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Compendium.

By Mat Parrott
Compendium Published in Great Britain in
2018 by Mat Parrott Entertainment.
Copyright © Mat Parrott 2018.

Distributed by Penguin Magic.

The right of Mat Parrott to be identified as the


author of this work has been asserted by him
in accordance with the Copyright, Design and
Patents Act 1988

All rights reserved. No part of this publication


may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in
a retrieval system, in any form or by any
means, without permission in writing from
Mat Parrott.

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Contents
Balloon Swallow - Page 3
Poker in the Rear - Page 8
Inside-ish - Page 12

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Balloon Swallow
The magician blows up a modelling balloon
and tilts their head back, placing the end in
their mouth, and proceeds to consume the
balloon like a sword swallower. They push it
until it is entirely in their mouth, finally
showing it empty.

Needed
A modelling balloon
A balloon pump (if you are as
weak lunged as me)
A push pin

Preparation
Pierce the tip of the balloon by pushing the pin
all the way through1.

1
I realise that some propose piercing the balloon at the opening
end. I have found that by piercing the tip it is possible to leave it
pumped up and prepared for a long time without risk of much, if
any, deflation. This has been helpful to me in numerous performing
situations.

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Method
Blow up the balloon and leave a few
centimetres at the end so that it is less likely to
deflate unintentionally. Tie the balloon off and
tilt your head back, opening your mouth.

The aim is to push the knotted end against


your tongue, with the addition of using y our
lips to gently push down on the balloon it will
result in the balloon collapsing in on itself. It
will also appear as if the balloon is being
swallowed as the rest of it will be unaffected
by the deflation. You can see this clearly by
being able to stop the performance at any
point, remove the balloon from your mouth
and see how it looks. By using this technique
properly, it will result in a small package of
balloon that can either be retained in the
mouth or ditched later.

A variety of different methods are available for


ending the routine. One is to pop the balloon,
whereas another is to simply push the end in
and retain it. A favourite of some performers,

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including Brett Loudermilk, is to simply
swallow the balloon. The latex does not react
with the body and is relatively safe to
consume, although not recommended as part
of a regular diet.

Notes
When performing this, the closer the end of the
inflated section is to the holes, the easier and
quicker the balloon will deflate. This isn’t
necessarily a good thing; it can cause the
deflation to happen too fast and give away the
secret. If the holes are too far away however,
another problem can occur with it being too
hard to push the balloon into your mouth; it
can slip and expand into the back of your
throat. Avoid this - it’s annoying and you don’t
want to inadvertently test your gag reflex.

History
I’ve spent a considerable amount of time
researching this effect and have come to the
clear conclusion that there is no single creator
for it. Instead, there are a great number of
independent creators who’ve managed to

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create the same effect without being aware of
each other. Noel Britten tells me he developed
a version of the effect in 1992, as part of his act.
Although, Noel also told me he saw comedian
Steve Best performing this effect but hadn’t got
it from him. I therefore contacted Steve.

Steve Best informs that his twin brother Dan


created it in a Flamenco bar in Andalucia,
getting great reactions. They later discussed it
and from then on performed it every night in
bars on holiday until they ran out of balloons.
Dan/Steve’s method for the effect is different
to the method I’ve given in that the balloon
doesn’t have to be prepared in anyway and can
be done straight off the mark. However, when
talking to Harry Murphy, he believes he learnt
the effect in the mid-80s at a Maryland
Renaissance fair. He is also under the
impression that Johnny Fox was performing
the effect long before 1986. Johnny Fox
suggests he is not the originator but developed
it in 1987 after Steve and Dan Best created it in
1986.

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The earliest reference I have for this effect is
from a German magician/clown called Arnold
Liebertz, who performed under the name
Marvillo. He originally claimed it was
developed by a clown friend of his named Rip
Van Wonder, but years later it turned out that
both clowns were him. This reference dates
back to at least the 1960s if not considerably
earlier.

Whilst Liebertz may be the earliest reference I


have, I don’t feel I can say he’s the inventor of
the effect, although he may be the first to have
it marketed. Many people have had their finger
in this balloon swallowing pie, with a variety of
variations and independent creations.

If you’re interested in learning more from


Geek/Sideshow magic, you can find
further effects and stunts in Mat Parrott’s
The Geek Magician’s Cook Book. It is
available here as a physical copy, and here
as an eBook.

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Poker in the Rear
Whilst Texas Hold ‘Em may be the most
commonly played version of poker nowadays,
spectators still associate with Five-Card Draw.
Effect
The performer shows 20 cards from the deck,
those required to make all the Royal Straights.
The participant proceeds to shuffle the deck,
with multiple free choices along the way. Yet
still the participant deals out four Royal
Straights.
Method
To setup beforehand remove the four Royal
Flush hands from a deck and order four hands
10 – Ace, but in random suits. I use random
suits to avoid the spectator believing that at
the end the routine it will result in four Royal
Flushes, as this is not likely with the technique
we are utilising.
Start by asking the participant if they are
aware of the different poker hands, explaining
that one of the better hands is a Royal Straight.
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Demonstrate that you have collected all four
from the deck2. Further articulate that
between the two of you, you’ll do something
interesting with these cards. From here you
won’t have any reason to touch the cards.
Before the participant shuffles the cards, they
can feel free to cut and complete the pack as
many times as they wish. Have the participant
deal one card at a time from the pack face
down on top of each other. However, each time
they deal they can freely choose to take the
card from either the top or bottom of the pack.
Further shuffling needs to happen to help mix
these cards up3, therefore have the participant

2
Dee Christopher suggests skipping this and instead holding the
pack above a crimp. This way you can simply cut the cards from the
top of the deck and state something along the lines of “we will just
use these cards for this demonstration”.
3
This will help with the overall effect, but appears to mix the cards
up further.

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deal out the top five cards
anywhere on the table,
and then request the
participant deal out one
card on top of each
already placed in any
order they wish and
repeat until all cards are
dealt out. All piles should have an equal
number of cards in before adding further
cards. For example, before you add a 4th card
to any hand, all piles should have three cards.
Ask the participant to pick up the new piles in
any order they wish, placing them above or
below the cards already in their hand. Further
request the participant to cut and complete the
deck as many times as they wish.
Due to the nature of the shuffles performed by
the participant (specifically the laying of cards
randomly into piles) there may be some
confusion as to how the cards are meant to be
dealt as they are supposed to be dealt as a
regular card game in an alternating fashion. I
deal with this issue via framing the routine as

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a story of a man that cheated at poker. Even
when someone else shuffled the cards he was
able to produce four Royal Straights. By doing
this all the previous mixing can be portrayed
as natural, and the participant doesn’t
question the need to deal out like a poker
game. When the participant is happy they can
now deal 4 hands of five cards. The routine is
near its completion at this point, if the entirety
of the method is practised to perfection each of
the hands will contain a Royal Straight. It is up
to you to build the suspense for the reveal. But
framed adequately it’s an excellent
performance piece.

This effect utilises the powerful technique


of The Gilbreath Principle. For further
effects, and a through explanation of how
the concept works, Mat Parrott has written
Breath, available here.

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Inside-ish
Effect
A participant selects a card and it is lost
inside the deck. The performer shows a card,
and after a big reveal it turns out to be wrong.
Placing the incorrect card between the
participants hands, the magician asks for the
card to be revealed for the first time. They
proudly announce that the card is now
between their hands. When opened the same,
incorrect, card is still there. But it has
changed. When the card is torn open, inside is
the original selected card.
Needed
A deck of cards
A double of one card (3 of Clubs)
A double of another card (6 of Diamonds)
Rubber Cement

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Set Up
Fold the 3 of Clubs into quarters, making sure
to press firmly against the folded edges to
create as flat a folded card as possible.
Split the 6 of Diamonds on the top layer to the
edge, but do not fully remove the layer.4 Place
the folded 3 of Clubs between the layers and
apply a small amount5 of rubber cement to
the split card around all the inside layers.
Allow the rubber cement to dry before re-
sealing, making sure to line up the layers as
much as possible.
From top to bottom order your props:
- Regular 3 of Clubs
- Regular 6 of Diamonds
- Gimmicked 6 of Diamonds
- Rest of the deck
From here you are ready to perform.

4
This will make re-sealing with flush edges much easier.
5
Do not apply too much as this will soak through the layers and
make the card look abnormal.

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Force the 3 of Clubs on your participant by
any means you wish. However, once the
participant has the force card in hand be sure
to have the regular 6 of Diamonds on top of
the deck with the gimmicked directly one
below it.
Spread the deck and have the participant
slide the card back in wherever they wish.
Whilst doing this make sure to push a small
packet off the top at the start of your spread.
This will make sure your participant doesn’t
catch a glimpse of your gimmicked card.
Shuffle the deck but retain the top two cards
in position. Before revealing the 6 of
Diamonds it is important to build up the
expectation and gravitas of the moment. Now
when you turn over the card and it is wrong
act deflated. This can lead to a funny moment.
Ask the participant to hold their hand out flat,
but demonstrate what you mean. To do this
return the 6 of Diamonds to the top of the
deck, whilst simultaneously pushing the
gimmicked card out. Drop the hand with the
deck in slightly and hold your empty out flat
14 | P a g e
saying “like this”. Return your hand to the
deck and remove the gimmicked 6 of
Diamonds, immediately showing the face of
the card. This should all be done in a brief
throwaway moment, so as not to be
suspicious. If done correctly it will be viewed
as offbeat and quickly forgotten.
Place the 6 of Diamonds face up on their hand
and have them place their other hand flat on
top. Ask them to say their card out loud for
the first time. Click your fingers and say “the
card is now between your hands”. When they
remove their hand, it will obviously look as if
it is still the 6 of Diamonds. You can now
either leave them to discover the hidden item
themselves or guide them along the path.

To learn how to split cards and how to put


a signed card inside a sealed signed card
you can purchase Mat Parrott’s Inside
here.

15 | P a g e

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