Review: Position Impossible by Brent Braun
All too often magicians shift their attention to new exciting releases, forgetting about wonderful gems from years ago. This inevitably creates a tsunami of performers dishing out the same exact trick with an all too similar cookie cutter patter and presentation. So that being said, I thought it would be good to focus on some of all time personal favourites and this clever one by Brent Braun has to be one of my top five card tricks ever. Read on to find out more about Position Impossible!
Description
Find a thought-of card at ANY number. Brent has been using Position Impossible to close his shows for over 5 years. It is now your chance to learn why. No memorization. No mathematics. No stacked deck. No sleight of hand. No rough and smooth. No sticky stuff. No switch. The cards are genuinely shuffled.
The cards are on the table and out of the magician’s control before a number between 1-52 is even thought of. Yes, it’s this clean every time with no need to displace, move, or hide any cards. The spectator names any number and the selected card is always at that exact number; never one before or after but always at that exact number and the other 51 cards can be shown. Position Impossible creates this theatrically beautiful moment where the spectator looks at every card and doesn’t see hers. She knows the one on the table has to be hers but she also knows that impossible. Position Impossible contains everything you need, including a 40+ minute video download that walks you through the routine step by step. Position Impossible is custom manufactured and available in a very limited supply. Once these are gone they may never be available again.
**NEW** Multi-phase, stand-up routine by Gregory Wilson AND David Gripenwaldt NOW INCLUDED!
Unboxing Position Impossible by Brent Braun
I first knew of Brent Braun about 20 years ago when street magic was all the rage and people wanted to see highly visual stuff. I’d bought Brent’s Torched & Restored and performed the routine all time in my professional close up/ walking around set. It was clever, easy to do, and such an audience pleaser. Very much like Position Impossible in that sense. This brilliant card routine, released five years ago, certainly checks all the boxes!
Anyway, back to the unboxing… Position Impossible arrives in a solid box with a magnetic flap, kept firmly in place within the recess of stiff foam padding to ensure the deck of cards doesn’t get all dinged up during transit before it’s delivered to your doorstep. Inside the card box you’ll find a card with the password for the online instructions, along with the 52 pasteboards required to help you perform this modern day miracle.
Printed by USPCC on their usual stock, the gimmicked cards look good and handle well. It’s a gaff deck that is very clever, throwing me off at first spread and then making me smile a split second later once I realise what he’d done. Did I tell you Brent is one very clever man? With casual handling you wouldn’t be able to distinguish the Position Impossible deck from a regular red Bicycle rider back at all!
Let’s talk USP (unique selling points)
When you get this from Penguin Magic, you receive two instructional videos; the main one by the creator himself and another presented by Gregory Wilson. It’s all very well put together with every aspect of the routine and handling clearly explained, as well as, performance tips and suggestions of psychological subtleties. You’d be up and running in no time, although as much as you’d be excited to start performing, I’d advise you to consider some unique patter and different ways you can give this nifty card trick your very own spin.
What I really like about Position Impossible is that even though it’s a gimmicked deck which you can’t hand out for inspection and the routine cannot be performed for the same audience, it really allows you to handle things fairly. You can ribbon spread the cards openly on the table; everything looks clean and casual because it’s not in your hands; your spectators will believe they have full agency in their decisions since it’s all clearly laid out in front of them before they even name the number they’re thinking of. So the marketing copy rings true— it is essentially a card at any number routine and a brilliant one at that where there’s no need for mental or mathematical gymnastics or even sleight of hand. You can perform this effect anywhere; close up or parlour style for one or more. Your audience can do the card count by themselves so there’s also no reason why this can’t be done over Zoom!
TLDR: Position Impossible by Brent Braun
Powerful and memorable, Position Impossible would be a perfect audience pleaser you can use to close a table hopping set. It’s one of those clever card effects that seemingly gives full agency and credit to your spectators instead of the typical “hey look at me, aren’t I an amazing magician” type of tricks. Great for workers (instant reset), it’s a cracker that’s bags of fun and easy to do. It will even make you look like a card expert. Well recommended 🙂
