Elle était pour Chipncardtrick à l'origine, mais bon maintenant qu'elle est la... :p
Elle n'est pas encore traduite, ca viendra! ;)
) Tell us a little bit about yourself. When, how and why did you dtart performing gambling sleights? What do you see yourself as (magician, gambler, etc...?)
I began practicing gambling sleights a few months after I became interested in magic. I learned primarily from books at first, and bought the Dai Vernon “Inner Secrets” books by Lewis Ganson and then the “Lost Inner Secrets” books that were published by L&L Publishing. In these great books I began to read about second deals, bottom deals, and false shuffles. I was hooked. Soon after I bought the videotapes of Richard Turner and Steve Forte and I was completely blown away by their unbelievable skill. I’ve been practicing gambling-related sleight of hand ever since.
2) What do you think is the difference in the spectator's eyes between a gambler and a magician? Are these two notions clearly seperated in their minds?
I think that most spectators see card magicians and gamblers as both being able to win at will in any card game. This is fairly obvious from all of the “I wouldn’t want to play cards with you” comments that card magicians hear all the time. So, I don’t think most spectators make a big distinction between the two groups. When you consider the fact that so many magicians perform gambling-related effects, it’s not a big surprise that the lay public is slightly confused on this issue. However, I do think that you can make some distinctions in your performances if you choose to do so.
3) A little about Erdnase. You are a student of Erdnase, and he is an interesting character. A man who wrote a book considered to be one of the richest and most well -known in the community today, yet totally disappeared afterwards... No more books, no more records of him. Any thoughts?
I don’t have any insights into who Erdnase was specifically, and I don’t have very much hard evidence to support what I’m about to state. But, I believe that Erdnase:
1. Wrote the book by himself and did not have a co-author or ghost-writer.
2. Was definitely a gambler at one time in his life, and probably a cheater.
3. Probably gave up gambling at some point, and had at least a passing interest in magic. This passing interest may have blossomed into a full-time hobby by the time the book was being written.
As for the book itself, it’s remarkable. I still find new and interesting things in it every time I re-read it. I’m also amazed at how many things card men show me as if they’ve discovered or invented something for the first time, and I have to tell them, “It’s in Erdnase.”
4) Gary Plants, Jim Surprise, Darwin Ortiz, Steve Freeman,.. etc... You have met a lot of these guys. How did they influence you, wether it is on your technique, you ways of practice or your views on your craft?
Gary Plants showed me my first “great” bottom deal in person, and fooled me with some really terrific sleight of hand magic. I’m proud to call him my friend. Darwin Ortiz is the best constructor of card magic effects I’ve ever had the priveledge of meeting and was a big influence on me early on. I still love reading his books; they’re all terrific. Steve Freeman I’ve met only a few times but he’s a wonderfully nice guy with soooooo much to offer the magic world should he ever choose to do so. Let’s all hope he finds the time and muse one day. The late Jim Surprise showed me my very first “real” card trick; Brother John Hamman’s “The Twins.” It’s what started me into magic in the first place. He was a good guy and I owe the last 20 years of my life to him. Thanks Jim. But far and away my biggest influence has been Steve Forte. I've gotten to know him very well over the past 6 years and consider him a close friend. He's the best card handler I've ever seen, without question. Anyone interested in high-level sleight of hand with cards, especially gambling sleights, should track down everything of Steve's they can. Even magicians with no interest in gambling moves specifically can improve their regular card magic by studying Steve's false shuffles, false cuts, and palming techniques. He is without peer in my opinion.
5) Do you consider a gambling sleight to be part of the magic legacy, or is gambling an entity of its own? (According to you of course)
Well, gambling sleights certainly were created for non-magical uses. This isn’t really in dispute by any modern experts. Magicians however, are well within their rights to “borrow” gambling sleights if doing so makes their magic better or more deceptive. I believe very strongly that gambling effects can be mixed with magic very effectively, as I think that proper magic presentation and a good gambling expose or demonstration act both are subsets of theater. Ricky Jay mixes the two to perfection in his live shows and has done so for decades. John Scarne, Mickey MacDougal, Darwin Ortiz, Martin Nash, and myself have done the same thing over the years as well. I think they go well together.
6) About "Foundations". What motivated you to publish this DVD?
I was asked in late 2008 to take part in some “1-on-1” videos by my good friend Chris Kenner. I agreed to do so as long as I could teach the moves in any manner in which I liked. He agreed and we began with the second deal and a false shuffle. From there the 1-on-1 videos grew until we had enough of them to create a DVD. It was released in June of 2009 and has been doing very well.
Voila voila!
