Justin Higham - The KOSBE System: The Mechanics of Improvisation in Card Magic

Consider the following effects:

• A card is selected, returned, and shuffled into the deck by the spectator. Yet the card instantly appears in your pocket.
• A thought-of card is revealed reversed in the deck.
• Four Aces are produced from a borrowed, shuffled deck.

The above three effects are the results of improvisation. This manual explains the ‘mental mechanics’ of improvisation which allow one to perform impossible effects such as the ones above.

In his previous book, Secrets of Improvisational Magic, Justin Higham explored the many different forms of improvisation and the fundamental (and often hidden) secrets of the art.

In this companion volume (which may be read alone), stemming from nearly two decades of experience in improvisational magic, the actual thought processes behind improvisation are analysed and explained. If you want a nuts-and-bolts explanation of how to improvise then this book is intended to give you this.

Do not be misled by the title. ‘Mechanics’ refers to the mental mechanism or system of thought that is used when improvising. This is not a book of card effects or sleights, even though these concepts form the basis of the system in question.