I bought this trick because the effect sounded impressive...clap your hands and make a full shot glass disappear and almost instantly reappear (from behind your knee or somewhere else)....the instructions are fairly simple....and the trick is fairly straight forward...but I just cannot make the moves look natural.

Anyone else use this trick? With success? Any tips for me? Is anyone aware of any videos or such that give performance tips?

Or is this just going to sit in my drawer until I get tired of looking at it.

Thanks in advance.

I bought the effect many years ago and had the same problem, but mainly because I could never get a good seal. The sucker leaked like a sieve. You might look at John Carney's new book, Secrets. It has a chapter on vanishing a silk and has a lot of tips for the application you are looking to use.

Steven

How about adding some slush powder?

Steve,

Thanks.... I will take a look at that book.

Count,

Slush powder will not solve the problem. The trick is that the shot glass reappears full of the liquid!!

Dave

What exactly is your problem with it? Is the glass to full and so you are spilling liquid, or is it getting the gimmick over the glass? Let me know exactly where the snag is for you and I might be able to help. Also, if you classic palm the gimmick in the right hand, the left hand holds the glass, with the left hand palm up and the glass sitting on it like a table, your right hand moves over it, the palm covers the other palm with the gimmick going right over the glass, the fingers are perpendicular to each other (at a 90 degree angle, not on top of each other. The right hand is "cupped" over the left. You squeeze it a little so that it secures the gimmick and you look upwards at your audience, and at that exact time you move your hands forward slightly letting go of the gimmick from the back of the hands BUT keeping the hands upped as if it is still there.

Then as you move your hands forward, ask two participants to each hold your wrists to ensure that it cannot go anywhere.

Keep adjusting your hands slightly as if the glass is still there, then squeeze them together as if the glass was squished into non-existsence.

PSIncerely Yours,
Paul Alberstat

Thoughtreader,

What setting do you use the effect in. I do primarily parlour magic (ie the spectators pretty much on top of you). Have you had success in that arena with the effect.

Thank you for taking the time to respond. I clearly need to work a bit on my presentation.

Dave Campbell

Parlour/Close-up situations is where you tend to use it which covers the actions. Just remember that when you are about to release the pull with the glass securely attached is when you look at everyone, move your hands forward-releasing the pull as you move forward, (a little body movement towards the people or readjusting your position also helps) still acting as if you are holding the glass and then ask several people to put their hands around your wrist to make sure nothing can go up your sleeves and so they can make sure you do nothing tricky. Always good to do the dirty work long before they think you are going to do anything, then it's too late for them to catch you.

Feel free to write me privately off-line if you want to discuss this more,

PSIncerely Yours,
Paul Alberstat

Paul,

Thank you for taking the time to respond. I am going to play with the effect a little more and then I may take you up on your offer and PM you.

Thanks again.

Dave Campbell

If you're having a problem with the gimmick sealing inside the glass(and you happen to have the BRIGHT red shiny gimmick like I do)rub off all the shiny red with nail polish remover - you'll get a much better seal.

Here 2 other quick points to think about...

Check out HL's Apocalypse(sorry can't remember which one) for a method to do this in a spectator's Hand! It's GREAT.

I've used it as an explanation(Demo)of how the shot glass is replaced in the bag (Eugene Burger's Shot glass suprise).

I'd do the effect of taking the shot glass out of the bag, then refold the bag - place the bag on spec's hand , place the shot glass onto the bag and then continue as in the Apocalypse routine.


Try it!

Dennis

Dennis,

Thanks for the insight. I am going to check those out.

Dave

I modified the gimmick so you could hold it with a thumb palm, much easier... just add a LUMP where the cord attaches, if you know what I mean.

This is the first trick marketed by Abbott's and literally put the company on the map.

I believe it sold for $1.00 postpaid in those days.

Great walk-around effect.

One of the classics!

If you can find one, a silicone ball works MUCH better IMHO...just make sure it's clean and tacky (rubbing alcohol works well) before performing. I did away with the elastic, and just use a small topit in my vest. "Pitch & Ditch", and recover from the pocket, popping the ball off with your hand, when transferring from one hand to the other...hard to visualize, but in the right hands, that old standard still fools 'em!

Oh, and one more thing. I don't use whiskey, as that DOES wreck the seal, sometimes. I use tea...

Doug

Whit Haydn's "Street Magic" book has a couple of pages on using this in real life situations. He describes one of those disasters that happen every now and then. A great read, with some valuable info that will help you much more than the price of the book. The ESP test is putting money in my pocket already.

I remember buying this trick when I was a small boy after reading about it in a mail order catalog. It was my first lesson in realizing that often we must modify an item to fit our particular performing styles and/or situations. A true classic says I.