Bob Kohler’s BLACK ENVELOPE

What The Audience Sees:

'This week Jamie did a wicked card trick! He took out a deck of cards and pulled one out, placing it on top of a black envelope so that we could see it better. He then asked one of us to name what we thought the card was. I said that it might be the Six of Diamonds. Jamie looked at it and said that I was absolutely right! But here’s the thing; he never showed us the face of the card, so we didn’t believe him! When we confronted him on it, he told us that we caught him and that the card he placed on the envelope wasn’t the Six. He said it couldn’t be, because there was no Six of Diamonds in the deck to begin with. Sure enough, he handed me the deck and I couldn’t find it. So, get this! He takes the envelope that he used as a little table or whatever, and inside was the Six of Diamonds! It was unbelievable!'

How It Went:

I’ve been meaning to perform Bob’s Black Envelope for quite some time now and I’m really happy that I finally got around to doing it. There were a couple of issues that had concerned me but, after Friday, I realize that I needn’t to have worried about them as it totally killed. One of my main concerns was how to bring the envelope into play, but I decided that I would present it almost like a drink coaster or mini table. My line I used throughout the day was, “I’m going to select a card but I don’t want anyone, including me, to see the face. So hold out your hand for me please. Awesome. I’m going to put this black, totally opaque envelope on your hand so that there can be no way that I can see this card…” It might not make the most sense (Do I have mirrors on my shoes that can see through someone’s hand?) but no one questioned it at all.

As for how it went- everyone loved it. There’s something really magical about having a revelation in someone’s hand the entire time. I think people love the aspect of how it must have been in the envelope because I trusted someone to hold onto it- even though there’s no way that someone would try to open it prematurely as long as you're careful. The reset was easy and I didn’t make a single mistake all day (whew!) so I’m really happy with how it went.

The Angry Bob Rating:

For those of you reading this article for the first time, Angry Bob is a co-worker who has an understanding of some magic because his uncle was a magician. Angry Bob knows that TT’s exist, for example, but he has no desire to become a magician himself. He also has an anger management problem that can be experienced first hand if he can’t figure out how a trick is done. A high rating means he has no idea.

While there’s nothing that Bob could say about the envelope (because I let him inspect it), he did catch something that he thought was “f#%%in fishy” about halfway through the routine. But he couldn’t put his finger on it; no harm, no foul. 4/5.

My Rating:

I always give the highest of ratings to effects that I can immediately put into my walk around sets and I asked myself all day if I could do that with the Black Envelope. I could, but I’m just not convinced that I will. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great trick and, without question, I’ll perform it again but there’s something preventing me from doing it twenty times at a cocktail party. Maybe it’s the final ditch or perhaps my own magician self consciousness. I’m not sure. Now that I think about it, I’ll most likely take one with me as a sort of 'out' (as Bob suggests) in case of an emergency at the very least, so let’s say 9.0/10. I was going to say 9.5 but I already have too many things to carry around in my pockets and if I’m forced to have to carry another item because I like it, it’s going to get dinged, lol. Ah, maybe not- 9.5 it is.

The JDG Tip:

As I mentioned above, you really need to have a solid reason for bringing out the envelope. I think announcing it as a prediction ruins the surprise and I’m quite happy with my “Let’s use this envelope as a mini stage for the card and so that it’s also impossible to see the face…” line. If you use it as more of an ‘out’ for an effect gone awry, then I would probably say, “Whenever a trick goes wrong, I always give the spectator something special. Here, take this…” and hand them their card. Another thing- black paperclips. Don’t ask, just try it if you can find them.

Closing Thoughts:

To answer some questions I 've seen on a recent thread:

A) The Envelope itself held up throughout the entire day (about 30 performances) and still looks new.

B) Nothing ever became dislodged. I'm not sure why. All I can say was that everything remained where it should throughout the day.

and,

C) Not once did someone try to look inside the envelope.

Hope that helps!

Anything Is Possible,

Jamie D. Grant
Vancouver Magician
visit: www.whatizit.net

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