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Difference between revisions of "Endless Chain"

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(Expanded description, added 5 published references)
 
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[[Endless Chain]] (also known as [[Pricking the Garter]], '''Chain of Chance''', '''Fast and Loose''', and '''Loopy Loop''') is a gambling scam. A loop of string or chain (sometimes a necklace) is laid upon a table in a figure-8 pattern. The spectator is shown that if a finger is placed in one side of the figure 8 and the chain is pulled, the chain will come free, but the other side catches on the finger. The spectator is instructed to pick a side that will catch the chain, but fails every time.
 
[[Endless Chain]] (also known as [[Pricking the Garter]], '''Chain of Chance''', '''Fast and Loose''', and '''Loopy Loop''') is a gambling scam. A loop of string or chain (sometimes a necklace) is laid upon a table in a figure-8 pattern. The spectator is shown that if a finger is placed in one side of the figure 8 and the chain is pulled, the chain will come free, but the other side catches on the finger. The spectator is instructed to pick a side that will catch the chain, but fails every time.
  
This is a very old scam. It was published as a magic effect in [[Stanyon's Magic]] in 1901 and later popularized by [[George Blake]] in 1949 when he published it as "Loopy Loop."
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This is a very old scam. It was published as a magic effect in [[Conjuring for Amateurs]] by [[Ellis Stanyon]] in 1897 as ''The Garter Trick'' and later popularized by [[George Blake]] in 1949 when he published it as "Loopy Loop."
  
 
== Books Devoted to the Endless Chain ==
 
== Books Devoted to the Endless Chain ==

Latest revision as of 21:44, 16 January 2010

Endless Chain (also known as Pricking the Garter, Chain of Chance, Fast and Loose, and Loopy Loop) is a gambling scam. A loop of string or chain (sometimes a necklace) is laid upon a table in a figure-8 pattern. The spectator is shown that if a finger is placed in one side of the figure 8 and the chain is pulled, the chain will come free, but the other side catches on the finger. The spectator is instructed to pick a side that will catch the chain, but fails every time.

This is a very old scam. It was published as a magic effect in Conjuring for Amateurs by Ellis Stanyon in 1897 as The Garter Trick and later popularized by George Blake in 1949 when he published it as "Loopy Loop."

Books Devoted to the Endless Chain

Routines in Books

  • A Ray of Magic, by Jimmy Ray, The Magic Figure 8 (1980)
  • Ken Brooke and Friends, by Derek Lever, page 95, The Endless Chain (1986)
  • Tricks, Tips & Routines, by Phil Matlin, page 15, The Endless Chain (1991), first released by Perfect Magic as separate manuscript with chain, circa 1980.
  • Natural Selections, Volume II, by David Acer, Endless Chain: The Finger Ring Subtlety, a subtlety with corresponding presentation that can be integrated into existing routines to negate the possibility of audience concluding that, once a spectator has put a finger in one side of the figure 8, the magician simply pulls the chain from a different point to achieve the desired result. Also provides opportunity for an additional (magical) climax. (1999)

Routines on DVD

References