Mailbag #187
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I was just catching up on the live blogs from Magic Live 2026 […] one of the effects everyone seems to be jizzing about is 'Pass The Salt' which I believe is an Alakazam release. Is it me or am I the only one thinking 'When the fu*k will you perform this?'
Strolling - "Has anyone got a set of salt and pepper shakers ... no?.... OK,let me do a trick with these salt and pepper shakers I happen to be carrying"
Restaurant - "Let me do a trick with these salt and pepper shakers I happen to be carrying... unfortunately I cannot use the ones already on the table which you have probably used to season your lovely meal"
Do you see an issue ?—NB
I understand the jizzing. It’s a really strong, straightforward trick.
But I understand your concern as well. In most performing situations, carrying around your own salt and pepper shakers would be weird and/or redundant. You’re either performing somewhere that already has salt and pepper shakers, in which case, why did you bring your own? Or you’re performing somewhere that doesn’t have salt and pepper shakers, in which case, why did you bring them at all?
It’s going to take some fairly deft routining to avoid looking like a goofball who showed up with his own salt and pepper shakers. But I doubt most magicians are going to worry about that. The trade-off most magicians are happy to make is looking like a goofball, just so long as they can fool people.
The bigger question for me is… can they taste the “salt” that’s left in their hand? If I changed pepper to salt in a friend’s hand, I guarantee the first thing they’d do is stick a finger in it and taste it. I’m curious if that’s something you can do with Pass the Salt, or if they end up with a handful of asbestos or ketamine or something.
I’m wanting to upgrade to the iPhone Duo soon. But I don’t want to if the Jerx app won’t be optimized for it. It’s by far my most used magic app and Echo Sync has sealed more deals for me than any trick. I’m willing to carry around a second phone if necessary but if it’s going to updated to work with the Duo I would be thrilled. —SV
Yeah, what you’re going to need to do is solder your old phone to the iPhone Duo. (Essentially making an iPhone Trio.) Then you’ll be able to use all your magic apps on the one device.
Actually, Kerstein is already on this. He wrote this weekend:
I’ve gotten myself a (fancy) new iPhone Duo and realised the app needed a bit of work to support its bigger inner display and weirder outer one, so am working through making it all look better on there.
(This would have to be done sooner or later anyway - Apple are insisting that any app that’s updated from April 2027 or so *must* support the iPhone Duo..!)
I’m also making it look much better for iOS 26/27 on all devices at the same time too - the fake Notes, Safari and Camera UIs are now all updated and look much more accurate.
So there you go. The one thing you don’t have to worry about when buying one of Marc’s apps is if it’s going to be maintained.
The rest of your magic apps may end up being a clusterfuck on the Duo, but the Jerx app and others from Marc should be good.
You’ve given your thoughts on the perfect card trick to teach a layman in the Almanac.
But what if the person wants to become a magician, or is a beginner magician who doesn’t know any card magic yet?
I’ve found myself mentoring someone. What is a good trick to teach someone just starting out?—CB
I wouldn’t start by teaching them one particular trick. I’d start by teaching them three different types of tricks.
A basic sleight-of-hand trick using a double lift. (E.g., a two-card transposition.)
A relativley strong self-working trick. (E.g., Collusion by John Bannon.)
A dead-simple mentalism effect that relies more on presentation than method. (E.g., a key-card effect or peek where you “read their mind.”)
These three will give me a sense of what excites them about magic. Do they enjoy the challenge of learning sleights and performing straightforward card effects? Do they prefer clever methods that allow them to accomplish something amazing without a lot of technical work? Or are they less interested in methods altogether and more drawn to the performative aspects of magic?
Another reason for starting with a double lift is to get a feel for their tolerance for shitty-looking sleights. Early on, I’d record them turning over a card. After teaching them the double lift and having them practice for a while, I’d ask them to compare their double lift to how they originally turned over a single card. It doesn’t need to be identical, but it shouldn’t draw attention to itself by looking bizarre.
One of the biggest problems with magicians—beginners and people who have been doing this for decades—is their inability to recognize when their own technique looks like shit. This is a habit you want to beat out of them early on. “It doesn’t matter if they specifically know you’re turning over two cards as one. If they suspect anything weird is happening in that moment, your technique has failed.”
That’s the approach I’d take. But I have no idea how well it would work. I’ve never actually mentored someone who was seriously interested in performing magic. (I’ve been asked, but I always deflect. I just tell them, “Everything I know I learned from a blog called The Jerx. The guy’s a genius. Start there.”)