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.

Enjoy March’s Saga:

. . . It’s a five . . . oh . . . and a . . . six . . . and  . . . oh my goodness . . . a seven! Unbelievable! I can’t believe it, three cards at once! Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Heart, it’s Triplets. This was great news to the Heart family and only bad news for the Joker. The Joker has been plotting his revenge since the day he was Jacked Up. Until now, the Joker may have won the war, but not anymore. The heart family has been saved by The Unnamed Miracle which has brought the boy who cried, “Joker” nearly back to life. He still remains in critical condition, but this new heart will save him. On top of this miracle are the new additions: Four of Hearts, Five of Hearts, Six of Hearts, and Seven of Hearts. The Heart family can’t lose. It’s time to plan for the Heart Attack on the Joker. Will he be ready? Only time will tell.

Please take a moment to reply and “like” this episode of The Saga.

The post Triplets appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Today was the day. To the Joker, it appeared to be any other ordinary day, but little did he know, that outside the window, next to the empty can of Sardeens, stood the former ruler of the land, the King of Hearts, the head of the heart family. The same King who order that the Joker by Jacked Up. The King of hearts has escaped the Counterfeit deck and wants his revenge. This Joker despotted the three, and had the King Dethroned; he will pay dearly. The entire heart clan was in reserve waiting for the King’s command. The Joker has never experienced such a beating. Joker, if you think being Jacked Up was tough, wait till you experience a “Heart Attack.”

Please take a moment to reply to and “like” this episode of The Saga:

The post Heart Attack appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Have you ever read a novel then later watched the movie? What happens? One thing that’s happened to me is that the actor portraying the character in the movie does not look anything like I imagined the person when reading the book. Have you ever seen a radio talk show host or disk jockey for the first time after listening to him/her for several weeks/months/years? The same thing happens. Why is this? The answer is simple, we as humans have vivid imaginations. When we read, first of all the details are much deeper than they might be in a movie.

How many of you have read any of the following books, before watching the movie:

• Da Vinci Code  (Dan Brown)
• Harry Potter (J.K. Rowling)
  
• Contact (Carl Sagon)
• Timeline (Michael Crichton)

As always, many parts from the book didn’t make it into the movie. Why? Time constraints is, of  course, a big one. However, something that people often don’t think about is that some of the details found in the book are very difficult to translate to film. When writing technical manuals such as a magic book, there are pros and cons to book vs. video.

On the one hand, it’s very valuable to see an effect performed. On the other hand, when you watch it, you often end up duplicating the mannerisms and exact tone, patter, etc. of the performer you are watching. It never quite becomes your own.

Take a look at the two videos below. The first one is my performance of Jacked Up on Jay Sankey’s Underground Jam. The second one is someone else performing Jacked Up. Watch mine first. Then watch the second one. Pay close attention to the patter:

Don’t get me wrong. It’s flattering to see a post of someone doing my material. However, the unfortunate thing is that he is performing it as me, not himself. Back in the good ol’ days when books were all the rage, you would have to come up with your own presentation, and you would have to work much harder to learn the material. I’m all for learning stuff faster and easier, but sometimes things are better left for the written word.

Rather than try to convince you that DVDs are bad (they’re not), I’m going to try to convince you that books are good (they are). Both media have their place. It has been my experience, and probably yours to, that reading is and should be a visual experience. So those who are visual learners, no worries, reading is visual. Before reading the Root and the Branch, I should mention that I’m indebted to Clay Neves for the super clever title of this article.

Root:

Let’s remember our roots. This month’s root: Reading. I just watched the whole 6 DVD set of Malone Meets Marlo By Bill Malone. They were brilliant, and it was great to see someone else doing Marlo’s work. However, the funny (maybe even ironic) thing is that watching these DVDs got me motivated to go back and re-read all of my Marlo stuff. There are some serious Gems in there gang.

Remember, remember that reading stimulates the brain on so many levels. It’s a visual experience. It gets your imagination going. It sparks creativity. One of the questions I get asked a lot is how do I create magic. One of the main answers I give is that I read . . . A LOT. I read magic books, computer books, religious books and novels. The more reading you do, the more open your mind will become and thus the more receptive you are to ideas.

Branch:
Let’s build our branches. Your challenge for the month is simple. Go buy a magic book. If time are tough, dig through your old magic books (or borrow one from a fellow magi). Either way, get your hands on a magic book that you’ve never read before, or that you haven’t read in at least 3 years. Then READ IT! I’ll shut up now, so you can read.

Now go study the classics, and go discover your true magical self.

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

The post The Ultimate Visual Experience . . . Reading 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.

Please take a moment to leave a reply and “like” this effect:

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

The following is the short story that would have been published in Stone Cold Magic Book II, had Book II ever been written. The effect, Plan B, that this story belongs to has never been published, and at this point may never be. However, meanwhile, you can enjoy (hopefully) the Plan B chapter of The Saga:

“It’s all coming together now,” thought the Joker. I was Jacked Up the night the King of Hearts was Dethroned by the Counterfeit Cards.

It was the same night of the arrival of the legendary “Ace Bandage.” That’s it; the Heart family was Dethroned by the Club Family which is run by the Counterfeit Cards (Aces), which is controlled by the Ace of Clubs (The Ace Bandage).

The Ace Bandage has had it in for me since the day he was back palmed and I escaped before being mercury folded. He set this up and framed me! That’s why the Hearts had me Jacked Up. I can no longer have these hateful feelings toward the heart family; I must move on; it’s time for Plan B.

How entertaining was this episode:

The post Plan B appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Being the evolving and creative guy that he is, David changed the presentation and handling a bit and renamed the effect to The Secret “WTC” Move. This change was made before producing the DVD, so when the effect was put on the DVD, it had the new name.

Well I also wanted to include my follow up on the DVD, however, it made no sense to have an effect called I Said, “Watch The Joker” when there was no longer a trick called Watch The Joker.

Back in the day when Jason Montoya was doing the art work for the original book, he misunderstood the name of the effect that was called Watch The Joker. He thought I said Keep Your Eye on The Joker, and so his drawing matched that name. I didn’t use it for the book, of course, because it was the wrong drawing, but I hung onto it because I thought it was cool.

When it was time to shoot the DVD, David had renamed Watch The Joker to The Secret “WTC” Move, and I had renamed I Said, “Watch The Joker” to Keep Your Eye on The Joker, and the above image made its way on the DVD. Now if you’re not confused enough, I used to have a single effect packet trick that I marketed locally called Keep Your Eye On The Joker.

The packaging used the above image and, of course, true to form, I wrote a short story to go with the title. The Individual trick (which has no resemblance whatsoever to any of the above mentioned tricks) has been long since discontinued, so I “borrowed” the artwork for the DVD and the story for this month’s issue of The Saga:

Opening day is always the worst. First, the crumbling, ear-piercing vibrations. Sometimes there’s even a good solid shaking and jarring just before the main event.

Then suddenly BAM! The light enters, and I’m the first one to see it. Right in my eye, before I get a chance to realize what’s going on, I’m suddenly snatched from my safe and secure home of cardboard.

You just never know when some lame magician is going to throw you to the Jacks. You know what that means…. Jacked Up.

Well those of us who are not so easily discarded will be the ones to look out for. You want your little Queen to be safe, then you better Keep Your Eye On The Joker!

How Entertaining Was The Episode of The Saga:

The post Keep Your Eye on The Joker appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Effect:
Two cards are selected from a blue backed deck.  The two cards are then inserted, by the spectator, into the deck.  The two selected cards both turn out to be Jacks, and the cards next to the insertion point of the deck are the other two Jacks.  Then for the kicker, the rest of the deck turns red.  Everything is examinable. View Video Demo.

Setup:
Using a red deck, remove the four Jacks and discard them.  Get the four Jacks from a blue deck and place them on top of the deck.  Put the whole thing into a blue card box.

Note:
A large portion of this effect is face up shuffles.  You can use either the Hindu Shuffle or the Overhand Shuffle.  For the purposes of the description, I will use the overhand shuffle (my favorite).

Presentation:
Remove the deck from the case with the back (blue) side facing the audience.  Do some over hand face up shuffles retaining the top four cards.  Be careful not to expose the fact that most (all but four cards) of the deck is red.  Next, deal of the top two cards face down on the table in front of the spectator.

Next, do a face up overhand shuffle, but maintain one blue card on top and shuffle one to the bottom (Note: you can also do this by means of a face up double undercut). The end result here is that you have a face up deck in your hand with a Jack at the face and a Jack at the top (which is the bottom because the deck is face up).  Now shuffle off the face up Jack into your left hand.  Then shuffle small packets of cards slowly onto the left hand’s Jack.

Tell the spectator to tell you when to stop.  When he says stop, have him place one of the face down cards on top of the face down left hand’s packet.  Then place the balance of the deck, which is in your right hand, on top of the face down card.  The situation now is a face up deck with a Jack at the top (which is the bottom because the deck is face up), then in the middle, you have the spectator’s face down Jack (in a face up deck), and on top of the face down Jack is a face up Jack (it was at the bottom of the right hand’s pack before you placed it on the left hand’s pack a minute ago).

Now slowly do an over hand shuffle again by thumbing small slow packets from the right hand to the left hand. When he tells you to stop, have him place the other face down Jack from the table onto the left hand’s packet.  Then place the remaining cards from the right hand onto the left hand’s packet.  All the work is done now.  The rest is acting.

The situation is this: you have a face up red deck.  In the middle of the deck, you have a blue backed face down Jack below a face up blue backed Jack.  Then, somewhere else in the deck, you have another blue backed face down Jack below another face up blue backed Jack (see fig. 1).

Do not spread the cards at this point. The picture is just to show you the layout of the deck.  Place the face up deck on the table to the left.  Spend a minute recapping the effect.  I usually say something like this, “You have had a chance to place these two cards anywhere, in the deck that you wanted.  Let’s find out where you placed them.  Ribbon spread the deck face up, and remove the blue face down card and the card directly to the right of it.  Repeat for both sets of Jacks. Place them above and in front of the spread (see fig. 2).

Keep the identities of the two face down cards a secret for the time being.  Now, as you carefully (don’t expose the red) square up the cards and re-spread them face up, act as if this is the first time you notice that both cards that the spectator stopped at were Jacks.  Then mention that it would be quite a coincidence if the face down cards were the other Jacks.  Then turn them over and reveal the “coincidence.”  Stop for a minute as if the effect were over.

I usually shake his hand and congratulate him for a job well done.  Then I pause and say, “You know as amazing as that was that you found the four Jacks, what I don’t get is how you found the only blue cards in a red deck.”  As you say this, turn the Jacks over onto the table leaving them face down exposing their blue back.  Then do a gambler’s turnover spread to show the backs are all red.  Then I conclude by saying, “Man!  That’s Jacked up!” View Video Demo

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The post Jacked Up 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.

Having said all that, the original name, like all tricks in the book had a short story written by me and a cartoon drawn by Jason Montoya. So this month’s saga is the original Watch The Joker:

Oh! Did you think I forgot?! How could anyone forget about being Jacked Up! My revenge is coming soon. I will wear a Heart shaped bell on my crown. That Heart family will pay!

I’m not crazy; for I am the Joker and I joke not! I will be victorious. The battle and war will be won by me. I will not fail; I will no longer stand for the abuse so many Jokers have taken.

You simple-minded humans so casually discard us without a second thought; we are merely extra unnecessary cards in the world of 52! What! There’s not enough room for 54 in that box of cards? We’ll see who has the last laugh. Beware of us, and always, my friend, “Watch the Joker!”

How entertaining was this “episode”:

The post Watch The Joker appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.