When Ed Marlo created his Olram Subtlety for apparently cleanly displaying the backs of all the cards in a small packet (while craftily hiding half of them), it spurred the creation of many packet mental effects, notable Al Cohen's Dot's Impossible, and of course, Nick Trost's Eight Card Brainwave. Over the years, the same basic Olram handling has been applied to many different packets of specially printed cards. Well, here's another very fun one from Steve Hollifield for both adult and kidshow audiences.
This great effect comes in two versions -- DELUXE which includes a 3-D stuffed mouse (so cute!), or if you want to carry everything in a packet wallet, there's the REGULAR version with a flat mouse marker. THIS LISTING IS FOR THE DELUXE VERSION.
Six cards are dealt facedown on the table and a small stuffed mouse is handed to the spectator. She places the mouse on ANY card (no force). The card she puts the mouse on is set aside on the table. The remaining five cards are shown to depict nasty looking mousetraps, and the when the card under the mouse is shown, it depicts a piece of yummy cheese!
The effect can be repeated, and can finish with a magical climax, in which the greedy mouse ends up on a mousetrap, and the other five cards are shown to all be cheese now!
Those familiar with Marlo's Olram subtelty will understand that sometimes the trick plays differently -- sometimes the mouse ends up in the trap, and sometimes he ends up on cheese, but always he ends up on the only card of its kind. Either outcome is magical and puzzling.
This trick plays well for adults (because women think the mouse is cute) and plays great for kids also, because they love mouse and graphics, (plus, the plot is simple and straightforward). Great for table hopping or strolling, too, as the trick instantly resets for the next table or group.
Cards are printed on a bit heavier stock than playing cards, and are extra durable as a result. They still handle perfectly, just like playing cards. Highly recommended.
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