Hot Cross Cards (Improved) by R.A.R. Magic

This is a very funny routine created by Roy Roth.  Roy had already marketed Lubor Fiedler’s Red Hot Wire (with permission) as Hot Line c. 1972 and came up with this funny routine that really made the most of the wire gimmick.

I’ve always liked the premise behind Hot Cross Cards, but there were a few weaknesses in the original offering:

1. An ESP symbol needs to be forced out of the five cards and the only force given was “The Classic Force.”.  Which is fine, but not going to work for a lot of people.  So I added a full deck of ESP cards (26 cards) and created a bank of 12 cards that were all the same, so now you could casually show the cards apparently different, but also easily force the correct one.  (For a while I even created a Svengali ESP deck but that actually proved to be problematic as part of the routine requires you to deal out the five ESP cards which proved to be difficult with a Svengali deck.)
2. The effect required the use of five slices of real bread which were messy and required replacement frequently.  Luckily these days it is possible to get fake slices of bread that look and feel real from a short distance, without the downsides of flaking and going moldy which is what I supplied.
3. I also upgraded the ring box that housed the red hot wire as the original cardboard one was prone to damage.
4. I added a nice red velvet bag to hold the slices of bread to improve the delivery of the joke regarding fine engraved leather covers all the way from Italy.
5. A minor annoyance was the original instructions did not include the routine that appeared in the first adverts that were released to sell this effect. So I also included a full routine with patter based on the advert and the instructions for easy reference.

With these changes you now have an almost perfect and truly offbeat effect which I think Roy Roth would be happy with.  It is a really fun item 🙂

Includes:

• Red Hot Wire Gimmick with original case (case showing signs of damage).
• Upgraded velvet case to replace the original (bonus).
• Five original ESP cards (not used in the routine).
• Deck of 26 ESP cards  with force bank of 12 cards to make it easier to force the card (bonus).
• Five slices of very realistic looking bread (bonus).
• Extended the instructions with the original routine included too.

Effect: A close-up comedy effect right off the beaten track. Five ESP cards are shown, one is selected and mixed with the other cards. The cards are laid face down in a row on the table. The performer explains that he needs to cover each card, then discovers he’s left his very expensive (engraved leather!) covers at home. So he hunts for an alternative and removes from a tatty paper bag five slices of bread (genuine) and covers each card.

From now on it’s laughs all the way until finally the chosen ESP design is revealed in a novel and totally unexpected manner. Take our word, this is a trick they will remember. The climax is a big surprise when the shape of the chosen symbol is found toasted into the bread. There is no doubt, here is a chance for you to be different and score with Hot Cross Cards. Comes complete with routine and all necessary apparatus.

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