I believe that Dennis Barlotta will soon be known as the foremost teacher of Slydini's system of misdirection. There have been others before that have tried to explain and teach Slydini routines, but nobody could capture the essence of what made Slydini the master of misdirection the way Barlotta has been able to.
Dennis has studied eight years under Slydini and has spent a lifetime mastering the Slydini method. Dennis told me: "While many magicians admire Slydini, they don't understand what made him unique or how his approach can be employed by them." This is the ebook that will help you understand Slydini's way of doing magic.
This ebook is a very serious study of the thinking, the how and the why Slydini's System of Misdirection is so different from traditional forms of misdirection. This thinking, this manipulation of perception, is clearly demonstrated in his 'Coins Through the Table'.
The Master of Misdirection is an intensive study of Slydini's System of Misdirection. When I started my lessons I told him I wanted to begin with the Coins Through The Table. He smiled. "Good... the coins are the gateway to my magic." Those were his exact words to me. To perform the Coins as Slydini intended the student must understand how to control the thoughts of his impromptu assistant and how to exploit that provocation to his purpose. The Coins teaches this. This manuscript also covers The Knotted Silks, The Torn and Restored Cigarette, The Helicopter Card, The Paper Balls Over The Head, and The One Coin Routine. It is 216 pages in length and includes well over one hundred instructional photos. All of Slydini's guiding principles are covered here from the perspective of the student and the answers of his master.
Section One Principals
1. Mind/Body/ Movement
This chapter deals with the principal ‘The Body Takes The Hand’ and complementary
psychological principals. Slydini’s Sponge Ball Routine is used to introduce his system
This is a study of the technique Slydini used to influence thought patterns and there by
create a justification for accomplishing necessary mechanics. The chapter highlights the
use of this psychological misdirection in his Coins Through The Table.
This chapter offers a definition of Slydini’s Timing and specific examples of Timing
Sequences and their practical application. If your intention is to perform the One Coin
Routine, The Torn & Restored Cigarette, and apply the principal of performing a necessary
mechanic when the audience is mentally at rest, a complete understanding and ability to
perform within Slydini’s Timing Construction is absolutely necessary.
Without exception, in every lesson, at some point Slydini would tell me; “You must
believe what you are doing. If you believe it; they will believe it.” To achieve perfection
in our misdirection we must perform each movement; unconscious of technique; with
5. The Misdirection Sleight
This is a study of Slydini’s Misdirection Sleight, the move he used to vanish the ball in
his Paper Balls Into the Box. This chapter takes a close look at what Slydini is thinking to
himself as he performs the move and therefore what he projecting to his audience.
6. Guarding Your Center
This is a study of the physical relationship of the seated Close Up Magician to his
impromptu assistant. A functional awareness of this relationship is necessary on a routine
by routine basis.
7. Some Technical Considerations
A brief review of technical concerns that must be understood and addressed in this
system of Close Up Magic.
Review and Definitions of Principals and Techniques.
An Outline of Psychological Misdirective Techniques.
Section Two Routines
The Torn & Restored Cigarette
The Torn and Restored Cigarette is being offered to illustrate several principals working
together to create the Magic. This routine features a basic timing sequence, the principal
of the body taking the hand and performing the necessary mechanics of a trick when the
audience is mentally at rest. This routine will enable the student to employ several very
important principals and pave the way to other effects.
The Helicopter Card
The Helicopter Card is being offered as an example of Slydini’s misdirective eye hand
coordination (the same technique he employs in The Paper Balls Over The Head). There
is a very unique switch of the chosen card as it is being placed into the fan and a fan steal
that will introduce the reader to the Slydini Palm. Mastering this routine will help prepare
the magician for a study of The Paper Balls Over The Head.
The Coins Through The Table
The Coins Through The Table is the window to Slydini’s psychological misdirection.
While mechanics have to be performed at the right time, this is not a Timing Sequence
based routine. Magicians who have decided not to study and employ Timing Sequences should focus on
The Knotted Silks
This routine is being offered as an example of how Slydini took existing techniques
available to magicians and crafted a unique entertainment. The routine does not depend
upon Timing Sequences and is therefore available to those magicians who would like to
add this routine to their act without having to devote their entire way of accomplishing
necessary mechanics to the Slydini System of Misdirection.
The Paper Balls Over The Head
This is a complementary study of the published lessons on this routine written from the
perspective of a student struggling with the fear of getting caught while tossing the ball
over the head of the spectator. Mechanics are reviewed but the major focus is on the
performer’s belief system and interaction with the impromptu assistant. This lesson is
intended to give the student a greater insight into what was being communicated to the
assistant by Slydini and therefore why Slydini was able to control the assistant’s
perceptions so completely.
The One Coin Routine
The One Coin Routine is the ultimate conclusion of Slydini’s way of performing Close
Up Magic. In order to perform this routine the student will have to master Timing
Sequences, The Revolve Vanish, The Imp Pass, and The Fake Take. The fundamental
principals are all present here. To understand this routine is to understand how Slydini
performed Close Up Magic.
A closer look at the way Slydini treated his audience, impromptu assistant, and the life
experiences that made him the Magician he was.
1st edition 2005; 216 pages with photos and illustrations.
word count: 84063 which is equivalent to 336 standard pages of text
Reviewed by Christophe Bonnard
Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!] Date Added: Tuesday 27 January, 2009
This book is GREAT.