It occurred to me after getting Joe Porpers Poker Chip Surpise that there must be more tricks that use poker chips. So I thought it would be interesting to see what others come up with for tricks that use poker chips.

This isn't limited to effects that ONLY use poker chips, nor to just gambling rotuines. They can be card, coin, gambling, mentalism, basically anything where a poker chip is used. Your opinions or any other thoughts about your picks is also welcome.

Here's three I know of and enjoy using in no particular order:

1.) The above mentioned Poker Chip Surprise. I do like this very much and it's quite easy overall with some practice. I spent quite some time working on my handling as I am NOT by any means an expert magician. So I wanted to be able to do this with ease and convicingly. It's a real stunner to the folks I've done it for and is easy to carry around. There's lots on the Café about this (and one of the reasons I finally got it too).

2.) Chip-Chip Hooray by Aldo Colombini: The chips are just a way to bring about a surprise prediction, the rest is actually a card trick. Simple and direct, certainly won't bring the house down but clever enough with several "AHA!" moments.

3.) Tri-Color Divination, also by Colombini: I replaced the cheap thin plastic chips with nice poker chips from an extra set I have. Again, the chips are just a tool to bring about an effect. You could use different coins or colored paper clips, etc. A fine effect for what it is, let's you get some people involved and they do most of the work, but nothing too earth shattering.

I find many people like the feel and sound of good poker chips, so a trick like Tri-Color Divination while it won't knock their socks off, they get to participate and handle the chips, and this somehow makes the whole thing come off better IMHO.

I'm just a hobbyist, so I'm sure there's many other tricks, ideas and thoughts about poker chips and magic that some of you out there have experience with. I'd love to hear about them!

Thanks

Shawn Farquhar has a great poker chip routine in his current lecture. His website is http://magichampion.com/.

Saw him lecture at the IBM convention and it was great!

Lee Asher has a Poker Chip "3 Fly" called Three Stylin'

I like it very much because of the colorful visual impression it gives.

Steve Johnson at "Grand Illusions" Magic Shop in Sacramento, CA can get it for sure (916) 944-4708.

- Mary Mowder

Here is the Website:
http://www.grandillusions.com

- Mary

Tabman has been making poker chip magic for years and since we have taken over the line we have continued the practice. Here are a few items. http://www.tabmantables.com/chips.html
Ray

Yes, there were lots of poker chip tricks by put out by the defunct Supreme Magic Company. They were all by one man. I bought his 3 books and Chips way back in the 1980's, cannot remember his name off the top of my head. Back then the chips were just white disc with the centers painted a solid color with a white border. Now with the clay chips, it would be fun to intergrate a magic with these chips.

Basicly, any coin trick can be done with poker chips. The problem is the same as with coin magic. Most manufacturers refuse to make matching props. So you cannot combine chips in tricks do to the designs being different. I found this a real problem when trying to routine Chinese Coin magic.

Mary- Three Stylin' look interesting. Kinda coincides a bit with what Bill says about coin tricks with poker chips.

Bill- if you can eventually recall the person who wrote the books (or the books themselves) it would be interesting to learn more about them. I always enjoy hearing from you on the Café!! (I recently got a Supreme version of Las Vegas Dice and marvel at it's simplicity and impact.)

raywitko- thanks for the reminder. I completely forgot about Tabman! I was looking the site a few weeks ago. Got any favorites you want to tell us a bit more about?

Shawn's effect is called matriXpress with a bonus effect called photofinish.

Thanks Sammy, those are the two I was thinking of. And they are awesome.

I have an eBook called "Tweener" containing effects using non-gaffed poker chips with some new sleights upon which to build further effects. My favorite is a C/S transposition in which you never touch the coins at all and the magic happens in spectator's hands.

FUNSWAY- I tried looking at this on your site but no description comes up. Just trying to see what the different effects are. Can you enlighten me a bit more on what else is on "Tweener"?

Yes, I am always behind on website development while creating new effects,
and I mis-spoke - Tweener has effects that could use pokerchips instead of coins, a modification I made for an effect called "Untouched" using the slights taught in Tweener. I have other effects of this sort performed but not documented.

send me a message at gusarimagic@comcast.net and I'll send Untouched to you. If you can use it then pay me what it's worth and we can move on to Tweener. I am also creating some effect using pokerchips that use the T.U.C.

Filtration,,, Poker chip thru glass ther is a demo on my site vinnymarini.com
All access I use the squirt technique
vinny

Patriotic Poker Chips.

Yea, manal, I fully agree. I have done that with so many diffent objects I had forgotten it was written for poker chips.

The Lippencott style box with a built in mag is kind of neat. Comes with a shim chip and a regular chip. Waiting on a routine for it from some friends. I can't perform much right now as I have lost some muscle control from a medical condition, but I can still build. Just takes a little longer.
Ray

there is no other chip/coin through drinking glass as powerful as this --
at least nothing I have seen in the last 50 years.


this can be integrated with most any other poker chip effect
and is so visibly startling that no one will realize if you use this
effect to "Switch in" a gaffed chip. Yes, you can use a coin instead,
but the color of the chip adds to the impact.

get this -- and if you have any problems with Crimp SLeights just
contact Vinny and he'll walk you through them.

Mary- I picked up a copy of this. Pretty nice routine and as you point out already, a nice visual element with the colors of the chips. Lee has some good pointers on handling and routine, gives me something to work on for more poker chip magic!

Take a look at all the gaffed chips at http://www.porperoriginals.com My favorite is Poker Chip Surprise.
There's a quick video demo on my site http://www.petebiro.com Clik on VIDEO CLIPS.

Pete,
Yes indeed, picked up Poker Chip Surprise 5-6 months ago. GREAT trick, and it was thru reading many other topics on this that got me to buy it.