Next Meeting: 15 March 2025 | Theme: Annual General Meeting | Location: NLB Drama Center

MASTER COURSE CUPS & BALLS VOL 1 & VOL 2 by Daryl

The Cups and Balls is a routine where all magicians should learn if they are into magic. One of our late member, Michael Tan of IBM Ring 115 use to say that “you are not a magician until you perform a Cups and Balls routine”.

I have always liked cups and balls and also have a small collection of cups and chop cups. I use to go around buying unique stuff that I can use for my final loads; this led me to a collection of high bounce balls. The weirdest item I Have used for a Cups and Balls routine would be a bra pad  and I’m kinda proud of that routine too haha. I guess this is a never ending process for cups and balls magicians.

The first CNB video I saw was a video by Michael Ammar, this is probably the most viewed video for all CNB magicians as it was the only one that had the most extensive explanation on this topic at that time. I watched that on VHS and was rewinding and watching it many times. The video was subsequently converted to DVD. It was a very good video, it explains many things and it has a library of all standard sleights.

Then came Daryl’s Master Course. In this 2 volume DVD, it also covers an extensive sleights for the CNB. The history and sleights are covered pretty well with clear explanations. If you have seen Daryl’s instructional video before, you’d know his style of teaching. I find his pace and explanations are just right. It is not long winded and it makes watching fun too.

In vol 1, it covers the history and many sleights with some very simple routines. The sleights are pretty standard; these sleights are the building blocks of a CNB routine. There are sleights using sponge balls and a variety of other novel methods. Once you learn all these, you’d be able to put together your own routine. The whole video is more than 1.5 hrs long, you can imagine the amount of stuff you can learn here.

In Vol 2, different routines are taught. The routine varies from a very easy to Vernon’s Routine (its not that difficult to do too). Tips and subtleties like timing, spectator interactions and what clothes to wear are also shared. Daryl also shared on how to care, clean and store your cups. Many other small but important details are taught.

If you are just starting out in magic, this is a must for you to build a foundation on the world’s oldest trick. There is a wealth of information in these 2 DVD. The 2 DVDs has more than 3 hrs of footage and you are bound to learn many things from it. Plus, the price is pretty friendly too! If you are a season performer, this is also worth taking a look into, it’ll be your library for your CNB sleights.

In conclusion, I just wished that there were more routines in it but there is enough materials in these DVD to keep you busy for a while. Recommended!

Rating: 8/10