Peek-itis: The Unleaded Peek
We're open to anyone that wants to play devil's advocate. If you hate peek wallets, send us an email for a guest post at DirtyDeckClub@gmail.com, use "Guest Post: [Your Desired Title] by [whatever name you want us to use for you]", and fire away!
I’ve never understood the outdated magic grandpas who claim peek wallets are overrated, all while jamming out to their 8-track tapes. Why people still listen to these outdated relics is beyond me. It’s not my business, and I wouldn’t want to picture it, but these are probably the same guys who think they’re hitting all the same spots as their wife’s Rabbit vibrator does.
Hate to break it to you, grandpa, but you’re not. Doing things the worst way while thinking it's the best can take a toll on the body -
Using a peek wallet is like riding a bicycle downhill: you’ll get to the same destination without the gimmicks, sure, but the wallet takes you there without any unnecessary pitstops. It’s like your wife’s Rabbit—it gets her there quicker and hits all the right spots despite another option which is more pure.
But the old-school magicians will still yell from their rocking chairs that peek wallets shouldn't be used with billets. Yeah, yeah, we hear (and see) you -
People dislike peek wallets because reaching the destination faster shouldn't give you permission to skip the theatrical journey. Too many performers treat the peek as a shortcut, rushing through the magic instead of enhancing it. The real problem is forgetting the importance of taking participants on a captivating magical experience after the peek.
That said, I’m a die-hard peek wallet fanboy.
But grandpa, I'm a good boy! My current main EDC wallet doesn’t have a peek function! Charlie also never touches a peek wallet. And Rusty? That guy peeks at things he shouldn’t, which is probably why he’s locked up right now.
Drop $20 on a good book, and you’ll have enough peek (and billet) material to last a lifetime.
Elliott Bresler’s Switchcraft is proof.
It’s a 900+ page monster, and it doesn’t get much better.
If you’ve got V.45 of Switchcraft, scroll down to the latest supplement, Peekology 101. Sometimes I use the Unleaded Peek—Handling 3 by Scott Creasey and Chris Karim.
No, the Unleaded Peek isn't a fancy click-bait title I created while sitting at the gas station, trying to decide whether I wanted Unleaded or Premium Gas. It's actually a very good peek method with built-in presentational possibilities: 4 billets handled as 3, one that stays concealed, and the rest is pure presentation.
I use a similar (but more detailed) presentational approach as briefly mentioned in the book. I start telling them about this ancient civilization....
"The elders would write letters to their gods on pieces of tree bark. Then, they’d take that bark, place it between two stone plates, and place the whole thing in the middle of a pit surrounded by fire. Some letters would be messages for the Rain Gods to save their crops, others for health or protection."
The story feels like one of those campfire tales.
As I’m sharing it, I have them sandwich what I claim are 3 billets in the middle of their hands—when it’s actually four. I tell them the heat from the fire is what carries the message to the gods, and their hands represent the heat. From there, I'll eventually ditch the billets, keep the story flowing, drawing them deeper into the moment, letting the presentation do the work, and call upon the same gods for the final reveal.
Basically -
The fake backup one, though—the one just barely hanging on, praying the real one pulls me through the next pit of shit I manage to land in.
Anyway, it’s time to eat.
My daughter’s hangry, my wife’s in the kitchen giving me that look, and I’m about 5 minutes away from being exiled to the couch kingdom tonight if I don’t wrap this up and join the family for our pre-dinner prayers to the Primary and only God on Duty.
-A.
