HIT Thoughts
/If you’re familiar with it, what are your thoughts on Hit by Luke Jermay? I’ve been playing with it since he taught it on his Vanishing Inc. Masterclass, but the reactions have been only so-so. If you’re not familiar with it, it’s a multi-phase blackjack effect (sort of) where the spectator has a free choice between two blackjack hands and you always influence them to pick the losing hand.
Here’s the demo (it’s long).
I really like the trick, but the people I’ve shown it to have been sort of lukewarm on it. —FP
Oooohhh… luke warm. Luke Jermay. I get it. Good stuff, FP.
While I like the construction of this routine, the presentation used in the demo is not one that I would recommend to anyone performing for friends and family.
Imagine yourself as the recipient of this presentation.
First, imagine yourself in a hotel bar. You strike up a conversation with a stranger. He mentions that he studies “influence.” After some conversation about this, he offers to show you a demonstration. And somehow he causes you to pick the losing blackjack hand every time.
You might think, “That was crazy. Was he really influencing me? Could it have been just a card trick. I don’t think so. He didn’t seem to do much.” It would be the sort of encounter that would leave you wondering.
Now, imagine it’s your brother performing this. “I’m going to use subtle psychological influence to cause you to pick the losing hand each time.”
“Uhm… no you’re not, Todd. What are these… trick cards or something?”
It’s a completely different situation when you know the person.
“Influence” is the least attractive type of presentation to use with friends and family. There are a few reasons for this.
First, you’re claiming to have special powers. This, by itself, can rub some people the wrong way. (Although there are plenty of ways to present it in a palatable manner.)
Second, you are claiming to have special powers that actually exist. It’s one thing to say you can float a dollar bill with your mind. Everyone realizes that’s a fantastical premise and no one is supposed to take it seriously. On the other hand, there actually are influential people and influential techniques. So claiming you’re one of these people or you have mastery of those techniques (when they know you and know it’s not true) could be off-putting.
Third, you’re claiming to have a special power, that actually exists, that allows you to exert your will over them. You’re not just pretending to have a skill you really don’t possess, like a super-memory or the ability to do rapid math. You’re demonstrating your ability to control other people. This is the sort of thing that might be compelling from a mysterious stranger. But it’s much less attractive when it’s coming from your co-worker, Melvin. Out of all the impossible, magical “stories” you could tell… you chose the one that makes it seem like you have an incredible skill that makes you more powerful than them. You’re almost begging people to push back against this. In fact, if they’re really supportive of this presentation, it suggests they think you’re a little pathetic. “Wow! You really influenced me to lose each time. Good job, Peter! Good for you! What a clever young man you are!”
But the good thing about this trick is that you’re not locked into this presentation of influence. My understanding is that Luke goes over some other options in the download. (I haven’t seen it, so I can’t say for sure.)
I would probably do some sort of “lucky charm” type of presentation.
I’d bring out a small box, open it up, and reveal a lucky rabbit’s foot.
I’d tell my friend I know they have some big opportunities and challenges coming up and they need all the help they can get. “If you’d like, I’ll sell you this rabbit’s foot for $800.” When they look at me like I’m crazy, I’d say, “Okay, $750.”
Of course they wouldn’t take me up on the offer, and would be wondering where this joke/trick was going.
“Okay, your loss,” I’d say. “This thing is the real deal. I’ll show you.” And I’d go grab a deck of cards and use Luke’s routine as a demonstration of the power of the rabbit’s foot.
This allows an additional decision during the process of the trick. Not only does the spectator get to decide who gets which cards, they also get to decide which of us get’s the rabbit foot.
This nicely shifts the trick away from a result of: “You lose. You lose. You lose.” Now it’s a matter of the luck following the rabbits foot. So the result might be: “I win. You win. You win.” But the “you or me” aspect doesn’t matter that much. I’m not causing you to lose. This is just a fair and powerful demonstration of the luck of this rabbit’s foot. But they won’t get the sense you’re really trying to convince them of that. So they can play along and just enjoy the effect without indulging a presentation that’s about me being some psychological, machiavellian genius.
If they’re someone who’d want to keep the rabbit’s foot, I’d let them. “Why don’t you hold onto this. No payment needed… right now. We’ll see what luck comes your way. And anything you may luck into financially, I’ll take… say…10%.”