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Mentalism for Magicians

Mentalism for

Magicians

Written by

Larry Becker

Layout & Design by

Lee Earle

P.O. Box 6023 • Carefree, AZ 85377

Mentalism for Magicians

Acknowledgement

To my beautiful wife, April, my everlasting appreciation for her love and

understanding during the turbulent days of writing and publishing this book. A

special thanks to my friend, Lee Earle, the master mentalist and master of the

Macintosh.

Larry Becker

Lawrence Becker

All manufacturing rights for the material and effects

explained in this book are hereby reserved by the author.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, or

transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,

recording, or any information storage and retrieval system now known, or to be

invented, without the expressed written consent of the author and publisher.

Printed and bound in the United States of America.

Mentalism for Magicians

MONTE INFERNO

EFFECT

The mentalist explains the need for having faith in luck while gambling. Three envelopes are

displayed while the performer explains that two are already sealed and contain folded slips of

paper.

A twenty-dollar bill is now borrowed from a member of the audience. The lender signs his

name across the face of the bill. The performer then folds the bill and seals it in the third

envelope.

All three envelopes are now handed to the participant who loaned the bill. He is instructed to

thoroughly mix the envelopes and then freely number them “1,” “2,” and “3” by writing that

number on the face of the envelope with a marking pen. The performer now invites anyone in

the audience to call out any one of the three numbers. When the number is called aloud, for

example, the number “2”, the envelope bearing that number is handed to the mentalist. The

participant applies the lame from a lighter to the remaining two envelopes. As the envelopes

burn, the performer says, “Keep the faith, of course, if things donʼt work out, donʼt blame

me, blame the person who called out the number two!”

The mentalist now opens the lone remaining envelope and peers inside. A look of shock

and dismay crosses his face. “Iʼm sorry,” he says. Slowly he removes a folded slip of paper

from the envelope. Naturally, the audience is laughing at the discomfort of the spectator who

loaned the twenty-dollar bill. “Wait a minute,” the performer exclaims, “thereʼs something

written on the paper, probably an I.O.U.” The folded slip of paper is handed to the spectator

to read aloud. The message printed on the slip is as follows: “Keep the faith and the contents

of the envelope that the star is holding.” The envelope held by the mentalist is handed to the

spectator who extracts his signed twenty-dollar bill.

BACKGROUND

This routine is, of course, a variation of the Just Chance or Bank Night routines so prevalent

in mentalism. However, the impact of this entertaining routine far exceeds the simple method

used to bring it about. If youʼll read the description of the effect again, youʼll note that the

climax is designed to produce a good laugh. Thatʼs entertainment. The burning of the two

envelopes enables you to use all of the bits of business in the currently available routines of

this type. Two I can heartily recommend are Terry Seabrookeʼs hysterical Bill in Envelope

and Joe Ridingʼs Bill in Orange.

REQUIREMENTS

You will need three letter size, self-sealing, opaque white envelopes. Two are sealed after

placing 3 by 5 index cards, folded in half, in each. The third envelope is marked on the lap

with a pencil dot or by any other method that you prefer. You will also need a metal strainer,

Mentalism for Magicians

a felt tipped pen, a cigarette lighter, and the card with the message written on it as outlined in

the effect. This message card is folded and inserted in the open, marked envelope.

PERFORMANCE

The routine is performed as outlined in the effect.

Borrow a twenty-dollar bill. Have the spectator sign the bill and fold it in half. You should

be holding the stack of three envelopes in the left hand with the unsealed envelope on top

of the stack. Insert the folded bill into the envelope directly behind the folded message card.

Seal the envelope and immediately hand all three envelopes and the pen to the spectator who

loaned you the twenty-dollar bill. Have the spectator thoroughly mix the envelopes and then

number them “1,” “2,” and “3” on the address side, writing one number on each envelope.

Have anyone in the audience call out any one of the three numbers. We will suppose, by way

of example, that the number “two” is called. Have the spectator who is holding the envelopes

hand you the envelope that he numbered “2.”

Look at the lap side of the envelope as you display the numbered side to the audience. If

there is no secret mark, take out your lighter and have someone hold the strainer. Set the en-

velope on ire and drop it into the strainer.

If the envelope that is numbered “2” is the marked envelope, place it in full view in the outer

breast pocket of your coat. About half of the envelope should be visible. Take the remaining

two envelopes and have them burned after asking the spectator to hold the strainer.

Letʼs assume that the envelope that was numbered “2” was not marked and was subsequently

burned. As the envelope is burning, look at the spectator who loaned you the twenty-dol-

lar bill and use the gag about blaming the person who called out the number “2,” if things

donʼt work out. The spectator will still be holding two envelopes, one of which is the marked

envelope. Ask the spectator to “give” you one of the envelopes that he is holding. (You must

emphasize the word “give”.) If the envelope that he handed you is not the marked envelope,

then burn it in the same manner as the irst envelope. If it is the marked envelope, asks the

spectator, “Did you give me this envelope?” When he replies in the afirmative, you say,

“Thank you,” and place the envelope in your outer breast pocket. This will get a chuckle.

Now proceed by taking the inal envelope and burning it.

This subtle form of the well-known Magicianʼs Choice is perfectly natural in the manner that

it is used during the routine. No matter what situation you are presented with, the marked

envelope is always left for last.

Once the two envelopes have been burned, you proceed as described in the effect. The folded

index card that you remove from the last envelope will shock the audience. The audience will

think that you have failed and it is this subtle bit of business that makes the routine so ef-

fective. Feign shock or dismay to get a laugh and then hand the slip to the spectator to read.

Once the card is read, have him remove the bill from the envelope and identify it.

Mentalism for Magicians

Youʼll be hard pressed to ind an easier routine for Bank Night or Just Chance that packs a

greater inish. There is nothing so dull as having the spectator simply remove his bill from the

inal envelope. By combining the Burned Bill in Envelope plot with Bank Night and incorpo-

rating the message card into the routine, I believe that Iʼve come up with a routine that makes

all the difference in the world. And this is a difference that those who entertain with mental

magic will truly appreciate.

Larry Becker - Mentalism for Magicians.pdf

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