Post
Pocket Oracle by Chris Rawlins
Earlier this year, Chris put out “Modern Oracle,” which is a deck of cards that represents a magic eight ball and is secretly marked so that you will always know the answer the oracle will give before anyone else. You can read my review of it here:
https://www.magicreview.org/modern-oracle
Well, Chris has taken that deck of cards and condensed it down to a single card. Now you can perform very similar tricks with only one Magic Eight Ball card and one blank business card. The main routine goes like this…
A magic eight ball card and a blank business card are removed from a leather wallet and placed on the table. The spectator secretly writes down any object on the business card, and the business card gets put back into the wallet and set aside. The performer explains that he has been trying to “break” the magic eight ball card, but no matter what he asks, the eight ball card always gets the answer correct. The spectator freely names any number between one and twenty and the performer asks a yes or no question about their chosen object. They turn the eight ball card over to see the answer, and sure enough, it is correct. The performer then asks the next yes or no question before the spectator even selects their number. This time, they don’t have to announce their number, but they look at the associated answer and find that it is correct again. Finally, the performer asks a yes or no question using a secret number that only the spectator knows and is never spoken aloud. They consult the eight ball card, and sure enough, it is correct again. The performer then states he feels like he has everything he needs and has the spectator imagine him holding their object. The performer can reveal the exact object the spectator has been thinking of all along.
I really love the structure of this routine. It may be difficult to sense in text, but it has a great build for each phase. The first time they say their number out loud and then the performer asks a question, the second time the performer asks the question before they choose their number, and the last time the performer asks the question and only the spectator knows the number. Each phase is more impossible than the last, and then you get the final kicker of the object reveal, which really is the nail in the coffin.
I am a big fan of tricks that are dead easy but have a big impact, and this is definitely one of those. The entire routine comes together with one peek, and the included leather card holder is all you need to get that peek. The eight ball card is well designed and looks like something that could really exist in the world. It’s made of a thicker plastic with a matte finish, and I can tell it’s going to last a very long time. The answering system on the back of the card is arranged in a really simple way, but that simple arrangement is precisely what brings the entire trick together and allows you to know the outcome the Oracle will give before the spectator has even picked a number.
There’s also a card trick taught where the spectator shuffles their deck, chooses a card, shuffles the deck again, and cuts the deck into three piles. The performer asks a yes or no question about the selected card (for instance, “Is it a red card?”), and then turns over the top card of the first pile. The value of that random card is used as the random number to find the answer on the eight ball card. Of course, the eight ball card is 100% correct. This is repeated with the other two piles. Ultimately, the performer names the chosen card based on the information gathered from the eight ball, and then the spectator finds their own card using the eight ball card to end the routine.
It’s a simple routine that is fooling. It veers a little more into magic territory than mind reading, so if you prefer that, it’s a great routine for it.
Overall, I love this thing. It’s simple, hard hitting, and looks and feels exactly how it should. It’s a great way to take a simple billet peek and turn it into a full fledged routine.
The official release for this is Blackpool 2026, but if you want to get it before then and be the first people to be using it, Chris is releasing a small quantity as “Insider Editions” directly from him. Because this is an insider edition, the tutorial is a temporary one without a performance, but it is still a high quality tutorial shot in a studio that teaches all of the ins and outs of the routine without extra fluff. I think the Insider Edition is scheduled to be released Monday, so keep your eyes on his site!
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