PROTE
U S
·
PHEDON
BI
L EK
P~B~
PR0TEUS
PROTEUS
PHEDON
BILEK
Copyright © 2017 by Phedon BILEK
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be
reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying or recording, without permission of the
author.
Design by Phillip Smith at Sushi Design
Printed by Steve Haresign, Haresign Press
First Printing: 2017
2
PROTEUS
PHEDON
BILEK
DEBICATION
To our brains
Thank you for always being there
PROTEUS
4
PHEDON
BILE
K
P RO T £ U S
PHEDON
BILEK
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DEDICATION
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
FOREWORD
PREFACE
11
MINDPEEK
15
INTRODUCTION
15
TO SUM ITUP
17
THE BAREBONES
54
THE SCRIPT
66
REVEALING
69
THE READING
78
LUCAVOLPE'STAKE
85
PETER TURNER'S TAKE
87
FINALPOINTS
95
HEADS I WIN TAILSYOU LOSE
103
INTRODUCTION
103
THE EFFECT
105
THE WORKINGS
112
ALTERNATEHANDLING
123
FINALCOMMENTS
124
SHUTTLE PASS
126
BOBO SWITCH
128
EQUIVOQUE
130
CLOSING
133
s
PROTEUS
6
PHEDON
B I LE
K
P R OTE
US
PH
E DON
BI
L EK
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I'd like to thank a number of people, including Mike Vance,for taking
the time to proofread this; Vagelis "Titanas" Haralambous , my multitalented friend, for always being there despite the distance and time;
Jorge Betancourt for the beautiful illustrations and being so nice;
Flora, my lovely wife, for supporting me in whatever I unde rtake;
Richard Osterlind, for getting me into this side of magic and most of
all, for his humility and kindness; and finally Luca Volpe and Peter
Turner for their time, advice and contribution.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
7
PROTEUS
8
PHEDON
BILEK
PR
OT
EU
S
PH
E DO
N
BI
LEK
F0REWOR0
TITAN AS
I met Phedon in 2007. Immediately it was a love at first sight. Bearing
in mind that back then Phedon was a hardcore coin magician and
although his card magic was about average (being still purely a coin
guy then), I instantly noticed that he had the ability to get the best
reactions from lay people even with just a double lift.
Two years later I got a job as a consultant for "The next Uri Geller"
show, aka "Phenomenon", and asked from Phedon to get a part in
the casting. All the production crew just loved him and Phedon was
probably the biggest highlight of the whole show. I am now proud to
believe that getting him to cross to the mentalism side was -at least
partially- my doing.
Nowadays Mr. Bilek focuses mainly on mentalism and although his
effects are mostly prop-less, having all those sleights and boldness
in his arsenal puts him in a position to be able to accomplish things
that other mentalists simply can't do.
Titanas, April 2017
9
PROTEUS
I 0
PHEDON
BILEK
P R OTE
U S
P H ED
ON
BI
L E K
PREFACE
I've always been a minimalist. I started as a coin magician, and it took
me five years to buy my first gaff. It was a shell. Then I thought, "Hey,
why not be totally crazy? " I then bought a copper/silver. I admit it's
far-fetched. But it paid off.
Yes, from the start I wanted to be hardcore. Pure sleight-of-hand.
Not to have any excuses or being caught off-guard. I was going to
gigs with nothing. I was borrowing coins and relied solely on gafffree routines, body loading and pickpocketing to add some variety ...
I don't pretend this is the way to go. But that's how I viewed things
back then . And a leopard rarely changes its spots.
In my mentalism today I have kept the same philosophy. I want to
be totally free. A couple of slips of paper or some borrowed business
cards, and we're good to go. Hence the importance of skills like
mnemonics, cold reading, muscle reading . I cannot count the times
I've been seen as a living god for having memorized a deck of cards or
a list of objects (!). To me this is worth all the props in the world . You
can perform naked. And no, I never needed to.
Lately, though , I was thinking of something in particular: drawing
1 1
PROTEUS
PHEDON
BILEK
duplications. But I wanted something specific. I wanted a PROP-LESS
Drawing DIVINATIONI'd rather say, as nothing was to be drawn or
written. Ideally, in a perfect world, it would go like: "Draw something
IN YOUR MIND. Yes? Ready? Oh, nice CAR!"with no long and tiring
processes or complicated math, as most reliable prop-less routines or
techniques require . I wanted the pros of prop -less, but without the cons.
How cool would that be ... ? Take a moment and think about it .
Well... I sat down on my balcony on a nice Athenian afternoon , with
a piece of paper and a pencil. My lovely wife kept the children busy
inside , she brought me a cup of coffee, and two hours later I had
this. It would be too much of a cliche to say I screamed EUREKA,but
I felt like it .
I immediately tried it on Flora . Knowing everything I do (I also do
a wonderful two-person act with her, and the audience forgets I am
the mentalist), she froze, mou th open, when I asked her what kind
of TREEshe had in mind. The first words that came out were: "But...
I wrote nothing down ... How ... ? Did you suggest it somehow ?!"
I then tried it on Alexandra, my daughter. She went for a FLOWER...
And while they were still scratching their heads I grabbed the phone
and started calling. Everybody. If I haven't called you then I don't
know you . I was a kid in a candy store .
Needless to say I performed it countless time s in the next days .
I 2
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PHED
ON
BI
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forgot about the usual stuff like peeks, billets, mnemonics. I was
doing this. ONLYthis. With a 100% success rate. 100%, really. I was
killing, leaving a trail of agonized corpses behind me. Lay AND
fellow magicians. I think Titanas and Luca will both agree .
Remember what I told you a couple of lines earlier? About what
would happen in a perfect world? Well, you can take my word for it,
soon you will be there . In less than a minute ... no!, in 30 seconds
you'll KNOW what drawing they have in mind. With no tiring,
boring error-prone processes or the need for them-should you so
decide-to write anything down . ''.Aprop-les s mind reading little
miracle you can even perform on drunk people!" said Luca Volpe
when he saw the method and how surefire it was .
Thank you so much for buying this book, in which I have included
another little routine of mine that served me well over time. Let
me presume, throughout this little journey with you, that you are
a beginner . Do not be offended if I spend time explaining certain
things you already mastered, like a switch or the workings of basic
mnemonics. I just want to make sure nobody feels left out and
everyone enjoys these routines fully.
Learn them, adapt them to your style, use them , amaze, love your
audience, respect your craft and, above all, believe!
Phedon, ATHENS, March 2017
13
PROTEUS
14
PHEDON
BILEK
PRO
T EUS
PH
ED
ON
B I LEK
MINBPEEK
INTRODUCTION
Allow me to express my own, personal point of view on the new
trend: PROP-LESSmentalism. Personally I love it, as I believe it is
the ultimate form of mind reading . I, for one, use billets extensively
and believe they're the foundation of mind reading. But whenever
we say things like: "They forget they wrote anything down," or
whatever technique we use to make them feel that writing down
their thoughts was not really necessary but -it-helps-you-focus-onyour -thoughts blah , blah, blah, they never really forget they
wrote something down.
Although it is unconscious, sometimes they sense that somehow the
information MIGHT have leaked. There is no other way out of this.
And that lessens the impact of the effect. On the other hand when
you reveal something they never told anyone or never wrote down,
1 S
PROTEUS
PHEDON
BILEK
something they freely thought of and safely locked into the safety
of their mind, they're deprived of emergency exits, especially when
they feel they had a multitude of choices.
Furthermore, being ready to perform anytime, anywhere, is
priceless. But it usually comes with its share of limitations. Way
too often the rate of success is far from 100%, or to be reliable the
effect would have to rely on heavy, confusing processes that many
audiences find tiring or even impossible to follow when it comes to
math-based routines or principles.
Having your victim -pardon me, subject-multiply-by-this and
divide-by-that before adding-everything-up-and-reduce-to-onedigit can be likened to torture in certain, not to say most, cases. Don't
misunderstand me, I love these routines and appreciate the ingenuity
behind the concepts. I know most of them and have performed them
countless times. But the fact is: the Recipient doesn't give a
might like them as a magician, but ... is it really about me?
I 6
s;·•·•.I
PROTEUS
TO
PHEDON
SUM
BILEK
IT UP
If a Prop-less effect
Can be accurate almost 100% of the time
Is done with minimal, invisible and FAST procedure
Does NOT require highly intelligent/sober
can even work on children
audiences, and
Does not EVERconfuse the Participant
Is EASY to do
Leaves the Participant truly believing they were NEVER
restricted
AND LEAVESTHEM THINKINGTHEY WITNESSED REAL
MIND READING...
Then I can say I have a little miracle.
Enough said. Let's start ...
I 7
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PHEDON
BILEK
If you are reading this, odds are we have never met , never spoken,
never interacted in any way.Odds are that I never had the opportunity
to perform this for you. I wish I could have.
However, before we get into the bare bones I would like you to
experience MindPeek as a Recipient. Don't get me wrong, the
power of thi s effect comes mostly from the revelation, and a skilled
performer will know exactly in what ways to reveal the information
he guessed depending on whom he/she's perform ing for, the type of
information he got, etc. And the little game I'm about to propose to
you just cannot match a human-to-human interact ion. But hey, half
a loaf is better than none, and I invite you NOT to cheat. I know I'm
asking much maybe, as we ma gicians/menta lists love to bend the
rules . But play it , just so you get in-the mood ...
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PHEDON
BILEK
Imagine you're in school... You're about ten to twelve years old, and
you're waiting for the end of this boring class... You're holding a
pencil and find yourself making a drawing; a simple drawing that
takes five to ten seconds to do, nothing too complicated; something
like a SMILEY FACE,a MOUNTAIN or even a BICYCLE.Don't think
of these, of course, and please NO GEOMETRICALSHAPES like
circles or triangles. Do something anybody would easily recognize ...
Do you have a drawing in mind ... ?
Good. I want you to picture the object depicted in your doodle in
front of you. In real size. I also want you to think of it AS A WORD.
If you had chosen a smiley face I'd want you to think of a real face
and the word SMILEY.
Are you ready?
Perfect. I sometimes start with the picture but let's start with the
letters. In your mind please review the letters in the word one-byone ... Good... Again ... Alright, turn the page ...
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PHEDON
BILEK
I can feel an
A
among the letters you
.
Just
saw... Correct ?.
2 0
Yes?
No?
Turn to
Turn to
21
24
PROTEUS
PHEDON
BILEK
Perfect ... I see a
T
As well!
Correct?
Yes?
No?
Turn to
Turn to
22
25
2 1
PROTEUS·
PHEDON
BILEK
Doing great so far aren't
we?
Oh ... Is that an
R
?
•
2 2
Yes?
No?
Turn to
Turn to
23
26
J
PROTEUS·
PHEDON
BILEK
Wow ... Now however I'm
not sure but ...
Is that an
s
?
•
Yes?
No?
Turn to
Turn to
52
51
2 3
PRO
T EUS
PHEDON
B I LEK
Oh! Er ... Maybe that's an
s
! Is that correct?
2 4
Yes?
No?
Turn to
Turn to
27
28
PROTEUS·
PHEDON
BILEK
Oh! Er... OK... Picture
the object in real size ...
Can you HOLDit in your
hands?
Yes?
No?
Turn to
Turn to
29
30
2 S
PROTEUS
·
PHEDON
B I LEK
OK ... Wait ... Er ... I sense
that ... Wait!
Is it ALIVE?
2 6
Yes?
No?
Turn to
Turn to
31
32
PROTEUS
·
PHEDON
BILEK
Mmm ... Very fuzzy ...
Wait!
Can you ...
TOUCH it?
Yes?
No?
Turn to
Turn to
33
38
2 7
PROTEUS·
PHEDON
B I LEK
Oh! Really I'm
completely off! Please
forget the letters. I
sense ... Wait...
Is it ALIVE?
2 8
Yes?
No?
Turn to
Turn to
34
35
PROTEUS·
PHEDON
BIL
E K
OK... Let me see ... When
you touch it, is its surface
HARD?
Yes?
No?
Turn to
Turn to
43
44
2 9
PROTEUS
·
PHEDON
BILEK
I thought so ... Er ...
Do you
OWN
one of those?
3 0
Yes?
No?
Turn to
Turn to
45
46
PROTEUS·
PHEDON
BILEK
I felt so ... Tell me ...
If we compare to you: is
it
SMALLER?
Yes?
No?
Turn to
Turn to
47
48
3 1
PRO
T EUS
PHEDON
BILEK
I thought so ... OK...
Do you
HAVE ONE
at home?
3 2
Yes?
No?
Turn to
Turn to
49
so
PROTEUS·
P H EDON
BILEK
Tell me. . . I feel. . . life?
Is it
ALIVE ?
Yes?
No?
Turn to
Turn to
36
37
3 3
PROTEUS
·
PHEDON
BILEK
I was thinking so ... Tell
me ...
Comparedto you, is it
rather
LARGER,BIGGER?
3 4
Yes?
No?
Turn to
Turn to
39
40
PROTEUS
PHEDON
BILEK
I knew it. Er ... Wait!
Can you
TOUCH it ?
Yes?
No?
Turn to
Turn to
41
42
3 5
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PHEDON
BILEK
P RO T E US
PHEDON
B I LEK
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PHEOON
BILEK
I
..
I
3 8
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BILEK
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4 0
PHEDON
BILEK
P RO T EU S
PHEDON
BILEK
4 I
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PHEDO
N
B I l E K
**
*
4 2
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PHEOON
B IL
EK
4 3
4 4
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PHEDON
BILEK
4 S
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4 6
PHEOON
BILEK
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PHEDON
B IL
EK
4 7
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PHEDON
•
4 8
BILEK
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PHEDON
B IL
EK
4 9
S 0
P R O T E U S
PHEDON
BILEK
S 1
PROTEUS
S 2
PHEDON
BILEK
PROTEUS
P HE
DO
N
BI
L E K
I wish you could tell me if it worked. I'm confident it did the first
time. This is to be done QN£E on a person or group . After the first
time we tend to look for more complicated drawings and the process
becomes apparent due to repetit ion.
Moreover, let me be precise that what you just lived CANNOTpretend
to emulate the REALeffect, and the way it is FELTby your audience.
Playing this little interactive game like this feels like following an
algorithm . And actually that's what it is. YOUR PERFORMANCE
will make it alive and turn it into a mind-reading experience , leaving
your audience speechless as the probing is invisible and seen as the
Performer's attempt to get into the subject's mind.
OK, now we've had fun let's get YOUto do this ...
S3
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PHEDO
N
BI
L EK
THE BARE BONES
A (S)
T RS
This is the basic anagram. When designing this I wanted something
SIMPLE,yet offering a large array of outcomes. Actually I wanted to
cover EVERYTHING.
When using indexes with drawing-duplication effects Mentalists
usually use less than ten basic drawings, including the House, the
Car, the Flower, the Tree, the Sun, the Stickman, the Heart , etc. So
admit to it: SEVENTEENouts; that's not bad for A(S)TRS. And I
must say you very rarely even get to T or R! Let us move on ...
S 4
PR
A
T
No
OTEUS
-+
PHED
ON
S
-+
No
Yes
-+
House / Sun / Fish
-+
-+
Car / Ball / Plane / Glass
R
No
-+
Boat / Cat/ Table/ Stickman
S
No
-+
Heart
Yes
-+
LEK
Flower / Tree / Pen(cil) / Moon
No
-+
BI
Star
If you're familiar with anagrams then no explanation is necessary .
For those who are not, you just have to start with the first letter .
You're "asking" if there is an A in their word . I say "ask" as I
personally never ask, but tell them. I am confident there is an A,
even if I'm mistaken. But that 's for later. Let's concentrate on the
mechanics of the anagram. So, you're asking if there is an A If they
say NO, you move HORIZONTALLY.
In this case you hit the S. So
you get them to tell you whether there is an S in their word or not.
ss
PRO
TE
US
P H EDON
B ILE
K
Whatever they say, the anagram redirects you to the path to take
and the probes to use .
to the next letter, T. You find
If there is an A you move VERTICALLY
out if there is a Tin their word. If NO, you move HORIZONTALLY.
If
yes again, you go down to R and so on.
As you can see for yourself, on the graph we have all the outcomes
in no particular logical order, as their position in the anagram is
dictated solely by the letters in the word. You have also noticed that
the final outcomes are gathered in groups , and your job will be to
determine WHICH DRAWINGwithin that group is the one in your
subject's mind . I'll tell you what I do, but first let's review the groups
(drawings in order of likeliness to be chosen):
House / Sun / Fish
Tree / Flower / Pen-pencil / Moon
Car / Ball / Plane / Glass
Boat / Stickman / Cat / Table
Heart
Star
You first have to remember these groups . Here you can apply basic
Mnemonics to help you at the beginning, as believe me, very soon
S 6
PROT
E US
PH
E DO
N
B ILE
K
they will be automatically interconnected. You will hear BOATand
you'll think CAT STICKMANand TABLE.But for a start I propose
you try picturing:
a HOUSE under the SUN with a POND near it (fish)
a TREEwhose branches are PENCILSwith the MOON over it
and FLOWERSstemming from its bark
a CAR whose wheels are soccer BALLS racing with a giant
FLYINGchampagne GLASS
a BOAT with a STICKMAN skipping on the deck and a
TABLEwith a CATon top
I personally do not use Mnemonics in this particular case, but these
are associations that might help you. Feel free to use your own,
just remember - if you're not into mnemonics-to form FUNNY,
ILLOGICAL,VIVIDimages. I know there's nothing funny or illogical
or even vivid in the image of a house with the sun and a pond, but
it will get the job done in this case as it's simplistic. If not, picture a
fish with sunglasses getting sunlight from the window of a house!
Once you have learned the drawings in each group it's easy to know
the outs you have when you hit the "NO."
For example, the participant has a drawing in mind. You ask for the
A, and you hit a YES.You then ask for the T, and they say "NO." You
know now they are thinking of one of the following: CAR, BALL,
S 7
PROTEUS
PHEDON
BILE
K
PLANE,GLASS. And it's easy to know as you just have to think of
any element of the group to realize there is no T. Let me explain: Say
you hit a "NO" on the R; think of a CAR. There is an R, so it's NOT
the category we want . Think of BOAT.No R. That's it. Review your
mental image and you'll remember the Boat with our skinny friend
skipping and a cat on the table!
Let's go again. You hit a "NO" on A. You move to S and hit a "YES."
There is an S. Think of Tree. Nope. House? Yup. That's it . House/
Sun/Fish.
You hit a "NO" on the above? No S... Tree? You bet. The Tree with
the Pencils, the Flower and the Moon.
PLEASE
DO NOT READ
BEYOND
THIS POINT
First play with this, and learn to find the relevant category
automatically . You'll be surprised how easy this is. When you're
done, move on ...
s
8
PROTEUS
P HED
WELCOME
ON
BILEK
BACK!
I assume you now understand the diagram fully, and are able to
quickly find the group that contains thei r drawing. The good news
is you're almost done!
Everybody thinks differently. And everybody will take different
paths to reach the same result. If you played with the images and
the Mnemonics I used I'm confident you came up with images that
were very different than the ones I proposed. So, what I want you to
understand is that now that you have their group you will need to
PROBEin order to find their drawing.
Now, that's where we all differ. If you're an experienced performer I
have no worries that you will quickly find your way into zeroing in
on their thought. It's easier than you think. I say that as I hear some
of you say, "OK, I'm down to four possibilities! Now what?"
Relax. Below I'm giving you my own thoughts on this. You're free
to use them as they are/modify them/completely change them. It's
of no importance. I'm doing this for the sake of completeness, as
I'm pretty sure most of you have or will think of other ways, maybe
much better, at reaching your goal: finding their drawing.
Let's review the groups:
S 9
PROTEUS
HOUSE
PHEDON
B ILEK
/ SUN / FISH
There is an object (let's refer to each drawing as OBJECTS,as we've
asked the Participants to visualize their drawings in REAL SIZE,
remember?) that cannot be TOUCHED:the Sun . And when we're
down to the House and the Fish, one is ALIVE and one is not . So
by probing that way it would go: "Think of this object. Imagine
you're touching it . Can you TOUCH it? Yes, so imagine you are ...
I sense life ... Is it ALIVE? NO? (Now we know they're thinking of
the HOUSE. But being Mentalists we don't like NOs, so we can go
on saying, in classical Kenton Knepper style:) BUT your object can
relate to LIFE, right?"just in the name of perfectionism ... Of course
if they CANNOTtouch it your job is done: Sun.
TREE I FLOWER/
PENCIL/
MOON
PEN OR
Here we notice that two are ALIVE and two are NOT. Within the
subcategories now: one of the two alive is SMALL compared to us
(Flower), and one is usually BIGGER(Tree).And concerning the two
not alive one can be TOUCHED(Pen/Pencil) and one cannot (Moon).
It would go like: "Ok.I sense ... life ... Is it ALIVE? Yes. I thought so ...
As you understand it could be anything, as most things people think
of are alive. One question only (here you imply you just asked ONE
6 0
PROTEUS
PHEDON
B I LEK
question): Is it SMALLER than you (dropping your hand to knee
level)? Yes.Of course it could be anything ... Usually people think of
cats, go figure ... "
Of course you already know they have a Flower in mind. If they took
the other route then it would be between the Moon and the Pencil.
"Imagine you're touching it ... Can you? No? Er... you understand you
chose something complicated. WHAT CANNOT BE TOUCHED... ?"
The Moon. Unless youre reading Neil Armstrong's or Buzz Aldrin's
mind. They touched the moon. Don't perform for Neil Armstrong or
Buzz Aldrin.
.,,Yes-+
Is it
;, ALIVE?-+ No
Can you
Yes
Yes;, TOUCH it? :: No ------+
Mil•
.. ft
A
•
•
T
-+No-+
S
,,,
Compared
"'ll
.,,
No"
Yes
Is it
--a.,,
.,, Yes -+
to you, 1s 1t
Yes
BIGGER?
-+ No -+
No
Can you
.,, Yes -+
TOUCH it? -+ No -+
ALIVE?~
OUTS: 7
Fish, house, sun, tree,
flower, pen / pencil, moon
"
6 I
PROTEUS
PH
EDON
BILEK
CAR I BALL / PLANE I
GLASS
Here it goes differently, but still very logically. Two objects can be
HELD in our hands and two cannot . Among the two th at can one
has a COLD,HARD surface (Glass), one does not (Ball).Although I
once happened to have a person think of a bowling ball . Quite hard
indeed. But that never happens really; that spectator is ... special
anyway. (No Nikos Joker, that's NOT you.) Let's move on to the two
that cannot be held. One is usuall y OWNEDby the spectator (Car),
one is not (Plane). Again, it depends on your subject. A young per son
might not own a car. You might then ask wheth er they're USING
one often or not, or the last time they did. Same thing if you perform
for a Saudi Sheikh. The guy WILLown a plane .
~Yes-+
,If
T
+
...,..No-+
Can you
HOLD it in
your h and?
Yes
+
R
6 2
Yes
...No
Is its surfac e
-+No-+@
HARD?
,If
you
...Do
OWN one?
-+Yes-+~
" No -+
OUTS: 4
Glass , ball , car, plane
'Y
:x
PROTEUS
P HEDO
N
B I LEK
BOAT I STICKMAN
I TAB LE
I CAT
Same thing here. Two are ALIVE and two are not. Between the two
that are alive one would be about the same size as the Participant
(Stickman, or rather Man in real size), one would be much SMALLER
(Cat).Among the two other objects one can be found at HOME (Table),
one cannot (Boat), depending on whom you're performing for, that
is.
Compared
,,, to you is is
R
,,,
...No
Yes
-+ No -+ ls it
ALIVE?
Yes
!
s
,;t
Yes....,.~
-+ No -+-
SMALLER?
Do you have
...one
at
HOME?
-+Yes-+
..._ No
.
'
iriJ'
-+A,
OUTS:4
Cat, stickman, table, boat
6 3
P R O T E U S
PHEOON
B I LEK
HEART / STAR
No need to talk about the Heart or the Star . They're alone in their
categories.
NOTE: Being in Greece I perform this for people whose native
language is not English. The Stickman is one of the highly likely
outcomes, but some subjects simply think of it as "a man" . That's
why, in my particular case -and in yours should you perform for
foreigners if you're English-speaking- I keep in mind tha t the
Stickman will either be in the Boat group - the way it should be- OR
in the Car group -should they have thought of it as "a man"- . It's
very easy to remember, as both the Boat and the Car need a person
to drive/ skip them. For example: when hitting the NO on T I first
state "It's definitely NOT a living thing!" If it's negative I proceed
normally . If they react and tell me it is alive then I know they 're
thinking of "a Man".
s
6 4
,,,Yes"'.
.,.
No
OUTS: 2
Heart , star
'"*
PROTEUS
PHEDON
BIL
EK
Voila. We just covered all there is to know as far as the workings of
this effect are concerned. By now you should know each category,
its respective elements, and you should be able to determine which
drawing they have in mind. But this was only the "mechanical" part,
or the "algorithmical" part as I would call it , of this routine. Let's
move on and explore what makes it look like the real thing ...
6 S
PROTEUS
PHEDON
BILEK
THE SCRIPT
There is one thing I know so far writing this down: The seasoned
performers reading this know they'll be 100% in their success rate,
after having seen the outcomes. But some of you are wondering: ls
it THAT sure-fire? Will they choose one of the seventeen outcomes?
Well... that depends on YOU. Let me put it this way: It IS surefire and reliable, as long as you channel the subject into thinking
SIMPLY. The good news is that even magicians and mentalists alike
DON'T remember having been restricted at the beginning . Nobody
does. Even with no restriction, odds are they would think of one of
the outcomes. But you would happen to have a spectator choosing
a Horse for instance , in the event they're good at drawing stuff. But
with the restrictions you use they cannot think of this. Below is
the patter I gave you at the beginning , before you played the little
interactive game. Please read it again:
Imagine you're in school... You're about ten to twelve years
old, and you're waiting for the end of this boring class .. . You're
holding a pencil and find yourself making a drawing ; a simple
doodle that taJces five to ten seconds to do, nothing too
complicated ; something like a SMILEY FACE,a MOUNTAIN
or even a BICYCLE. Don't think of these, of course, and please
NO GEOMETRICAL SHAPES like circles or triangles. Do
something anybody would easily recognize ... Do you have a
drawing in mind ... ?
6 6
PROTEUS
PHEDON
BILEK
Let's quickly analyze this. I'm asking you to be 10-12 years old; to
make a simple drawing that takes 5 to 10 seconds to do, something
anybody would recognize, like a smiley face or even a bicycle. Note
here the importance of the elements of what I call the EXCLUSION
list. I start mentioning the SMILEYFACEand end with the BICYCLE
(Let's not mention the geometrical shapes, as these are openly
discarded). And there is a reason for this: They automatically.
though unconsciously. detect the level of difficulty in those drawings
and they are setting limits! As a result, their drawing will be no
easier to make than a Smiley, and no more complicated than
a Bicycle, as we finish by stating<'or EVEN a Bicycle... "
I am confident that even YOUcan feel the power of this principle I
use extensively. It equates to a<b<c. In our case it would be
SMILEY < THEIR DRAWING < BICYCLE
in terms of difficulty. And personally I cannot draw a decent bicycle.
Question: After having read the above, even being a mentalist, could
you easily deviate from the limits?
I hope this little chapter convinced you that with the proper
instructions they are funneled into a way of thinking that does
not allow them to explore much . They WILL fall into the -broad spectrum of outcomes you have, no matter what. And if you see
they're hesitant mildly apply some pressure, stating, "Don't make it
6 7
PROTEUS
PHEDON
BILEK
complicated. Something easy and simple!" They will quickly turn to
the simplest drawings in our list, like a Sun or a Tree.
6 8
PR
O T EUS
P HE
D O N
B IL
E K
REVEALING
Knowing what drawing-or
rather object or animal the way I use
this now-they have in mind is a weapon. It holds so much power.
We know something they think is impossible to know. They think
we're still in the dark, lost in the multitude of possibilities they
could have imagined and WE ALREADYKNOW EXACTLYWHAT
THEY CHOSE.
Now, it would be a shame NOT to exploit and take full advantage of
this piece of information, wouldn't it?
Let's go through some different revelations I've used so far. I am
confident you will come up with your own, depending on the subject,
the situation, the mood, the drawing, whether they can relate or not
with the object depicted in their doodle, etc. You see, the possibilities
are endless.
THE VERBAL
REVEAL
The simplest way to reveal would be to say, "Oh. You're thinking
of ... a nice little BOAT .. . ! Right?!"
At the beginning that was the way I was doing it as I was still in
the confirmation phase, and wanted to see to what extent this effect
6 9
PR
O TE
US
P H EDON
BI
L E K
worked. When I realized I was hitting all the time I decided to use
this more ... judiciously I would say, as this way left me thinking I
was kind of killing its potential. But reactions were very strong still .
So, if you're limited by time you might consider it.
THE SIMPLE
REVEAL
Though simple it is very strong. Once their object is determined you
are, of course, puzzled, and grab a pen and a piece of paper. After a
moment looking up, you quickly draw something, hiding it. You put
the pen down, holding the paper up, drawing towards you, saying,
"Look, I just felt like doing this .. . I have no idea where this is going
but ... what do you have in mind, please ?" They reveal it. When you
slowly turn the drawing towards the audience just look at their faces.
Variation;They never tell what they thought of. When you turn
the drawing towards them only the subject will react. The rest of the
audience will react to his/her reaction , and will seek confirmation,
creating a real mess sometimes .
l!h!lt:.Peter Turner brought up a very useful insight regarding this:
should you decide to reveal this way, that is to say without having
the rest of the audience knowing what the subject's drawing is, can
prove dangerous . Please refer to Peter 's section for further details.
7 0
PROT
EUS
PHED
THE NAPKIN
ON
BILEK
REVEAL
It doesn't need to be a napkin. But that's what I usually use in this
revelation if we're out for dinner or drinks. Onceyou have determined
their drawing you look puzzled, make them feel you have no clue,
grab a napkin and quickly draw something, hiding it so nobody can
see it . Then you turn it face down, place it onto the table in front of
them and ask them to draw what they have in mind. It's a shocker
when they turn over the napkin.
I'd recommend you use this revelation when the object they have
in mind falls into the category of what I call Standard Drawings.
There are not thousands ways to draw a Star, a Sun, a Tree, a
Stickman, a Heart ... Even an object that does NOT fall into this
category, such as a Boat, can with a little probing be moved into it
and be drawn EXACTLYthe way the subject will have done it. If you
ask the sitter whether a TRIANGLEmakes sense in their drawing or
not, you know their boat is the classical Sailboat doodle.
Of course being 100% accurate on the drawing is of no importance .
Some might even apply the concept that being 100% right is not
desirable. I agree wholehearted ly when it comes to names, places,
etc. But in the case of the Napkin revelation let me assure you it is
better when you match it perfectly. The fact you saw THAT detail
that was in their MIND only blows them away.
7 1
PHEDON
PROTEUS
THE
POCKET
BILE
K
REVEAL
Here you do not write anything, THEYdo. They think of a drawing ,
and they're asked to walk away from everyone so nobody sees and
to draw their mental selection on a piece of paper they then place
into their pocket. They are the only one to know. You find out what
the drawing is, and you verbally reveal it and ask them to retrieve it
from their pocket and to show everybody.
As you can understand their reaction alone will tell the audience you
succeeded in reading the subject's mind. But the visual revelation
after will be the finale.
BACK-TO-BACK
DUPLICATION
Let us not forget the whole idea started as the will to DUPLICATE
a drawing. Previously one had to resort to a peek, be it using
an impression pad, electronics, etc., or to pre-show, in order to
accomplish this . The beauty of this is that you can now do this in
REALTIME. No need for pre-show. No impre ssion device. Once you
have determined what they have in mind you can hand them a pad ,
grab one yourself, and proceed to a very visual revelation in the
back-to-back stance popularized by Banachek. Especially if their
selection is a standard drawing.
7 2
P R OTEUS
P HE
DON
BIL
E K
~If
in your work you use such methods for a drawin g duplication
I'm not saying you should dump them. But MINDPEEKoffers you an
amazing, propless, impromptu way to demonstrat e the same th ing
should you be caught off guard.
7 3
P ROTEUS
P HEDON
B IL
E K
These are the revelations I use when performing Mind.Peek.I choose
which depending on, as I wrote above, various criteria already
mentioned . I will repeat myself by again saying:
GIVE
YOUR REVELATION
IMPORTANCE
THE
IT DESERVES!
Even poorly revealed , the fact you guessed their drawing will throw
them off. A good revelation, though, will make it a miracle .
Youwill come up with your own ideas after a couple of performances
and you'll quickly learn to adapt the way you reveal to the spectator
you're performing for. It will become second nature in a matter of
days.
7 4
PH£DON
PROTEUS
B IL
EK
We dealt with how to reveal a drawing in different ways but it was
always about telling or showing the subject what drawing they
either had in mind or secretly made. I'm asking you: Is that all?
What about the potential we spoke about earlier? I'm asking you
now ...
WHY
NOT
GO
THE
E X TRA MILE?
I admit this effect is far from having reached its maturation phase
as it's very recent. More time and more performances would have
gener ated a lot of new ideas and different ways of taking advantage
of this system's full potential. But my schedule and obligations in
life had me kind of rush this release, thus sacrificing the fruits this
maturation would have brought . However, the following ideas hold
much potential, and they 've been tried with much success.
T HE SUGGESTION
GAMBIT
I've used this about five times , and it always convinced the subject
that they'd been influenced/suggested to make that particular
drawing . The idea developed like this : I went to a cafe with my wife
and the owner asked: "Anything new?" I wouldn't , of course, tell the
guy I'd had a new method to read minds-I've been doing this for
years, right? However, I told him I'd try something different . What
about a ...drawing? A simple one, like ... Well, you know the drill.
Thing is, in fifteen seconds tops I knew he had a Boat in mind. And
then I remembered that, in my wallet, I had five billets with basic
7 S
P RO
TE
US
PH
EOON
BI
LEK
drawings, the Boat being among those five. They had been sitting
there, in a compartment, from the time I was playing with indexed
drawings . So, as soon as I realized that, I told Elias (the owner AND
subject) that it was fuzzy and I had no idea of what he could be
thinking . He himself acknowledged how could this be easy with the
choices he could have made? I then reached into my wallet, removed
the folded Boat billet (I had them in alphabetical order) and gave it
to him, asking him to close his fist around it .
Without understanding he complied, while I asked him whether he
noticed anything in my behavior . He answered, "No." I then asked
him if the choice of the drawing was his . "Absolutel y," he answered.
I asked him if at any time he felt influenced or for ced to make a
particular choice. He answered, "No way" I then told him that from
the beginning of this little game I was tryin g to suggest to him a
very specific drawing, the very drawing he was holding in his fist.
Of course he'd never told anyone what he was thinking, and had
no clue regarding what was in the folded piece of paper. When he
opened it the whole cafe heard him swear. Since then I must say I
rarely go to Elias's, as that's all he talks about and that bores my
wife ...
If you place in your wallet the five or six most likely choices in order
(in min e I have BOAT-CAR-TREE(with a FLOWERnext to it)-HEARTHOUSE), ready to be used, you'll soon be using this revelation . They
will truly believe you're a master manipulator of minds .
7 6
PROTEUS
PH
ED
ON
B IL
EK
~
I use Tree and Flower on the same billet . Should I hit one or
the other it's perfectly OK. Both are plants, and suggesting them is
involving the same process exactly (Jargon BS anyone?).
NO'.IE.;,
The Suggestion can be perfectly simulated without billets.
After the questions we just tell the subject that they've actually been
influenced, even though they never realized it. They want proof? We
suggested a HOUSE!The reaction will confirm that the House was
the chosen drawing indeed. But the billet in their closed fist adds
something extra as you'll soon see for yourself if you try.
7 7
PROTEUS
PHEDO
N
BILEK
THE READING
Maybe the most impressive method should you have the minimal
skill to deliver a reading AND the time, as giving a reading does not
need to be rushed.
Here you ask the subject to ACTUALLYDRAWtheir selection VERY
FARAWAYFROMYOU,in another room if possible, to fold the paper
and to pocket it without showing anybody.
The idea is that once we have determined their drawing, say a
HOUSE, we can pretend we're lost and have no idea about what
they're thinking, which they will always believe and sincerely
accept. You then propose to forget about the drawing for now
and tell them a couple of things regarding themselves, as they're
"projecting things." If you perform for ladies this is automatic. They
accept right away.
Now you give a reading basing yourself ON THE HOUSE. If they
chose a House there is a reason. Believe that. It kind of reminds
me of Jerome Finley's iPod Reading concept. Feed them everything
a House stands for: their need for security, their love for family,
the value they give to their home, the importanc e of their circle
of friends , their loyalty, their need for warmth in relationships
with others, etc. Of course, if you have even basic knowledge in
Cold Reading you'll know how to probe and push to zero in on the
good stuff. But delivering a reading using their drawing is sure -fire.
1 8
PROTEUS
PHEDON
BI
LEK
You'll always hit. Even if you don't cold read it's OK.Just think of the
drawing and let it inspire you. They chose a Plane? Talk about their
love for freedom, their openness to diversity, their need to discover,
etc. A Cat? Talk about their attraction for the mysterious, their
independence, their-sometimes-unpredictable
nature, etc. Trust
me , you just CANNOTgo wrong. Just keep it on the positive side
whatever happens. It's ONLYabout THEMSELVES;not their future,
not their past.
When you're done with the reading the lady will be very pleased with
what she heard, and will think the game is over. It's the moment to
tell her that according to her personality you have an idea of the
drawing she must have chosen. She will not believe you. You end up
by saying, "Please, Victoria, reach into your pocket and show us the
little House you drew." Just watch her reaction.
7 9
P ROT
EU
FOR TH£
S
P H EDON
ETERNAL
BI
LEK
UNS£CUR£
With the seventeen outs AND the thre e drawings of the Exclusion
List, let me assure you there is NO need for a safety net. I wish you
could see this performed before live audiences; you'd be convinced .
But I understand anyone who would like to make it a solid 100%.
You can by combining this effect with a PEEK. I sometim es
use this concept, NOT as a safety net but because it results in a
devastating feat of mind reading, devastation owed to the fact that
the writing is automatically cancelled out by the prop -less drawing
divination . Anyone who would state that the name was written will
automatica lly hear someone say, "OK. And what about the Moon
drawing? That was written, too?"
You have the idea, play with it. It can be a peek, it can be a force,
whatever is-or you consider or feel to be-100 %. My take on this is
the following: After having peeked at a name I give the billet back
to the subject, asking them to destroy it as we don't need to waste
time writing stuff down since they look trustworthy and I don't feel
they 'll lie and make me look stupid . (Bob... Is that you ... ?)
Now I ask them to imagine the person they 're THINKINGabout being
much younger ... Being in school. .. I deliver the usual restrictive
patter and go on until I determine the drawing .
To reveal, you have a multitude of choices. You can take a sheet of
paper and make the drawing with the name on a plaque underneath
it. You can revea l them one after the other, you decide which first.
8 0
PROT
E US
PH
ED
ON
B I LEK
You can play a bit if you have time, asking the subject if the person
they're thinking about has any relationship with this drawing
they made , if of course the drawing offers that kind of potential
(like a boat). You could even ask the subject to imagine the person
inte r acting with that object and to feel the surroundings (they'd
imagine their mother in a boat, and you have so many things, from
the sun, the wind, the noise of the waves, etc., to describe and feel
with her). Do WHAT YOUWANT,you're free ...
Another safe way to play this is the Suggestion Gambit, which has
a built -in safety owing to its very nature. If the drawing you think
they thought of does not match their actual one, then it's because
they were not open/relaxed enough and were thus impervious to
suggestion. You can then go on with this and give them a reading
based on their natural reluctance to open up etc. On a more positive
note, if the Participant is your potential employer and you don't
want to suggest (!) he/she's a stuck -up party -pooper you can always
praise their strength of character, explaining thus that they belong
to the 5% of people that cannot be subliminall y influenced (please
refrain from doubting the numbers I invent). That should get you
hired.
You can also have a look at Banachek's Universal Drawing, found in
his Psychological Subtleties in the chapter "Subtle Drawings."I never
used it, or even have th e slightest idea on where to incorporate it in
here, but it's well worth knowing.
8 I
P R O T E U S
TANGO
PHEOON
BILE
K
ANYONE?
No, I'm not about to break the golden rule of this effect, which is,
I'll say it again :
NEVERPERFORMTWICEIN FRONTOFTHE SAMEAUDIENCE
OR FOR THE SAME SUBJECT.
Doing so will make the same audience see the same process again ,
and it won't take an Einstein to connect the dots and figure out that
there is a sort of process in play.
But there is a nice way to perform for two subjects, preferably a
couple. The late Bob Cassidy's idea with the possible connection
between the minds of people living together in his wonderful Name
& Place routine can be used here if you so desire, when both drawings
are revealed at the end.
After giving the couple your instructions and once they have each
come up with a drawing , you concentrate and address them BOTH,
stating that you can CLEARLYsee an A. And now you ask WHO
is thinking of the A? Let's say Mary says yes, John says no. You
turn to John and suggest that maybe that was an S? He says yes .
You commit to memory that John's group is the HOUSE group,
encompassing the House, the Sun and the Fish. You tell John to
hold on to that thought, and return to Mary. You tell her tha t her
A was obvious, and that you also see a T! No? You mumble that
you completely messed up the letters in both cases and ask them to
8 2
PROT
EUS
PHED
O N
BI
L E K
think of the objects depicted in their doodles, while you now know
that Mary's group is the CARgroup , encompassing the Car, the Ball,
the Plane and the Glass !
Now go on with your probing process to determine their thoughts,
addressing each one at a time . You ask John to imagine touching his
object. You see he can, and you move on to Mary, asking her if she
could hold hers in her arms. She can. Turn back to John and ask him
the same question as Mary: Is this alive? No (HOUSE!).Go back to
Mary and ask her to imagine touching the surface of her object. Is it
cold and hard? No (BALL!).
It's simple, and the only thing to do is keep track (if we can use
this term for two re sults!) of each subject's group, while the probing
is fun, interactive, and captivates the audience who witnesse s
the performer trying to get impressions. Moreover, the process,
though performed on two subjects, remains undetectable as the
two Participants are dealt with simultaneously, and it is therefore
performed once.
To reveal I like to draw their thoughts on two separate papers, ask
them to name their OBJECTS,and tell them I'm asking because I
have no clue about who drew what , turning the papers face up to
reveal the drawings. The cherry on the cake would be a match. You'd
get the bonus of making Uncle Bob proud .
8 3
PROTEUS
PHEDON
BILEK
MISCELLANEOUS
The fact you know the drawing means you know the word. Knowing
the word means you know every single letter composing this word,
right? So, should you want to take this the extra mile you could also
use, in addition, concepts such as Brain Play by Bazz,. These open a
whole new world of possibilities.
8 4
P R OTE
LUCA
US
PHED
ON
VOLPE'S
BI
LEK
TAKE
After showing this to Luca the first time the first thing he said after
having seen the method was "Finally a prop-Jess effect that will work
even on drunk people". Apparently this category of participants
is a major concern for our Italian friend. Luca, I'm happy to have
removed this thorn from your side :-D
PRE-SHOW
He suggested that this effect could be used as a clean pre-show.
Stating later that you merely asked them to just think of .fil!Jl
drawing without having them either write it down or tell anybody
would be the absolute truth.
I personally do not use pre-show, but should I do so using MindPeek
would remove my major concern with this technique: the fear they
might talk afterwards and connect the dots.
PSYCHOMETRY
Then Luca's mind was running ahead, thinking of various uses and
possibilities like combining MindPeek with a psychometry plot. He
8 S
P R O TE
US
P HEDON
B I LEK
thought of say five envelopes each containing a blank index card. One
envelope would be marked . We would ask the Participan t to check
the envelopes and their content and when done we would grab the
marked envelope and give it to them, asking them to remove its card,
draw something on it and place it back inside before shuffling the
envelopes so nobody can tell which contains the drawing. Then we
would probe and find their drawing, locate the envelope containing
it using psychometry, give an accurate and detailed description of
the drawing -or why not a reading as we said in the last chapter ?- ,
bit-by-bit confirmed by the subject, and finally ask the Participant to
remove the drawing and show everybody how accurate we've been.
In this not only did we locate the envelope containing the drawing,
but we also correctlv guessed their drawing!
8 6
PROTEUS
PHEDON
PETER TURNER'S
BI
L EK
TAKE
One thing I love about this type of routine is that it packs small
and plays big. Because of this I feel it is too easy to reveal whatever
drawing the participant is thinking of verbally.
This is something that you are obviously free to do but I feel it lacks
a strong climax (unless you are performing one on one) if you do not
create a 'point of reference'.
A point of reference is a moment carefully choreographed into the
routine, which ensures that the audience has a natural cue to react.
Let's create a hypothetical scenario: you are perform ing for a group
and the participant you are working with is thinking of a house. You
turn to him, look him square in the eye, reveal the information and
he quietly reacts with a "yeah it is that". The audience's reaction is
of course going to be flat because the participant's lack of reaction
kills the crescendo.
This is often the downfall when performing a 'prop-less piece' of
mentalism.
To avoid this from happening is simple : instead of verbally revealing
the piece of information draw it on a piece of card, place it facedown
and ask the participant what the drawing is - gesture towards the
piece of card and ask them to turn it over. The audience will all react
8 7
P R O TE
US
PH
EDON
BI
LEK
together - meaning that even if the participant's reaction is damp
the group 's reaction will mask his/ hers and the effect will still come
to a beautiful climax.
Think back to a traditional drawing duplication; one of the most
beautiful moments in the routine is when the participant turns his /
her drawing around at the same time as the performer and they
match! There is something so visually stunning about that .
Because I loved that moment so much here is an additional idea that
you can add to any type of anagram to ensure you never get a "no".
This is a beautiful little subtlety that I have kept to myself and only
ever used it in my own anagram performances. Hopefully when you
utilize this you will understand how strong it is.
At the start of the routine the participant is handed a piece of card
(a billet) and a pen/pencil.
The performer addresses the participant,
Performer: "There are few types of people when it comes to reading
people: people who can transmit information from within their
own minds without needing a visual stimulus , people that need to
visually see the information drawn before them in order to transmit
it and of course there are the in-betweens that work best with both .
8 8
PROTEUS
PHEDON
BILEK
It is often best not to try to estimate which category the person you
are reading fits into.
Alice, when I snap my fingers I would like you to close your eyes and
not open them until I tell you".
The performer snaps his fingers.
Performer: "I want you to imagine being back at school sat at your
desk, it's raining outside and you can hear the rain hitting the
window in slow motion. Each raindrop sounds like someone hitting
a large drum and with each beat you start to get the overwhelming
feeling that you have been sat in that room for what feels like an
eternity
Out of curiosity in slow motion you glance up at the clock on the
wall and with every single second that passes the sound of the hand
moving around the watch face reverberates around your head. You
were sure that you had been there longer than you had.
You suddenly feel hyper-sensitive to all the sounds around you, you
can hear the strokes of the pen as the teacher writes on the board,
he's talking but his voice sounds muffled like it is coming from the
next room. You can hear from behind you the sound of one of the
other students playing with the zipper on a bag. You hear a distinct
clicking coming from your right and turn to see the girl on your
right chewing her nails *click* ... *click* everything starts to feel
8 9
PROTEUS
PHEDO
N
BILEK
too much, the beating on the window, the thumping of the hand
on the clock, the strokes of the teachers pen and muffled voice, the
zipper, the clicking and now somebody has started tapping on their
desk, all the sounds attacking you from all angles.
You decide to try and block out the sounds by occupying your mind,
you pick up your pencil and decide to simply draw a doodle like a
smiley, a clock or a bicycle and with each line you draw your mind
starts to relax a little more and the moment you finish your drawing
the bell rings and it's like a wave of cool fresh air washes over you,
you feel completely refreshed and your mind feels free of all the
sounds and stress that were haunting you a few seconds ago.
When I count from one to three you will slowly open your eyes and
will wake feeling entirely relaxed, remembering the drawing that
you made.
One ... Two. . Three".
Alice opens her eyes.
Note to reader***
There are a few important things that have occurred during this
piece of scripting.
9 0
PROTEUS
PHE
DON
BIL
E K
One - we have created an air of drama by seemingly placing the
participant into a trance; there is nothing more beautiful to look at
than this visual to open this type of routine.
Two - We implemented some key lines to ensure we controlled the
way the participant thinks about their drawing. Instead of saying
"make a simple doodle" we reconstructed the language very slightly
to "simply make a doodle"; in the participant's mind it will elicit the
same response - It will force them to make a simple doodle.
For good measure I also killed the smiley, the clock and the bicycle
from our list whilst giving them an example of what I want them
to draw.
Three - I painted a strong visual that makes them feel pressured
(without rushing them); this is a golden little subtlety, one mistake
I see 99% of newcomers to psychological forces or psychological
natured material make: rushing the participant "quickly name the
first number that pops in your head, what is it? Quickly". They
bombard the participant and it looks and sounds horrible, and often
doesn't have the desired effect because they make him/her panic.
Making the participant take decisions under pressure will often
restrict their choices and limit them massively but an artist learns
how to make someone feel this way without having to rush them.
Lastly, I told them they would feel refreshed and relaxed when they
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woke up. This is also something that I strongly believe if there is the
remote possibility that the participant feels hypnotized or the group
perceives them to be. I want the audience to perceive me as having
the ability to leave them feeling a certain way.
- To quickly recap the participant is now thinking of a simple
drawing from our list of drawings and we are about to reveal it in
the way that Phedon has outlined.
End of note•••
Performer: "I don't know which category you fit into in terms of how
you transmit information. Of course during the next few moments
we will discover this together.
I never want you to say anything out loud. Every answer you make
is going to be in your head ok ?"
Note to reader•••
This is a beautiful little line, if the participant says anything out loud
(yes, ok or whatever) you reply with "Only answer in your mind";
this ensures they are not going to slip up later and answer out loud.
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End of note***
Performer : "Hold the piece of card up here, keep your hand there
with the pen. I am going to tell you specific things about your
drawing that require you to do nothing more than think yes or no.
If however you think the word no, the likeliness is that you are
struggling to send the information without a visual stimulus. If you
do think the word no simply lift your hand and draw a random line
from your drawing and imagine transmitting that line to me."
Note to reader***
Look at what we have achieved: you will now never get a verbal
"no" and also they are the ones to blame for not being able to
transmit the information as they are the ones that cannot transmit
it without seeing it. When they draw a random line on the piece of
card the audience will witness this and still won't have a clue what
the drawing is - So in the audience's minds the line (just drawn)
makes the whole thing a little more impossible and it in no way
helps you (when in reality you've got the inform ation you need - the
participant making the line gives you the "no").
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When you are sure you know the drawing, say
Performer: "Draw the entire drawing so everyone can see it, I will
look away".
Now you have given the audience the 'point of reference'
End of note***
Performer: "hnagine sending the drawing to me, don't say a word".
The performer picks up a piece of card and makes a drawing.
Performer: "We will turn around our drawings on the count of three
and see if they match. One... Thro... Three!"
The drawings match and the audience goes crazy.
- Thanks for reading!
Peter Turner 2017
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FINAL POINTS
I hope you have followed my recommendations and learned and
practiced the mechanics of this effect before jumping sections. If
you did, you can now identify your Participant's drawing in no time
as you fully master each group and have a way to determine which
drawing has been chosen within this group, be it using my methods
or having found other ones which fit your style better. You have
understood the importance of the words you have to use to condition
them to thinking simply. You maybe can already make the probing
sequence interesting for your audience, even creating suspense as
they're curious to see how close you'll get to the subject's choice.
You're almost ready.
Let us review some final subtleties I think will help you get th e most
of this new tool. I'm confident that with experience and performances
you'll get there, but I'll try to save you from some bumps on the road
and make it easier.
Make them forget the letters . That's the easiest thing of all here.
I have designed the anagram to be SHORT; hence the many
outcomes per letter. I prefer by far a short anagram and a quick,
fun and interactive probing process than a long progressive
AND branching anagram that looks weird to the audience and
tips the method. 88% of the outs will be reached with only
two to three letters; fifteen out of seventeen exactly. As soon
as you hit the NO, look confused, apologize, say you messed
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up with the letters and invite the subject to forget them and
concentrate on the object only, reminding them how difficult
this is. The audience and the subject will never, ever suspect this
part had ANYimportance at all.
Make them forget it was a SIMPLE drawing. The wonderful
thing with this is that everybody, even magicians I perform
on, overestimates the number of choices they have, even when
they're aware they were asked for a doodle, nothing complicated.
The impact is much stronger when they feel they could have
chosen anything. And that's quite easy to achieve. From the
beginning, as soon as you hit the NO and ask them to concentrate
on the drawing, ask them to picture the ACTUALSIZE object,
not the drawing. This shifts what I call their reference point,
referring to their actual drawing (different from Peter's Point of
Reference, referring to the participant), and places their mind
in a different perspective . This will plant the seed that, as you
will be able to say before the revelation, they could have chosen
to draw anything. And they will fully, sincerely agree . Should
you decide so and choose your words you could make this
into an ANY OBJECTdivination, recapping, "You could have
thought of anything, right?" bypassing the drawing part . Make
no mistake, THEY WILL AGREE, and remember and recollect
that way.
When probing, GESTURE and look up. Understand that this
process is NOT a process. It is not seen like one. That's the beauty
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of it. Play the role of a medium sensing things. When you tell
them to think of the object, when you're asking them to imagine
touching it, mimic their mental actions. Close your eyes, hold
the imaginary object if they told you they could do so, pause,
and let your subject and the audience wonder and fully live this
magical moment.
Look for clues. If you pay attention to your subject you will not
need to wait for the answers to your questions. Youwill be able to
stop them just before they reply, saying they don't even need to
be that precise. For example, you hit NO to letter A and NO to S,
and you know it's alive as you asked that before. You're between
a Tree and a Flower.You now should ask, "Compared to you is it
bigger?" But why do that when you can just look at them, lower
your hand to your knee level and ask, "It's not that size, is it?"
You will automatically see their reaction, and before they talk
stop them and ask them just to concentrate more on the object.
Even if they technically answered this never registered as an
answer in their brain.
Anagram part: Don't ask them.
Tell them! This is my personal
opinion on anagrams, and you might disagree. But I never ASK.
Or rarely, on one letter, for the sake of change, I don't say, "Er ...
is there an A in your word? Yes? OK. Is there a T as well ... ?"
Rather I tell them THERE IS AN A! "Please review the letters
in your word one-by-one ... Again ... OK, you saw an A! Right?"
When you hit the NO, no harm done, as this enables you to look
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puzzled , apologize, and admit that you completely messed up
with the letters before moving on to what matters(!}: the image/
object. This helps a great deal for the subject and the audience to
forget this part of the effect.
The Exclusion List. We have reviewed it and its role in this effect,
and I explained the reasons I chose the Smiley and the Bicycle.
I included the Mountain because two magicians thought of it,
although only after the third or fourth time they played. So I
preferred playing it safe and placed it in this list, although it
could have been added to the group with the Boat. You would
just think, as a mnemonic aid, of a Mountain on top of which
there is a Boat (funny images remember?} with its skipper
(Stickman} and with a Table on the deck, on top of which sleeps
a Cat. Also, you might consider adding the Watch in this list as
I happened to stumble onto one today. In this case I would not
think of including it in the outcomes like the Mountain as one
could think of it as either a Watch or a Clock! So it's just easier
to get rid of this unnecessary problem. The point is: If you want
to get rid of an out and cannot -or don't want to- include it in
the diagram, place it here!
Chooseyour subjectswisely! This pertains to everything
we perform, but is all the more crucial in the realm of propless effects. You want a subject that is willing to help you. I
choose females 90% of the time as they are less likely to feel
challenged and are better at following directives. Also, avoid
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artists or artistic people in general. They tend to have a different
definition of "simple" than us simple mortals , they have too
much imagination and many of them would consider the
Parthenon to be a doodle that can be done in 5 to 10 seconds.
On top of that many who want to consider themselves as artistic
will avoid choosing things appearing to be simplistic, and will
do their best to find the weirdest thing to draw. With experience
you wil1 know exactly who to choose but more importantly who
NOT to choose for this.
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CLOSING
S
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ON MINDPEEK
I guess we're done with MindPeek. I apologize if the writing was
lengthy at times, but my only goal doing this was to provide you
with everything needed to perform this wonderful effect under
the best conditions. But your actual performances combined with
the experience you will gain will constitute, in fine, a tailor-made
weapon you will carry with you forever.
Don't forget that this system is flexible, as should you encounter
drawings NOT in the list you could always add them, like I could
have added the Mountain along with the Boat, the Stickman, the
Cat and the Table. Allow me to take another example: let's consider
a common choice among your subjects is, where you Jive, a bottle. It
could be directly placed into the Tree group, along with the Flower,
the Pen/Pencil and the Moon. As you can see, with these two items
added we now have19 outs. Nothing is permanent. Play with it,
experiment, use it without fear. Come up with other uses; find other
ways to reveal. The possibilities are unfathomable to me at the
moment; I feel I've only scratched the surface but I unfortunately
have no time to dig deeper right now. My consolation is that I am
leaving you with something that works very well, and I will be
proud to see it taken to higher levels.
~
I'm adding this last minute , the draft being already in
Phill Smith's hands for layout, as a conversation with both Peter
Turner and Atlas Brookings brought to my attention the fact that
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Art Vanderlay had also a prop-less drawing duplication in print. I
immediately reached out to Art, who kindly showed me his routine
The Wizard Returns, sharing the same concept and similarities
in the fishing procedure (or what I called probing throughout
my explanations). However, Art's version uses only aspects of the
drawings instead of the mix I came up with. Moreover, Art's work
on this was inspired by Dave Keonig, who himself got his idea seeing
Yaniv's effect. I must say I had no idea of these, thanks to Pete and
Atlas for sharing their knowledge and time and for proving me that
whatever idea we finally come up with, there's rarely something
new under the sun ...
Following is a little routine I call "Heads I Win Tails You Lose." This
one is not prop-Jess. I mentioned earlier I love billets. I hope you do,
too; if not just take my word for it: they turn skeptics into believers ...
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HEABS
IWIN
TAILS
YOU L0S£
INTRODUCTION
I've been performing this rout ine for quite some time now, and added
something extra after having read Mark Elsdon's Conversation as
Mentalism. His "Sixty-Two Pence" routine using an old princip le
provided the-now-first
phase, which sets the pace for this effect.
The alternate handling discussed later is actua lly the original one,
without the mixing process inspired by Mark's routine.
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As you will soon see the phases in this effect become more and
more incredible for the audience, with a final kicker at the end as
it involves a purely free choice, thus cancelling any possibility of
trickery or mathematic .
One last word before we get into the effect: Don't let its simplicity
make you underestimate its impact. I consider myself a lay-audience
magician , and fooling magicians is the last of my preoccupations.
This is NOT designed to fool YOU.
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THE EFFECT
First, a folded piece of paper is placed onto the table. Then three
coins are borrowed from the audience. After a fair mixing process
each coin ends up randomly in a different location: one in the right
hand, one in the left, and one in the pocket. The participant is finally
asked to toss an imaginary coin and to announce the outcome of the
coin toss .
The paper is opened and read , proving that the exact location of
each coin, the country of origin and the date of the pocketed coin
AND the result of the imaginary coin toss were predicted way
before the coins came into play.
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WHAT THE
AUDIENCE
SEES
Before starting anything the mentalist displays a folded piece of
paper, which he places on the edge of the table . He goes on explaining
that this is NOT to be touched by ANYONEfor now. He even appoints
another spectator as the JUDGE. She/he is to guard this, stopping
the experiment at any moment should ANYONE,mentalist included,
attempt to tamper with it.
The mentalist asks the audience to provide three coins. In Greece
we use Euros . He mentions that a 20-cent , a SO-cent and a one-Euro
coin would be perfect. The audience finally comes up with the coins,
and the mentalist invites a lady, Maria, to come up on stage with
the three coins.
The lady onstage lays the coins in a row, as the m entalist explains
that he will turn away, and she is to arrange the coins in any order.
He also tells her th at when she's ready further random mixing is to
be done, so that the final order of the three aligned coins could not
be predict ed, be it by the mentalist, or even her.
The mentalist turns his back , and the lady mixes the coins and lets
the mentalist know she's ready . The mentalist asks her if she desires
to mix further. He then asks her if there is ANY possibility he might
know the order. She says NO. He proposes to mix further, h aving
th e lady change the positions of the coins, resulting in an outcome
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nobody could have ever imagined or predicted. Everybody agrees on
this. The lady is then instructed to pocket the coin on the left, and to
hold one coin in each hand (of the two resting on the table).
The ment alist now turns back to face the lady, who is standing with
both fists closed, each containing a coin, and a coin in her pocket.
He asks her if she remembers which coin rests in her pocket. She
does. He instructs her to remove it MENTALLYfrom her pocket ,
and to imagine that she flips it in the air and watches it fall onto
the table. He asks her whether the imaginary coin landed HEADSor
TAILS.She says TAILS.She is asked to change her mind if she wants.
She in sists on tails.
Now the mentalist draws the audience's attention to the folded piece
of paper that was lying on the table from the very beginning, way
before everything started. He asks the judge to pick it up, to unfold
it, and to be ready to read what is written inside one line at a time ,
after she/ he is instructed to do so. She/he agrees. The mentalist asks
the judge to read the first line :
The lady opens her r ight hand, letting the ONE-EUROcoin fall onto
the table. After a littl e moment the mentalist nods to the judge:
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The lady opens her left hand and shows the 20-cent coin. The
mentalist allows a moment as the audience whispers , and nods
again :
The lady retrieves the SO-centfrom her pocket. The spectators start
applauding, thinking this is the end. The mentalist raises his hands,
saying, "No please, it 's not over yet. Please read next line, Maria."
People start looking at each other, discussing, when Maria's voice
shouts, "YES! It IS from Spain!" showing it to doubting spectators.
The mentalist asks people to wait, and nods again to Maria:
Maria quickly confirms , and is obliged to pass on the coin as almost
everyone now doubts this.
"WAIT! WAIT!" says the mentalist. "Mar ia, you collected three coins
from the audience, aligned them, further mixed, came up with the
SO-cent coin in your pocket, and everything, from the random order
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to what is written on this coin, was predicted FROM THE START on
this little piece of paper you're holding, paper th at was sitting on the
edge of the table BEFORE the coins were even collected! Correct?"
Maria agrees. Everyone does. The mentalist continues, "But you
remember I had you MENTALLY remove the coin from your pocket,
flip it and decide on the outcome ... Do you?" She nods, and says
she saw the coin land on th e TAILS side. "This, Maria, was a FREE
choice, right? I recall proposing you change your mind. You refused,
correct?" She agrees. "Judge, please read the last line!"
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As you can see this routine sounds quite incredible, as the phases
are increasing ly improbable, with the puzzling finale of the free
choice. But first, let me explain the reason of the existence of this
final free-choice phase .
THE HEADS / TAILS PHASE
This phase was not always there. I added it later, after having
performed this routine quite a few times. To me the goal was to
throw off any logical explanation to this routine. Of course you
might tell me: Why run when nobody's chasing you? And you are
right . But I wanted nobody to have a clue. I wanted no exit doors for
any potential smartass in the audience-we have plenty of those in
our beautiful Greece. I though t that a free choice, a real free choice,
would cancel out any logical explanation. Guess what? Just days
after this addition I was given the opportunity to be proven right ...
I walked into a bar and some people recognized me. They kindly
asked to see something . I was not in the mood but I never turn down
anybody, so I accepted doing just ONE thing . I performed this . It
went perfectly and blew people away.
But afterward one of the spectators came to me, and told me that
he knew I could do whatever I wanted with coins. He saw me
perform coin magic in the past, and although he had NO CLUE
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where and when, he was SURE I had switched coins, ringing in my
Italian 2000-dated SO-cent coin. In his mind there was NO OTHER
possibility to explain this out-of-this-world prediction . I looked at
him, and asked him about the order of the coins. He replied that
he was sure that this was a mathematical thing. He had no clue,
nor could he reproduce this experiment, but IT HAD TO BE a fixed
outcome somehow.
As you can see, this spectator was right. As Conan Doyle once said,
once you have eliminated the impossible whatever remains, no
matter how improbable, must be the truth. This spectator had seen
me change Kennedy halves to Chinese coins to English Pennies back
and forth at a table-hopping gig. He KNEW that switching a coin
was the least of my problems. He didn't know when, he didn't know
how. But he KNEW.
I then pointed out the fact the little paper mentioned the mental
choice of the lady. The lady who was proposed, several times (in
reality only once, but planting false memories never hurts), to
change her mind, remember? Yet she refused and sure enough, the
outcome was there, written way before the coins even came into
play. What if she had changed her mind? What if...?
After a moment spent gazing at the wooden floor of the bar he
raised his eyes to me and said, "THAT's what F****
D me bad. I have
no F.. ***G idea. That was great. Thank you."
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THE WORKINGS
Alright, I guess most of you get the workings of this. It's a very
simple routine, relying on just one coin switch and maybe a billet
switch. I often resort to a billet switch as an out, and this routine
perfectly illustrates this.
We start the routine with a coin in our pocket whose country and
date we know (say an Italian SO-centcoin dated 2005). Of course this
applies to Europe, where coins come from the different countries
of the Union. In the US we might consider using a quarter whose
STATEand date we know.
We also have TWOBILLETS(I use half index cards folded in quarters,
but that's up to you), each reading the same prediction BUT with a
different outcome of the final coin toss. See below:
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#1
Right Hand :
1EURO
Left Hand:
20cent
Pocket:
SO cent
SO cent from:
ITALY
Date:
200S
You will choose HEAl!S.l
BILLET
#2
Right Hand :
1EURO
Left Hand:
20 cent
Pocket:
SO cent
SO-cent from:
ITALY
Date:
200S
You will choose l'AILS1
Of course this can be done impromptu. You would check your change,
find an interesting coin (Being in Greece I'd go for a French, Italian,
Spanish, or other close or neighboring country. I don't want to make
it too crazy.), and then write "something" (not a prediction!) with
your back turned to the audience "to make sure nobody peeks." (You
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actually write the TWO predictions, placing one with the coin in
your pocket. If you're right-handed you might want to place the
billet into your LEFT pocket, making the switch-if
any-easier
later if you use a SHUTTLEPASSswitch I'll describe later.)
The one you'll decide to pocket must be the one with the outcome of
the coin toss which is LESS LIKELYto be chosen. I guess it's HEADS
in English-speaking countries, but I'm not sure and that's up to you.
So now that we're ready with both the coin and the HEADSbillet in
our pocket, we can openly place the prediction (the TAILSbillet, the
most likely outcome) onto the table, out of our immediate reach but
not too far, as later we might need to take it to pass it on to the judge
(if we need to switch it).
"This is something important here. We'll keep it for later, but for
now it is crucial nobody touches it. Mmm ... Please, what's your
name? Maria? Maria, please watch this piece of paper carefully. If
anyone attempts to touch it, including me, please stop the whole
experiment. Can you do that? Thank you. You will be the judge,
as you'll get to ensure everything is done fairly and you'll read the
information I just wrote on this piece of paper later, alright?"
Maria agrees. As we walk away we ask the audience to come up with
some loose change. We appoint another spectator we will call the
Participant to collect THREE COINSfrom the audience, "Ideally a
20-cent, a SO-cent and a ONE-EURO coin." Of course the "ideally"
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thing is just here to provide an illusion of freedom and fairness, but
we DO NEEDthose and ONLYthose . If they come up with a 10-cent
instead of a 20 for instance, we would just say, "Mmm ... This is too
small ... Doesn't anyone here have a 20 cent ? C'mon, I know we're
having tough times in Greece, but hey ... I'll give it back ... "
While talking to the audience we casually reach for the coin in our
pocket and-depending on the performer's skills with coins-either
finger or classic palm it, getting ready for the switch.
Once in Eva's hands (yes, that's the Participant) we invite her on
stage (or at the table) and ask her to lay the coins onto the table. We
do not tell her to align them, so we have a logical motivation to
touch them in order to rearrange them. When she places the coins
onto the table we explain that she will soon be instructed to align
the coins in the order of her choice while we turn our back and face
the wall . While we're explaining this we switch the SO-cent coin,
ringing in our Italian one. (I personally palm -to-palm switch it. If
you're not into coin moves see the SHUTILE PASS section at the
end . You'd use it seemingly to take a coin from one place to put it
on the opposite side of the table, where the coins would end up.) As
soon as the switch is done we leave the coins in a line and walk away
from the table.
We walk to the wall and with our back turned we instruct her to
line up the coins. We might also tell Maria (the judge) to oversee the
process "to ensure fairness" (this also provides a safety net for us
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should the Participant mess up or misunderstand somehow).
Once Eva has placed the coins in the order of her choice she's told
that this is hers. But what we want is to end up with an order
NOBODYcould have predicted. Not me. Not her. Nobody. This sets
the stage for the little mix we're going to perform in order to force
the 50-cent coin.
"Eva, you have aligned the coins in an order YOU chose, right? OK.
But still, we're ending up with an order YOU could have predicted.
I want total randomness. So, ready for further mixing? I want to
finish with a TOTALLY random outcome NOBODY here could have
foreseen. Not YOU.Not ME. NO ONE. Ready?"
When she is ready, we give her the instructions below. We might also
instruct Maria (the judge) that she is to confirm that the operations
are done in a fair way.
"Eva.. .look at the 20-cent coin in your line. I want you to ... yes,
swap it (the small hesitation suggests improvisation) with the
coin that 's on its RIGHT. (Here we raise our hands in the air so
that everybody can see them as we show the action with both
our index fingers swapping the coins, both indexes touching two
imaginary coins and making a half-circle to the right and to the
left.) If there is no coin on its right, DON'T DO ANYTHING and
leave it there! Judge, is everything ready?" Maria says yes.
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"OK. Now, look at the SO-cent coin. Er... swap it with the coin on
its LEFT. If there is no coin on its left, please do nothing. Judge,
is everything good? Done?" Maria says yes.
"Alright. Now swap the one-Euro coin with the coin on its
RIGHT. Again, if there is no coin on its right don't do anything.
Judge, tell me when you're ready!" Maria says she's ready.
NQl'.E. A little caveat here: This little game here achieved one
thing: IT FORCEDTHE SO-CENTCOINTO THE LEFTOF THE LINE.
The two other coins can end up anywhere, but we KNOWthe coin on
the LEFT will be the SO-cent coin. To put it simply: When we have
three objects, A B C, aligned in ANY order and perform the above
operation, that is to 1.) swap object A with the one on its RIGHT;
2.) swap object B with the one on its LEFT; and 3.) swap object C
with the one on its RIGHT,paying attention that if the swap is NOT
possible as there is no object on the right or left they should do
nothing, OBJECTB (the second one you call) will ALWAYSend up
first on the line, assuming you are counting from left to right.
Now that we have done this we go on:
"Eva, I want you to take the coin on the LEFT of the line, I mean
the first one, and to place it into your pocket. Judge, let me know
when this is done."
"Now I want you to take with your RIGHT HAND the coin that
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holds the highest value, and with your LEFT HAND the coin that
holds the lowest value . Let me know when you're ready."
"OK.Now ensure your fists are clenched over the coins, as I am
about to turn around to face you and I must NOT have any idea
WHERE EACH coin is. Judge, let me know when Eva's ready!"
With Maria's OK we finally turn to the participant and to the
audience. We're facing Eva, who should have both her fists closed,
each holding a coin. Of course we know that she has the SO-centcoin
in her pocket, the 20-cent coin in her left hand and the one Euro in
her right hand. Of course we say (you never saw that coming I bet):
"Alright. .. You have a coin in each hand and one in your pocket.
There is NO WAY anybody here could have predicted the outcome
of this, as we started with YOUR choices and then YOU further
randomly mixed everything to reach this final and unique result.
Judge, do you agree?"
Maria will agree, of course. We face the Participant and say:
"Eva, do not tell me anything. Just tell me yes or no: Do you
remember the value of the coin that lies in your pocket? You do.
Do not tell me . BUT, I want you to IMAGINE you're removing it
from your pocket. Look at the imaginary coin ... and toss it! It
flips several times in the air and falls onto the table. Look at the
coin lying here now ... Did it land heads or TAILS?"
I I 8
PRO
T EUS
PHE
D ON
BI
LEK
l'!UlIEl Here we want Eva to say TAILS. This will enable the clean
finish, as we will NOT have to resort to the billet switch . In order to
ensure this outcome, or rather maximize the odds, we use subtle cues.
Personally I found that saying HEADSa bit faster and doing a small
gesture with my wrist while saying TAILS works fine . But that's
me and I invite you to get, if you don't already own it, Psychological
Subtleties by Banachek. Chapter 6 "Subtle Voice Forcing" is all about
this and goes into great detail.
While she's making her decision we casually place both our hands in
our pockets and finger palm the billet, getting ready for the switch.
Let's go for the worst-case scenario: she says HEADS. I personally
would NOT want to insist on her changing her mind, as later on-
if she does-some
will say that I forced her to do so to match the
prediction. So, I'd rather say, "Heads? You're sure about that?"
.A5 soon as she confirms, I know the switch must take place, and
after a moment I remove both my hands from my pockets, my left
hand palming the HEADSbillet.
With the billet palmed I quickly recap:
"Alright then. Judge, I guess we could not be fairer than that!
Eva borrowed three coins from the audience. She lined them up
in her own order while my back was turned. Then she further
randomly mixed them, reaching an outcome nobody could have
predicted. Am I correct?"
1 1 9
PR
O TE
US
PHED
ON
BILE
K
She agrees .
"But ... ! What did I do prior to that? What did I do BEFORE
everything started? Even before coins were mentioned ?"
We let the judge or the audience remember the billet . As soon as
it is mentioned we nod, grab it with our RIGHT hand and show it
to everybody while saying, "Correct! I placed this HERE way before
anything started. And appointed YOU, Maria, to look after it. Tell us
here. DID ANYONE APPROACH THIS PIECEOF PAPER?" and while
the attention is on her we perform a SHUTILE PASS (see below for
details) or any switch, as long as the billet in view now is the HEADS
one, the TAILS being finger palmed in the RIGHT hand , ready to
be pocketed later, when appropriate. As soon as the shuttle pass
is executed the billet (the HEADS)is handed to her while we say,
"Please take it and wait. Don't open it yet, please ."
NQl'.E.;_In order for the switch to be motivated (as the billet seems to
change hands and we should provide a reason for this), I personally
arrange the prediction on my right and the judge on my left . The
fact I'm picking up the paper with the right hand and tran sferring
it to the left hand is logical, natural and NECESSARY
as I am giving
it to the judge on my left. Of course this is irrelevant if you are using
another switch besides a shuttle pass or using a one-handed switch
like a Bobo Switch. For further references on switches I recommend
Elliott Bresler's excellent Switchcraft e-book dealing with billet
techniques and routines.
I 2 0
PR
OTE
US
PHED
ON
BILEK
We are ready for the revelations now. We place ourselves facing the
audience, and we instruct the judge to open the billet and to read
each line one-by-one, making sure to observe a pause between each
prediction to let them sink in in the spectator s' minds.
The predictions of the locations of each coin will get their full
attention. When the country is announced it's a silence that usually
follows as they cannot believe it and they are waiting for confirmation
either by the participant or the judge.
When the date is announced it is always followed by comments such
as "NO WAY!""C'MON!" "GET OUTTAHERE!"Sometimes ther e are
more colorful ones. I'll spare you the details but I'm sur e you get the
point. THEYWILLREACT!
Let them react. Let them comment. Let them scream . Let them ask
and find out WHO provided the coins. Let them hear the poor sod
swearing on his mother that no, he's not on it and randomly picked
this SO-cent coin from the bunch in his wallet.
When you feel the peak ha s been reached , regain control of the
situation and ask the Participant, "WHY?" She will wonder WHY
WHAT? Ask her, "WHY HEADS?" Whatever she answers let her
understand that this was a completely free choice that nobody could
have guessed. Remind her she was offered a chance to change her
mind. As soon as she nods give them the coup de grace and ask the
jud ge to read the last line on the piece of paper.
1 2 1
PROTEUS
BEST-CASE
PHEDON
SCENARIO:
BILEK
TAILS
In the event everything goes fine and she chooses TAILS I ALWAYS
ask her, "TAILS? You sure? Because you can change your mind." If
she confirms TAILSthen we're home, no switch needed . Our hand in
our pocket dumps the billet back , and we put some distance between
ourse lves and the prediction on the table, making a point that we
NEVER got even CLOSEto the piece of paper, and that we do no_t
even want to TOUCHit. We ask the judge to pick it up, as opposed to
us giving it to her as in the previous scenario.
I 2 2
PROTE
US
ALTERNATE
PHEDON
BILEK
HANDLING
Should you want for personal reasons or as a matter of preference
to avoid the mixing procedure of the coins you can always use a
MAGICIAN'S CHOICE(see at the end for my handling with three
objects).
As mentioned previously, this was the original effect. Three coins
(or more) were borrowed, ANY coins, provided there was a SO-cent
coin among them (I'd have the participant collect coins until I saw
a SO-cent handed to him). After the switch and a Magician's choice
(be it with 3, 4, S or more coins) the SO-cent coin was finally chosen.
The participant was asked to verify that he'd taken all these from
the audience. Then the prediction was read, revealing the coin (SO
cent), the country of origin and the date, the final HEADS/TAILS
phase having been added later on and making this routine more
impossible even for the tougher audiences.
Of course , should you use this handling, the first phase with the
pocket predictions must be ignored. The prediction would thus read:
After an elimination process the SO-CENT coin will be chosen!
Its country of origin will be ITALY!
The date will be 200S!
Oh! Why did you choose TAILS?
12 3
PROTEUS
FINAL
PHEDON
BILEK
COMMENTS
I hope you have fun with this routine. I also hope it did not read
too complicated or too long. It is not. There are no dead moments,
and the reactions are great. I tried to go into every detail in my
explanations. However,this is the way I perform it, and I'm sure you
will adapt it to suit your own style. If you have any question about it
or need any help please do not hesitate to drop me a message.
I 2 4
PRO
TE
U S
PHE
DON
B I LEK
DOWN AND DIRTY ...
I personally use many different switches depending on the situation.
Don't forget you are NOT a sleight -of-hand artist when performing
mentalism. Ifyour spectators are burning your hands then something
is wrong, as they might be perceiving you as a magician, not as
a mentalist/mind reader/ ..... (fill in the blanks) . This is a problem
that will not be addressed her e. I just wanted to point out that your
technique when it comes to performing the switch does not need to
be perfect as if done within a coin routine, where your audience is
watching your hands like a hawk . Here it would be done casually,
talking, maybe even walking. Don't make the switch a move. Just do
it. But remember: your moves MUST always be motivated. Execute
the shuttle-pass, for example, to give the billet to a spectator on
your side, as stated earlier.
These below are two simple switches that are versatile and can
be used with billets. I however urge you to explore and find other
techniques, like the switch used by Annemann (called the Annemann
Switch by the way) in his legendary and still amazingly relevant
today A Question and The Answer routine . The more sleights you'll
have in your arsenal, the more complete of a performer you will
become.
NQl'.E_;_Illustrations are read from left to right.
I 2 S
PROTEUS
PHEOON
SHUTTLE
BILEK
PASS
The visible (white in the illustration) billet is held in right hand; the
dummy (the billet to be switched, black in the illustration) is finger
palmed in left hand. On the off-beat (for example while we transfer
the attention from us to another person by asking a question), both
hands come together, idea lly with a motivated reason. (Why are
we transferring
the paper from one hand to another? To give it to
someone on our left? To grab a pen? Etc.) In this larger action the
visible billet is slid into finger-palm position using the thumb while
the hand is traveling towards the left one, and both hands turn over
(right hand downward, retaining the billet with the thumb, and
left hand upward, placing the dummy right above the billet). When
they're one on top of the other (right hand on top), they separate
again, the dummy now being the visible billet (see photos below)
and the billet being so far in the right hand is now finger -palmed
and concealed.
The move has to be carried out casually, naturally,
and in a
continuous action . DO NOT FORGET you're NOT a sleight-of-hand
magician here, and people should NOT be burning your hands. DO
NOT EVER give attention or importance to the billet. Refer to them
as "little pieces of paper."
I 2 6
PROTEUS
PHEDON
BILEK
12 7
P RO T E US
BOBO
PHEOON
BILEK
SWITCH
Another coin move that comes in handy if the dummy finds itself ill
the same hand that's holding the billet . It's another coin move, but
you know my background, so ...
While holding the visible billet at the right-hand fingertips (the
dummy being finger palmed in the same hand), slide it-while
moving your hand and pattering-downwards until it is hidden
behind the fingers . While talking we apparently toss it to the left
hand in a downward motion, but in reality the visible billet (which
is not visible anymore) remains pinched between the thumb and
the base of the index finger while the hand jerks the finger-palmed
dummy into left hand. The right-hand fingers remain joined so they
offer no windows through which the previously visible billet could
be spotted right after the toss . See photos overleaf.
12 8
PROTEUS
PHEOON
B I LEK
1 2 9
PROTEUS
PHEDON
B ILEK
EQUIVOQUE
(A.K . A . THE
MAGICIAN'S
CHOICE)
First of all, if you need a complete course in this wonderful technique
I recommend Max Maven's DVD MULTIPLICITY. It covers many
aspects on the subject.
When it comes to forcing one object out of three (which is the case
here should you want to use the Alternate Handling), I personally
proceed as follows:
I place the object to be forced in the center. I tell the participant that
we're going to proceed to a process of elimination. This is Max's
line to justify the procedure should they fail to point at our force on
the first attempt.
I ask the participant to raise their right hand and to touch any object.
If they touch our Force object (the center one), we eliminate
the two others, pushing them aside, mumbling, "Ok, we've
eliminated those... "
If they touch another object, then without any pause or hesitation
we go on, saying, "... and now with your left hand touch another
one, please." They do. If they touch the other non -force object we
say, as if continuing the previous sentence , " ... and slide them
I 3 0
PROTEUS
P H EDO
N
BI
LEK
towards me!"We then push them aside, saying that we eliminated
as we said two objects. If they touch the Force object we push the
object not touched aside, saying that we're eliminating it. Now
we ask them to pick up the two remaining objects, one in each
hand, and to give us ONE; any one, on impulse. If they give us
the non-force object we put it aside in a continuous movement,
saying, "OK, we eliminate this one as well ... I see you kept the ... "
If they give us the Force onject we say, "Ihank you and dump
this one then," pointing at theirs, asking them at the same time
if there is a particular reason for this choice.
The key here is never to hesitate or think. Wejust do it in a continuous
action, leaving them no time to think or question anything .
1 3 I
PROTEUS
1 3 2
PHEDON
BILEK
P R O T E U S
PHEDON
BILEK
CL0SING
We've finally reached the end of this journey . I hope my knowledge
of the English language was sufficient enough to pass on to you
accurately the inform ation I intended to transmit without boring
the hell out of you. If it wasn't, I have great news for you: we're done!
Personally I enjoyed writing this, as I did it sitting outside under the
warm Greek spring sun, be it at home or out at cafe terraces, raising
my eyes from my laptop only to watch the waves of the Aegean beat
the shores of Alimos. Wherever you are, whatever your state of mind
and your situation at the moment you read these final lines, I'm
sending you all the positive thoughts I have right now. I hope you
get th em and I wish you well. Until next time.
Ka1.11µega
I 3 3