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Trick Review: Shaker by Rodger Lovins

About.com Rating 4

By , About.com Guide

With an empty salt shaker and some tiny balls, “Shaker” allows a magician to perform an easy, three-phase routine with mysterious vanishes and penetrations.

Shake, Shake Shake

The magician brings out a ball and places it inside of a salt shaker. (Yes, the ball is the kind with the crocheted sweater that only magicians carry and use to perform cups & balls or chop cup.) The magician covers the shaker with a napkin. When the napkin is removed, the ball is found to have vanished and now appears in the magician’s pocket.

For the second phase, the magician places the ball onto his outstretched hand and slams the shaker down onto the ball, which penetrates through the bottom of the shaker and inside of it. If you like, you can perform the standard vanish of the salt shaker from inside of the napkin on the table.

Good Beginner Trick

This visual effect requires minimal sleight-of-hand and is great for beginners. Angles are also good on this one. You can perform it in a variety of situations. Well, anywhere that you are comfortable carrying a large glass salt shaker.

The instructions are brief and could offer more advice to beginning magicians. Any magician with average knowledge and rudimentary skills, particularly with cups & balls, will have no problem working up this effect.

Decent, Visual Magic

While the close-up effect is stunning to lay audiences, the crocheted balls seem rather out of place here. However, this is a minor gripe. Anyone that would like to perform visual magic should get good reactions with this one.

-Wayne N. Kawamoto

MSRP: (US) $24.95

Click here to view a video.

Dealers can purchase from Murphy's Magic Supplies, Inc.

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