A thoughtful act
Stephen also offers other performance styles which are longer and more intellectual in nature, suitable for a formal intimate gathering. These include:
- The Card Shark Exposure
“The passion for play is probably as old, and will be as enduring as the race of man. Some of us are too timed to risk a dollar, but the percentage of people in this feverish nation who would not enjoy winning one is very small.”
These are the opening lines from the first book published on card cheating in 1902. I believe these words are as true today as they were then.
Whilst sat at a card table Stephen can demonstrate the techniques used by card sharks to cheat at cards. You will learn what to lookout for if you suspect foul play in a card game and ultimately why you should never play cards with strangers.
- The Fraudulent Psychic Exposure
A little background:
People who claim to have “psychic abilities” can be traced back hundreds of years. It was in the 1800’s when the “psychic” business started to take off. It was around this time séances became popular when three sisters (the Fox sisters) claimed to be able to contact the dead. They toured America with their demonstrations for many years. About 40 years after it all began one of the sisters, Margret Fox, confessed that they were frauds. However by this time the fraudulent psychic industry had taken off.In the 1920’s, shortly after the loss of his mother, Harry Houdini focused his energies on debunking psychics using knowledge from his magical training. As a member of Scientific America, a cash prize was offered to any psychic medium who could successfully demonstrate their supernatural abilities. The prize was never claimed. His reputation as a debunker of self-proclaimed psychics grew as he began attending séances in disguise, accompanied by a news reporter and a police officer. However, despite Houdini’s best efforts fraudulent psychics still exist and make a lot of money conning susceptible and vunerable people.
Although Stephen does not have any “psychic powers”, he is able to create the illusion of psychic ability by applying his potent performing style with intriguing psychological principles learnt from being a close up magician. Although no extra sensor perception is employed, you will no doubt be left in amazement of what can be accomplished by simple psychological principles. You may think twice before you ring your local psychic hotline!