If you like Max Maven’s “B’Wave” (and who does not?) you will love Gordon Bean’s “Entourage”.
The performer shows 4 face down cards sandwiched between 2 fac up Jokers. He tells a spectator that the 4 cards are the 4 Queens. He asks the spectator to freely name any Queen. Let us say the spectator names the Queen of Hearts.
The performer also asks the spectator to eliminate each of the 4 cards that she thinks is not her Queen of Hearts. The 3 eliminated cards are placed on the table face downwards. One card remains face down sandwiched between the 2 Jokers.
The performer turns this card over and it is indeed the Queen of Hearts. This is surprise number 1.
At this stage everyone wants to know what are the identities of the other 3 eliminated cards. The 3 cards are turned over to reveal that they are all Jokers. The Queen of Hearts has the Jokers as her entourage! That is surprise number 2.
The performer is so sure that the spectator will choose the Queen of Hearts that he does not bother bringing the other 3 Queens along!
You receive all the necessary cards and a link to a 64 minutes video tutorial. You will be surprised that this simple packet trick requires more than an hour of teaching. The tutorial is conducted by Penguin’s Nick Locapo. There are 2 reasons for the long tutorial. The first reason is that Nick provides variations of the effect contributed by several magicians. They include not only variations in presentation, but also different methods of resetting the packet for table topping.
The second reason is that there is a bonus effect called “Psychic Blackjack” using the set of cards and basing on the same principle as that used in “Entourage”.
In the “Psychic Blackjack”, 4 face down cards are shown sandwiched between the 2 face-up Jokers. A spectator mixes the 4 cards so that the position of any of the cards is not known. She then names a number from 1 to 4. Let us assume the spectator names “3”. The performer names “The Ace of Hearts” before turning over the third card. it is indeed the Ace of Hearts.
At this point, the spectator thinks all the 4 cards are the Ace of Hearts. So the performer asks the spectator to try again, to name any number from 1 to 3 for the 3 cards remaining. Let us say the spectator names “1”. The performer names “King of Hearts”. The first face down card is turned over and it is indeed the King of Hearts. The spectator has managed to locate a very good hand for Backjack with the Ace and King of Hearts. The performer turns over the other 2 face down cards and they are all Jokers.
For me, “Entourage” is the best version of the “B’Wave” type of effect. Somehow, the Jokers, rather than blank cards, make the effect more impactful. And you get another equally impactful bonus effect in “Psychic Blackjack”, al for the price of a packet trick. (Rated 5/5 stars)
