The Worlds Greatest Magic

8 Card Brainwave by Nick Trost 

Red Hot Mama by Frank Everhart, Jim Ryan, Al Leech

This is a dynamite combination of effects!

The 8 Card Brainwave is probably the most versatile card classic Nick Trost ever created. There’s something about its direct simplicity and open handling that creates an incredible impression on people. It’s performed with 8 regular cards… and no other gimmicks, gaffs or gizmos. And yet, when a spectator names any card he sees, in every situation, that card is shown to be the only card with a different back.

Don’t let the simplicity throw you off!

Recently, someone released a version of this effect as a $20 download, and you can tell what the difference is in that handling just by watching the demo. Trade show performers, in particular, consider this to be a priceless addition to their repertoire! Instead of odd backed cards, 4 of the cards have the name of a major product written on the back, while the other 4 have the name of the company on the back; in this way, every performance becomes the perfect product pitch!

Red Hot Mama, or some version of it, is probably in the repertoire of 90% of the professional magicians for a good reason. The basic effect - which is the motivated transformation of one card to another - may be the most surprising thing you can do with a deck that can be easily understood by everyone. If you have some experience with cards and you aren’t already performing some version of this effect, this should be the next thing you learn to do with a deck!

Originally from Michael Ammar's "Easy to Master Card Miracles #1" DVD.