Factory Blanks

Tom Stone's "Factory Blanks" is that rare and wonderful thing, a powerhouse magic trick utilizing a new principal which has many applications. Best of all, it has set my mind racing away thinking about how I might apply this myself. Tom is one of magic's great minds, and "Factory Blanks" is one of his very best tricks. It has my highest recommendation. -- Matt Field

That is my take on it. The instructions that come with it are extremely vague and are more or less incomplete. The routines they convey to you are also hard to do for a REAL audience. Kinda like what the Anti-Conjurer Dan Sperry; You can do this on camera but not to real people. You can't make someone "Think" of a card and draw it. They never told you. The instructions also want you to buy a book for more instructions. So.... There goes that. Overall, it is not for the everyday magician.

This is an amazing deck. If you have audience management and imagination then these cards will work wonders for you. They are beautifully made and work as they are meant to. If you have a crowd then you have a routine. I use hypnosis with my mind reading so these are a perfect addition.

The deck is everything the ad states.

The cards are easily read from an arm's length away and closer. If the cards are kept in motion, they look blank. I see a lot of possibilities for my show.

To addresss the concern about the instructions, he gives a few ideas on using the deck. Remember that the deck is a tool and if you are looking for a 'cookie cutter' type effect- this is not it. Whether amateur or professional this can be a welcomed addition to your tools.

The cards are on quality USPCC designed by Card-Shark.

It’s hard to put into words the possibilities inherent in this effect. Your imagination is it’s only boundary. The blank (?) deck comes with a booklet explaining four separate effects using the deck. I have only performed it once and was amazed at the reaction it got. I will continue to perform the effect and continue to fine tune it. The basic effect is this. A blank deck is removed from a blank case and fanned and shown to the audience as being blank on both sides. A spectator on stage is asked to select a card and think intently of it’s value. You pick up a clip board and attempt to read the spectator’s mind. Now for the first time the spectator is asked to name his card. Say, he says king of hearts. You show the mental message you received and they match. Sound impossible? It looks impossible. Most audience members will automatically think “Stooge” This can be negated by a thrown out ball or balloon. The effect has it’s limitations. It is not suitable for close close-up. It is ideal for parlour or stage. I’d like to see Phoenix put out the trick in their parlour size cards which would make it ideal for stage. Without giving the secret away, I’ll just say, the deck does the work. All you need to do is concentrate on the presentation, and that can’t be said of many tricks on the market today. Buy it, you’ll like it and you’ll get a real kick out of performing it.Think of the by-plays you can use with the spectator. A gag I use when the spectator selects the card, I ask “Are you sure you know the card” He says ’yes’ I fan the cards toward the audience and say “Finally, I’ve found someone as silly as me!!” Move your forefinger in circles as you say it. It will get a laugh, guaranteed. Have fun with the deck.