The Fresno Magic Club August Meeting was packed with new magic, member performances, tutorials, and stories from Magic LIVE 2026. Kyle and Patrick shared highlights from their trip to the convention, Kyle demonstrated several exciting new effects, and our members spent the evening performing, teaching, and jamming together.
Amazing Adventures at Magic LIVE
Kyle kicked off the evening by welcoming our new and returning members before giving us a recap of his and Patrick’s recent trip to Magic LIVE.
It sounds like the convention was a fantastic experience. Kyle and Patrick had the opportunity to meet and talk with several well-known magicians, see some incredible new magic, and spend time with friends from throughout the magic community.
One particularly memorable moment came when they were able to sell one of their Floating Pen effects to Richard Kaufman, the prolific magic author and publisher. Also, thanks to Dexter reaching out, Kyle and Patrick had the chance to spend some time with Banachek during the convention.
Of course, no trip to a major magic convention would be complete without coming home with some new magic, and Kyle brought several of his purchases to demonstrate for the club.
Some Favorites from the Magic LIVE Dealer Room
Bankable by Eric Stevens
First up was Bankable by Eric Stevens, a clever take on the classic Bank Night plot.
Kyle performed the routine with Jim, and it played beautifully. One of the most interesting aspects of the effect is its straightforward methodology: there are no sleights, switches, or ditching involved, yet the performer is still able to create an apparently impossible prediction.
It was a great example of how a strong premise and clever construction can create powerful magic without requiring difficult technique.
El Duco Swedish Reel
Next came something wonderfully visual.
Kyle demonstrated the El Duco Swedish Reel, in which a silk appears to impossibly melt straight through a microphone stand. It’s such a simple image, but seeing the silk apparently penetrate a solid object was genuinely magical. Everyone was asking to see it again and again, and with good reason.
Apparently Patrick agreed, as both he and Kyle were impressed enough with the effect at Magic LIVE that each of them bought one!
The effect is available through MetalWriting.com for anyone interested in learning more.
Captivate by Christian Grace
Kyle’s final demonstration from his Magic LIVE purchases was Captivate by Christian Grace.
A signed playing card seemingly appears from an empty baseball cap, creating an extremely visual ending to a card routine. It immediately struck several of us as something that could work especially well for walk-around or informal performance, particularly for a magician who already regularly wears a hat.
The Ones That Almost Came Home…
Kyle and Patrick also told us about several other effects that made a major impression at the convention, even if they didn’t make it into the suitcase.
One of the biggest was Impossible Bottle by João Miranda.
The effect allows an object to apparently become sealed inside a sealed Corona bottle, creating an impossible souvenir that looks like it simply shouldn’t be able to exist.
There’s just one small obstacle: it costs $2,000.
Despite the price, Patrick had such good things to say about the effect that he was still seriously considering it, which probably tells you something about how impressive it was in person!
Another standout was Deck to Wallet by Henry Harris. Rather than the familiar Card to Wallet plot, the effect takes the idea in a completely different direction: the entire deck transforms into the wallet. A folded card that has been visible from the beginning is then revealed to be the spectator’s signed selection.
It’s a wonderfully strange premise and definitely one worth looking up if you haven’t seen it.
Member Performances from the Fresno Magic Club August Meeting
After hearing about Magic LIVE and seeing some of Kyle’s new discoveries, it was time to turn things over to our members.
We had a great selection of performances throughout the evening, showing once again just how many different styles and approaches to magic are represented within our club.
A huge thank-you to everyone who got up and performed. Whether you’re showing something you’ve performed hundreds of times or testing an effect in front of other magicians for the first time, sharing your magic is a big part of what makes these meetings worthwhile.
This Month’s Tutorials
We also had two excellent pieces of magic taught during the meeting.
Kyle — Horizon by Albert Chou
Kyle shared an effect from the new book Horizon by Albert Chou, published by Vanishing Inc.
The routine has some similarities to the classic McDonald’s Aces plot, but accomplishes the effect without gaffed cards and with very little sleight of hand. It’s a clever approach that produces a strong piece of card magic without requiring particularly demanding technique.
[VIEW KYLE’S HORIZON TUTORIAL →]
Members will need to be signed in to access the tutorial.
Patrick — Slow Motion Matrix / Matrix in Installments
Patrick followed with one of his own coin routines.
Depending on the day, you may hear him call it Slow Motion Matrix or Matrix in Installments. Whatever we ultimately decide to call it, the routine offers a different approach to the familiar Matrix plot and builds toward a particularly surprising ending.
[VIEW PATRICK’S MATRIX TUTORIAL →]
Members will need to be signed in to access the tutorial.
And Then We Jammed…
Once the formal portion of the meeting wrapped up, everyone had some time to hang out, talk magic, and show one another effects we’ve been working on.
That informal time is one of my favorite parts of our meetings. Not everything needs to be a polished performance or formal tutorial. Sometimes the most useful thing is simply putting a deck of cards or a few coins on the table and asking another magician, “What do you think of this?”
Thank you to everyone who came out, performed, taught, shared ideas, or simply spent the evening enjoying magic with us.
Help Us Keep the Club Calendar Growing
One final reminder: the Fresno Magic Club website is a resource for all of us.
If you know about an upcoming magic show, lecture, convention, member performance, or other event that you think the club should know about, please leave a comment below and let me know. I’ll be happy to add appropriate events to the club calendar so we can help keep everyone informed and, whenever possible, show up to support one another.
The more our members contribute, the more useful the website can become for everyone in our community.
Thanks for another great meeting, and we’ll see you at the next one!
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