Win a free copy of Hocus Pocus
Drawing on May 1st, 2024
Details

Pocket Space

Tony Miller

(Based on 2 reviews)
What is POCKET SPACE?

Effect

A spectator cuts an invisible deck of cards. He tells you how many cards he cut off the deck. You remove a business card and a playing card from your wallet. The spectator takes the business card and turns it over. Printed on the back is all 52 cards of the deck. In a random order. With NO repeats! He sees what card is at the cut number. (You don't know-really!) HE turns over the playing card. It is the same card...

RESET? You put both back in your wallet (ungimmicked wallet). Next table? Different number, different card! NO Sleights, NO Gimmicked cards.

Plus, it takes up almost NO space and gets a great reaction.

"Think of it as a combination of acaan and card to wallet. I came up with it after playing with ACAAN. But I HATED all the dealing and extra decks and all the preparation and fussiness plus all the space they took up...

So I showed it to several people such as Jack Carpenter, John Mendoza, Chad Long, Jason Dean and Todd Lassen. They all gave Pocket Space a unanimous thumbs up. Plus about 100 people at the Midwest Magic Jubilee in St. Louis. Everyone said bring it out... so I am...

I guess the only real problem is that it takes up almost no space and most magicians want a hi-tech gimmick. They won't like this. The whole thing, instructions and all weigh less than an ounce. Those who are expecting a big box of stuff will be sadly disappointed. But ****! It is a way fun effect!" - Tony Miller

Includes 4 x Business Cards and instruction manual.

Reviews

John Damen

Oct 09, 2011

There more than a few "named card in the wallet" type effects, and Ive worked with most (Bang-On, KK, Heirloom amongst others). I actually bought the updated version of this (Pocket Space Plus, not the refill pack), and as these effects go, this is truly the most practical and economic choice. I was a bit dismayed at the fact that your normal wallet obviously can't be examined, but then again you can't literally examine the wallets for Bang-On or Heirloom either (although you can "show" the heirloom wallet to "appear" empty). So all things being equal, you can purchase this for $25, then buy a decent wallet or a JOL Show-Gun wallet for $50 (this is what I did),...and problem solved, you can now perform this and show the wallet to be "empty" after you remove the cards for a total of $75,...which is cheaper than the total or sum parts of any other version of this type effect. (trust me, I spent alot of time and money coming to this conclusion).

Second bit of weakness involved in this effect is the somewhat "gimmicky" appearance of the cards included. Easy fix here is,...I hand wrote the lists on small cards that I then laminated (for easy removal from the wallet), and wah-la, no more "magic" looking cards

Now I can perform this reasonably "cleanly" and convincingly,...and it kills...period. Bottom line, my recommendation is get this, get yourself a decent wallet, have your presentation down (very important), and you're ready to kill at any time. I've had nothing but good reactions to this effect.
(Top ▲)

Christopher Carey

Official Reviewer

Apr 09, 2008

A spectator names a number (freely chosen). He sees what playing card goes with that number on a small chart that has all 52 cards on it. You produce that card from your (ungimmicked) wallet. Everything fits in YOUR wallet. No sleights. NO decks of cards to carry around.

So there's the ad for this effect. Let's break it down. A spectator can indeed name any number, but depending on what number he names, you'll have to change the procedure for determining what card he cut to. The spectator now finds what number goes with what playing card on a small chart that you produce from your wallet. However, you don't remove that small chart until after the spectator has named their number. You now produce the card from your wallet, however, the wallet cannot be shown inside before or after. The ad says the wallet is ungimmicked. While technically true (the wallet is not altered) it's a bit of a fib. The ad suggests with this language that all is normal, when in fact the wallet cannot be examined.

As you can probably tell, I have big problems with this effect. I think the idea of it and plot are very appealing. Who wouldn't want an ACAAN type of effect that can be carried in their regular wallet? But the practical side of me says it isn't strong enough to bump the other routines I do carry in my wallet.

First of all, you will not be carrying only two cards in your wallet as the ad suggests. You'll be carrying eight. That's a big difference. There's some memory work required, but nothing too strenuous. The "chart" cards look like something out of a board game or, ahem, something that came from a magic shop. I really feel that if one were to produce this card in front of a spectator, many would simply be thinking, "If I'd have just beaten him to the magic shop, I would doing this trick for HIM."

But in the end, the biggest drawback for me is that the two cards that reveal the climax are taken from the wallet AFTER the spectator names their number. To me, this naturally draws suspicion to the wallet. I just can't get beyond this.

It is suggested in the booklet that accompanies the cards that one should make up a special set of chart cards with their business cards. I think this is a great idea and IF one decides to do this, I think it's the only way.

Bottom line, if you think you might be able to work out a different method, this might be worth investing in for the tremendously appealing plot.
(Top ▲)