John Bannon is one of the most popular creators of close-up magic and his routines are regularly used by many professional and hobbyist magicians. If you don't have a John Bannon routine in your repertoire you are missing out on direct, visual and impossible close-up magic.

On these two videos John Bannon teaches the best routines from his bestselling book "Impossibilia: The Magic Of John Bannon." And “Smoke & Mirrors.” The routines taught on this program are currently being used by many of the leading close-up magicians.

These are the routines that gave John a worldwide reputation. You will immediately add many of them to your working repertoire.

Impossibilia Video:

►Shriek Of The Mutilated: A visual flash restoration of a torn piece of cigarette paper.
►Stranger's Gallery: A selected card matches three prediction cards which visually change to odd backed colored cards. As a kicker ending the entire deck also changes its back color.
►Play it Straight (Triumph): Bannon's outstanding no-sleight triumph routine where all the cards of the selected card's suit remain face up after three fair shuffles.
►Vacuum Packed: A quarter magically penetrates a small sealed glass bottle and is visually removed through its tiny opening.
►One is the Onliest: A one-coin routine where a signed borrowed Quarter vanishes, appears, and changes into a jumbo join. The signed coin is finally found in an impossible location.
►Shock Treatment: A selected card and a thought-of card are found under impossible conditions. The selected card is counted to by the spectator and the thought-of card is found in your pocket.
►Heart of the City: A selected signed card is lost in the deck. A second selection matches your three predictions. The signed selection is now found in a sealed envelope that has been in full view the entire time.
►Directed Verdict: A spectator cuts the deck into four packets. The spectator turns the top card of each and shows them to be aces.
►The Birnman Revelation: A visual instantaneous production of the four aces.
►Shanghai Surprise: A half-dollar vanishes, appears, changes to an English penny, the half is reproduced and finally both coins change into Chinese coins.
►Revolutionary Penetration: A Chinese coin is threaded and tied on a shoelace. The lace and coin are placed into a spectator's fist and impossibly separate.
►Photo Logic: A small piece of photo paper is signed and placed in full view. A card is selected, and a photograph is taken of it. An image of the selection appears on the signed photo paper.
►Return of the Magnificent Seven: Seven duplicate cards are shown, and a card is selected. Each one of the duplicates now changes into the selected card. Everything is examinable.

Smoke & Mirrors Video:

►Tattoo You: An easy routine where an initialed selected card matches a prediction. The initials are visually transferred to the prediction and it is given as a souvenir.
►Detour De Force: Two predictions are placed in full view. Two cards are selected and match the predictions in the most unusual way.
►Do The 'Twixt: A playing card is placed in the spectator's hand. Three cards are selected and returned to the deck. You magically cut to three cards. Two are the selections -- the third is not -- because the signed selection is in the spectator's hand.
►Masquerade: A Joker assembly where the jokers vanish from individual packets and appear in a leader packet. As a kicker ending the jokers change into four aces.
►Lessons Are Extra: A gambling demonstration where you apparently teach the techniques of card cheaters and continually deal winning poker hands to yourself.
►Outer Limits: A spectator cuts a small packet of cards and thinks of one of them. You immediately tell them what they are thinking of.
►New Jack City: Two cards are selected and lost in different parts of the deck. The four Jacks then find the selections in an impossible way.
►Timely Departure: A spectator thinks of an hour while three cards are thought of. You name the though-of hour and spread the deck to show that the three selections are the only ones face-up.
►Sheep To The Slaughter: A card cheating demonstration where the four aces are obviously dealt to yourself but when the hand is turned over it is the Royal Flush.
►Call Of The Wild (performance only): A marketed routine where blank cards change to identical aces, four different aces and finally into a Royal Flush.
►Trick Shot Production: A memorable routine that starts out with a selected card and ends with a surprise production.
►Underhanded: A card is selected and then found in full view under an object on the table.

A Meir Yedid Magic product. Produced by A-1 MagicalMedia. Original release date: 1990 and 1993. Running time: Approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes.