The 5 Best Ways to Vanish a Ring

What are the best ways to vanish a ring?

To borrow an item from a spectator and perform something impossible with that item is immensely strong. With that knowledge, it would be a shame not to capitalize on it so we have listed below a list of our top 5 ways to vanish a borrowed ring. Just to be kind we have also listed a few pros and cons for each method.

Vanishing Ring

This is the latest method to vanish a ring. Brought to you by Sans Minds Magic, Vanishing Ring is a very clever utility device. It is for all intents and purposes a ring box, just like you would get in a jewelry shop. However, this is no ordinary ring box! A spectator can place their ring inside the box, by themselves and close the lid by themselves, yet without opening the box and within a second you can steal that ring from the box to reproduce it however you like!

Pros

Super Clean Handling
Super Easy Handling
95% Self Working
Quality Prop Build
The spectator can do most of the work

Cons

You must retrieve the ring and then reproduce it magically so there is a little bit of work
As it is so easy to retrieve the ring care must be taken to prevent you dropping it as you do so
The box is not 100% examinable so care must be taken not to draw attention to it, you don’t want the spectators suspecting that it is a ‘magic’ trick box.

Ring Flight

Ring Flight has been a standard in magic for decades. It is a self working vanish and magical reproduction of a borrowed ring. Most Ring Flights used to vanish a ring and it would reappear on a clip on a key wallet. Some cheaper versions still use this method. More recently, though versions of Ring Flight consist of the ring appearing on a key ring with your house keys and car key, giving Ring Flight a more modern edge.

Pros

Completely self working
Very magical vanish and very magical reproduction
Has a truly organic feel, not like a card trick, this feels like magic

Cons

Some versions can be very expensive
You are not personally in control of the ring at all times
Must be wearing a jacket or similar

Any Ring

Any Ring is a vanishing ring handkerchief by our friend Richard Sanders. It is based on the old ring inside hanky effect, but Any Ring has a twist. With Any Ring you can borrow… you got it, any ring! Older versions require you borrow a ring of a certain size, this limited you as a performer. This is not an issue with Any Ring as Richard Sanders very cleverly found a solution to this problem.

Pros

Very easy to do
The spectator can feel their ring right up until the moment you vanish it from the hanky
Any ring can be borrowed as all sizes are catered for
Great price

Cons

A handkerchief may not fit your style or character
Vanish is not so elegant as you must tug the handkerchief from the spectator’s fingers
Gimmick only vanishes the ring so reproducing it magically is down to you

TKO 2.0

The TKO 2.0 is a vanishing gimmick that is not only very practical but also very magical. It allows you to ditch and retrieve items like rings and coins with ease, in short sleeves with no apparatus attached to the item. It looks like pure magic as you show a ring, turn your hand over to rub it on your other hand and instantly that ring is gone. Easily retrievable the TKO 2.0 is a definite ‘must check out’ if you haven’t already.

Pros

Can be done in short sleeves
No extra apparatus to carry in your pockets
Looks like real magic, it is there and suddenly it just isn’t!

Cons

There is a clothing requirement, TKO 2.0 won’t work in certain clothing
It will take practice to get the vanish looking smooth and working 100% of the time
Gimmick only vanishes the ring so reproducing it magically is down to you

Good Old Sleight of Hand

The old fashioned way! Learn some sleight of hand. There are many ways to use sleight of hand to vanish a ring. From standard sleights, much like coin magic, to using sleight of hand with items like a length of string or standard silk hanky sleight of hand has been used for centuries. Sleight of hand is a skill set that can take years to master but is very rewarding.

Pros

Sleight of Hand, once learned costs nothing!
Can be performed at a drop of a hat as all it requires in its basic form is your hands and an item
The ring is under your full control at all times

Cons

Can take years to master
You can be limited, a gimmick can allow you to do something that you simply can’t do with sleight of hand

How to Perform The Same Magic Tricks To Groups Close To Each Other?

by Dominic Reyes 2 Comments

How do you manage to present the same routine to groups that are very close to each other?

Hi, I’m enjoying Dominic Reyes’s videos very much, it’s really helping me a lot.

My name is Rodrigo, I’m 27, from Brazil, and love magic since I’m little, but now I’m going to make a living of it. I have a question, and I would be very pleased if you could help me with it.

How do you manage to present the same routine to groups that are very close to each other?
(and if not, how many different routines do you usually have to use at a same gig)

I’m asking it cause I’m worried that it could be bad for my reputation, appearing for them that I only know that tricks, or worse, happening one guy stars to tell things by viewing the same trick again.

Thanks a lot, I hope you can help me with this question that is really troubling me.

I hope some day I can go to the UK to visit your magic shop.

Gratefully, Rodrigo

Hi Rodrigo,

Great question and we are more than happy to help and reassure you! Firstly, here’s a video Dominic made at a recent gig, where he talks about this situation:

Professional Magician Vs Casual Magician.

Firstly, you must understand that when working as a professional it is very different from performing casually for many reasons. One of those reasons is the material you perform. When you perform causally you show the same people different tricks, when you perform professionally you will mainly be performing the same tricks for different people.

A professional will hone their material so it is well structured, patter and scripting will be much more of a factor with your routines, your props have to be managed well and organized neatly within your pockets so your performance can flow well. All of these things are important when performing magic tricks professionally, it is no good going to a gig trying to do loads of different tricks to everyone as that will result in your quickly losing any organization in your pockets, you will need to go and reset everything far too often and you will come across as disorganized and it may even result in you not getting to show as many people magic as you or the client would like.

How do you manage showing the same magic tricks to everyone?

The answer to this is that you don’t have to deal with this too much. Mostly when you go from group to group each small group feels like they have your undivided attention. This means that they will respect you giving other groups your full and undivided attention and they will know their ‘show’ is over when you move on. You can help this by saying something along the lines of:

‘Thank you so much, I have so many people to get round today, I must go and mingle with some other groups, but I will come back and show you some more later if I have the time’

This is a subtle and kind way of saying show time is over now, now I have to show some other people magic. Mostly you will find people will understand this anyway. You will also find that a lot of people don’t want to follow you around, they are happy with the time you spent with them. You will most likely be booked to perform magic at a party or wedding or corporate event where other things are going on, they have people to see and other things to do. This doesn’t mean you were bad and did not entertain them, not at all, it is just they came to a party/wedding or other type of event and not to a magic show. They never intended on watching magic all night. Of course, some people will not want you to go, these people are golden and you should try to go back to them at some point if you can, they may even follow you a bit or watch you perform to another group later.

What happens if someone does follow me from group to group?

I will go into what sets of tricks you should have in a bit. However, if you do get someone to follow you then remember, they are only doing it because they like what they are seeing. Take it as a compliment. You must be aware of the fact that they have seen some of the tricks so try to speak with them to misdirect them at key points, the other lay people will follow that misdirection but you will also misdirect the spectator who has followed you. You can jazz up your routines as well, for example, I perform Omni deck as a finale to my card magic, sometimes I will do it after card to mouth, sometimes after a double lift or after a triumph routine, just to jazz it up and keep people on their toes so they don’t get used to seeing that trick at the same point.

How many routines and magic tricks are best?

This is my own personal way of doing things and it works for me. I have a few sets of tricks on me when I perform, I will most likely perform 3 – 4 routines per small group before moving on when performing Walkaround magic. I will always have at least one ‘powerhouse’ routine with these, this might be a coin bend, Omni deck, it might be Ring Flight, I will try to make it something unique and not just a card trick. This is what I will finish each set on and it will change between groups. I will be set up for about three or four powerhouse routines within my pockets for a walk around set. Some of these powerhouse routines need a quick reset, it may be an envelope needs reloading or something needs to be reset in a wallet etc. So when I go from group to group I can do four groups before a quick reset. If I am super busy and have lots of people to get round then I will maybe only do stronger routines that don’t need a reset, maybe card to wallet instead of card to envelope, you have to judge this when you get to your gig each time. By having four powerhouse routines it’ll be rare that someone sees one of these any more than once or maybe twice, which is fine.

For the other routines that go in between I will obviously have a deck of cards and I have a tonne of card tricks I can do off the cuff, I will also have a few gaff cards on me in a pocket I can easily load onto the deck should I want to. I have a coin or set of coins for a one coin routine or a coins across, with these I can add in a watch steal if I see the chance. I will have a thumb tip for other effects such as a liquid vanish, sugar packet effect or bill switch. I will also have a wallet, I can load into and a couple of gaffed banknotes in that wallet for tricks such as £10/£20 transpo, extreme burn or similar. With all of these together if organized well, you will have a core list of about 10 tricks and 4 powerhouse finishers that you can easily chop and change between so it is not a never ending list of tricks but you have ample variety for the small groups. Of course you will repeat tricks, but that is good, people love talking about when you did that trick where the coin bent in their hand and comparing stories.

How to deal with a repeat spectator that spoils any surprises.

Finally, this is how I would deal with a spectator that did follow me and ruin things by saying things like, ‘show them the trick where you turn the cards into glass or do the trick where the coin bends’. You have to understand, most people do not do this to be a pain in the butt to you, they are doing it cause they are excited and would like to see the trick again because it impressed them so much. They don’t realize that by them saying these comments it makes it harder to perform them. So here is a line I say in these situations, I say it very much as a joke and lighthearted response (I hope it will translate well for you).

Spectator, ‘Show them the trick where you bend the coin’

Me, ‘Oh, that’s it! Just tell them the punchline before I can tell them the joke!’

It is said with a smile and a laugh, but it gets my point across immediately that I do not want them saying things that may ruin the climax of my effects for everyone. I will most likely then say, ‘well, I tell you what, I’ll show you something different’ and then I will show them a different powerhouse routine. Unless it is something like Omni Deck which only takes a moment of misdirection. In that case I will say, well, I can’t do it now! I will show you later, then I will do a simple double lift and immediately do Omni deck as no one will be expecting it and you will catch everyone, even the repeat spectator off guard.

So those are my tips and suggestions to help you in this situation. Essentially though, if you perform with confidence and charm people will like you whatever you do.

I hope this helps, please let us know if there is anything else we can do for you.

Best,

Ben Williams
Merchant of Magic
www.magicshop.co.uk

Eugene Burger on Imitation in Magic

by Dominic Reyes Leave a Comment

On Imitation in Magic

By Eugene Burger

It was Charles Caleb Colton ( Who was born in 1780 and who died in 1832) who first seems “officially to have said: “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”

I Have nothing to say about Mr. Colton, but about the hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people who have repeated his statement approvingly. I would say this: Most likely they have themselves been copyists and imitators. Is it surprising that the criminal doesn’t always find his crime offensive?

Let me suggest two axioms upon which we might hang our understanding of the problem of imitation.

This “problem” of imitation?

Don’t you think imitation is a problem? On several levels?

There is, first, the problem of imitating the book or imitating the teacher. We do this all the time. We attempt to imitate what this person or that person, what this book or that book, says we should do. We make the person or the book our authority. We try to copy what the book says, and, in all that there is little artistic creation – For doesn’t creation involve finding out for myself, discovering this for myself, working with it, playing with different approaches, refining what I am doing? Do you think creation is copying what the book says?

If the sleight-of-hand artist is attempting to copy anything, it is reality itself; seeking to imitate the action itself.

I pick up a coin from the table with my right hand and place it in my left so that my right hand is free to pick up something else. When I look at this action with attentiveness, with care, I see what it is to pick up the coin and transfer it so that I might do something else with my right hand. What I am trying to imitate, in conjuring, is how I, myself, pick up the coin. I am not trying to copy how Slydini picks up a coin, or how Al Schneider does it, or how David Roth does it – no, I am attempting to copy how I, myself, do it. And you must look at how you , yourself, do it. That is what you must imitate: your own action. That is where you begin. I want this other action, this action in which I do not place the coin in my left hand but secretly retain it in my right, to be perceptually indistinguishable from the action in which I actually place the coin in my left hand.

Too often, however, we attempt to imitate not the action itself but, as I have said, we attempt to copy what the book describes or the action of how someone else does it. But the teacher may be wrong, his hands might be much larger than yours, or smaller. The book might be wrong, not for its author, but for you! There might, in fact, be a far better way for you; an entirely new and more deceptive approach. You can only find it by yourself – in the solitude of your practice and rehearsal.

It is, of course, interesting for us, as magicians, to watch and enjoy other magicians, to see and learn how others do these things. Who isn’t interested in collecting such information and experiences? But, after their show is over, you are not them. You must find your own way.

Second, there is the problem of imitating and copying another performer’s presentations, not to mention the approving jokes one hears about such copying among groups of magicians. When you look at the amount of presentational copying there is on the contemporary magic scene, don’t you think it’s a little outrageous?

This is not a problem that is peculiar to magicians. Don’t humans generally seem to think it is easier to imitate rather than to strike out on their own? In imitation there is the promise of security, while in working to find out what is best for you, as in all self-discovery, and there is always the risk of failure and the pain which failure brings. For centuries and centuries, consequently, humans have generally opted for copying those they admire. (In this rather sad sense, Colton’s famous quotation has a ring of truth to it.) We opt for copying, I must add, even though this usually entails stealing the fruits of the admired persons labour.

Here, then, are my two axioms:

I. Presentation is that point where you put yourself into your magic.
II. Imitation is attempting to put someone else into your magic.

Stated in this way, you can see that imitation must ultimately be a form of chasing the (Ever-elusive) brass ring and going round and round in the process, not unlike a laboratory rat in a cage.

The truth is that, while you can put yourself into your magic, in the final analysis, it is futile and impossible to try to put someone else into it. Deep down, it just can’t be done. It is an utterly unattainable goal – like the television housewife’s unattainable goal of completely and forever-and-ever eliminating all the dust and germs from her kitchen.

My point is simply this: Once you stop putting your energy into seeking the impossible, you suddenly have a great deal of energy to put into projects which you can accomplish – such as making your magic as uniquely you as you are!

I am saying, then, that the question of imitation isn’t simply an ethical issue. It is that, of course It’s bad enough not to have any morals, but not to have any ethics rather reduced humankind to the level of the rutabaga, doesn’t it. Imitation is an ethical question because it usually involves stealing the fruits of another’s labour.

More interesting to me, is that imitation is also a theatrical question – a question of impact and the magician’s character or persona, and this point, I am afraid, is very rarely understood by those performers who are so quick to imitate another performer’s presentations. Imitation is a theatrical issue: Do you see that you will always appear to your audiences as a little awkward and you will feel a little awkward yourself so long as you are trying to imitate someone else?

Matt Schulien was his own character. He was himself. That was part of his power. Why attempt to imitate someone like Matt – whom everyone saw as a one-of-a-kind? ( Wouldn’t that be like trying to climb the greased pole?) When all is said and done, you can only be yourself. You have no other choice. Why not put some real energy into this process?

I have worked to make (Matt Schulien’s) cards discoveries my own. In the descriptions, I’ve attempted to explain what is involved. But the goal for you is surely not to mindlessly imitate what I do, but to make these fabulous efforts your own as well. The goal for each of us must always be to perform our magic in our own way.

If we fail, we will end up with a world of interchangeable magicians- something which is already beginning to flower at many theme parks where teenagers, disguised as giant plastic bunnies and carrots with pre-recorded voices, perform in major illusion shows.

Common sense will tell you, however, that being an interchangeable magician is just what you don’t want to be- not simply from the artistic point of view, but from the pocketbook/practical point of view as well. Don’t you want people to want you and not just “a magician”? Don’t you want people to hire you? Prospective clients are often funny; Budgets for interchangeable magicians tend to be on the low side whereas, if someone wants you, really wants you, the rewards will be far greater.

So next time you feel tempted to take the easy way and copy what this person or that person, what this book or that book, says STOP!
Why try to put someone else into your performance? Presentation, remember, is that point where you put yourself into your magic. But, then, isn’t that the fun – and wonder- of performing?

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system now know or to be invented, without written permission.

This article first appeared in ‘ On Matt Schulien’s Fabulous Card Discoveries ‘ (1983) Eugene Burger.

Currently in print within the excellent collected writings of Eugene Burger ‘ Mastering the Art of Magic’ Kaufman and company.

Additional essays of the subject of magic performance can be found on Eugene Burgers website. It is also possible to purchase many of his books ( Including Mastering the Art of Magic) from the site.