What would you guys consider to be the top three close up mentalism effect available on the market?

1)Radar Deck

4 audiences just pick a card visually and the mentalist is able to tell which card they picked

2)Thought Force

They just need to THINK of the card then u can name it

3) Swami Writer

Predict numbers, dates or names that anyone is thinking

Appreciate if you could point me to this effect. Or is this a generic effect description, like psychological forces ? Many thanks.

Hmm...

Mine are:

1. Stgmata (Namecard version)
So far my most amazing trick. No need cards or other elaborate gimmicks.

2. Psychokinesis
For this, I am using Banachek's routine in Psychokinetic Silverware. REally able to freak people out and again, no cards required. But need to find the "right" silverware if you aren't as muscular as muscleaxl. Anyway, picked up from Enrico a way to overcome the "wrong" silverware.

3. Animation
This is a trick I picked up from a local shop, so the name may not be original. David Copperfield performed it before on his TV show.
Basically spectator selects a card. Magician draws a deck on a drawing paper and the selected card will rise up from the picture. The best part is, you can tear off the picture and hand it to the audience for inspection at the end.

Thought Force, if I am not wrong, is the one where you spread the cards in front of the spectator, asking them to think of a card they see. Pretty good in my opinion.

Btw, muscleaxl, is Animation a mentalism effect?

Eh... I would term it as one. Cos if you break it down to basic, it's still a "pick a card and I would find it" trick. Only thing is the revelation is quite unique, using your power to raise the "card" out from a picture.

Yup actually i meant psychological forces . Derren Brown is a good source if you want to learn psychological forces.

Man, if i could win the HonngBao Toto draw.. That would be the ultimate mentalism effect.. Keke. Better luck next year~

Ah.. As for real effects.. Hmm.. There are too many really great ones.. But i've been hit with "Extreme" by Bryan Will the hardest. That really crushed me.. Heh.

Actually since we are talking about mental effects... I would recommend a trick NOT to take up: Richie's Technique.

The effect sounded good enough, but after learning it, I realized it takes too long to perform (unless it is a setting you can sit down for long with the spec). I think long routines like this usually bored the audience. And the ending is really not as punchy as it sounds.

I believe it is called VCR by 'Ron Jaxon'. Also check out a bigger version known as the cardiographic. Got to know about it on a Bruneian magic forum. Is that trick considered as mentalism? Maybe not pure mental mentalism but I guess it complement mentalism performance.

I was considering either getting it or making the gimmick myself. Keep procastinating and end up not doing anything. Figured out how it worked from watching some videos. I'll probably just stick to moving points.

Hmm, for Animation, I like the effect too. I was once a member of a magic shop in SG. But I find it too expensive. Its like $90 bucks. But the effect is very worth it. If I am not wrong, you might be a member there too. Anyways my top 3 mentalism effects are:

1. Stigmata[ the whole routine ]
2. Electric Touch [ Although I don't own it yet, but I do know how its done ]
3. Animation [ Seen the effect at a magic shop before. Might get it. ]

So I guess thats all.

i think there are many variations to animation,

VCR
DRAWN OUT
Cardiographic

but all use the same principal

For you guys who want to get Animation, here is a word of caution:

-The effect is better suited for stage. If you are performing close-ups, this effect might be too risky and you need to carry the big gimmick around. Basically, I have only performed it once at my company D&D and has never used it since. Unless you can modify the gimmick into a smaller version.

-The "local" version of the gimmick (made by the shop) is not 100% reliable. I had a few technical glitches when performing, almost ruined the whole thing. YOu will know it when you get it.

To Joel:
Hmm.. you really figured out the gimmick? That is very smart of you. I know that the "professional" version, used by Copperfield costs USD$100++, so if you can replicate it, you can make lots of $$$.

There is a professional version by David Copperfield costing $100+?

Am I right to assume that "animation" is also known as VCR? Or are you refering to the cardiographic version. I'm guessing what the "animation" effect is based on the description provided above. It sounds exactly like VCR.

Watched one japanese magician perfromed it on youtube to Ayumi! :wub: :wub: Her reaction is so cute!

Haha i was really bored and i went to D.I.Y the gimmick. Version 1 and 2 got some technical glitches...after making some adjustments version 3 works perfectly! But i'm not going to sell it tho lol :P Btw it is true you can make alot of money if you sell it. THe cost price is super low.

Its always about marketing, if you make for David Copperfield, you tell him it cost 100 dollar for it. If you make for Larry Lum, you tell him its 20 dollar for it. LOL

I mean, since they did a special request, you give them a special price. I think alot of gimmicks can be self made, IF you willing to spend the time to experiment with each of the gimmick you made and willing to do fine adjustment to perfect it.

But 80% of the time, people will say, why waste time, when we can just buy it off bay?? So thats why people have job you know.. <_<

By the way, my favorite mentalism act for now is only 2 but one of them can be done as a whole routine, cause I incorporate many routines into one.

1) Blindfold
2) Stigmata

Though I don't do mental effects, I find that Free Will is a very clever effect.

Haha. I searched for that video on Ayumi. Almost died laughing.

Thanks mates. Though some of the tricks u all suggested seem alien to me, i will try to do some research on the following tricks. One of the effect i find it too short compared to others,one example is stigmata. My version is the banachek version,explain a bit then pick a card then the symbol or number appear on your hand. I never really tried on someone befoer except for my family,how is the reaction?Is it a little bit too short? :mellow: :o

Haha me too! Although i don't understand jap but i still :lol: cos their reaction were hilarious! I like the part where he got his thumb crushed :P

Do you mean that the whole effect is too short?

I think the length of the routine is just nice. It is a very strong piece of magic. Try the name version as it will make the routine longer and more meaningful.

Yar... So what is the reaction u get? people freaking out?i do not know why
but i find the effect a little obvious, a smart guy will think of how u did that.

Stigmata? People freak out. They can never guess- Especially if it is the name of a person they wrote on paper that you do not even know- if you got the ellusionist version.

I had performed stigmata alot of times. No one ever guess the method. The reaction you get will always be great. There are times where they asked me "So you really have supernatural powers right? It’s real right?" At first I thought they were joking but when I looked at their face I realized they were serious.

The mentalist effect that really freaks people out will be the radar deck. I performed it to a few guys in NS. One of them really freaked out and asked me if I practiced black magic or worship the devil. I can see the fear in his eyes.

LOL..Doesn't be mentalism.. I get that black magic thingy even when i was performing a simple biddle trick to my friends. I hit them so hard that one guy keep going around my back spreading that i practise black magic. The feeling is so good. That why i keep doing magic,REACTION FROM THE CROWD. B)

A smart guy can figure out Stigmata? Well, it will take a REALLY REALLY smart guy... who possibly saw Banachek or Houchin's video before.

I would say Banachek's version is easier to figure out. I mean, F****ing a card is rather common compared to the namecard version. Even if the smart guy know how to get the initial on the hand, he definitely can't know how you can possibly know that... of course, provided you presented it well enough.

Regarding the length of the routine, trust me, most spectators don't need a lengthy routine (unless again, you can present it well). They just need something fast and strong.

You don't need to use a f**** for the card version. For me i used Richard Osterlinds Breakthrough Card System. Now they don't even have a clue how I know the card in the 1st place. But recently I was quite lazy so I went back to classic F**** the card :P

Haha great! The :lol: on the audience's face is a good motivation for most of us to improve our art =)

Yes a simple biddle trick is enough to get the black magic thingy started. =) But for mentalism it goes one step further.

For a biddle trick, you show your audience that you have the ability to teleport items. The audience had their hands on the deck and you are stll able to make a card pass through a well guarded deck of cards. That's a cool ability =)

For a mentalism effect like the radar deck, you make them believe that you can read their mind. Not only is it cool, it makes them feel vulnerable. The thought of the magician being able to know which card they visual pick is scary. You had just enter the place where they thought it's the most and best guarded - their mind.

For making the name of their love ones appear on your arm, it again touches them on a deeper level, an emotional level.

Hence mentalism effects have a better chance of really freaking your audience out *plays mindfreak music*

Wah... St***ing is definitely a good way but it is like too much work for an "impromptu" effect. Unless you intend to use the deck for other effects later. F**** is still, in my opinion, a more suitable way.

How is St***ing considered impromptu at all?

Haha that's why he put impromptu in between "".

If you want it to be really impromptu, just use a F****.
If you want the audeince to really have a free choice, st***ing is a better option.

To the audience, both of them look "impromptu".

Btw I just use F*** instead for recent performance, i'm too lazy to do the st***ing( like what muscleaxl said it's too much work) and they don't really know the difference.

Thanks for your wonderful recommendations on the top 3 mentalism effects. I've looked into some of the recommendations here and here are my reviews. I really think that Radar deck is worthed it. It rocks! Thanks guys.

Radar deck

Seemed that a number of guys named radar deck as among the top three mentalism effects available on the market. I just received it in the post today. It's pretty good. Though I am still a little slow and need a little more practise with the platter to be more natural. I tried it out on a couple of people today and they were pretty puzzled. Not the reaction I expected. I was expecting them to freak out. Maybe it's just me. Need more practise to be smoother at the platter and to "think" quicker. (Those who bought it will know what I am saying).

But I can say that the potential for this effect to really blow spectators mind is there. And I am sure that this is among my favourite effects now.

The Radar Deck is an amazing tool that allows you to predict playing cards that your spectator's have merely thought of.
Imagine having four people looks at a deck of cards and not having to point anything out. They just think about a card. You are able to call out the cards they are thinking off. And not only that. There is the potential to even tell the spectator the card he almost though off before he chose his final choice. I did this to my friend and he freaked.

I would recommend it highly. One of the closest thing to real mind reading.
In my top 3 list.

Deja Vu Deck

Some have also mention Deja Vu Deck. In my opinion. Not too bad either. If you like brainwave, this one is better. The spectator simply names any card that they like. The magician removes a deck of cards, and claims he will make the named selection vanish from the deck. Spreading out the deck, however all of the cards are seen to be missing the faces. This usually brings about laughter when I explain that the spectator is too powerful and vanished all the faces of the cards. (Earlier I would ask them to rub the top of the deck and make their chosen card disappear) What is seen is a deck of blank faced cards. Offering to try to make their card come back, one of the blank-faced cards is very cleanly shown and placed under a spectator's hand. When they lift their hand and turn over the card, they are amazed to see that the card they named has appeared under their hand - when just earlier, they clearly saw that it was a blank face card. Easy to do and no sleight of hand required.
I won't consider this my top 3 mentalism effects, but it is still a nice effect.

Khameleon deck by kenton Knepper.

No one has recommended this on this thread, but I've tried it out and it rocks too. Those interested in mentalism out there might want to check it out.
very simple handling skills (Not sleight of hand) is needed. (You don't even need to be proficient in doing DLs and you will still do this effect well) A little bit of practise in front of the mirror will be good. Relatively easy to perform. Slightly angle sensitive. Just make sure no one is directly behind you. Can be done close up. Can end cleanly.

This has the potential of giving the effect that spectators have been sent into a trance. It is THAT convincing to the lay spectator. You mess their brains up. Of course, like all mentalism effects, (especially those that deals with a trance-like state), good platter and acting is important for selling the effect.

A brief description.

Cards are dealt one at a time on to the table. Each is seen to have a blue back.

A spectator chooses any card at all. I explain that it is the card that I subconsciously want them to choose.

I turn his chose card face down on the table and it is the "only" red back card

Not only that. I take his chosen card(the red backed one) and rub the other blue back cards that were dealt on the table earlier. I turn them over and
suddenly, all the blue back cards freely shown and dealt on the table earlier become red backed cards as well!

These red back cards are placed onto the blue deck. (At this point I snap my fingers in front of their face to get them out of their 'trance'. Explaining that they were hypnotised to see that I was using a blue deck when it was a red deck from the very beginning.) Suddenly, the entire deck turns into red backed cards as well!

The deck can be fanned, shuffled and spread out - the cards have all red backs and the faces are normal.

There is another additional bit where a card is placed into the pocket becomes another card, and the original card turns blue! The deck can be examined.

And in case you are thinking that there is a need to switch decks, the answer is no. No sleight of hand at all and no need for sure switches. The Special Card makes it all possible. It does not seem possible, but that's the truth.

if you want to view something similar as the khameleon deck, it is a little similar to Conscious overload in Kenton Knepper's Klose-Up And Unpublished DVD.

Really that good huh? :unsure:

Can I request for a performance video on YouTube? ^_^

I haven't practise enough to perform for my friends convincingly and you want me to post on youtube. But the effect is good. This effect will get you roughly the same reactions as "Conscious overload" in Kenton Knepper's Klose-Up And Unpublished DVD. Except that a little less skill is needed as there is a gimmicked card in Khameleon deck. (The gimmick is so simple I did not guess it at first) Conscious overload does not need a gimmick) Khamaleon deck can end cleanly.

Klose-up and Unpublished

When I got the DVD, I was disappointed with the first paper tear. But the balloon effect when the coin got stuck in the 'pencil' balloon by blowing, showing the coin inside the balloon, tearing the balloon to get it out and then restoring the balloon was quite nice. Not exactly what I would consider Kenton's usual mentalism effects, but it is very simple to do. It's a pity that conscious overload is not shown on that video clip.

Actually on second thoughts, I think that the DVD is more worth it as it contains other effects as well.

1.Nu wave
2.Richard osterlind perfect centre tear
3.Kolossal killer

The khameleon deck sounds too good to be true.

Examinable somemore... hmmm...

joeltay81: I may have misunderstood something here. So correct me if I'm wrong.

You said the khameleon deck is easy to perform and have that "potential to trance the specators" and yet you replied saying not having enough practice to convince your friends.

So did you really witness that "potential" you were talking about? I do not have anything against you but it seems that you are contradicting yourself.

physcological forces, the secret, and pk touches

Hey Big Bad Wolf,

To clarify: I said that it is easy because there are no sleights that one has to master involved apart from a single handling move which kenton himself describe as not "considered a sleight". The "potential to trance the spectators" is because I do use a platter that gives the spectator that he was in a trance the entire time until the end when the whole deck is shown to be totally different from the deck he spotted. It is especially mystifying because it ends clean and the deck is examinable. It is not a d**k s****h.

I have performed it in the mirror a few times, but as it is the exams period here in Australia, I have not had to the time to practise on the platter as well as to make it seem natural. It's one thing to be able to do it in front of the mirror well and another thing to perform in public. It does take some boldness to carry out this effect.

khameleon deck can be examined after the routine if i havent got senile yet.

anyway, my lists are most of derren's mentalist efxs. It is a mimic list so the skills doesnt have names, most of it are from his trick or treat, mind conrol series, individual stage shows. I merely rework it into my version.

1) Derren's version of john kennedy's deck (imo better than radar)

performer spreads deck on table, turns head away. Spectator chooses one deck by glance. Performer closes deck, predicts card. Spectator blown away, performer takes a break and smoke from his pack of cigratte (optional). performer took same deck, spread out to spectator, spectator's card was never there in the deck. the half-smoke cigratte was actually spectator's choosen card.
(where to see demo? watch mind control from derren's show)

2) choice of 2. My version of derren's prediction as seen on his "inside your mind-subliminal mind control".

Performer shows two empty envelope, places 5 bucks in one envelope. performer mixed the two envelope and finally place on top of table. Spectator chooses one envelope. The envelope was the one without the money. Process is repeated, everytime additional money is place into the envelope and stakes gets higher.

3) The Black Ball lie. Multi-spectator trick. As seen on "something wicked this way comes" but my version is the knowing what card the spectator picked instead of prediction of name.

4) (#one of my favourites) The lying game.

Spectator choose one card from the deck. The rule of the game is every question the performer asks, the spectator is allowed to 1)lie or 2) tell the truth. The spectator eventually correctly names the card choosen. Questions start from basics colors, to shapes to numbers or picture card.

Yes, i am an addict fan of derren brown, and i always attempt to mimic and figure out what he does in his shows. His a good lass professionally powerful in NLP and picking out signals from audience. If you ain't too technical on NLP, which reading it actually doesnt realy help you in mental magics, you can try hitting underground players like ross and mysteries. They are the people from the states that started the trend in using body and emotional/ language clues to guess what the target is thinking. But of course, they used it on dating girls and not magic. LOLx..

*impressed*

Hey dimsumdemon, when you perform 'choice of 2' do you manage to succesfully force/mislead the spec to pick the one without the money everytime? What if they pick the correct one? Do they really get the money, or you tell them its just an experiment? LOL...

The lying game sounds cool too..

Btw, anyone knows what's the name of trick number 1?