Chances are if you didn't know Joe's full stage name, you might have some concerns about this young man asking to borrow a deck of cards or money from you. He doesn't look like a magician.

He looks like an intense man in his early twenties with shortly buzzed hair and forearms filled with colorful tattoos. If you were up to judging a man by his image only, you would likely dismiss him as not one of your inner circle.

That would be a shame or perhaps that is Joe Jesse, a/k/a Joe the Magician's strength. He doesn't look like a magician. The closest comparison would be David Blaine but Mr. Blaine looks safe. Joe the Magician just looks intense.

He entered the SCAM close-up contest with just two years of magic under his belt. As his fiancée, Nikki, videotaped, this man with the recently broken hand, performed some of the most startling card and coin flourishes seen by us.

He began his routine with a simple statement. None of his coins or cards are gimmicked or aided by devices. He then dives into the magic we believed entitled him to a first prize in the contest. (Unfortunately the judges did not agree – he was awarded second place).

Right out of the box, Joe starts right out of the box.

He juggles a deck of red backed Bicycle playing cards in his unbroken left hand. (He removed the cast from his right hand just for the purposes of the contest and had to shake hands with his many new fans using his left hand to provide some protection against the sharp pain he anticipated with a healthy greeting). The box of cards ends up on the top of his palm down left hand and with a couple of shakes, Joe is able to remove the full pack with his left hand, close the box and begin his routine.

He performed incredible two-handed, simultaneous three way cuts and restored the deck to its original order.

In other words, Joe, broken hand and all, was able to remove the deck from its closed box with one hand, split the deck into equal halves, present flawless triple cuts and flourishes with each hand, return the parts together in one large assembly of cuts and fans, and end with the deck in the same order as it began.

During the routine, Nikki, known as Tricky Nikki on the Joe the Magician website, was moving her head as if offering Body English to assist her beloved in his well-rehearsed routine.

His coin work was as startling as his cards. He was able to do a five-coin Coin Star with both hands, simultaneously, immediately set up the load of a jumbo coin while rolling silver dollars in his unbroken hand, and perform instantaneous transformations between the two dramatically different sized coins.

Following the performance, we greeted Joe and Nikki and offered our congratulations on what we predicted would easily beat our entry of TV Magic Cards and Imp Bottle to the theme of the 1970's vintage series S.W.A.T.

(We had a slight mechanical error that threw off the timing. We forgot the direction to riffle the TV Magic Cards to show they had all changed to the same card. We apologize for our refusal to just drop the trick and go on to the much more visual and exciting Imp Bottle).

We thought it strange when Joe didn't want to shake our hand. We assumed, therefore, he was a snob and probably a very talented snob. He explained and demonstrated that his right hand had been smashed and broken and offered to shake hands with his one good paw. We felt badly for thinking he was a snob and even weirder for shaking the left hand of a person who kicked our butt so badly in competition.

Joe took up magic for the same reason we all did. He saw someone do something unexplainable and wanted to reproduce the effect on others. His pal caused a lit cigarette to instantly vanish and reappear. Joe was captured by the magic of Magic.

He took up residence as a loiterer and learner at The Myrtle Beach Flea Market's magic stall where he learned there were more effects to be performed. He moved on to Myrtle Beach's incredible Broadway Magic and its owner, Roman LePree. Mr. LePree, like any good pusher, hooked Joe on the opiate of entertaining the masses and suggested he join the local IBM, the Grand Strand Magicians Society.

The folks at Ring 334 took kindly to Joe and appreciated his enthusiasm for our incredible art. Bob Williams demonstrated his ability to effortlessly pluck a coin from the air. Once again, Joe was bitten. Manipulation with cards and coins awaited his talents and he took the next year to learn the sleights he needed to perform a full routine.

We said he was intense and he still is. He studies his craft with the analysis of a play-off caliber quarterback seeking to not only avoid failure but to succeed. He credits fellow magician, Trois Pendleton with teaching him to "slow down and smile."

Through Mr. Pendleton, Joe met The Man, as Joe calls Mickey Silver. Mr. Silver's legend of going from self-taught coin handling routines to international fame has some resonance with Joe's story. They hit it off well. Magic may be one of the few professions where two performers can find more in common than about which to compete and argue. Mr. Silver reviewed Joe's Xtreme Koin Magic very favorably and thus provided the intense young man with an imprimatur far more important than any webpage written by a guy who screwed up TV Magic Cards.

Mr. Silver pronounced, "Joe, you have what it takes to become one of the top coin guys."

There is not much more to be said after such an accolade but to meet Joe the Magician, you would never know he is perceived to be one of the future stars. He is intense, yes, but a good kind of intense. He is humble, gracious, kind and charismatic. He could have gone for the big sympathy points by telling the judges his act was about to be performed with a broken right hand. He didn't. He didn't have to.

We, however, wished we had a chance to do our routine again for the contest crowd. We would have claimed the injury and more. We have no pride but fortunately, we also lack talent. Joe has the quiet pride that flows naturally from one not only competent in his craft but in love with the effect it has on others.

Visit Joe the Magician's incredible web page and check out some of the most amazing manipulation videos you can see on the non-pornographic portion of the internet.

- Provided by InsideMagic