The glancing blows hurt more than a full on catch.

That's the secret of all the "trap" tricks.
I have a few traps that I use for comedy magic and it hurts less to stick your whole hand in there. It spreads out the contact point. If you pinch just a little bit of a finger OUCH!!!!!
James

What you say is true Xiqual as far as pain goes. What you are forgetting is that it's a rat trap not a mouse trap. I've seen what a rat trap does to rats, it breaks their neck or their back. It would probably break your finger, arguably less painful than the glancing blow but a bit of a setback for your sleight of hand career.

Dave

Xiqual may be right about the glancing blow being more painful: if my whole hand had been caught, it might have distributed the blow and thus the pain. As it was, I got my whole hand away from the trap, and my thumb was hit but not trapped.

Dave is probably correct in terms of the damage that could be done to a single digit. I am afraid that a trapping, full-force blow across my extended thumb would have broken it.

Keep in mind that the technique taught by Curtis should keep that specific scenario from occurring. I needed to have learned it and practiced it correctly before attempting it.

Curt says he will most likely be doing the mini-deck version of it tonight at Dave and Buster’s. I’ll check back in tomorrow with how it goes!

Hi Guys,
I actually use traps that have jaws. They are used to catch warf rats and other strange Taiwan rodents.

I stick my whole hand into the trap and the points of contact are spread out.

I would NEVER just stick one finger in there. I agree it would get broken for sure. I don't even want to think about my thumb getting caught in there.

Be careful fellas!!
Cheers,
James

Thanks for the update, James! I will be very careful when I try it again.

I’m not positive, but I think that the position of your hand when you perform this trick is such that the most likely scenario would be a glancing blow to one finger or your thumb, or the total trapping of one or the other. I appreciate your input, and I will keep you posted as I try it.

Curtis still hasn't personally received any copies of the DVD yet, but he expects them soon.

On this past Wednesday night, Curt did the routine as usual. I have told him that I feel that the best handling would be this: you build up the Rat Pack concept throughout your stage show, stopping as Curtis does on multiple occasions for brief interludes, introducing the concept of the trap and its history, and you demonstrate what it does to the carrot. You have really proven that it does work and you have built up a great deal of tension.

It's my contention that at that point, after you have the spectator choose, sign, and lose the card, that you should place the cards on the trap, and although you pretend to really try to get the card, you actually purposely miss, letting the cards fly everywhere (and boy, do they fly!). It is startling, and it shows graphically what happens to the cards when the trap snaps shut.

You then reset, and the tension builds even more, and this time you get the right card. I watched Curtis do it this way about two months ago, and I still think it is potentially the most effective way.

He did it this way again this past Wednesday, and again the result was excellent. Then he followed with the miniature deck of cards, and because of what had happened up until that point, it seemed absolutely impossible to accomplish, and yet somehow he did it.

The miniature deck version is killer stuff. I think it would be most effectively done with the larger cards first, setting up the even more “impossible” small deck version.

Hey, last I heard this was going to be available to the yearning huddled masses in October. Any update on the release?

Hi Jason,
we were indeed hopeful of an October release date. Unfortunately, we are still waiting for the discs to be delivered to us from the duplication house which should be at anytime now.

That said, I will be making an announcement in the next few days as to WHERE you can place PRE-ORDERS for this great DVD - stay tuned!

Waiting.
looking at watch.
listening for disc delivery truck.

heavy sigh!

Me, too!

I was fortunate enough to be on vacation last week and see Curtis peform the effect with both the regular deck and the minature deck.

The whole presentation was top notch as Curtis built up the tension to the max. It also passed the wife test, as she was gasping every time he started to reach for the cards.

The minature deck finale was just incredible.


Dr. K... My wife and I enjoyed your performance as well. That is a nice little theater you guys have there.

Hi, Mark, great to hear from you! It was nice meeting both you and your wife. She was a great audience, especially for the Rat Pack!

Say "Hi!" to Sandy (that's right, isn't it?) for me!

Just want to let everyone know that PRE-ORDERS are now being accepted for Curtis Kam's The Rat Pack DVD! We expect to be shipping this product out any day now! This DVD will NOT be available at your local magic shop. However, you can order from one of our AUTHORIZED dealers:

Click here to order The Rat Pack!

These select dealers have been chosen to carry this item and we STRONGLY encourage you to support them when ordering The Rat Pack. Each of these dealers has an exclusive arrangement with us for their region of the globe and no other dealers will have this item in stock! If you see one of our products sold anywhere else it is an illegal copy or knock-off!

By the way, The Rat Pack DVD is ALL REGIONS coded and will play in any DVD player anywhere in the world, though it is in the NTSC format. Hope this helps to answer any questions.

Hi Steve,

Just pre-ordered my copy and can't wait to get it. Thanks again

Paul

Hopefully you'll have it in a snap.

If it takes a few days, don't get cheesed off.

Hmmmmm....No more punny ideas... Aw Rats!

It just occurred to me, why don’t they include a can of that new spray Pete Biro invented along with the DVD?

Sorry, no spray. But you do get a wooden nickel.

This sounds the sort of edgy DANGEROUS thing many have been looking for, the kind of full on trick even a mentalist can perform with out departing too far from a mind trick frame of mind. As it has been said, a Russian Roulette that everyone can associate with and is believable (especially given that guns are generally outlawed here).

Can anyone confirm if the type of rat trap the DVD specifies and or describes using is ACTUALLY available in the UK? It would be HUGELY disappointing if one got the DVD and couldn't see it through!

Hi Tom and thanks for your interest in The Rat Pack.

Finding the correct TYPE of rat trap you can use should not be a real problem. We used Victor, which is manufactured by the Woodstream Corporation and is the most COMMON brand found here in the states. As long as the trap functions like a standard trap, such as the one as shown HERE, there should not be any problems, though you may want to check and confirm. Hope this helps!

Okay everyone, the discs have arrived from the duplication house and we have began shipping The Rat Pack DVD's to our authorized dealers and to those of you who have ordered directly from us.

Please know and understand that this offering is NOT available from your typical magic shop. Below is a list of the ONLY Authorized dealers from whom you may obtain a copy of this outstanding DVD. We STRONGLY ENCOURAGE you to support these dealers and order directly from them if possible. I look forward to hearing the reactions of those who have purchased The Rat Pack.
---------------------oOo-------------------
LIST OF AUTHORIZED RAT PACK DEALERS
--------------------------------------------
United States

HOCUS POCUS

1-800-407-4040
(559)266-5150

sales@hocus-pocus.com
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Canada

Morrissey Magic Ltd.

1-888-202-2122
(416)782-1393

dan@morrisseymagic.com

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Thailand

Maxello Co., Ltd.

+ 66 38 710 807

maxello@maxello.com

---------------------------------------

Switzerland - Germany - Austria

Magic Shop

071' 722' 17' 11 (within Switzerland)
0041' 71' 722' 17' 11 (everywhere else)

sales@my-magicshop.com
---------------------------------------

If you are unable to purchase directly from the above dealers, then you can of course order directly from The Magic Bakery.
:smoke:

I just saw the finished DVD's last nite. No hype here, the quality of the DVD's will speak for itself. I just want to thank Steve, and The Magic Bakery crew for all the hard work they've obviously put into this. There was a time when producing magic products was a labor of love, and it shows in the old magazines and classic props. There are a very few manufacturers who take this "old world" pride in their work today. I'm elated to report that now there's another.

Bravo, Bakery Boys. I'm busting a bottle of champagne over the disc tonight.