If you’re not familiar with the hidden spike in cup trick, think back again. You’ve had to have seen it before. It’s one of the most common mentalism tricks performed by some of the biggest names in magic.
Basically, a magician has a few cups turned over. Under one of them is a knife sticking towards the top. The magician slams his hand down on each bag, avoiding the one with the knife/spike, until the last one is revealed.
There are a few variations with a paper bag instead of a cup, and a knife instead of a spike. They all are performed the same.
We’ll get to the tutorial on how it’s done in a minute, but first let’s watch the trick being performed live on stage.
As you can see, it’s a very engaging and suspenseful trick. It keeps the audience’s eyes glued to you, and only you. Their hearts are bursting, and they squirm at every attempt you make towards the knife.
It’s no wonder why world-famous mentalists and magicians like David Blaine and Criss Angel choose to perform these tricks, even including them in their DVD specials.
Here’s How It’s Done – The Tutorial
You might laugh when you see how simple the secret is behind the trick is. Obviously, the mentalist is not just making a lucky guess.
The cup with the knife is marked with fishing line, only for the magician to see. It’s unnoticeable to anyone else around unless they consciously try to look for it.
Here’s what it looks like:
Watch the tutorial video below.
A very simple trick, but performed at a world-class level. Work on your presence and persona during the trick to build up the suspense and to make people believe like you have some sort of ESP powers that they don’t know about.
