Price$34.95
Media TypeDVD
CategoryComedy, Close Up
Date AddedAug 20, 2010
Mene Tekel Miracles
Kranzo, Nathan
Nathan Kranzo
(Based on 1 review)
Basic Ambitious Sequence
Basic Card In pocket
Basic Mind Reading Card Revelation
Basic Card Thru Table
Assorted Mene Tekel Routines
Billy McComb/Grant Gag Revelation - A hilarious routine created by Billy McComb based on Grant's old gag. A signed card is torn up and thrown away after a very funny revelation. Explaining the deck is now no good because it's missing a card.....Instantly a duplicate is produced from the performers pocket....and replaced giving you a full deck once again. No palming!
Henry Hardin's Envelope - An envelope is examined, sealed and signed by a volunteer yet with no false moves when the envelope is held to the light a card can now be seen inside. When the envelope is torn open the card proves to be the selection. Once again a SELF WORKING MIRACLE THAT HAS BEEN FORGOTTEN.
Using the MT Deck For Instant Stooge Work - This simple use can be hilarious and amazing all at the same time. Thanks to Eugene Gloye for permission to share this gem!
Howard Lyons Secret Second Deal Demo - Display your skill with an incredible ONE HANDED SECOND DEAL. This VERY off beat use of the MT deck used as a demonstration of skill....will fry laymen and magicians.
Bruce Elliot Card to Wallet - Using ANY standard normal and NON GAFFED man's billfold wallet any card selected may be produced from the wallet. Here is the KILLER part.....The wallet is placed on the table or handed to the volunteer as a proposition BEFORE the card is even returned to the deck. : )
The Eugene Gloye MT Deck - Eugene Gloye created a very disarming version of the Mene Tekel pack that makes it even MORE deceptive for close up work. This overlooked idea is something you'll adopt and use.
Roughed Red Blue Mene Tekel Deck Effects
Marlo's RRBMTD Coincidence - Credited to Al Baker and Joe Berg this is simply a version that hides the odd back duplicate. Marlo spent a lot of time with this deck and this effect is based on one of his simplest and most direct solutions!
Yedid It Again - You begin your show with a red back card sticking out of your pocket...any card is named and the red backed card is revealed to be a match! This "any named card" prediction from your pocket is fast, direct and nearly self working.
Kranzo's Card To Fly - Straight from Kranzo's comedy club mind reading act this hilarious routine has been a workhorse in Kranzo's repetoire for years. For the first time he reveals all the work, gags, lines and timing that make the effect strong and funny as it gets!
She Did it - This is Kranzo's application of the MT deck to the "any named card" in a sealed envelope plot. Kranzo reveals inside the sealed envelope a description of what the woman looks like, what she is wearing AND her thought of card! A show stopper and a reputation maker for mentalists and mind readers
Neal Elias Production - This is a no palm card to pocket that is dead easy. Any named card is produced from your pocket with no palming. Simple strong and direct.
The $100 Prediction (In a Hat) - Once again you'll laugh out loud when you see how easy it is to destroy someone's mind with this simple deck. They think of a card and you bet $100 the card you placed in the hat is the same card. Guess what happens next?
IMPROMPTU MT Deck Effects
Farelli In my Pocket - Any card is touched or cut to by the spectator and the rest of the deck is handed to the performer who places it in his pocket. The performer reaches in his pocket and withdraws ONE card from the deck. It is the exact mate of the selection. A PERFECT MATCH!
Holden/Farelli Coincidence - Inspired by Victor Farelli's original pseudo MT concept. A spectator selects ANY card from a tabled spread. Free choice...for real. Th spectator is then asked to cut the deck at ANY spot. When the selected card AND the card that was cut to are revealed they are perfect mates!
X Ray Card Stab 2010 - Straight from Tarbell. Roy Johnson Was the First to use an MT deck for the card stab. Jim Steinmeyer and others have published card stabs using the MT deck and similar set ups like Phil Goldstein's Proxy Stab. This one is DEAD easy and self working. The spectator does all the work. The cards are handed to the spectator to cut a few times and when she is satisfied she is asked to place the top card in her pocket. The deck is now wrapped in paper and the spectator herself stabs the deck. When the paper is torn away the card she stabbed next to is the King of clubs. The card she placed in her pocket is a perfect match. The King of Spades!!! This miracle duplicates the old classic effect but the clever handling makes it self working!
SPECIAL BONUS Mene Tekel DECK TRICK!!!
Instant Signature Duplicate!
Kranzo will teach and show this basic set up and his use of it as an impromptu SIGNED duplicate. They name a card and sign it. You now instantly have access to a signed pseudo duplicate. This is a secret weapon Kranzo has been using to destroy people for years. Kranzo teaches how to make a signed card appear in their own pocket. This is such a strong memory for the spectator!!!
SO WHAT DO YOU GET WHEN YOU PURCHASE?
***You'll GET the DVD with ALL these fantastic effects described.
***You'll also get TWO Roughed Red Blue Mene Tekel Decks so that you can perform miracles. For instance...HAVE ANY CARD NAMED and then BAM....instantly produce it from your pocket, fly, wallet or envelope!
ALL of the effects taught on the DVD will use either NORMAL DECKS OF CARDS or can be performed with the decks that are provided. NO running to the magic shop after you purchase. COMES WITH EVERYTHING YOU NEED!!!!!
Reviews
(Top ▲)
I'm of two minds about Mene Tekel Miracles. (Which is an intentional arcane pun, if you're hip to it.) On the positive side, I love that this disc teaches tricks and principles that are, in some cases, over 100 years old. And I really empathize with Kranzo's enthusiasm for the material.
On the other hand, this disc is disappointingly shallow and instructionally mediocre. Don't get me wrong, the material is great, but the segments jump around from comedy club appearances, to magic club lectures, to backyard videos that are apparently shot without someone operating the camera. (Which would explain why Kranzo's head is frequently cut off and why some action happens off camera.)
The disc gets off on the wrong foot when the introductory section "explains" the basic Mene Tekel setup by omitting the key fact that it consists of twenty-six pairs of cards. This fact becomes apparent later, but it's just one example of how the instructional sequences aren't well planned. In fact many of the tricks are never performed, they're only explained, so the viewer will have to reconstruct how the effect is supposed to appear to the audience. I suspect that Kranzo is aware of the shortcomings, as some segments have onscreen text inserted in order to provide more detail, but really re-shooting the segments would have been better than trying to fix the problems.
I do give Kranzo credit for his efforts to cite the origins of the material. I disagree with this declaration that Conradi invented the deck, and I was disappointed that nearly all of his crediting consists of tossing out a name, or perhaps a trick name, but at least these are clues that the intrepid magician could use to discover where the tricks might be better explained. I confess to laughing out loud when one of the few written onscreen credits referred to the March 1949 issue of The Jinx. (The Jinx ceased publication in 1941.)
It might sound like I'm about to recommend that you skip this disc. Actually, no. While it's flawed, those who are not familiar with the Mene Tekel deck, or otherwise not interested in just reading a few old magic books to find the source material, will be introduced to some fine, often overlooked, magic. Also, given that you receive two very nice roughed, red/blue Mene Tekel decks with the disc, it's a decent value for the money. I just wish it had given the material the attention it really deserves.
On the other hand, this disc is disappointingly shallow and instructionally mediocre. Don't get me wrong, the material is great, but the segments jump around from comedy club appearances, to magic club lectures, to backyard videos that are apparently shot without someone operating the camera. (Which would explain why Kranzo's head is frequently cut off and why some action happens off camera.)
The disc gets off on the wrong foot when the introductory section "explains" the basic Mene Tekel setup by omitting the key fact that it consists of twenty-six pairs of cards. This fact becomes apparent later, but it's just one example of how the instructional sequences aren't well planned. In fact many of the tricks are never performed, they're only explained, so the viewer will have to reconstruct how the effect is supposed to appear to the audience. I suspect that Kranzo is aware of the shortcomings, as some segments have onscreen text inserted in order to provide more detail, but really re-shooting the segments would have been better than trying to fix the problems.
I do give Kranzo credit for his efforts to cite the origins of the material. I disagree with this declaration that Conradi invented the deck, and I was disappointed that nearly all of his crediting consists of tossing out a name, or perhaps a trick name, but at least these are clues that the intrepid magician could use to discover where the tricks might be better explained. I confess to laughing out loud when one of the few written onscreen credits referred to the March 1949 issue of The Jinx. (The Jinx ceased publication in 1941.)
It might sound like I'm about to recommend that you skip this disc. Actually, no. While it's flawed, those who are not familiar with the Mene Tekel deck, or otherwise not interested in just reading a few old magic books to find the source material, will be introduced to some fine, often overlooked, magic. Also, given that you receive two very nice roughed, red/blue Mene Tekel decks with the disc, it's a decent value for the money. I just wish it had given the material the attention it really deserves.