target card.
Pull it out and show it (see fig 7).

Notes:

This effect is one that David has been performing for over 10 years. It’s very fun and entertaining for the audience. When I do this effect, I actually have a small cap gun in my pocket that will fit in the palm of my hand (I bought it at Wal-Mart). Right at the critical moment when the spectator is about to “pull the trigger,” I sneak the gun out of my pocket and pull the trigger. It lets out a huge bang and scares everybody, and most importantly, it gets a laugh. It just makes the routine a little more fun. Also, the addition of having the spectators sign the card was not in the original handling created by David. It is not necessary, but I find that it just helps eliminate the possibility of a duplicate card being used. Anyway, I hope you have fun with it. I certainly have. Try out the cap gun thing.

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The post The Target Card appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

The Pillars of Success
Don’t you worry your pretty little heads. We’ve replaced The Full Montoya with a new column, Pillars of Stone. Of course in the never-ending land of word play and trying to make jokes from my last name, this one is meant to be an advice column by various authors on various subjects that we feel will be a valuable pillar or column for your success as a magi. The first issue to kick it off is from guest author Brad “Scarnecky” Gordon with an incredible lesson for us all on how to keep, manage and benefit from journals.

Underground Jam
I sent out an email to everyone announcing that we only had 12 copies of Underground Jam left. We’re now down to the last few. As I mentioned, Jay and I both will be focusing on our own upcoming projects, and neither of us will be restocking Underground Jam. If you don’t have it, you need to get it. There are some great effects by Eric LeClerc, Joe Diamond, Me, and of course Jay Sankey.

Eric’s take on 8 card brainwave rocks. And if you’re not familiar with his I.L.U.S. system, you are missing out on one of the greatest opportunities in close up magic… seriously.

My effect, Jacked Up,  has been a huge hit it in the world of the magi… Trust me this one and The Coolest Ace Trick in The World are killers.

Jay’s Uniquely and T-Bone are must haves. There is a ton of great stuff on this DVD. I’m offering a heavy discount on my site. If you haven’t ordered already, I imagine that they’ll be gone in the next week or so. Check out the offer here: Underground Jam Offer.

As always, thank you for the support and welcome to the new subscribers. I’m confident you will have a long future of happy newsletter emails every month. 

Your magical brother,

Jeff Stone

The post The Full Montoya is Dead appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

So the question remains: why are some individuals willing to let go and enjoy the foreign experience that magic delivers, while some seemingly cannot drop their defense mechanisms long enough to be blanketed by the magical experience?

In this month’s article I am going to dive in deep into the human psyche to answer these important questions and provide you (the magician) with a deeper understanding of what is psychologically going on in the minds of these difficult spectators.

So there I was in Las Vegas enjoying the company of good friends and like most social gatherings once people know that you are a magician, the requests start pouring in.

So the cards break out and I start my routine. In the midst of my magic performance, which by this time was going very well, I noticed that there was one spectator who was separate from the crowd. His defiant expression spoke volumes of his discontent with what he was witnessing.

That is when the challenges began. It came in the middle of my performance of The Coolest Ace Trick in the World. The man exclaimed in a booming voice “I know what you are doing!” Understanding where he was going with this I calmingly replied “well then, from one magician to another I believe you can appreciate the craftsmanship of a well practiced routine.”

My reply was calculated to determine if this gentleman was an ego-based spectator or a control-based spectator. Generally ego-based spectators love to be the center of attention and of course the magic I was performing that night became the focus of this gathering.

Through my past experiences and my understanding of psychology I understood that the best way to deflate conflict with an aggressive ego-based spectator is to throw them an “Ego Bone.” In this case by saying “from one magician to another” I placed this man equally to me, which in most ego battles removes the motive for conflict. But unfortunately he did not stop there.

This is where it got interesting. The man continued to challenge every move, every gesture, and continue to proclaim he knew every sleight I performed. I stood there witnessing the once contagious enthusiasm of the audience suffocated by this spectator’s relentless exclaims of discredit.

I found myself feeling uneasy and wondering what could have provoked such aggression. It was not like I was selling carrot juice a cure for cancer. I was entertaining them with no other intention except for wanting to amaze and provide an experience that some of the audience members have never witnessed firsthand.

But the seemingly negative experience suddenly starting to be a lesson I will never forget. It became clear to me what was going on inside the mind of this difficult spectator. That clarity started to emerge when he exclaimed “You can’t fool me!” I replied “my intention is not to fool you, but simply entertain.”

He snapped back “There is no such thing as real magic. It is all sleight of hand and gimmicks.” This is where I started to lose my cool, which is rare for me. But for some reason I was stunned by his sure disregard for my craft. I sarcastically shot back, “Well I never claimed that I knew any witchcraft, sorcery, or voodoo for that matter, however, if you continue with this I will have to pull a monkey from your butt.” In retrospect that was not the best thing to say. This obviously escalated the conflict.

At this point I drew a line to a battle I never intended to wage. Some words were exchanged and in his last effort to make a point he struck the cards I was holding, scattering all over the floor and stomped away. In a professional setting my response may have been considered inappropriate, which I would agree because in my perspective I lost my mind control.

Think about it; which one of us was in control is this situation, was it the man or was I in control? Obviously the man was in control because I adopted his combative mentality, and in the end the magic was ruined and he got the last non-verbal statement. I believe that the most important lessons in life present themselves in failure. So what can we learn from this experience?

The type of spectator this man was is what I would define as control-based. Control-based spectators do not like the thought of not knowing, which in turn gives them a sense of control loss. Understand that people in general react either cautiously or aggressively to threatening situations.

Unknowns can be very threatening to some people, and their reactions can derive from the fight or flight mechanism. Though this man was aggressive taking on more of the fight reaction, some will simply act uninterested and walk away taking on the flight reaction.

I believe that mankind’s last true liberty is our thoughts: our minds. Mind control has fascinated and terrified Sci-Fi readers throughout the ages. Why? The thought of losing your thoughts can be an uneasy thought, what?!? In this example the conflict was founded on the fact that the man perceived that he was not in control.

His sense of control derived from what he knew and understood. The magic effects presented an illusion that could not easily be explained through his current knowledge base. So how did he react to this? He reacted by simply challenging and aggressively attempting to deduce my sleights and debunking my magic. I threatened this man with my illusions because he perceived my performance as a battle for mind control.

In retrospect the man was correct, because though I initially did not intend to engage in this battle in the end I found myself unintentionally fighting for control with this gentleman. Child Psychology has taught me that the confrontation that transpired between the man and me can be compared to conflicts we see between parents and children.

Think about this for a moment; we have all witnessed a parent being dragged helplessly by the will of their children, but there are cases in contrast where the parents rule with an iron fist. Both cases end in power struggles that inevitably result in emotional strain and relational division.

Power struggles for control never end in a win/win situation. On the contrary they end in unnecessary conflict, and if analyzed carefully they never achieve the objectives the parties originally set out for. In the example with the confrontational man, I never had dealt with a control-based spectator which put me on the defensive and ultimately caused me to react in a way that contradicted my professionalism. Though the solution came to me in retrospect, the lesson will stay with me for the rest of my life. The answer is that you need to give up a little control to gain control.

There are some cases where, in my professional opinion, that the best thing to do is to walk away, however, the understanding of what these difficult spectators are going through psychologically can give you an empathic perspective that will allow you to deal with these situations calmly and compassionately.

Remember there are no mind control battles that exist outside of your mind because the true enemy is found within. As a magician you must keep in mind that you have no control over your external circumstances, for example how people are going to react.

However, you do have control over your internal responses, how you consciously choose to handle the situation. Professionalism is measured by our ability to remain responsive rather than reactive. Once you adopt a reactive mentality you have lost control, giving the control to your external circumstances.

I know that there were times I wanted to master the deadly art of ninja card throwing, so that I could neutralize a difficult spectator by burying a card into the wall next to his head sending an unsettling message. If you had similar fantasies refrain from carrying this out to fruition because all you will achieve is magically turning yourself into an ass.

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