Price$79.95
Media TypeTrick, DVD
CategoryGeneral, Stage
Date AddedJul 26, 2009
Five Card Opener
Bill Abbott
(Based on 1 review)
"When I was in high school I was doing a lot of shows on the weekends and most of those shows were mixed audiences of kids, adults, teenagers and seniors. I needed an opener to get everyone's attention, hold their attention and keep their attention. The problem with the standard six or five card repeat is there is a lack of any real conclusion or finale to the effect. I wanted to have a genuine eye-opener that took the audience by surprise. That's when I began working on the Five Card Opener."
The Opener
"The "opener" of any act is a tough choice for any performer. How do you get everyone's attention and hold their attention as well as amaze and entertain them all at the same time. This is my solution to this eternal question. The Five Card Opener gets the audience's attention. The Five Card Opener holds their attention. The Five Card Opener amazes. The Five Card Opener entertains. In addition to all this the Five Card Opener will work for any audience."
What is the Five Card Opener
"The Five card Opener has it's roots in the classic five/six card repeat but it's similar only in method (slightly). The Five Card Opener is a completely fresh approach with three sequences that build with a definitive climax that is a big surprise. It has been my "talking" opener for the past 20 years and l use it at all of my magic shows. Corporate shows, family shows, college shows, etc. The Five Card Opener can be a whole new way to make your show fun!"
The "Real" Secret
"The real secret behind the Five Card Opener is that it is an audience response 'conditioner'. I have had corporate audiences (almost asleep after a long banquet and two hours of awards and speeches before my show) up and out of their seats at the beginning of my show using The Five Card Opener. It sets the tone for how the audience responds to the ending of each effect/routine because it also acts as a call back. There is a verbal trigger that the audience responds to every time you say it during the show, and they will react however you expect/direct them to. The Five Card Opener makes triggering applause throughout the show in all the right places easy, natural and above all fun. For example you can have the audience shout out a corporate slogan, perform a standing ovation, a specific school cheer, a company name, etc."
Simple To Do & Gets Reactions
"I know in performing this off the top of the show, I will not have any mediocre reactions to any of my effects because I'm giving them an outlet to respond in a big way. And they do. Even the most jaded ones. For the working performer you could literally 'drop' this into your show the next day. It's big and visual and takes up very little room for a routine that plays to such large crowds. There are no angle restrictions. No special lighting or staging considerations. Work away from tables and out of your pockets, making an instant connection with your audience. And the best part is that it's so easy to do. Basically, if you have opposable thumbs (which means your not a monkey!) you can perform The Five Card Opener." - Bill Abbott
Included Props
Handmade gimmicked Bicycle Playing Cards in poker-size with wallet.
Handmade gimmicked Jumbo Playing Cards for audiences from 100-1,000.
Portable/collapsible free-standing container to keep the cards in pristine condition, to be sure your stage is clear and to really sell the mysterious climax of the routine!
Instructional DVD Featuring: A LIVE college performance of the routine. A LIVE family performance of the routine. A detailed routine handling of both the poker and jumbo-sized cards The "real" secret of the Opener with all the psychological subtleties to make this routine play as strongly for you as it does for Bill. Alternate Performance and Handling Ideas:
- Breast Pocket Only
- "Messy" Poker Presentation
- Jumbo Cards and Table
- Jumbo Cards and Pop-Up Basket
Reviews
(Top ▲)
Bill Abbott presents his take on the "five-card repeat" plot, structured as an opener for a magic set. Simple review: it works very well.
I've performed this in parlor and stage situations, as well as an opener for a street busking performance, and it never fails to get a good reaction. In my street act, the crowd whoops and pumps their fist in the air, while I toss cards about, which makes the crowd snowball. The Five Card Opener really gets them revved up, and my big fear is -- will the rest of my act be as good as this?
Although the $80 pricetag is pretty steep, you must be clear at what you're wanting, and what you'll get. If you're wanting the secret to a magic trick, shop elsewhere. If you're in the market for secrets, you will most certainly be disappointed here. The Five Card Opener (or its close cousin, the "bill repeat") is available elsewhere for much cheaper. Heck, a variation on it was in my very first "Complete Course" magic book that I bought. Abbott provides a useful variation from what I've seen before, but the gimmicks and general idea are the same. The trick is practically self-working.
So, if you're not buying this for the secret or knucklebusting sleights, what are you getting for 80 bucks? You're getting Mr. Abbott's excellent script and staging. I use Abbott's script, with a few variations of my own, and it is a rock-solid hit. People love it. As an added bonus, the script can be found as a file on the DVD, which can be tweaked and printed out for your own performance. Nice touch. Why doesn't everyone do this?
You also get Mr. Abbott's "Real Secret", which is Abbott's thoughts into the psychology of the trick, and why it hooks people. His insights here can be applied to other tricks, and are interesting and useful.
There's a few props included: You get handmade gimmicked cards in poker and jumbo formats. There's also a spring-loaded basket, which is not really necessary for the trick and adds to the cost of production, but can add a certain pizzazz in stage or parlor shows. In busking performances, I found it necessary to make up my own sets of gimmicks, so I have packets ready to go. It's not hard to make up a few extra poker gimmick sets very cheaply, using Abbott's gimmicked cards as a template. This is almost a requirement if you use Abbott's "Messy handling", which is a great attention-getter, but will be hell on the cards.
The only downside I can see is -- eighty bucks. Eighty bucks? You'd better be darn sure that a one-trick wonder is worth it for 80 bucks!
Well, if you judge "worth it" to mean, that it will grab your audience's attention, and get them into your show, and give the rest of your show a nitro-boost, then: "mission accomplished". If you want a trick to plug into your act to help you be an entertainer, then this will be quite valuable. Is eighty bucks worth getting your audience up, laughing, whooping and pumping their fist in the air?
Worth eighty bucks? Yes, absolutely. Magicians don't need a knucklebuster to deliver entertainment. The steep price tag might even be advantageous to me, to keep other magicians away from a "worker" that I use as often as possible. (Bwa-ha-ha-ha! Stay away! Don't buy this, other magicians, you bunch of losers! All mine, mine, mine!)
I don't give away 10 ratings easily, and was toying with a 9 rating here. However, I talked myself into the more generous rating, because of the pure strength of the results. Rating 10: Gold standard.
I've performed this in parlor and stage situations, as well as an opener for a street busking performance, and it never fails to get a good reaction. In my street act, the crowd whoops and pumps their fist in the air, while I toss cards about, which makes the crowd snowball. The Five Card Opener really gets them revved up, and my big fear is -- will the rest of my act be as good as this?
Although the $80 pricetag is pretty steep, you must be clear at what you're wanting, and what you'll get. If you're wanting the secret to a magic trick, shop elsewhere. If you're in the market for secrets, you will most certainly be disappointed here. The Five Card Opener (or its close cousin, the "bill repeat") is available elsewhere for much cheaper. Heck, a variation on it was in my very first "Complete Course" magic book that I bought. Abbott provides a useful variation from what I've seen before, but the gimmicks and general idea are the same. The trick is practically self-working.
So, if you're not buying this for the secret or knucklebusting sleights, what are you getting for 80 bucks? You're getting Mr. Abbott's excellent script and staging. I use Abbott's script, with a few variations of my own, and it is a rock-solid hit. People love it. As an added bonus, the script can be found as a file on the DVD, which can be tweaked and printed out for your own performance. Nice touch. Why doesn't everyone do this?
You also get Mr. Abbott's "Real Secret", which is Abbott's thoughts into the psychology of the trick, and why it hooks people. His insights here can be applied to other tricks, and are interesting and useful.
There's a few props included: You get handmade gimmicked cards in poker and jumbo formats. There's also a spring-loaded basket, which is not really necessary for the trick and adds to the cost of production, but can add a certain pizzazz in stage or parlor shows. In busking performances, I found it necessary to make up my own sets of gimmicks, so I have packets ready to go. It's not hard to make up a few extra poker gimmick sets very cheaply, using Abbott's gimmicked cards as a template. This is almost a requirement if you use Abbott's "Messy handling", which is a great attention-getter, but will be hell on the cards.
The only downside I can see is -- eighty bucks. Eighty bucks? You'd better be darn sure that a one-trick wonder is worth it for 80 bucks!
Well, if you judge "worth it" to mean, that it will grab your audience's attention, and get them into your show, and give the rest of your show a nitro-boost, then: "mission accomplished". If you want a trick to plug into your act to help you be an entertainer, then this will be quite valuable. Is eighty bucks worth getting your audience up, laughing, whooping and pumping their fist in the air?
Worth eighty bucks? Yes, absolutely. Magicians don't need a knucklebuster to deliver entertainment. The steep price tag might even be advantageous to me, to keep other magicians away from a "worker" that I use as often as possible. (Bwa-ha-ha-ha! Stay away! Don't buy this, other magicians, you bunch of losers! All mine, mine, mine!)
I don't give away 10 ratings easily, and was toying with a 9 rating here. However, I talked myself into the more generous rating, because of the pure strength of the results. Rating 10: Gold standard.