52 times a week

#52 The Last One

2011-09-18T16:38:00.000-07:00

O. M. G. We are finally here. Didn't think I would see this day. No more thinking about new videos every week. This is such a relief!

I have to say that this has been an incredible journey in the realm of card magic. I've had a lot of fun, even when I had to force myself to come up with something and when I had to hunt for people to act as assistants. Big thanks to my girlfriend Jane for helping with so many of the videos and for seeing this through with me. Also a big thank you to everybody at the "Session" where many of the videos were filmed. And of course thank YOU for being here and making all this so much more joyful.

This final one isn't really a new creation. In fact it is something that I've been working on for nearly three years already. It all started after seeing Helder Guimaraes's sandwich routine and trying to come up with an impromptu version of it. Let's just say that we've come quite a road from that.

In this routine I'm trying to use every bit of technique I know to create an impossible effect. It is a combination of sleight of hand, psychology, presentation, preparation, improvisation, persuation, and misdirection. This is one of my favourite routines. It is like a child to me, and "she" has the honor act the leading role in the final video of 52 Times A Week.

There is one more thing... But you'll hear about it later!

Until then, Magic-Love-Freedom-Humor-Magic. And everything else is nothingness.

#51 Vernon's Legacy

2011-09-11T12:55:00.000-07:00

Here is a nice piece of card magic. My goal was to make an effect so impossible that it could not be explained. This combines techniques and ideas from Dai Vernon, Eric Mead, Stewart James, Juan Tamariz, and David Berglas. And probably a lot of other guys, too.

#50 The Bog

2011-09-05T02:33:00.000-07:00

Here is a blindfolded poker-ish deal. Any named poker hand dealed from the deck blindfolded. This trick was inspired by Daniel Madison's performance on Penn and Teller: Fool Us. It's basically the same trick but with a different method. The method might be a bit too obvious and balsy, but I find it also beautiful and pure at the same time.

The Bog.

#49 Dead Cutting

2011-08-31T13:58:00.000-07:00

Here is an ace cutting routine. It's based on Ed Marlo's "Miracle Ace Cutting" with some additional goodies by Dai Vernon, Dani DaOrtiz, Lennart Green, and myself.

For some reason I have trouble pronouncing certain words during the presentation. I have no idea why this happens. I guess it's hard to think and talk at the same time. And breathe.

PS. For some reason the queen of spades makes multiple appearances during the routine. I have no idea why this happens.

#48 Lucky Shot

2011-08-24T12:53:00.000-07:00

In the European FISM convention in Blackpool George Luck showed me a very neat way to spin a card from the deck. The first couple of times I had no idea how he did it and I instantly fell in love with the move. George didn't have a name for the thing, so let's call it "The Lucky Shot" until he comes up with a better name.

#47 Taivex

2011-08-15T13:33:00.000-07:00

As I posted both of the last two videos conciderably late I realized that I had essentially skipped a week. The video I posted yesterday was for last week and this one is for this week, so now I should have catched up.

The title is totally random. I have no idea what it means. The best way to describe the trick itself would be "a wrong way of doing Out Of This World".

Thanks for Risto "Taivex" Leppänen for making a cameo in the video and to Stefan Emberg for inspiring the method.

#46 Just A Coincidence

2011-08-14T15:40:00.000-07:00

Here is a simple coincidence effect combining two powerful methods into one mediocre effect. Or it could be just a coincidence.

#45 Thunderbird Handling

2011-08-06T04:44:00.000-07:00

I know, I'm late! I moved to a new apartment and I have had a lot of work to do, so I'm pretty surprised that we are actually seeing a new video this week.

This is Lee Asher's Thunderbird with a little presentational twist. The performance nor the technique are nowhere near perfect and I think there are a few minor flashes. Not my best video really... It is kind of relieveing to know that soon this project will be completed.

Here is my handling of the Thunderbird:

#44 Classic: Reset

2011-07-24T12:51:00.000-07:00

This is my handling of Paul Harris's modern classic 'Reset'. When I started doing magic many years ago, this was my favourite card trick for the longest time. Over the years it has evolved and seen many changes but I still haven't found a version that would satisfy me completely. This is my current handling and there are many things that I like. The handling at the beginning is Bebel's (the master) and the clever ending solution is by Helder Guimaraes.

#43 Impossible Stop Trick

2011-07-16T11:13:00.000-07:00

This isn't actually a new creation. This is a self-working trick that I've been doing for years now and it never fails to get a strong reaction. I hope it comes across well through the camera, too.

PS. Credits to Vernon and Daley.

#42 Tribute

2011-07-09T06:31:00.000-07:00

Here is some interesting card handling and a couple of funny ways to switch cards.

#41 Color Change Theory

2011-06-30T13:56:00.000-07:00

Fooling people with minimal sleights and some carefully chosen words is something I really enjoy. Sadly, things like that don't usually work over camera. But I'm trying.

I don't believe this actually fools anyone, but it should take a while to figure out. There's a bunch of little details that make me giggle when I think about them.

#40 Complexity

2011-06-22T14:45:00.000-07:00

YEAH!! We are at number 40! Amazing! Only 12 more to go. That means we are only three months away from completing the project.

This week we have a rather funny way of switching stuff around. We got some classic LePaul moves and a variation of a varation of a move. A Tamariz move found in Sonata to be exact. But I don't want to be that exact. Exactly. Complex stuff.

Complexity.

#39 Mystic Moves

2011-06-13T07:01:00.001-07:00

I found the selection with a color change! Originality!!!!1111!! No, this one isn't really about the effect. The method(s) is/are quite funny, so I hope some of you will get some kicks out of this. Two original sleights. Both quite stupid. And quite mystical.

#38 Insanity

2011-06-03T15:21:00.000-07:00

There are two reasons why this is called "Insanity".

1) It perfectly depicts the feeling you get when you try to do it.
2) Who in their right mind would prefer kings over aces?

PS. The music is a little over the top, I know.

#37 R-Evolve

2011-05-25T14:05:00.000-07:00

Here is some simple sleight of hand and a little surprise. I know my handling is kinda sloppy. I'm working on it.

I shot some pretty awesome mentalism material with real spectators a couple days ago, but I decided to show you something else so people don't have to accuse me of using stooges.

#36 Long Distance Trick

2011-05-17T13:57:00.000-07:00

Lately people have wondered if some of these effects are setup, so I think that I should clear a one thing up. The reason why you can see the same people in some of the videos is that I film most of the tricks at a weekly magic meeting that I go to. The people you see in the videos are magicians and they are my friends, but they are never "in on it". There is always a method and I never use stooges, since I think that is the weakest solution to any problem.

So, no stooges here either. The lively fellow witnessing the trick this week is Sakari Wilenius, so thanks to him for helping out with this Long Distance Trick.

#35 Ennätystehdas

2011-05-16T07:57:00.000-07:00

This is essentially what I did on TV earlier this year. A simple trick that is not so simple to do.

PS. I know I'm late with this one. New video coming tomorrow!

#34 Winrar

2011-05-04T15:10:00.000-07:00

Here's a Triumph handling. We never have enough of those. This one is inspired by Dani DaOrtiz's beautiful effect Quick Triumph. Not only is this version here terribly titled, it is also unnecessarily complicated. Hopefully it will fool most of you when you watch it for the first time.

If not, then you are teh Winrar!

#33 Freshly Squeezed Miracles

2011-04-26T11:04:00.000-07:00

Having fun with Daniel Garcia! He performed his hilarious version of Sam The Bellhop after this, but sadly we didn't catch it on video. We were laughing in tears!

I really had the best time this weekend at the Nordic Magic Convention! I entered the competition just to prepare for FISM next year. I wanted to get some feedback from people, but I made many mistakes and pretty much bombed my whole act. At least that's what I thought. The judges didn't agree and they awarded me the first prize. After the competition I was pleased to hear that even Roberto Giobbi, who was one of the judges, was suspecting that I might have used a stooge!

However, the best part of the weekend was the possibility to have conversations with Armando Lucero. We spent hours talking every night. The man is a god. He really made me think about magic in a new way and made me realize how little we actually now about the art...

#32 Conversion

2011-04-18T12:14:00.000-07:00

This is a fun one. The idea was to create a visual transposition effect with using only two cards. Nothing extra. This is what I came up with.

I actually have had this idea quite a while now, but just recently I came up with the missing little thing that took the effect to a whole new level.

Conversion.

#31 Pocket Bluff

2011-04-12T13:05:00.000-07:00

This on is rather simple and there isn't really a lot to say about. This is just a very practical little routine that is kinda fun to do. In the video there are at least two very bad mistakes that I saw immediately when I got the video rendered. However, I got a schedule to keep up with, so this performance will have to do. I hope you can forgive me one day.

Pocket Bluff.

#30 Tasteless

2011-04-04T13:03:00.000-07:00

I have been playing around with this idea (which I believe is first seen in Paul LePaul's card to wallet routine) for a while now but didn't really know what to do with it. Today, while filming a completely different trick I suddenly realized what I had to do with it.

#29 The Trick That Doesn't Get A Reaction

2011-03-27T15:14:00.000-07:00

"Any Card At Any Number" is something that I do when I get bored. Well I was bored like the rest of the class and the guys made me make this weeks video. Here's the result.

I know that some of you think that this must be a set up and uses stooges. It's not. For those who know the method, it is painfully obvious how it's done.

I'll come up with some sleight of hand next week. Until then:

#28 Thinking Outside The Pocket

2011-03-20T15:59:00.000-07:00

I was just about to leave our weekly magic session and then I remembered that I got to come up with a new trick this week. I literarly turned around, took my phone out, borrowed a deck, and recorded the first thing that came to mind. I had played around with the idea before, but I think this was the first time that I showed it to anyone.

#27 Seiken 2.0

2011-03-13T14:55:00.000-07:00

Here's a completely different handling to an older effect that I've been doing. It is pretty basic, but the flourish with the ace is just too much fun to do. Seiken 2!

#26 Sandswitch

2011-03-08T11:25:00.000-08:00

Woooo!! Halfway done!! Party, party!!

...and still 26 videos to go.

This is yet another sandwich effect with a kind of unusual approach. The idea has been in my mind for some time already and honestly I'm not sure if it's really worth anything.

Sandswitch:

#25 Acrobatic Locator (á la Nivala!)

2011-02-27T12:49:00.000-08:00

There's something here that I find very satisfying. The effect is not good or anything, but it is just very fun to do. Came up with this location after watching Mr. Nivala doing his crazy one-handed cuts in Blackpool.

#24 European FISM

2011-02-22T12:30:00.000-08:00

So the European FISM at Blackpool is over. I was going to post a new video today, but because the competition went way better than I expected it would feel way anti-climatic to post a video this week. So this 24th entry is not a video, since I can't really come up with anything better than winning the European Championship of Card Magic.

Actual video footage next week!

European Championships of Magic

2011-02-14T19:15:00.000-08:00

Only three days to the Blackpool magic convention 2011. It will also be the world's first European FISM with the championship competition. I am attending and I will be competing next Friday around 2:20 PM. Needless to say, I am very nervous, yet excited. My competition act consists of two of my favourite sleight of hand pieces with an ordinary deck, with a special FISM-esque finale. I will do my updated version of Suit Apparation (or "Tamed Spades" as I once called it) and a special Sandwich routine that I've been working on for the past few years.

I will try to capture lots of video footage over the weekend to share with anyone who couldn't make it this year. And you can be sure that there will be a special 52 Times a Week episode filmed during the convention. Possibly even more than one.

Exciting times. That they are.

To clear things up...

2011-02-13T18:45:00.000-08:00

People keep asking me if I got the idea for this project from a guy named Calen Morelli.

So did I?

-No, I didn't.

Who came up with the idea first?

Well...

It is of course very easy to check the dates who posted the first video. I found out about his thing after people started asking me about it. I started doing this on August 10th of 2010, and a month later (September 9th) he posted his first video and started his project. I believe he was inspired by 52 Times a Week, since he appears to be a longtime subscriber of mine on YouTube.

So there, I hope that clears things up.

Good luck to Mr. Morelli with his "365 days of Magic".

#23 Counterintuition

2011-02-10T07:09:00.000-08:00

This is a video I filmed a few weeks ago but decided not to release it since there is something that I'm not happy with. I have many tricks ready to film, but the most difficult part of this project is not coming up with something every week - it's getting things filmed with some spectators.

This was filmed during the same session as the "Guessing Game" was shot. There were a few other things as well, but I don't think I will be uploading the whole set.

COUNT-er-INTUITION

#22 Blankwich

2011-02-01T16:47:00.000-08:00

Here is an interesting little idea that I came up with a friend of mine a while ago. Having any thought of card appear in a blank deck in sandwich style. Now the video here may seem a little goofy all around, but that's what happens when you have a nice night out and do too many card tricks.

Thanks to Vilho for the camera work and thanks to Juan Tamariz for being such a lively assistant.

Situation check

2011-01-30T16:24:00.000-08:00

I have two tricks ready for filming, but I'm missing a camera man and an audience. The other one I could do without an audience, but the other one would be simply pointless as it has a thought of card involved.

Last week's video is already late and I'm trying to get it filmed ASAP. If I can't get it done then I'll just have to come up with something easier shoot.

Thanks for your patience.

#21 Alone

2011-01-20T14:44:00.000-08:00

I'm all alone. I don't have a camera operator. Oh, well, actually... I do. But I haven't had time to work with her. I'm actually doing shows pretty much every day at the moment to prepare for Europe's FISM Competition in Blackpool next month. The act has been well received by the general public, but I have no idea if magicians are going to like it. Exciting times. That they are.

Anyway, here's my hand.

#20 Guessing Game

2011-01-09T13:42:00.000-08:00

Here is an intresting idea I came up with few days ago. The trick is based on an Al Baker idea (I think) and when I started playing around with it I quickly came up with three different handlings for this effect. This handling is the cleanest one.

The performance is maybe a little bit too long and each revelation could be presented more dramatically, but this is what you get when you have a tight schedule to keep up with. Guessing Game.

#19 Precision

2010-12-28T14:55:00.000-08:00

As you may have noticed, I had a holiday break and I didn't post a video last week. No worries, since we are back again and new videos are coming. I had a routine already filmed a couple of days ago but I wasn't happy with the performance, so I decided to come up with something else. I will probably try to shoot the other routine in the near future.

This one is a simple routine that is based on a well known principle. I'm sure others have done similar things in the past. I added a few touches and the end result is somewhat satisfactory. I'm not exactly sure who to credit, so I'm gonna play it safe and go with Marlo.

This is Precision.

Music by: Lumituinen

PS. Somebody suggested that the cards are all the same. They're not. This is a little bit more sophisticated.

#18 What's The Deal With The Aces?

2010-12-12T12:48:00.000-08:00

I tried this once on a layperson a couple nights ago and she seemed to find this rather amazing. I changed a few things here and there and performed it to my magic-buddies and they seemed to find it rather funny. Personally, I think this is quite a clever combination of physical and psychological methods that make a very solid routine. But then again, I'm biased.

So, what's the deal with the aces?

#17 Ace Assembly

2010-12-07T11:06:00.000-08:00

Here's an Ace Assembly. The handling is quite choppy and basic and the whole thing was filmed in one take. However the handling of the last ace should be something that card-people appreciate.

#16 Clip

2010-11-28T20:01:00.000-08:00

This is just a quick funny thing. It's silly, I know. The production gag is based on "Steranko's Opener" and the Clip Vanish is an idea I came up with about six months ago.

#15 Wash Away

2010-11-24T13:24:00.000-08:00

First I was going to make a short one-card-manipulation routine, but then I ended up doing a silly sequence of all kinds of fishy moves. The card is constantly going from one palming position to another. I think the video would actually be more impressive if it showed the exposed view...

Wash away (my sins):

#14 Fast Production

2010-11-16T15:41:00.000-08:00

13 card production. I thought I would do this with a named suit, but I didn't have any volunteers and I was busy all week doing actual shows (and no, I wouldn't film these things on paid gigs). I'm doing five shows a week at the moment so it is a little bit challenging to get these videos done at the same time, but I'm doing my best. Here is a very quick trick for this week.

#13 Gambler's Spirit

2010-11-09T15:19:00.000-08:00

I'm a little late with this one. I have been meaning to film this for a couple of days already but I've been busy all over. More of that later.

This is a short gambling demonstration. The method that I use in real life doesn't work on camera so I had to come up with a different climax. Card-people should appreciate it. Laypeople probably won't.

#12 imPAIRment

2010-10-31T14:53:00.000-07:00

Kim Wist showed me a move a few years ago and I tried to come up with something utilizing it. I couldn't come up with anything worthwhile. This week I stared working on it again and still didn't come up with any satisfactory results. So I filmed what I got and decided to post it. Here's imPAIRment.

#11 The Infamous 21 Card Trick

2010-10-24T13:50:00.000-07:00

Yes, this is my version of the "21 card trick". This is something that I've been playing with for a while and it's only reason for being is to fool magicians. This is the Infamous 21 Card Trick. Thanks to Elena Vok, Pekka Hartikainen, and Markus Tervo for appearing in the video!

#10 Sneaker's Sandwich

2010-10-17T13:27:00.000-07:00

Woohoo, 10th video already! I'll probably make a commentary about the past videos and will answer some questions that people have had over the past 10 weeks.

This is a simple idea for a sandwich routine. I don't really know who to credit for this since I don't think I've seen this method used before. To be honest, I don't even know if it will fool anybody. Anyways, it's still a fun thing to do.

This is (a horrible title, I know) Sneaker's Sandwich:

#9 Forty-Two

2010-10-10T15:07:00.000-07:00

Came up with the effect on the spot. I was pretty much filming this already before I even had a method in mind. I hope that doesn't show too much.

If you're wondering about the title, here's a tip: "There are 10 types of people in the world." I hope that clears everything up.

PS. And yes I know, it would've been awesome if this was the 10th video.

#8 Örömph

2010-10-03T13:53:00.000-07:00

This week we have a special guest Jesse Örö performing his amazing triumph handling. He really fooled me with this one and I asked if he wanted to contribute it to the project and he kindly said yes. So big thanks for that! Credits to Vernon and Marlo. Here is "Örömph":

#7 Throwback

2010-09-27T08:41:00.000-07:00

I was originally going to post a clip of my card manipulation act that I did yesterday, but when I got the footage I realized that it was over exposed and you couldn't really see anything there. I was forced to come up with something else. Luckily I had had this one fun idea in mind for some time now, so I decided to film it this week.

Basically there are two moves here. The first one was shown and taught to me by Dan or Dave Buck when they were visiting Finland - I have no idea which one it was. The second one is the Throwback move (hence the title), which is a move I came up with some time ago.

#6: The Fixx

2010-09-19T11:18:00.001-07:00

This one is an idea by Sami Lahtinen (the one on the right). It also utilizes an original move by Pete Purho. The shady person on the left is Pasi Hyvärinen. The beautiful camera work is done by Pekka Hartikainen. Wow, that's a lot of credit. Oh, and let's also mention Dani DaOrtiz for inspiration.

Here's The Fixx:

#5 Card to Pocket

2010-09-12T13:58:00.000-07:00

Had a really busy week so I ended up shooting this in the train when I was coming home. It's a simple card to pocket handling that I really like. All credits go to Juan Tamariz.

#4 Beta

2010-09-04T15:06:00.000-07:00

This week's idea was to give a little kicker to a flourishy way to find the four aces. The climax is kinda magical and based on some field testing I can say that it is very surprising to the audience. With some work this could become something worthwhile, but now it's kinda in "beta-stage". It's quick and simple, so I might go for something a little bit more complex next week. Until then, here's this weeks entry: Beta.

#3 Double Tunnel

2010-08-28T14:04:00.000-07:00

So here it is, I know a couple days later than the last two have been. But still during this week! This time we can enjoy (or just look, if you prefer) my handling of the Double Tunnel Change, which can be found in Jon Racherbaumer's fantastic book Card Finesse volume 1. There are only a few minor changes in the handling so I'm not claiming any credit here. It's an interesting idea however, so I thought I'd share it.

#2 Everywhere and Nowhere

2010-08-17T05:00:00.000-07:00

This is the second video and I still have 50 to do. Geez. This is my impromptu version of Johann Nepomuk Hofzinser's original "Everywhere and Nowhere" plot. This handling is a little bit busy and the performance is nowhere flawless as I spent most of the week working out the choreography of the whole sequence. I'm not entirely happy with this trick, but it is still kind of fun. Here it is:

#1: Daley's Switch

2010-08-10T15:48:00.000-07:00

I literally put this together in 30 minutes and shot it right away. The quality isn't too great but you can still see what's going on. I will try to improve to quality in the next video. Anyway, here is the first video of the 52.

52 times...

2010-08-10T13:53:00.000-07:00

My name is Miika Pelkonen and I will post a card magic related video every week for the next 12 months. That will make a total of 52 videos - just like there is 52 cards in a deck of cards. Check back every week for a new video and see how this project is doing. This will most likely end up with 50 or so mediocre videos of mediocre card tricks, but hopefully at the end of the year I have at least one good piece that is worth something in the real world.

I have no idea if I will be able to do this nor have I prepared myself with any possible ideas in advance. As I'm writing this, I don't even have an idea what the first video will be. Hopefully we'll see it soon.