Truth be told, I almost missed this week’s Forum Post of the Week. I was skimming this interesting thread about Daniel Madison, not really reading it. Then another user nudged me toward this post by user Medifro, saying it was well-written. Once I read it fully, there was no doubt.

The honor belongs to Medifro and his thoughts about what it means to be an “underground” magician:

“This is not to say that there are no cliques in magic. You can form one yourself. Just get together with a couple of friends and start snubbing other magicians. But that’s no way the same as an underground magic circle. Its easy to understand why most of today’s magicians can’t tell the difference because they weren’t there back when magic was really an underground.”

Medifro goes on to define an underground magic circle as a group that hoards certain moves, sleights and techniques, keeping it from public consumption for years. As he notes later in the thread, it’s not a knock against professional magicians who market themselves as “underground” (he, like many others in the thread, compliment Madison’s skills) but those who fall in love with the concept of being “underground” without fully understanding its meaning. That perception can lead us to exclude others or close our minds to certain areas of magic performance. Here’s a tip: Don’t do that.

Good work, Medifro!

Magicians laugh at the guys struggling tirelessly to get digits with crappy pickup lines, as we walk away with the phone numbers of girls they’ve been trying to get all night.

The truth is that magicians are much better suited to play the dating game than most guys. Magicians have advantages over regular guys because they are better listeners, charismatic and can react to a wide variety of situations. They also know how to engage attention and create mystery.

Here we will show you examples of sure-fire ways to get that hottie’s number using five of our favorite tricks tweaked specifically for the task… but be warned. These are not methods to trick or fool a girl into giving you her number. These just make the exchange something she’ll remember for a long time — and that’s a good thing. So use these sparingly, and only when she knows that digits are coming:

The first trick in the lineup is….

Read more

Jason is the Vice President of Ellusionist and usually has a Beatles / Grateful Dead / Zeppelin mix playing 24 hours a day.

Welcome to The Next Level. This is a new podcast series from your friends at Ellusionist.

The Next Level is a regular mini-lecture with some of your favorite names in magic. We’re going to talk about a bunch of different subjects, including palming, starting a business, writing patter and storylines and much more. Some of the subjects will be on the beginner side of the scale, some might require some basic knowledge of the Erdnase one-handed shift. Most will be in the intermediate range. You’ll get to know more Ellusionist artists, and even a few of the forum’s Moderators and Elites. And you’re going to hear much more from Brad Christian.

Best of all: You’ll get to have a say in future content. In the podcast forums, you can respond to the current episode, request future topics or ask questions for the next episode.

Actually, this is the best of all: It’s completely free. All it costs you is the time to click on a play button. Or download it to your MP3 player. Do whatever you want. We’re not the boss of you.

This week, in the first edition of The Next Level, Brad Christian talks to us about some of the finer points dealing with performing for complete strangers. You’ll hear where some of the best places to perform are, how to spot the best spectators and what to do when you blow a trick. Plus, you’ll hear about the first time Brad performed for strangers. It’s an epic story.

Future episodes will come out once every two or three weeks. Next time, Aaron Fisher will join us to talk about palming cards.

Bottom line: We’ve always been about helping you improve and grow as a magician. We want you to get the kinds of reactions you see in the trailers for our products. Whether you’re a hobbyist content to perform for friends and family, or someone with aspirations of breaking through to the big-time, these podcasts will help you reach the next level of your performance goals. Enjoy, and be sure to leave your feedback in the Podcast forums.

Download it here.

iTunes subscription link coming soon.

Calling all collectors. After a heavy week of answering requests from people seeking the last of the UV500 Air-Flow decks, I felt it was time to open the doors on which decks are still on the shelf with the UV500 stock and Air-Flow finish.

Now ,before I get into that, if you’re not familiar with the UV500 Air-Flow features and why they are no longer being printed, please refer to this post to clear up any questions. Go ahead, click and read, we’ll wait…

Everything you wanted to know about USPC & Ellusionist, but were afraid to ask.

All up to speed? Supah. Let’s continue…

For the reasons that you read above, the UV500 Air-Flow stock and finish is no longer being printed on the Ellusionist decks (Thanks USPC legal team!). That has lead to many of you asking which decks do we still have in stock that has the UV500 Air-Flow printed on the side flap?

Here are the decks that still adorn the UV500 Air-Flow:

Bicycle Black Tiger: White Pips (not Red) (will not be reprinted, when they’re gone, they’re gone)

Bicycle Masters Deck: Red (next print run will have “Air-Cushion)

Bicycle Masters Deck: Blue (next print run will have “Air-Cushion)

Tally-Ho! Viper Deck: Fan back (next print run will have “Air-Cushion)

Tally-Ho! Viper Deck: Circle back (next print run will have “Air-Cushion)

Bicycle Black Ghost (1st Edition) (NOT for sale, given through promotions and rewards only. Will not be reprinted, when they’re gone, they’re gone)

Jason is the Vice President of Ellusionist and usually has a Beatles / Grateful Dead / Zeppelin mix playing 24 hours a day.

As of late, there has been much debate about the Ellusionist Playing cards now touting the “Air-Cushion” finish label as forced by the legal team of US Playing Card. Some say that the Air-Cushion finish feels different in performance, or is inferior to it’s predecessor, the UV500 Air-Flow finish. In reality, the differences are so minor to detect, yet the debate rages on….

What do I say? Being the guy who actually works side by side with the US Playing Card’s Research and Development department daily, I say, let’s put this one to bed by trying out our latest round of Ellusionist decks printed at USPC.

Before we go any further, it’s important to know what’s going on with USPC, so if you need to catch up, I suggest reading this post in it’s entirety:

Everything you wanted to know about USPC & Ellusionist, but were afraid to ask.

All schooled up? Groovy. Now onward… as you’ve read, no matter what finish we design for our playing cards, USPC has forced Ellusionist and many other card makers out there to use the “Air-Cushion Finish” label if the decks are displaying what type of finish it has.

Given that, we have worked with USPC extensively over the past 6 months to design what we , behind the scenes, call the “Performance Coating”. This finish was designed for a very special project that I can’t talk about….yet. PC is one of the best finishes we have ever felt on ANY deck of cards, hands down. Yet, we are still bound by USPC to print “Air-Cushion Finish” on the box. Do’h!

So, how do we put this to the test? By your feedback. Some decks are ALREADY out there with the new veneer on them….

If you have purchased the Bicycle Shadow Masters deck or the Arcane Black deck within the past month, you’ll be able to feel the new “Performance Coating” . If you think you loved the UV500, and have bought one of these decks in the past 30 days, I call you to tell us what you think….

The decks currently in stock with the performance Coating:

Bicycle Shadow Masters

Arcane Black deck

Arcane White deck

Vintage 1800 Series Deck (RED)

Jason is the Vice President of Ellusionist and usually has a Beatles / Grateful Dead / Zeppelin mix playing 24 hours a day.