Hello all.

Fairly new to mentalism but am getting myself seriously immersed in it now.

I have heard that Derren Brown does a very impressive routine in which he lines up volunteers, hast hem hold a coin behind their back, asks them three questions (unrelated to where the coin is) and then determines accurately which hand they have hidden it in.

I also read in Fulves that you can tell 90% of the time by the direction their nostrils flare (or something like that)!

I have attempted to focus on the nose of willing participants but have so far got more wrong than right.

I was wondering if anyone knew some useful information regarding this concept and if it is worth pursuing.

Thanks,
Ben.

muscle reading, character annylysis, etc etc. buy a bunch of books and you'll find it. oh, one word of advice: DONT COPY DERREN BROWN!

the coin in havd routine is a nice simple effect derren brown's version spawned from a chan canasta effect and was used as an opener in his live show. obviously telling how how to do this effect would be exposure so i can't put anything here.

also obviously don't 'copy' other performers you have to learn your own style but in question to above poster whats wrong with derren brown???

There's absolutely nothing wrong with him, he's just saying not to copy him.

sorry if that sounded like a dig or something it was meant in jest sorry

sorry if that sounded rude or anything, it wasn't my intention in any way, but it's hard to put some intonation in a forum you know lol

There is an effect like this in the p.s.i. series, where Banacheck knows which hand the ring is in. And this one works 100% of the time. It is very very easy to do.

Banachek's version is good as a quick throwaway. You can only do it once and this results in a 50-50 chance of getting the coin. It is 100% but pretty usefless because you are restricted to using it only one time. Now using it with a combination of other methods that are less than 100% reliable...there is where the fun starts.

I have come across at least three different ways of doing this. Two of which need A LOT of practice and looking at their nose is a good start. I can usually get three in a row but it really depends on choosing the right victim.. er.. I mean volunteer. The third (and possibly forth) way of doing this that I can think of involve "other" techniques.

The best version I have seen of this is Patrick Redford's Prevaricator: The Ultimate Ring of Truth.

It's presented as a lie detector test. Sort of like Banachek's. The only difference is that you only ask one question and it's the same question to both people. It's not a puzzle. And people going home after you do it have no way of "working it out" because there really is nothing to work out.

*edit* - yes I bumped a really old thread. But I didn't feel anybody gave a really solid answer here.

In that case, always choose the answers which you think are wrong.

I know you were going to ask this before you even thought of it. Now thats good........................

If you're that bad at "reading" someone and want something more consistent, there are plenty of items on the market that can detect which hand someone is holding an object (you usually have to provide the object though)

Child's Play ( 1 and 2)
Relic
Eye to Eye

are a few of them.