Bauer – Chick Trick by Ron Bauer

In the great tradition of Don Alan’s Ranch Bird comes Chick Trick!

Effect: “That’s NOT my card!” “Of course not… it’s SHOWMANSHIP!”

Enter a whole new world of performance magic! Learn to “think like a conjurer,” and entertain your audiences by surpassing their expectations. (Why should Harry Potter and Gandalf get all the good press?)

You and your CHICK (a really low-maintenance magic assistant), present a tabletop magic show! THE CHICK’S unique locations of two selected cards are so charming and baffling, there are invariably a few skeptics who suspect she is getting some help. You both meet the challenge by letting a spectator point to any face-down card, shuffle everything himself, and deal the cards onto the table without the magician handling anything, AND with the CHICK’S back turned. THE CHICK not only finds the selection, but reveals it in a BIG SURPRISE TWIST PAYOFF!

Includes tutorials of the same style as found in The Ron Bauer Private Studies Series that provide you completely illustrated details and finesses for mastering two no-tell secret maneuvers you’ll find invaluable for years to come.

Many professional magician have used wind-up toys to find a spectator’s chosen playing card. Two examples that immediately come to mind are Don Alan’s Ranch Bird and Ricky Jay’s hilarious routine in which the toys never quite find the card. Ron Bauer has performed a version of this trick for many years. He writes, “The Chick Trick is based on The Hoppy, Which I developed in the sixties (one of its first appearances was at the Magic Castle in 1963), and published in the March 1982 issue of the New Tops as part of my ‘Key Ring Cycle’ of so-called classic tricks that desperately needed payoffs. It, in turn, was based on Hen Fetsch’s Hoppy the Frog, which was based on Howard P. Albright’s Gilleegallo Bird, which, as far as I’m concerned, should be considered the work that spawned the dozens of variations of massproduced automata finding a selected card.”

The Chick Trick is not a part of the Ron Bauer Private Studies Series, but rather an adjunct to it. The format is similar. You get a very nicely produced 20-page booklet, the mechanical chick, and some miniature cards. The Chick Trick is a three-phase routine, with a surprise blow-off at the end. (The blow-off bears a resemblance to Eddie Field’s Dropsy Diddle.) The routine requires only average card handling ability, and all the sleights are clearly explained. One of the hallmarks of all the products that Ron Bauer has released is the thoroughness of the explanations.

In addition to the complete patter, Ron provides commentary explaining the “why” of every part of the routine. You will certainly want to adapt the presentation to your own personality, but Ron has given you everything you need to make the trick your own. A small amount of table space is required, and the props are small enough to be carried in your pockets.

I should mention that the Ron Bauer Private Studies Series has been undergoing a face-lift. The booklets have been revised and the production values have been upgraded. I’ve mentioned the series before in Marketplace, but I’ll remind you that if you are looking for professional caliber close-up material, the Bauer Series is worth your serious consideration. Each booklet covers a single routine, and all the work is included. Few authors provide as much attention to detail as Ron Bauer does. You will learn much by studying these routines.

(Michael Close – Magic Magazine, April 2003)
Text Source: michaelclose.com – click for details

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