The Ad Copy
A peek device that completely vanishes.
The Cheat is a direct, incredibly easy-to-use system for secretly gaining access to written or drawn information.
Your participant writes or draws something. The information is hidden, yet you are able to reveal exactly what they are thinking.
Use it to peek:
- Drawings
- Playing cards
- Numbers
- Personal information
With most peek devices, a lot of thought goes into making them resemble natural, everyday objects. The Cheat is different. It doesn’t need to look natural.. because it already is.
Transform your playing card box into a peek tool that literally vanishes.
The secret becomes part of something that was never suspicious in the first place.
The gimmick can be brought into play and taken out of play during the performance. It remains under your control throughout, without creating an awkward moment or drawing attention to the method.
Multiple handlings are taught, allowing you to choose the approach that best suits your performance style and the situation.
Each Cheat is handmade and designed to be simple, practical and deceptive. Once you understand how it works, you can concentrate entirely on the participant and the revelation rather than worrying about the mechanics.
Easy to learn. Easy to perform. Impossible to backtrack.
Jheff's Guide
WHAT IT IS:
A peek gimmick disguised as part of a Bicycle card box.
HOW ACCURATE OR COMPLETE THE AD COPY IS:
“With most peek devices, a lot of thought goes into making them resemble natural, everyday objects. The Cheat is different. It doesn’t need to look natural.. because it already is.” With this specific gimmick, I’m not sure I agree. The piece that enables you to get the peek is not natural, although it has been cleverly hidden in something that is a natural, everyday object. That is, if a deck of cards on the table is natural to the routine that one is performing.
WHAT’S NOT INCLUDED THAT YOU NEED OR NEED TO KNOW:
There are two categories of peek gimmicks. One allows you to see the information directly. The other lets you see the information indirectly, and it is often glimpsed in a way that isn’t how it originally looks, if you get what I mean. This gimmick falls into the latter category. Also, you will need a matching deck of cards or, more accurately, a matching Bicycle card box, either red or blue depending upon which color you order.
SETUP AND RESET:
There is a tiny bit of a one-time setup that simply involves adapting an actual Bicycle card box. This takes just a few seconds. Otherwise, the gimmick itself requires no further setup or reset.
ANGLES:
None
SUITABLE VENUES:
Close-up, Parlor, Walkaround
JHEFF’S JUDGMENT:
Joel Dickinson has come up with another creative, well‑thought‑out gimmick, and it does exactly what it promises. My concern is that I don’t think many mentalists would have a deck of cards on the table while performing a routine that doesn’t involve playing cards, though mental magicians care less about staying consistent with playing the part of a real mind‑reader. For those in that group, this tool offers plenty of presentation possibilities.