I'm not a fan of cups and balls either, but this trick by itself just got me a half million dollar contract on the Las Vegas Strip! This is so badass that anyone tells you not to do it it's only telling you not to do it so they can do it!
David a big Congratulations to you. That sounds exciting, I am really happy for you. Yes I normally do a pass on the cups and balls routine but this one really makes it organic and can do anytime anyplace. Also I find that people still respond very positively to the cups and balls routine as long as the presentation is engaging. Keep me posted on how the Vegas gig goes and thanks for watching.
It's good to see I wasn't alone feeling rusty on return to performance. Not many performers discuss it, but it was very reassuring to hear. I spent so much time during the pandemic practicing, but not being able to perform live, I got too comfortable performing for no one in front of a camera. I'm not ashamed to admit that I developed some rust of my own. I started getting nervous again before performances or when I started getting ready to perform an effect impromptu effect. Going back to the greatest hits and 1000-timers always helps get those jitters out. Thank you for sharing your experiences and challenges bud!
Hey Marco you are definitely not alone on this. I think I was a little shocked at how some things I have performed hundreds of times took me a second to remember all of the phases and even some methods. I even had a moment performing the invisible deck in a casual environment with friends when I could finally go out and couldn't remember if I had the deck set up for 13 or 14 (I hope that makes sense). I still feel a little rusty but getting better. I had a gig last week and realized I really needed to review every phase and method just to be confident I wouldn't screw things up. All went well but still more stress than I anticipated. Thanks for leaving the comment and you are in good company.
Brandon I am so glad you left this comment as it is such a great idea. I would say for Penguin or Craig if you are reading the comments could you make this possible? Thanks Brandon for being here and leaving the comment. Take Care.
Hi Brad, Thanks for leaving the comment. I have been putting in more practice time on this in the last couple of days since posting the review and I must admit I am having a lot of fun. I keep finding fun ways of structuring the routine. It is still very rudimentary but can see a lot of possibility. Thanks for being here and adding to the convo. Have a good one.
Hey David, I am glad to be back. So I have been looking for bows but they can get pretty expensive and i'm trying to stay in a budget. I think I might just buy a cheap one for now and see how it goes. Hope you are doing well and fingers crossed next week there will be a bow. Take care my friend.
I bought Chop at Magic Live directly from Craig. I know what you mean by the “talking” aspect. I solved it by using a smaller “blank” than what it comes with and now it’s whisper quiet. Love the routine.
Hey David How are you? Well I hope. I think you found a really good solution to the talking. I really like this release and want to bring it out for more gigs but feel like I need to put in a little more practice time to have the full routine down with confidence. Thanks for being here and leaving the comment.
Hello Stark. I think you will like it. After you get it and play around with it for a while please feel free to share your thoughts here if you like. Take Care.
Thanks for the great review as always Jonny . I have had Chop for a few weeks. As a Hobbyist who has not put in the necessary time to be great at regular Cups and Balls routines-- Chop makes me look like a sleight of hand master. I also love the Mystery Card plot-- Throw a folded card into the cup and later dump out the spectator's signed card-- I absolutely love Chop-- so much so that I bought a second one !!!!!
Hi David, Hope you are doing well. I love hearing this. Yes the Mystery Card Plot is great with Chop. I probably should have talked a little more about that routine in the review. It is really good. Oh I would add one thing. If you look like a sleight of hand mater to the people you perform to then in my book you are a sleight of hand master. Keep it up and thanks for sharing this.
Hi Jonny, I've never been a real fan of cups and balls for all the reasons you mentioned. It happens I made myself something along the lines of the gimmicked Sharpie that I used with bottle tops etc. Great little tool. I don't think I'll be getting this though. .... "Talking" loud and clear. (Although ambient noise may well cover?) Also good to hear how your gig went. Cheers for now. Take it easy my friend.
Hey Gary, It is good to know i am not alone when it comes to the cups and balls. I liked hearing about your version of the sharpie. It is perfect for bottle caps. I love the idea. Yes this gimmick does talk but not a deal breaker. I am glad you liked hearing about how my gig went. I am never sure whether to share that stuff or not as it is pretty self centric but I hope it opens a little of the window into my own experience. I am so happy to be out performing again. Take care my friend.
Hi man, loved this review, I would love to hear/see you talk about performing mentalism at a rock show! sounds intense! I knew you where a working magician, but man, stepping out of your comfort zone to actually perform new stuff is something that needs to be applauded! Thank you for your reviews man, always helpful and its a blast to see your videos.
Thanks so much Dani. I keep wanting to bring in a filming crew to document and then post here on the channel. Especially for new releases so people can see them being performed in the real world. I have found it hard to get good footage sometimes in the performance environment but one of these days I will. In the club environment it really requires working hard in the beginning to get peoples attention and hold them. Once that hurdle has been achieved then they are hooked and really get into it. I also use a lot of audience participation and script it so it feels like the audience member has great intuition or premonition. They love feeling powerful without understanding how it works. Anyway I love performing and will share more of that in the future. Thanks for being here. Take Care.
Yes! Absolutely, in fact it should work with any paper currency. I do suppose the more plasticky the feeling of the paper money might make it a little different but as long as you can crumple up the money you should be fine. I hope that helps.
Dude your videos are amazing. Ty for them. I actually came up with a different ending I showed Craig. He really liked it. Not something I can explain here but I don’t mind sharing via email if asked. I just had to change it because I won’t be carrying around a 🍋. Also I agree the skill level is not for beginner. Timing and scripting is huge here. That said I think this would be great for a beginner to get out there and get those things down. When Craig puts a project out he truly give it his all. An overwhelming amount of teaching. Which I love. He’s a great teacher. Plug here. Go sign up for Netrix!!!!
Thanks So Much Chris, I really appreciate your kind words. How awesome to show your routine version of Chop to Craig. Very cool. If you are up for it please feel free to email it to me at FiddlinJonny@gmail.com I really do agree with you on the idea that this is good for an entry level into the cups and balls. I think for anyone who is interested it is a nice way in. Thanks for being here and leaving the comment, really appreciated. Take Care.
Hello Mr. Harmon, I feel like this is one of those products put in the hands of a creative person really creates a lot of possibilities. Hope you are doing well.
Oh this is awesome. Congratulations on getting the gig and the best of luck to you. Let me know how it goes. Yes I did finally get the email and responded.
Hi David, the more I practice this the more I like it. There are a lot of possibilities. I know that is a cliché but it does apply here. I hope you enjoy it.
Hello BF, I do not have that issue at all however I have heard of some others having this issue. I am not sure how to fix that without busting the pen open. You may want to reach out to the retailer you purchased it through and see if they can help.
Hey Rob, good to see you. Yes I do think that Craig really can go on and on. I think it does add some value to the releases but sometimes on the youtube channel it can be a bit much for me. Anyway I do like this release and know that people who are interested in this version of a cups and balls routine will like it. Take care and always enjoy getting your perspective.
Cheers for the review Jonny. Been thinking about getting this and slotting into my kids show, although I really do need to get some new circus stuff as well so time will tell whether I decide to purchase or not. Also Vanishing Inc released what seems a very similar effect/trick/gimmick called The Truth (Daniel Prado). Great to hear you've got back on the saddle gigging wise and performing new stuff too. All the best from the other side of the pond.
Cheers Martin, Thanks for mentioning The Truth By Daniel Prado. That release completely slipped by me. Yes it does look Very similar to Chop By Craig Petty and seems to be a little more affordable. I am sure some will be just as happy with The Truth as they are essentially accomplishing the same effect with slightly different methods. I must admit I have been enjoying playing around with Chop and may at some point bring it into an actual performance. Thanks for being here and from this side of the pond wishing you well.
Fabulous review of a decent product not really for me. I just don't have the presentation skills to perform it well,but Craig is coming up with some nice stuff of late, looking forward to next review, great channel Jonny very entertaining reviews 😸
Thanks John. Yes Craig has been killing it lately with all of his releases. I do not know how he has the time for all that he does between the UA-cam channel, the gigging and releasing effects. It is very impressive. Thanks so much John. I hope you and the family are all doing well. Take care my friend.
While I really like the routine couldnt we discuss different methods other than that particular gimmick ? Would a PK ring work ? I've never used one but are they strong enough ? You could do a very similar impromptu routine entirely with slight of hand ( check out the Frank Garcia section of Stars of Magic) Either way the routine is fantastic and I can't blame Mr Petty for trying to monetize his good ideas but the value is in his routine NOT the sharpie
Hey Sean, You raise a really interesting point, and I think the quick answer is yes you could use another object like a PK ring to create the same effect. I really have not used PK rings in the past but yes they could work. I have at times put a bandaid on my finger with a strong magnet under it to achieve the same end. It never gerts suspected and does the job. You are onto something here with Mr. Petty and his ideas/thinking. I think he is currently one of the best when in comes to taking some of the classics and updating them in some way or a different way to achieve the effect. Thanks for being here and sharing your thinking. Have an awesome day.
great review, its a great product/ I feeI the exact same way, never been a fan of the routine but presented this way its a game changer / great for bar magic that feeIs 100% impromptu
Yeah there are moments when the volume on that magnet may need to be turned down but I still love this. Thanks so much for watching and by the way it looks like you have some really cool content on your UA-cam channel. Take care.
Hellllooooo Lord Finger man #1. Hope all is well in your neck of the woods. Thanks for watching and to all of those here in the comments section PLEASE go check out Lord Finger Man #1's UA-cam channel. It is so good and unique. Go give him a watch, a like and a follow. Take Care LFM#1
Hello Mambo. That is a great question and in my opinion it is too bad that there was controversy around the effect as I personally love it and perform it regularly. The problem was when it was released their trailer said that there was no equivoque (magicians choice) involved. This in my opinion and many others is that this is misleading. In reality there is a little bit of equivoque used but is sort of modified. They would have been smarter to just say there is a little bit of equivoque used and then there would have been no problem. Because of this I think a lot of people passed up on the release and missed out on a great effect. That is my two cents and hope that helps a bit. Let me know if you have any other questions and I will do my best to answer. Thanks for watching the review.
Hello Bob, your comment made me laugh, and I know that is probably not the response you were expecting but I hear my own voice in your comment. What I mean by that is that recently I have found myself yelling out loud at UA-cam videos where the UA-camr is droning on and not getting to the point. It drives me Crazy. Okay I am Guilty as charged. I appreciate your point of view and feedback. To be fully transparent I am critical of my own reviews often being too long and need to be tightened up. I feel like I am not there yet. I will however add with the Chop review I wanted to make a connection with the viewer to get a more round perspective of me the reviewer and some of my experience as we were coming out of COVID restrictions and able to perform in my region. I know I will never be able to please everyone but value your opinion and viewership. Thanks
Bob, there is an amazing function on UA-cam that allows you to skip ahead in a video! It's really a nifty thing! It helps you to get to the portion of the video you want to see , and it helps to keep you from coming off as a total asshat when you leave comments! It's win, win! For all of our sake, please look into it!
I'm not a fan of cups and balls either, but this trick by itself just got me a half million dollar contract on the Las Vegas Strip! This is so badass that anyone tells you not to do it it's only telling you not to do it so they can do it!
David a big Congratulations to you. That sounds exciting, I am really happy for you. Yes I normally do a pass on the cups and balls routine but this one really makes it organic and can do anytime anyplace. Also I find that people still respond very positively to the cups and balls routine as long as the presentation is engaging. Keep me posted on how the Vegas gig goes and thanks for watching.
It's good to see I wasn't alone feeling rusty on return to performance. Not many performers discuss it, but it was very reassuring to hear. I spent so much time during the pandemic practicing, but not being able to perform live, I got too comfortable performing for no one in front of a camera. I'm not ashamed to admit that I developed some rust of my own. I started getting nervous again before performances or when I started getting ready to perform an effect impromptu effect. Going back to the greatest hits and 1000-timers always helps get those jitters out. Thank you for sharing your experiences and challenges bud!
Hey Marco you are definitely not alone on this. I think I was a little shocked at how some things I have performed hundreds of times took me a second to remember all of the phases and even some methods. I even had a moment performing the invisible deck in a casual environment with friends when I could finally go out and couldn't remember if I had the deck set up for 13 or 14 (I hope that makes sense). I still feel a little rusty but getting better. I had a gig last week and realized I really needed to review every phase and method just to be confident I wouldn't screw things up. All went well but still more stress than I anticipated. Thanks for leaving the comment and you are in good company.
I keep watching this over and over again! Such an in depth review! I sent you an email btw.
Thanks BF, I will go check my email. Have an awesome day.
I wish that it was available as a download, as I have the original version.
Brandon I am so glad you left this comment as it is such a great idea. I would say for Penguin or Craig if you are reading the comments could you make this possible?
Thanks Brandon for being here and leaving the comment. Take Care.
Great review for a great trick. Now I need to start practicing!
Hi Brad, Thanks for leaving the comment. I have been putting in more practice time on this in the last couple of days since posting the review and I must admit I am having a lot of fun. I keep finding fun ways of structuring the routine. It is still very rudimentary but can see a lot of possibility. Thanks for being here and adding to the convo. Have a good one.
I saw the CHOP gimmick on craig's lecture and then i waited for some reviews and here you are! I think im gonna get this. Thank you!
Thanks KingO.K. I keep waiting for others to review it too but have not yet seen them. Glad you liked it and hope you are doing ok. Take Care.
Nice to see you back. No bows in Portland ?
Hey David, I am glad to be back. So I have been looking for bows but they can get pretty expensive and i'm trying to stay in a budget. I think I might just buy a cheap one for now and see how it goes. Hope you are doing well and fingers crossed next week there will be a bow. Take care my friend.
I bought Chop at Magic Live directly from Craig. I know what you mean by the “talking” aspect. I solved it by using a smaller “blank” than what it comes with and now it’s whisper quiet. Love the routine.
Hey David How are you? Well I hope. I think you found a really good solution to the talking. I really like this release and want to bring it out for more gigs but feel like I need to put in a little more practice time to have the full routine down with confidence. Thanks for being here and leaving the comment.
Great review👍 was on the fence neither Chop but your review I going to pull the trigger on it. Thank you for what you do.
Hello Stark. I think you will like it. After you get it and play around with it for a while please feel free to share your thoughts here if you like. Take Care.
Thanks for the great review as always Jonny . I have had Chop for a few weeks. As a Hobbyist who has not put in the necessary time to be great at regular Cups and Balls routines-- Chop makes me look like a sleight of hand master. I also love the Mystery Card plot-- Throw a folded card into the cup and later dump out the spectator's signed card-- I absolutely love Chop-- so much so that I bought a second one !!!!!
Hi David, Hope you are doing well. I love hearing this. Yes the Mystery Card Plot is great with Chop. I probably should have talked a little more about that routine in the review. It is really good. Oh I would add one thing. If you look like a sleight of hand mater to the people you perform to then in my book you are a sleight of hand master. Keep it up and thanks for sharing this.
Hi Jonny, I've never been a real fan of cups and balls for all the reasons you mentioned.
It happens I made myself something along the lines of the gimmicked Sharpie that I used with bottle tops etc. Great little tool.
I don't think I'll be getting this though. .... "Talking" loud and clear. (Although ambient noise may well cover?)
Also good to hear how your gig went. Cheers for now.
Take it easy my friend.
Hey Gary, It is good to know i am not alone when it comes to the cups and balls. I liked hearing about your version of the sharpie. It is perfect for bottle caps. I love the idea. Yes this gimmick does talk but not a deal breaker. I am glad you liked hearing about how my gig went. I am never sure whether to share that stuff or not as it is pretty self centric but I hope it opens a little of the window into my own experience. I am so happy to be out performing again. Take care my friend.
Hi man, loved this review, I would love to hear/see you talk about performing mentalism at a rock show! sounds intense! I knew you where a working magician, but man, stepping out of your comfort zone to actually perform new stuff is something that needs to be applauded! Thank you for your reviews man, always helpful and its a blast to see your videos.
Thanks so much Dani. I keep wanting to bring in a filming crew to document and then post here on the channel. Especially for new releases so people can see them being performed in the real world. I have found it hard to get good footage sometimes in the performance environment but one of these days I will. In the club environment it really requires working hard in the beginning to get peoples attention and hold them. Once that hurdle has been achieved then they are hooked and really get into it. I also use a lot of audience participation and script it so it feels like the audience member has great intuition or premonition. They love feeling powerful without understanding how it works. Anyway I love performing and will share more of that in the future. Thanks for being here. Take Care.
Nice review Jonny!
Thank You my friend.
Does this work with Canadian money?
Yes! Absolutely, in fact it should work with any paper currency. I do suppose the more plasticky the feeling of the paper money might make it a little different but as long as you can crumple up the money you should be fine. I hope that helps.
Dude your videos are amazing. Ty for them. I actually came up with a different ending I showed Craig. He really liked it. Not something I can explain here but I don’t mind sharing via email if asked. I just had to change it because I won’t be carrying around a 🍋.
Also I agree the skill level is not for beginner. Timing and scripting is huge here. That said I think this would be great for a beginner to get out there and get those things down.
When Craig puts a project out he truly give it his all. An overwhelming amount of teaching. Which I love. He’s a great teacher. Plug here. Go sign up for Netrix!!!!
Thanks So Much Chris, I really appreciate your kind words.
How awesome to show your routine version of Chop to Craig. Very cool. If you are up for it please feel free to email it to me at FiddlinJonny@gmail.com
I really do agree with you on the idea that this is good for an entry level into the cups and balls. I think for anyone who is interested it is a nice way in.
Thanks for being here and leaving the comment, really appreciated. Take Care.
Awesome review 👏. This really sounds like a great product 😀
Hello Mr. Harmon, I feel like this is one of those products put in the hands of a creative person really creates a lot of possibilities. Hope you are doing well.
I just secured a gig on Thursday! Also did my email not go through?
Oh this is awesome. Congratulations on getting the gig and the best of luck to you. Let me know how it goes. Yes I did finally get the email and responded.
Just bought this!
Hi David, the more I practice this the more I like it. There are a lot of possibilities. I know that is a cliché but it does apply here. I hope you enjoy it.
When I shake the pen, you can here the inside shaking. Is it the same for you?
Hello BF, I do not have that issue at all however I have heard of some others having this issue. I am not sure how to fix that without busting the pen open. You may want to reach out to the retailer you purchased it through and see if they can help.
Great review as always. I appreciate Craig's elaborate tutorials. They could be shorter. He surely likes to hear himself talk.
Hey Rob, good to see you. Yes I do think that Craig really can go on and on. I think it does add some value to the releases but sometimes on the youtube channel it can be a bit much for me. Anyway I do like this release and know that people who are interested in this version of a cups and balls routine will like it. Take care and always enjoy getting your perspective.
Cheers for the review Jonny. Been thinking about getting this and slotting into my kids show, although I really do need to get some new circus stuff as well so time will tell whether I decide to purchase or not. Also Vanishing Inc released what seems a very similar effect/trick/gimmick called The Truth (Daniel Prado). Great to hear you've got back on the saddle gigging wise and performing new stuff too. All the best from the other side of the pond.
Cheers Martin, Thanks for mentioning The Truth By Daniel Prado. That release completely slipped by me. Yes it does look Very similar to Chop By Craig Petty and seems to be a little more affordable. I am sure some will be just as happy with The Truth as they are essentially accomplishing the same effect with slightly different methods. I must admit I have been enjoying playing around with Chop and may at some point bring it into an actual performance. Thanks for being here and from this side of the pond wishing you well.
You’re the best, Fiddlin Jonny!
Michael Thank You So Much!!!! I really appreciate it and I an genuinely glad you are here.
Fabulous review of a decent product not really for me. I just don't have the presentation skills to perform it well,but Craig is coming up with some nice stuff of late, looking forward to next review, great channel Jonny very entertaining reviews 😸
Thanks John. Yes Craig has been killing it lately with all of his releases. I do not know how he has the time for all that he does between the UA-cam channel, the gigging and releasing effects. It is very impressive. Thanks so much John. I hope you and the family are all doing well. Take care my friend.
While I really like the routine couldnt we discuss different methods other than that particular gimmick ?
Would a PK ring work ? I've never used one but are they strong enough ?
You could do a very similar impromptu routine entirely with slight of hand ( check out the Frank Garcia section of Stars of Magic)
Either way the routine is fantastic and I can't blame Mr Petty for trying to monetize his good ideas but the value is in his routine NOT the sharpie
Hey Sean, You raise a really interesting point, and I think the quick answer is yes you could use another object like a PK ring to create the same effect. I really have not used PK rings in the past but yes they could work. I have at times put a bandaid on my finger with a strong magnet under it to achieve the same end. It never gerts suspected and does the job. You are onto something here with Mr. Petty and his ideas/thinking. I think he is currently one of the best when in comes to taking some of the classics and updating them in some way or a different way to achieve the effect. Thanks for being here and sharing your thinking. Have an awesome day.
great review, its a great product/ I feeI the exact same way, never been a fan of the routine but presented this way its a game changer / great for bar magic that feeIs 100% impromptu
Hello Formaster, I love your concise description of this release. Thanks for being here. Take Care.
Yeah you can hear that magnet lol
Yeah there are moments when the volume on that magnet may need to be turned down but I still love this. Thanks so much for watching and by the way it looks like you have some really cool content on your UA-cam channel. Take care.
🎩 🪄
🔥
Hellllooooo Lord Finger man #1. Hope all is well in your neck of the woods. Thanks for watching and to all of those here in the comments section PLEASE go check out Lord Finger Man #1's UA-cam channel. It is so good and unique. Go give him a watch, a like and a follow. Take Care LFM#1
@@fiddlinjonny thanks 🙏🏼
7 minutes till he gets to the point!🤯
Why is summit controversial?
Hello Mambo. That is a great question and in my opinion it is too bad that there was controversy around the effect as I personally love it and perform it regularly. The problem was when it was released their trailer said that there was no equivoque (magicians choice) involved. This in my opinion and many others is that this is misleading. In reality there is a little bit of equivoque used but is sort of modified. They would have been smarter to just say there is a little bit of equivoque used and then there would have been no problem. Because of this I think a lot of people passed up on the release and missed out on a great effect. That is my two cents and hope that helps a bit. Let me know if you have any other questions and I will do my best to answer. Thanks for watching the review.
8 fing minutes before you even get close to getting to the point. fail. downvote
Hello Bob, your comment made me laugh, and I know that is probably not the response you were expecting but I hear my own voice in your comment. What I mean by that is that recently I have found myself yelling out loud at UA-cam videos where the UA-camr is droning on and not getting to the point. It drives me Crazy. Okay I am Guilty as charged. I appreciate your point of view and feedback. To be fully transparent I am critical of my own reviews often being too long and need to be tightened up. I feel like I am not there yet. I will however add with the Chop review I wanted to make a connection with the viewer to get a more round perspective of me the reviewer and some of my experience as we were coming out of COVID restrictions and able to perform in my region. I know I will never be able to please everyone but value your opinion and viewership. Thanks
Bob, there is an amazing function on UA-cam that allows you to skip ahead in a video! It's really a nifty thing! It helps you to get to the portion of the video you want to see , and it helps to keep you from coming off as a total asshat when you leave comments! It's win, win! For all of our sake, please look into it!
@@magicalmediocrity4908 If you have to skip 8 min of a 20 min video, the AUDIENCE is NOT the problem.