Josh Burch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbnfkjivdZg
Mike Hankins has produced magic for David Copperfield, Papercrane, Penguin, Theory11, Ellusionist and Murphy’s. He is famous for his knacky inventive card moves and on this download you get a variety of his updates and new thoughts on just about every effect he has put out. If you are interested in his material or if you are already a fan when you purchase this you will be sure to find Mike’s best old tricks along with tons of new unpublished material and applications of old moves.
What you talking about will ace: A card is named, the aces are all removed and for the fourth one the named card pops up. The thought of card then becomes the forgotten ace. So this is fairly basic but it is very practical and according to Hankin’s it was a go to of his. There’s nothing groundbreaking about it but it does get a ton of people involved for a simple ace production.
Dr Daley’s Last Trick: This is a fairly classical handling of a 2 ace transpo. The black aces are held by you and the red aces by the spectator, they instantly change places. At first I thought that his routine was fairly generic but after trying out his presentation it really lifted my own version of Dr Daley’s Last trick. To those sceptics out there, try his routine once and you’ll see the power.
What’s Your Favorite Ace?: All the aces become the spectators chosen ace. It then it vanishes and appears in the deck. This is a fine trick but there’s nothing completely groundbreaking here. I wont be performing it.
Harbor Change: This was originally released on Theory11 and from what I understand was Mike’s first break into the magic market. The change is visual but has some specific angle requirements. The change itself was not my favorite but I did like his variations.
Sliding Glass Change: This was one of my favorite variations of the Harbor Change he taught. The deck is held at shoulder height and the nad comes over with the fingers open, with a wave the card changes on the face. He teaches a handful of different variations here and they all have a similar feel.
Passion Piece: He talks about how he created some of his characters in comedy and then he shows you how to spark your creativity with an exercise taught to him by Jeff McBride, This is a fun little exercise and it could prove to be very helpful to those wanting to create more. Don’t expect anything too ground breaking.
Cards From Mouth in 2 Ways: Two versions of cards from mouth are taught here. The first is Jeff McBride’s handling, the magician coughs and cards cascade out of their mouth. The second is by Denny Haney, a packet of cards is held in front of the mouth, they vanish with a snap and then the cards cascade from the mouth again. He teaches two versions so that you can repeat the effect. This is a really fun piece, I don’t really see any need to do the Haney version but there may be some who prefer it for whatever the reason.
Cards From Bum: This is pretty silly. Mike says that he performs this right after performing cards from mouth a couple times. He shows his hands to be empty then makes a toot sound producing cards from his rear end. This is only for certain crowds and certain magicians for sure. The actual method and effect are a good moment but it’s not as mind blowing as it is funny or startling.
Never Get a No: This is a fun variation of an old idea for restaurant workers. It is a way never to be turned down at a restaurant. I have heard of other similar ideas to this but never an application that is this simple and requires such a small bit of effort on the part of the magician.
Stop Hammer Time: This is a good little routine, a card is thought of and made to change places with another card in the spectator’s hand. Mike kind of takes credit for a fairly old force that, if I am not mistaken, was used by Berglas and Canasta and probably predates them. His handling is good though and adds something small. The best part is the way that the spectator “sends” the thought of card to the magician, it is very funny and feels somewhat magical. I think I will use this presentation but I will not be doing the trick. The trick itself feels very generic to me.
Snap Change: Mike Hankins is well known for his ability with the Snap Change. This is a move that I generally struggle with but with the help of the lecture I was able to improve quite a lot. Mike teaches a few different versions including a multiple snap change, a tap change and a version where the card is simply pulled out of the pack and changes. Don’t get me wrong, it is still a difficult trick Mike really knows his way around the move.
Coin Through Bottle: This is a fun coin through bottle that can be done pretty much on the spot without any gimmicks. This is another place where Mike takes credit on an effect that really has a longer history. I used to perform a version of this effect years ago but it has slipped my mind as to where I learned it. That said, I always used mostly filled gatorade bottles and Mike shows how to use it with a regular plastic pop bottle and performs it with the bottle empty.
JG Move: This is a great flourishy version of an Ed Marlo move that has traditionally just been used to clean up a double. Mike has made this move a lot more flourishy and has a few new applications for it. This is a knacky move but I enjoyed it quite a bit, his
Tenkai Fan: This is completely cool, and looks crazy good in Hankin’s hands. In the action of making a fan a card is almost automatically and invisibly placed in a tenkai palm. This is an awesome move, and looks super clean, this was one of my favorite previously unpublished sleights on the lecture.
Slider Double: This is a very surprising sleight. With it you can produce 2 cards as one and slide them effortlessly across a table. Using the slider double you also learn an outstanding visual and clean change that you can perform on a mat. With a snap the card changes visually. This is one of the most beautiful pieces of eye candy on the lecture. I’ve seen Mike perform it in other scenarios and it always looks great in his hands.
Cannibal Cards: The four Jacks make several cards vanish while sandwiched. The Jacks then are lost in the deck, they magically appear together and change the color of their backs. This is a super simple very powerful effect. With very little practice I was able to fool some close friends. There is a small gimmick needed but it is easily added to a deck if you would like to perform this effect. Theres a lot of good here
Clip Spin: This is a great little move that can be used as a type of control or a never ending color change. This is a beautiful move and deserves to be looked at by any sleight of hand artist worth their salt. If you can’t do a clip shift then this is it’s slightly easier to perform cousin.
Illuminate: This is the only dealer item he goes over. A photo is taken of a lighter and the flames morph into the spectator's selected card. This can be done with almost any prepared camera but you will need to purchase the gimmicks from Paper Crane in order to perform it. I think that this is a great anytime magic piece to have set up and it gives the spectator a very creepy souvenir.
Htt2: This is a transposition where the spectator is clearly holding the magicians card and it instantly changes into their signed card, while in their hand. This is fairly bold but the payoff could be huge. The moment where one minute they show it to be the magician’s card and the next moment it is their card is very nice indeed. For me it doesn’t really fit my style but I can definitely see the merits there of.
So overall, I really think that this is the best lecture Mike could have given with the material he has created. You get his thoughts on a variety of moves, you get to learn every effect he has released complete with tons of new updates, thoughts and handlings. If you are a fan of Mike Hankins or knacky moves go ahead and get this. If you aren’t keep it to yourself.
