Helen Anderson - Just Another (bank) Night

Just another (Bank-) Night Helen Anderson

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Just another (Bank-) Night Helen Anderson A brief History Lesson The history of Magic and Gambling has always been important to me. Why do we do an effect, who did it first and what do we add to an effect that makes it worth doing. When I look at old paintings or photographs I mostly look at the people. How did they look like 300 years ago, their faces, their clothes. How would the scene look today? As a Gambler who does magic too, one of my favorites paintings is the one you are looking at right now. Its from Hieronymus Bosch. The name of the painting is The Conjurer.

Before I tell you when its painted I want you to look at the picture from a Gamblers or Magician view. If the people on the picture would have worn modern clothes, this could be a modern hustle in the streets of Rome, Berlin or San Francisco. It could be a Magician on AGT or someone who tries to fool Penn and Teller. Let me tell you something: « This picture is painted 1502 or 1505!» Cups and Balls in the Middle Ages! People have always been attracted to gambling. I claim that cheating is as old as gambling too. Harry Houdini once said that no one could be considered a accomplished Magician until he (or she) has mastered the cups and balls. The stoic philosopher Seneca ( died AD 65 ) was the first who wrote about Roman conjurers performing cups and balls as far back as two thousands years ago. The Sceptic Reginald Scot exposed cups and balls in his book, «The Discoverie of Witchcraft» in 1584. It contains a small section intended to show how the public was fooled by charlatans, which is considered the first published materiel on illusionary or stage magic. His volume became an encyclopedia about !2

witchcraft, spirits, alchemy and magic. Even Shakespeare got some inspiration from this book for the witches in Macbeth. Even if the method was exposed almost five hundred years ago we still perform cups and balls and people get fooled and entertained by this! Dai Vernon perfected cups and balls, other great versions are from Slydini, Johnny Fox, Michael Ammar and Paul Gertner. So don`t worry when some kids expose your favorite card trick on youtube. If you want to know more about the history of cups and balls I recommend the book written by Robert Read, «Oldest Trick in the Book».

The Bank Night effect is maybe a modern version of cups and balls. A game of chance where the Magician always wins. «Just Chance» by Abbott is one of the first versions. Max Maven has a version called «Just chince». Dan Harlan, John Archer and a young mentalist from UK called Looch have good versions too. One of the best versions (imo) is from Richard Osterlind simply called « Bank Night». Next I give you an example how my version of Bank Night looks like. My «Bank-Night Theme» is a gambling theme. I am the gambling Lady, the Poker Witch., that fits me best. I am not the Svengali or Hannibal Lecter kind of person that influences people not to choose this or that. By the way I don`t like mentalism either, I respect it, but I don`t like it. My version needs six

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envelopes, one («ordinary») die, a hundred dollar, something special (later), a pack of cards.

How I start my Bank Night. I pull out a pack of cards, from these pack I take one card, it doesn't matter which one. Let`s say its the six of clubs. I request the audience to stand up. «Who is thinking of a red card?» I ask « Please, sit down» «Who is thinking of a number card? Please, stand!» «Who is thinking Spades? Please, sit down! It`s a club.» The remaining people, when I do it parlor there are often 4,5, people left, say a number between 2 and 10. «Its a six.» I take the person or the persons who have it right and do the Bank night with them. No need for trickery. you get the whole audience interested and with you. Why do I start my Bank night this way? There is no need for you to start it this way but I recommend it. People love gambling and always will. Gambling or games of chances are almost as old as mankind. I both do magic or gambling routines and I feel that gambling where you can involve everybody gets more attention and interest than any magic trick or illusion. When people gamble they fall into a flow state or a special mood. Its hard to explain but there is something happening inside the brain. You can use instead of cards flip a coin too. Thats your choice. When you feel that you have everybody in the right «gambling» mood, you begin the Bank Night. The Bank Night You introduce six envelopes. Please, not these cheap manila envelopes that every Magician or Mentalist use. I recommend tiny colored envelopes or chinese money envelopes. Red envelopes that are used in China and East Asia are really beautiful. These envelopes are used as gifts filled with money which is given during holidays or special occasions such as weddings, graduation or the birth of a baby. The red color of the envelope symbolizes good luck. !4

You tell your audience that five envelopes are empty and one of the envelopes is filled with one hundred dollars. The decision which envelope they get is made with the help of a die. Dice are one of the oldest if not the oldest gambling devices we still use. The oldest known dice were excavated in south-eastern Iran, estimated to be from between 2800-2500 BC. In old Egypt they played games with dice 3000 BC. Many Romans were passionate gamblers who enjoyed dicing. The envelopes lie on the table in a row. You can number them from left to right or from right to left, make this clear before the die is thrown. Then the participant ( you can do this with up to five people or only with one) rolls the die. The number they get that envelope they can take until there is one left. This one is yours and of course this is the one filled with one hundred dollars. Why use a die? The die takes away the attention from the real method. Most of the people know that there are gaffed dice.There are all variations of gaffed dice, some people are even aware of electronic die. Your die is a non gimmicked die, a real die. I often give it away. The die implants the idea of a gambling routine, this is pure luck, everybody can win, no coincidence. You are not the influencer or the «Big-Ego Mentalist», its fate which envelope you have in the end. Which gimmick do I use? Ok, thats what you waited for! First, most people suspect that the method has to do with the die, second they think theres something sneaky going on with the envelope. I tell you, I use one of the cheapest and best tools. A thump tip. Now, I predict that most of you are very disappointed. you might have expected a whole new item, a holy grail. The thump tip was invented 1880 by Professor Herwin and since then it is the most used prop in magic. With practice it is easy to handle, things can vanish and disappear or appear like your folded one hundred dollar. This is so easy, hiding the thump tip behind the envelope and pulling out the one hundred dollar bill. You can also place the tump tip in the envelope and taking the bill out that way. Practice and you will see how easy it is.

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Isn`t it bad that everybody but you lose? This is often discussed when talking about Bank Night routines. Some performers fill the envelopes with a dollar or with a lottery lot. I don`t because its gambling and those who gamble will often lose. Almost everybody going to a casino loses money, in the end everybody. I dont know anybody who got rich gambling in Las Vegas. Last round This is an easy but powerful game. The thing I want you to learn is to use the props in this effect. The people suspect the die is gaffed, maybe you give it away or they can roll the die, they realize in the end that the die is real. Maybe the envelopes are gaffed, they can keep them too, you don`t want them back. I do this almost in every effect, misdirect the suspicion to a prop thats real and in the end nobody knows. That I have the image of an gambler leaves them with the only real explanation: « This was pure luck, no tricks, maybe!» The most important thing for me that you should take away from this is the history of gambling. Human beings or mankind always have gambled. Even the same methods were used. The methods were exposed thousand times before but this was not the end for the method. Little changes and you can do it again. In my opinion people will gamble, people will love this til the end of time. I did magic too but never get this great reactions and involvement when doing gambling routines. Maybe I am a bad magician but I am a great gambler!

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