Solomon's Thoughts on Thoughts Across

David Solomon is one of Chicago's most prominent card men, a student of Ed Marlo's and a creator of countless card ideas. His book, Solomon's Mind was released to great acclaim in the late 1990s. Earlier this year, FUN Inc. released Knaves Gone Wild, a fantastically-visual assembly effect of his devising. On Monday, March 24th, FUN released another spectacular effect of Solomon's: Thoughts Across. What follows is a brief conversation with the card master himself. Enjoy!



Fajuri: Describe a little bit about your inspriation for Thoughts Across.



Solomon: What I wanted to do was something that I saw Juan Tamariz do - a thought of card across effect. The effect was great, but he had to palm to accomplish it. And he then had to use gaffed cards in a way in which the person who he was performing for couldn't deal or handle the cards. I thought the effect was great, and I set out to replicate it, but without palming and where the spectator could count all the cards, and that's what we've accomplished with this effect.



F: How long did it take to come up with your routine?



S: It took about a year to come up with the handling, and the first set of cards for the trick was made by Gary Plants. The effect was then presented at Escorial. I showed Juan the cards and he immediately wanted a set. But to make a set that way cost $60! Now, to make a set for yourself for $60 isn't so bad, but I wanted Gary to make more, and he didn't want to make any more sets. Five years later, I teamed up with FUN to make it widely available."



F: Can you tell us a little bit more about how you devised the effect?



S: The method came from No Palm Cards Across came from my book Solomon's Mind, combined with the gaffed cards which allow two thought-of cards to travel from one packet to the other.



F: Can you offer handling tips for the effect to our readers, something that might not be on the DVD?



S: Even though the trick is performed on the table on the DVD, it can be performed in the hands, as well. This idea came from the Spanish magicians at Escorial. They thought the presentation should be more free, more open, and encouraged me to perform it in the hands.



I should also point out that I am able to do the trick repeatedly - four or five shows in a row. It resets easily, if you mark the backs of the cards. So, when performing it over and over for different groups you can get ready to go again very quickly. You can literally perform the effect table-to-table, though there is some deck-management required if you want to work it that way.

And don't forget about the bonus effects on the DVD. I'm excited to present my version of the Scarne trick, Switchcraft (called Double-Crossed Switchcraft) on the video. It's a clean and surprising version of the trick and uses a little-known subtlety, Marlo's Buffaloed in a very disarming way. I encourage everyone to check it out.

F: Can you talk a little bit more about your new book, The Wisdom of Solomon?



S: There are a number of tricks that surprise people when I perform them. You have to pay attention to understand what's happening. And by that, I mean, you have to take the cards in hand and really walk through the effect. In some books, it's hard to do that; there are so many tricks in them it's like The Encyclopedia of Card Tricks -- dense stuff. On the other hand, the tricks in my book are ones that have been put together over a ten year period and I don't think there's a bad one in the bunch. There's something new to them. It's not just a re-hash. I'm proud of the book and I'm proud of the two effects that I've released with Fun Inc. I just did the Knaves trick in Florida and the reaction was phenomenal. Like real magic! These are magicians and I had them oohing and ahhing like laymen. And Thoughts Across is a really, really strong trick that can be done for all audiences. And while I lean toward the method with sleight of hand, the method without sleight of hand, when done properly can be just as good.