This is a fantastic up close magic trick that requires a bit of setup, but is well worth it as, the crowd will never guess how you are able to do this amazing trick.
This classic has been around for a long time, and it's a great opener into a series of tricks, one trick in the middle of many, or you can even use this as a standalone magic trick to pull on your friends at a bar or a party.
Here's how the trick will appear to your soon to be amazed friends.
You pull out a folded bill, and lay it on the table.
You tell some long convoluted story about how money was created out of some secret bond between man and the gods of yesteryear, and you only need to know how to tap into its special powers to control money with your mind.
So long as you include magic, history, and metaphysics, you'll be sure to have their attention.
Once you have their rapt attention, it's time to do the magic.
Your left hand is held out, pressing the bill against the table.
Then you whisper some magic Latin or Egyptian words (don't worry, you can make these up, nobody will know) and start to focus your powerful gaze on the bill.
In just a couple seconds, the bill magically begins to fold in on itself.
After your friends are thoroughly amazed, simply pick up the bill, place it in your pocket and carry on with whatever conversation you were having before the illusion.
Here's the trick.
The way to make the bill fold is to first prepare it with a piece of tape, and a piece of long thin, thread.
You'll need to fold the bill a few times so it knows where to fold when the time comes.
You take a needle, and push the thread through the bill, and attach it to the other side.
You actually puncture the bill twice.
So if the bill is laying flat, the thread will come up underneath one half, and go through the second half, and be securely taped to the bottom, so they won't see the tape.
Then you have the thread coming out of the hole (the non taped end) and have it run through your pocket or sleeve, and looped around one of your fingers.
For example, if you are holding the bill on the table with your left hand, as you move your right hand away from your body, it will pull the bill in on itself, giving the illusion that it is folding itself.
This takes some practice to set up, but after a few tries at home, you'll be able to set this up in no time.
Of course, like with any other trick, the buildup is important as well, as removing any evidence as soon as the illusion is completed.
It's a good idea to have an identical bill in your pocket, that's been folded in the same places.
So when you pick up the trick bill, you can put it in your pocket and quickly switch it with a normal bill should your friends ask to inspect it.
This is a great trick to do while sitting around a table during normal conversation, as well as a trick to do during a regularly scheduled magic show.
Have fun.