9.12.2007
9.06.2007
6.12.2007
Dan and Dave Buck's
The Trilogy
Price: $85
Available: www.dananddave.com
Format: 3 Disc DVD Set
Alright I will be reviewing the trilogy disc by disc so that way you get a good idea of what this MASTERPEICE is like. This disc has 13 GREAT effects on it, so here we go:
Trilogy Disc One: Tricks
TiVo Transpo- A great, in-the-hands transpo of two cards, that’s looks SO good. They seemed to have added a slight modification to the original handling, but I believe it is for the better.
TiVo 2.0- I guess this is just another version of its predecessor, TiVo. Now is it better than the original……you decide. I still prefer the original handling to this, but I am sure it will find a home in a lot of people’s repertoire.
Subway- “A completely modernized version of Earl Nelson's 'Submarine Sandwich'.” WORD! This is a great, commercial effect that is fairly easy to do. And it teaches the DMB Spread Control which is so cool!
Card Across- An awesome “Quick Trick” that you can do anytime. It teaches a wicked move called FLOOP, and it looks so tight! Perfect for the “show me a trick” scenario.
Hand to Mouth- The classic card to mouth with a flourishy undertone. No difference in effect really….
Déjà Vu- Woah! Love it, Love it, Love it. I am pretty sure this is a variation of the Buck’s other effect called Transpositionings, but this effect is done with two selections instead of one. I think this one is slightly easier than Transpositionings, there was one move in that effect that was killing me, but in this effect it is hella easier. Uber Cool!
Twinsplit Remix- Shazam! Man this looks like trick photography! It looks like you really pull off the pip of the 3 of clubs. Damn! Then you, just as visually, throw the pip back on and “heal” the 3 of clubs. The only real hard part to this effect is the “healing” part, but I have come up with an easier way to do it, and it looks the same. Added to my repertoire immediately.
Fission for Aces- An 8 is split into two 4s. One of the 4s is split into two 2s. And finally, one of the 2s is split into two Aces. Super slick effect right here! It looks so clean and fair, a bunch of great moves are involved. A great lead-in to a sandwich effect using the two Aces.
Hofzzy Osbourne- Award for best name goes to this effect! And a lot of the effect happens in their face, and then the climax happens in their hands. I don’t think that spectators deserve this much magic!
The Queens- DB2’s handling of Bill Goodwin’s now classic effect. The queens one by one vanish and then reappear all at once. For those of you wondering, no the Clip shift is not explained, it is only shown in the performance. With out the Clip Shift is effect is very workable, most of the vanishes are easy and look great.
Swiss Made- The Buck’s version of Steve Freeman’s Back in Time effect. It teaches a nice control and a GREAT Color change. This effect also went by the name of Greek Time Machine in Sleightly Magical. I kinda wish they put Game with a Ghost on this DVD too, that effect rocks! But so does this!
Collectors- The selections are collected AS the aces are produced, I am pretty sure there are not many collectors like that, and wicked visual. The effect is fairly simple, but there are some things that may take a little time to get the hang of. Oh and by the way this is actually the “Double Sandwich” handling from NR1.
Hedberg’s Peak- I loved this effect ever since I read it in Sleightly Magical. So when I saw it on the performance I thought: “Damn! They changed it”. But after I learned it, it really isn’t all that different, the handling is slightly modified. But the good-side to that is that in one part there is a better cover for the h*** Pa**. This is a great follow up for TiVo.
Sixty Nine- This and Jumping Gemini are probably the only packet tricks I do. I really love the Dracula Count and this effect is super quick and simple. So for those of you that needed to visualize this…here is your chance.
Wow! That word can probably sum up the entire set. The DVD packaging is so slick and professional. It’s like you got the special edition of the Lord of the Rings DVD. The Menu for this disc is great, just a list of all the effects. When you click the effect you want. You get a new page with a video box playing a silent performance of the effect, performance button, explanation button, and an Over the Shoulder view button. The teaching is SUPERB; they go over everything great, plenty of recaps and slow-motion. The camera work was great in each explanation also. The over the shoulder view is great, but there is no speaking in this view. I guess it is mainly used as a tool for clarity after you watch the explanation part. The picture is great too, so clear and beautiful. And for me, best of all, all of these effects use a normal deck of cards, and that is just what I am looking for! Now most Dan and Dave fans will know most of these effects already but I suggest you watch them anyway because it is wicked awesome. And I really loved just watching the performances of the effect The Buck’s do the effects so smooth and make them look so good. I was just sitting there mesmerized; even though I knew everything they were doing it was just so beautiful. Bravo Dan and Dave, Bravo!
Yes the Jerry’s are back! This is the disc that most people have been waiting for, so let’s not waste time:
Trilogy Disc Two: Flourishes
Carnahan Fan- Straight out of Sleightly Magical, this is a great fan. It happens so fast and looks so nice, how could you not like it!
Difficulty: 4/10
Molecule_4_False- This is the easiest variation of Molecule 4, as the name says it is false, and also fairly easy.
Difficulty: 5/10
Molecule_4_Tokyo- This is “bigger” variation of the previous cut, it also stems from the Molecule 1 cut. A little bit more flashy but not too much more difficult
Difficulty: 5.5/10
Molecule_4_NY- For those of you that have seen the video “Dan at the convention” this is that molecule 4 that he does. Super bad and wicked nice, really nice ending to it, probably the most difficult of the 3.
Difficulty: 6/10
Pandora- OH SNAP! This is so sick! Pandora is like a Tornado dipped in multiple illegal drugs and then after you give it a couple of shots. This is a super bad combo that also includes Crabshak and Molecule 3. Lots of spins and hand movements, definitely one of the hardest cuts on there.
Difficulty: 8/10
Jackson 5- The Cut. The Legend. This cut eats Babies! Now this is what most of us have been waiting for since we found the Easter egg on The System. Woah! A Wicked long combo that includes: Madonna variation, Sybilism, Skater Cut (AKA Joey Burton Display), 5 Faces of Sybil, 8 Packet Leno, and Genesis. I feel bad for my carpet already, I have dropped so many cards doing this. But it is too wicked not to learn it!
Difficulty: 9/10
Erdanse Go Round- Starts the Rev. E then the packet on bottom “jumps” out and does a somersault and lands on top. I am sure many have already figured this out and done it, but it still looks cool!
Difficulty: 4/10
Erdanse Go Round_V2- Just a slight variation of the previous cut, except instead of somersaulting the packets spins out and does a 360 degree rotation and lands on top. NIZE! Difficulty: 4/10
Vertigo- SO SICK! We all know this from Five, and we all know how cool it is. Has Showstopper written all over it! Fairly Difficult to get the knack though.
Difficulty: 6/10
Eko- They could have named this “Pop and Lock”. Because there is a lot of pauses and fingers switching involved in this cut. When I first saw it I thought it was gonna be cake, but this is actually giving me a little bit of trouble. But I feel it is definitely worth the effort cause this is just schmooove.
Difficulty: 6/10
Mecka- One of my favorite cuts on the disc. Fairly easy going, nothing too hard about this cut, but it has got style! I think this and Molecule 4_False are the only false cuts on this disc. Difficulty: 5/10
Akira- A Super quick cut, I see this only as a fairly flashy way of closing the Tornado cut. I Love the little whip action at the end!
Difficulty: 4/10
Tectonic Verb- Another fairly quick cut, I don’t think I have seen a cut like this, kinda funky. And it has a neat little display in the middle that I really like.
Difficulty: 5/10
YEAH!!!!! Another great disc! I really liked all the cuts on this DVD, they all were wicked cool, and varied in difficulty. Now is this as revolutionary as The System……probably not. But that is because The System came out just when Flourishing was starting out, now more and more people get involved in flourishing and are pushing it further than ever before. Though I do commend the Bucks on giving us some new concepts/moves, because now it is getting harder and harder to come up with original material, so to me this was refreshing. The Menu again looks great, and when it starts up all these little boxes showing each flourish comes up. Then you click on one, brings up a Performance button, and an Explanation button. Some times the cuts are a little too big, so you can learn some cuts in “phases” which I thought was great, especially for J5! And then some cuts have variations, which also appear on their little page. The teaching is a lot better. When you click explanation it first goes into an overview of the cut, which is basically the cut in slo-mo, which I guess is for the more experienced flourishers. Then it goes into full on instruction mode, still no speaking though, but little sentence blurbs come up to help you along. The cut is done in like super slo-mo also, and there are plenty of recaps for each part. Actually that was the only annoying thing about it, you would be in the middle of a move then they go back and do a recap while you are stuck in one position. But I am just being nitpicky . Well done Gents!
The final disc of the Trilogy, hope you enjoy:
Trilogy Disc Three: Everythingelse
A Few Modern Classics
TG Deck Flip- The classic flourish by TG Murphy, just about everybody probably knows this, and knows its usefulness in the flourish world, it’s a must.
Hugh Scott Shuffle- The only way I can describe this is an upside-down riffle shuffle in the hands. It looks really nice when done right.
LePaul S Formation- Straight up cool! This is an addition to the already cool LePaul Spread, where you actually add another curve to the spread to make an “S” shape. And it is surprisingly easy.
360 Deck Spin- This is basically an addition to the All Around Square Up move, where you add another rotation so that the deck spins 360 degrees and lands back in your hand. Another move I will end up doing hypnotically.
Under Pressure- Wicked! You start to perform a fan and then they all “spring” back into place. We all have probably seen this and know how cool it is.
Table Work
Heap Snatch- A real nice and elegant tabled false cut. It looks just like the Thricenator Remix cut in the Vault. Actually it probably is the same cut….
Blackjack Production- A Double Production! First the four aces are produced then…..four perfect hands of Blackjack, matching suits too! Not too difficult and a GREAT intro to a Reset routine.
Shuffled Aces- This is an in the hands 4 ace production in the action of shuffling the cards. On the DVD they said this was a way to do Ace Production from the previous effect in the hands. I think I like the previous one better though.
The Forte Flourish- I really liked the look of this ever since NR2, But for some Reason I could never do it. But with the visuals, I got this down, so easy and so cool.
Random Cool
Click Change- a one-handed Snap Change...while still holding the deck. Now this is giving me some trouble, but it looks so gangsta!
Jones Change- Wickedly Cool! We know this one from the Teaser, where the card is twirled around and then finally changes. It is so damn tight! I really like this one a lot.
Center Double- This is the Flip Center Double, which is a centered double lift that comes from the top. Yeah I know that sounds weird but it looks real nice. And as fast as DB2 do it, it looks like a card just appears in the middle.
Queens Transition- This one comes from our own Aethan Friday! He came up with a way to go from the last vanish in The Queens directly into the Collectors effect. Pretty schweet.
Real Time- THE most ballin’ Ace production ever, IMO! This looks just like real magic, with just a wave of the hand 4 Aces appear. For me it is sort of difficult, but nothing impossible.
Molecule Revisited
Molecule 2, 4 card Production- A smooth 4 card production that comes right out of the Molecule 2 cut, and keeps the entire deck in order.
Molecule 2, 1 Card Production- This is just Uber Cool. Again this is one of those things I was never able to do, but now I got it and it looks so awesome!
Molecule Double Lift- As far as originality goes…meh. As far as looks go….cool.
Molecule Spring Flourish- Straight G! At the end of M2 a packet is sprung into the middle of the deck and a card reverses itself in the middle. Knacky but looks great!
Finger Exercises
In this section Dan and Dave go over various exercises for your fingers, obviously. These are ways to Strengthen your fingers and increase coordination. Heck, I’ll do anything to get that fast!
Flourishes 101
This is a great resource for most of the basic flourishes. Is it the “end all” solution to learning them…no. But it is a great tool none the less. .No speaking in these explanations either.
This is it people… the end. Do I really need to reiterate on how good this DVD Set is? The Bucks really upped the ante with this one, and I can’t wait to see what they come up with next. *Thunderous Applause for the Bucks*
Final Score / 10.0
Price: $85
Available: www.dananddave.com
Format: 3 Disc DVD Set
Alright I will be reviewing the trilogy disc by disc so that way you get a good idea of what this MASTERPEICE is like. This disc has 13 GREAT effects on it, so here we go:
Trilogy Disc One: Tricks
TiVo Transpo- A great, in-the-hands transpo of two cards, that’s looks SO good. They seemed to have added a slight modification to the original handling, but I believe it is for the better.
TiVo 2.0- I guess this is just another version of its predecessor, TiVo. Now is it better than the original……you decide. I still prefer the original handling to this, but I am sure it will find a home in a lot of people’s repertoire.
Subway- “A completely modernized version of Earl Nelson's 'Submarine Sandwich'.” WORD! This is a great, commercial effect that is fairly easy to do. And it teaches the DMB Spread Control which is so cool!
Card Across- An awesome “Quick Trick” that you can do anytime. It teaches a wicked move called FLOOP, and it looks so tight! Perfect for the “show me a trick” scenario.
Hand to Mouth- The classic card to mouth with a flourishy undertone. No difference in effect really….
Déjà Vu- Woah! Love it, Love it, Love it. I am pretty sure this is a variation of the Buck’s other effect called Transpositionings, but this effect is done with two selections instead of one. I think this one is slightly easier than Transpositionings, there was one move in that effect that was killing me, but in this effect it is hella easier. Uber Cool!
Twinsplit Remix- Shazam! Man this looks like trick photography! It looks like you really pull off the pip of the 3 of clubs. Damn! Then you, just as visually, throw the pip back on and “heal” the 3 of clubs. The only real hard part to this effect is the “healing” part, but I have come up with an easier way to do it, and it looks the same. Added to my repertoire immediately.
Fission for Aces- An 8 is split into two 4s. One of the 4s is split into two 2s. And finally, one of the 2s is split into two Aces. Super slick effect right here! It looks so clean and fair, a bunch of great moves are involved. A great lead-in to a sandwich effect using the two Aces.
Hofzzy Osbourne- Award for best name goes to this effect! And a lot of the effect happens in their face, and then the climax happens in their hands. I don’t think that spectators deserve this much magic!
The Queens- DB2’s handling of Bill Goodwin’s now classic effect. The queens one by one vanish and then reappear all at once. For those of you wondering, no the Clip shift is not explained, it is only shown in the performance. With out the Clip Shift is effect is very workable, most of the vanishes are easy and look great.
Swiss Made- The Buck’s version of Steve Freeman’s Back in Time effect. It teaches a nice control and a GREAT Color change. This effect also went by the name of Greek Time Machine in Sleightly Magical. I kinda wish they put Game with a Ghost on this DVD too, that effect rocks! But so does this!
Collectors- The selections are collected AS the aces are produced, I am pretty sure there are not many collectors like that, and wicked visual. The effect is fairly simple, but there are some things that may take a little time to get the hang of. Oh and by the way this is actually the “Double Sandwich” handling from NR1.
Hedberg’s Peak- I loved this effect ever since I read it in Sleightly Magical. So when I saw it on the performance I thought: “Damn! They changed it”. But after I learned it, it really isn’t all that different, the handling is slightly modified. But the good-side to that is that in one part there is a better cover for the h*** Pa**. This is a great follow up for TiVo.
Sixty Nine- This and Jumping Gemini are probably the only packet tricks I do. I really love the Dracula Count and this effect is super quick and simple. So for those of you that needed to visualize this…here is your chance.
Wow! That word can probably sum up the entire set. The DVD packaging is so slick and professional. It’s like you got the special edition of the Lord of the Rings DVD. The Menu for this disc is great, just a list of all the effects. When you click the effect you want. You get a new page with a video box playing a silent performance of the effect, performance button, explanation button, and an Over the Shoulder view button. The teaching is SUPERB; they go over everything great, plenty of recaps and slow-motion. The camera work was great in each explanation also. The over the shoulder view is great, but there is no speaking in this view. I guess it is mainly used as a tool for clarity after you watch the explanation part. The picture is great too, so clear and beautiful. And for me, best of all, all of these effects use a normal deck of cards, and that is just what I am looking for! Now most Dan and Dave fans will know most of these effects already but I suggest you watch them anyway because it is wicked awesome. And I really loved just watching the performances of the effect The Buck’s do the effects so smooth and make them look so good. I was just sitting there mesmerized; even though I knew everything they were doing it was just so beautiful. Bravo Dan and Dave, Bravo!
Yes the Jerry’s are back! This is the disc that most people have been waiting for, so let’s not waste time:
Trilogy Disc Two: Flourishes
Carnahan Fan- Straight out of Sleightly Magical, this is a great fan. It happens so fast and looks so nice, how could you not like it!
Difficulty: 4/10
Molecule_4_False- This is the easiest variation of Molecule 4, as the name says it is false, and also fairly easy.
Difficulty: 5/10
Molecule_4_Tokyo- This is “bigger” variation of the previous cut, it also stems from the Molecule 1 cut. A little bit more flashy but not too much more difficult
Difficulty: 5.5/10
Molecule_4_NY- For those of you that have seen the video “Dan at the convention” this is that molecule 4 that he does. Super bad and wicked nice, really nice ending to it, probably the most difficult of the 3.
Difficulty: 6/10
Pandora- OH SNAP! This is so sick! Pandora is like a Tornado dipped in multiple illegal drugs and then after you give it a couple of shots. This is a super bad combo that also includes Crabshak and Molecule 3. Lots of spins and hand movements, definitely one of the hardest cuts on there.
Difficulty: 8/10
Jackson 5- The Cut. The Legend. This cut eats Babies! Now this is what most of us have been waiting for since we found the Easter egg on The System. Woah! A Wicked long combo that includes: Madonna variation, Sybilism, Skater Cut (AKA Joey Burton Display), 5 Faces of Sybil, 8 Packet Leno, and Genesis. I feel bad for my carpet already, I have dropped so many cards doing this. But it is too wicked not to learn it!
Difficulty: 9/10
Erdanse Go Round- Starts the Rev. E then the packet on bottom “jumps” out and does a somersault and lands on top. I am sure many have already figured this out and done it, but it still looks cool!
Difficulty: 4/10
Erdanse Go Round_V2- Just a slight variation of the previous cut, except instead of somersaulting the packets spins out and does a 360 degree rotation and lands on top. NIZE! Difficulty: 4/10
Vertigo- SO SICK! We all know this from Five, and we all know how cool it is. Has Showstopper written all over it! Fairly Difficult to get the knack though.
Difficulty: 6/10
Eko- They could have named this “Pop and Lock”. Because there is a lot of pauses and fingers switching involved in this cut. When I first saw it I thought it was gonna be cake, but this is actually giving me a little bit of trouble. But I feel it is definitely worth the effort cause this is just schmooove.
Difficulty: 6/10
Mecka- One of my favorite cuts on the disc. Fairly easy going, nothing too hard about this cut, but it has got style! I think this and Molecule 4_False are the only false cuts on this disc. Difficulty: 5/10
Akira- A Super quick cut, I see this only as a fairly flashy way of closing the Tornado cut. I Love the little whip action at the end!
Difficulty: 4/10
Tectonic Verb- Another fairly quick cut, I don’t think I have seen a cut like this, kinda funky. And it has a neat little display in the middle that I really like.
Difficulty: 5/10
YEAH!!!!! Another great disc! I really liked all the cuts on this DVD, they all were wicked cool, and varied in difficulty. Now is this as revolutionary as The System……probably not. But that is because The System came out just when Flourishing was starting out, now more and more people get involved in flourishing and are pushing it further than ever before. Though I do commend the Bucks on giving us some new concepts/moves, because now it is getting harder and harder to come up with original material, so to me this was refreshing. The Menu again looks great, and when it starts up all these little boxes showing each flourish comes up. Then you click on one, brings up a Performance button, and an Explanation button. Some times the cuts are a little too big, so you can learn some cuts in “phases” which I thought was great, especially for J5! And then some cuts have variations, which also appear on their little page. The teaching is a lot better. When you click explanation it first goes into an overview of the cut, which is basically the cut in slo-mo, which I guess is for the more experienced flourishers. Then it goes into full on instruction mode, still no speaking though, but little sentence blurbs come up to help you along. The cut is done in like super slo-mo also, and there are plenty of recaps for each part. Actually that was the only annoying thing about it, you would be in the middle of a move then they go back and do a recap while you are stuck in one position. But I am just being nitpicky . Well done Gents!
The final disc of the Trilogy, hope you enjoy:
Trilogy Disc Three: Everythingelse
A Few Modern Classics
TG Deck Flip- The classic flourish by TG Murphy, just about everybody probably knows this, and knows its usefulness in the flourish world, it’s a must.
Hugh Scott Shuffle- The only way I can describe this is an upside-down riffle shuffle in the hands. It looks really nice when done right.
LePaul S Formation- Straight up cool! This is an addition to the already cool LePaul Spread, where you actually add another curve to the spread to make an “S” shape. And it is surprisingly easy.
360 Deck Spin- This is basically an addition to the All Around Square Up move, where you add another rotation so that the deck spins 360 degrees and lands back in your hand. Another move I will end up doing hypnotically.
Under Pressure- Wicked! You start to perform a fan and then they all “spring” back into place. We all have probably seen this and know how cool it is.
Table Work
Heap Snatch- A real nice and elegant tabled false cut. It looks just like the Thricenator Remix cut in the Vault. Actually it probably is the same cut….
Blackjack Production- A Double Production! First the four aces are produced then…..four perfect hands of Blackjack, matching suits too! Not too difficult and a GREAT intro to a Reset routine.
Shuffled Aces- This is an in the hands 4 ace production in the action of shuffling the cards. On the DVD they said this was a way to do Ace Production from the previous effect in the hands. I think I like the previous one better though.
The Forte Flourish- I really liked the look of this ever since NR2, But for some Reason I could never do it. But with the visuals, I got this down, so easy and so cool.
Random Cool
Click Change- a one-handed Snap Change...while still holding the deck. Now this is giving me some trouble, but it looks so gangsta!
Jones Change- Wickedly Cool! We know this one from the Teaser, where the card is twirled around and then finally changes. It is so damn tight! I really like this one a lot.
Center Double- This is the Flip Center Double, which is a centered double lift that comes from the top. Yeah I know that sounds weird but it looks real nice. And as fast as DB2 do it, it looks like a card just appears in the middle.
Queens Transition- This one comes from our own Aethan Friday! He came up with a way to go from the last vanish in The Queens directly into the Collectors effect. Pretty schweet.
Real Time- THE most ballin’ Ace production ever, IMO! This looks just like real magic, with just a wave of the hand 4 Aces appear. For me it is sort of difficult, but nothing impossible.
Molecule Revisited
Molecule 2, 4 card Production- A smooth 4 card production that comes right out of the Molecule 2 cut, and keeps the entire deck in order.
Molecule 2, 1 Card Production- This is just Uber Cool. Again this is one of those things I was never able to do, but now I got it and it looks so awesome!
Molecule Double Lift- As far as originality goes…meh. As far as looks go….cool.
Molecule Spring Flourish- Straight G! At the end of M2 a packet is sprung into the middle of the deck and a card reverses itself in the middle. Knacky but looks great!
Finger Exercises
In this section Dan and Dave go over various exercises for your fingers, obviously. These are ways to Strengthen your fingers and increase coordination. Heck, I’ll do anything to get that fast!
Flourishes 101
This is a great resource for most of the basic flourishes. Is it the “end all” solution to learning them…no. But it is a great tool none the less. .No speaking in these explanations either.
This is it people… the end. Do I really need to reiterate on how good this DVD Set is? The Bucks really upped the ante with this one, and I can’t wait to see what they come up with next. *Thunderous Applause for the Bucks*
Final Score / 10.0
5.27.2007
Jack Parker's
Set to Stun
Available: http://www.jacksdeck.com/
Price: $20
Format: eBook
Now since this set of notes came before Set to Kill I probably should have done this one first, but whatever. Part 2 here we go!:
Cross Eyed Surprise - A three phase routine were two aces constantly switch places with each other, while imbetween two sets of Queens. And for the finale the Aces actually switch places with the Queens! Now when I started to read this, I was into this effect. But then I got to phase 3 and I was struggling to understand what to do. I don't know if it was the writing or my own fault, but from the first two phases I can tell you that this effect is wicked nice. Really the only thing that is risky are some of the displays involved.
Three Wrongs Make a Right - A nice four of a kind effect were the selection rises through the deck and reverses all of its mates along the way. Whats really nice is the flexible patter, if you do a bit of comedy I know you could work something out of this. And the effect is dead easy, nothing too far fetched. But this effect does bare an obvious resemblance to a Kostya Kimlat effect called Four the Hard Way.
First of the First - A wicked simple cards across, where the spectator's selection vanishes from imbetween two jacks in her half of the pack that she is holding, and reappears in the half that you are holding. Probably the entire effect is done with only one real move, which is great! The simpler the effect the easy it is to connect with the audience while doing it, since it is not that difficult you get to focus more on them than what you are supposed to be doing. Great effect.
Persistent Offenders - Wow, this is just excessively magical! So much magic involved and so so easy. And most of the effect is done with one simple gaff. The effect is akin to the Paul Harris classic "Tap Dancing Aces". I used to shy away from most gaffed effects but this one is almost too good to pass up.
More Effort, Less Magic - Another great magical effect, that can immediately follow Persistent Offenders. Where a chosen selection disappears, one of the kings change into the selection then the king reappears and the selection is now reversed in the middle of the deck. The first vanish is simply genius!, I love it! And the routine allows for plenty of comedic byplay/patter. Love it, Love it, love it!
The Heist - A slick, "hands-off" version of card across. Again with the help of one single gaff, the effect is SO SIMPLE! The gaff makes everything squeaky clean and fair. And also the patter for this effect is very nice and provides a lot of misdirection for some of the repeated moves.
U.D.S.I. - WOAH! Super visual transpo of two cards for one. This effect is super quick, visual, and slightly easy to do. Yee-Haw! This is a gaffless variation of Luke Dancy's effect DiVision (sold at Elmwoodmagic), and it seriously looks just like the original.
Fletch - Sadowtiz for the Win! This is Jack's version of Jerry Sadowitz's great effect "Fetch". While the ending is not the same as the original, at the heart you will see the similarities. The ending, in my opinion, is alot better/stronger than the orginal. Since the "helper card" actually changes into the selection. And of course it's dead easy to do!
100% Confidence - Favorite Effect! Straight up gangsta effect right here! This is Jack's supped up handling of David Solomon's classic "Three Indicators". This does require a bit of a setup, but it is totally worth it! If you don't add this to your repertoire then I suggest you rethink your hobby/profession.
Can Can Coin - Again the lone coin effect. In this one you actually "pull" a coin out the bottom of a Coke can. This didn't really float my boat, maybe because of my hatred for coins. But it does have a lot of really cool convincers to it that would be this slay for an audience.
Man this was another great purchase from Jack! The thing that really stood out the most for me were the effects "Persistent Offenders", "More Effort, Less Magic", and The Heist. When Strung together this three phase routine is absolutely magnificent, in my opinion. And the thing about them was that they all utilize ONE gaff. Jack has managed to squeeze out every last ounce of magic from the ONE gaff. I just thought that was really great. Bravo Jack!
Final Score / 9.6
Available: http://www.jacksdeck.com/
Price: $20
Format: eBook
Now since this set of notes came before Set to Kill I probably should have done this one first, but whatever. Part 2 here we go!:
Cross Eyed Surprise - A three phase routine were two aces constantly switch places with each other, while imbetween two sets of Queens. And for the finale the Aces actually switch places with the Queens! Now when I started to read this, I was into this effect. But then I got to phase 3 and I was struggling to understand what to do. I don't know if it was the writing or my own fault, but from the first two phases I can tell you that this effect is wicked nice. Really the only thing that is risky are some of the displays involved.
Three Wrongs Make a Right - A nice four of a kind effect were the selection rises through the deck and reverses all of its mates along the way. Whats really nice is the flexible patter, if you do a bit of comedy I know you could work something out of this. And the effect is dead easy, nothing too far fetched. But this effect does bare an obvious resemblance to a Kostya Kimlat effect called Four the Hard Way.
First of the First - A wicked simple cards across, where the spectator's selection vanishes from imbetween two jacks in her half of the pack that she is holding, and reappears in the half that you are holding. Probably the entire effect is done with only one real move, which is great! The simpler the effect the easy it is to connect with the audience while doing it, since it is not that difficult you get to focus more on them than what you are supposed to be doing. Great effect.
Persistent Offenders - Wow, this is just excessively magical! So much magic involved and so so easy. And most of the effect is done with one simple gaff. The effect is akin to the Paul Harris classic "Tap Dancing Aces". I used to shy away from most gaffed effects but this one is almost too good to pass up.
More Effort, Less Magic - Another great magical effect, that can immediately follow Persistent Offenders. Where a chosen selection disappears, one of the kings change into the selection then the king reappears and the selection is now reversed in the middle of the deck. The first vanish is simply genius!, I love it! And the routine allows for plenty of comedic byplay/patter. Love it, Love it, love it!
The Heist - A slick, "hands-off" version of card across. Again with the help of one single gaff, the effect is SO SIMPLE! The gaff makes everything squeaky clean and fair. And also the patter for this effect is very nice and provides a lot of misdirection for some of the repeated moves.
U.D.S.I. - WOAH! Super visual transpo of two cards for one. This effect is super quick, visual, and slightly easy to do. Yee-Haw! This is a gaffless variation of Luke Dancy's effect DiVision (sold at Elmwoodmagic), and it seriously looks just like the original.
Fletch - Sadowtiz for the Win! This is Jack's version of Jerry Sadowitz's great effect "Fetch". While the ending is not the same as the original, at the heart you will see the similarities. The ending, in my opinion, is alot better/stronger than the orginal. Since the "helper card" actually changes into the selection. And of course it's dead easy to do!
100% Confidence - Favorite Effect! Straight up gangsta effect right here! This is Jack's supped up handling of David Solomon's classic "Three Indicators". This does require a bit of a setup, but it is totally worth it! If you don't add this to your repertoire then I suggest you rethink your hobby/profession.
Can Can Coin - Again the lone coin effect. In this one you actually "pull" a coin out the bottom of a Coke can. This didn't really float my boat, maybe because of my hatred for coins. But it does have a lot of really cool convincers to it that would be this slay for an audience.
Man this was another great purchase from Jack! The thing that really stood out the most for me were the effects "Persistent Offenders", "More Effort, Less Magic", and The Heist. When Strung together this three phase routine is absolutely magnificent, in my opinion. And the thing about them was that they all utilize ONE gaff. Jack has managed to squeeze out every last ounce of magic from the ONE gaff. I just thought that was really great. Bravo Jack!
Final Score / 9.6
5.26.2007
Jack Parker's
Set to Kill
Available: www.jacksdeck.com
Price: $20
Format: eBook
I really love Jack's work, a lot of creative stuff flows through his brain. I bought this and two other of his eBooks and I will be reviewing them in a 3 part series, so here is part 1, enjoy:
Sunken 21 - The description in the eBook says "The twenty one card, but not as you know it", which is exactly right. Those of you that are afraid of the cliche three rows of seven, you will be happy to know that it is only dealt out like that once. And once you deal them out the effect is essentially over any way. The effect uses a great "key" card principle, but it does require a bit of math. But nothing hard, just some simple multiplication and addition. When you are sessioning with your magician buddies try this out on them, you'll find it will probably even fool them!
Invisible 21 - This one combines the "invisible card" with the 21 card trick, for one great ingenious effect. This would be great to follow a spectator that just did the traditional 21 card trick, it would slay! It's the twenty one card trick where their mental selection vanishes, leaving only twenty cards, then reappears next to a chosen card. With David Solomon also at the helm you can't go wrong. This on also requires about of math, but less than the previous handling.
Fool's Gold - A great Ace Assembly! Wow, so much magic in one little package. An assembly where there are two backfires, and a surprise appearance of a royal flush. I really liked this one, I am a sucker for royal flush kickers! Only thing is that some people might need to use a soft surface for this effect since there is some Double handling.
Bare Naked Ladies - An ultra clean assembly with the queens with a backfire ending. This effect is pretty fast and minimalistic, only uses seven cards. There is one slight discrepancy in the effect which is easily overlooked by the spectator. But you might want to work on your Mexican Turnovers for this.....
Buried Alive - Favorite effect alert! An incredibly startling face-up transposition. So awesome, real quick, visual, and not really hard (For me atleast). Only bad thing is that it requires some thing that not every deck of cards has. But Jack does give a way to do it another way.
Smell of Success - An effect were you attempt to "sniff" out the mate of a prediction on the table. When you sniff the wrong card, the prediction changes into the correct card. This happens again except the spectator does it instead. I really wasn't feelling this effect to much, I don't why though. I already use an effect like this by Jay Sankey called Soul Mates, so I don't think I need to switch. Sorry Jack, but I am sure plenty of other people will like this effect.
Long Dimension Phone Call - Award for best presentation goes to this effect. You apperantly have a friend in another dimension who can do mystical stuff. And you call upon him to do the effect, the effect is that the 4 fours change into the 4 Jacks and then the 4s reappear in weird places. Sick effect + awesome presentation = Great effect.
Alone in the Dark - Jack trys to add a little "pizzaz" to a pretty dry effect AKA Impossible Card Location. I think he does a pretty good job at it too. This location uses a variation of the location used in Sunken 21 and puts it to good use! The patter brings a nice storytelling type presentation to this effect. Again this effect uses some math but nothing you can't handle!
Thought Provoker - A nice mindreading effect that can either turn out to be a Miracle or a Lesser Miracle. Which to me is a Win-Win situation! This effect combines Poker and mindreading, since the spectator mentally choses a card from a freely chosen poker hand. If you get the Prediction wrong then the alternative is that the spectator can imediately spell to their their mentally selected card. This does require a 20 card stack though, so if you are into stacks then you will most likely love this effect, I normally don't do stacks but I feel it is worth it for this effect.
Rumpshaker - AWESOME! An incredible Bottom Dealing Demo that is sleightless, the only that could add to this effect is if you can actually perform a decent Bottom Deal. If not you still have a killer effect, were you swindle the spectators and then slay them at the end by beating the four aces in poker. Awesome effect, does require an extensive stack, but again, it is REALLY worth it!
Ballerina Double - Jack's pretty and deceptive double lift. Not hard at all and it has a nice "snap" subtlety to it. Works for me, and you will pick it up in no time.
Flat Rate of Interest - The lone coin effect in the notes. In this one you push a coin "into" a playing card. Again I wasn't really feeling this one. I don't really like coins too much so this didn't tickle my fancy. But it does use a great coin vanish by Paul Harris. I'm sure someone would like this one.
This has "great buy" written all over it. The material in these pages are awesome, even if you don't like the effects, read them anyway because you might learn something! Jack is obviously a very clever magician and it shows in the material. Most of the effects are keepers in my opinion, simple and practical, not for beginners though. I am glad I got more from this guy! Great stuff people go buy it!!!
Final Score / 9.4
Available: www.jacksdeck.com
Price: $20
Format: eBook
I really love Jack's work, a lot of creative stuff flows through his brain. I bought this and two other of his eBooks and I will be reviewing them in a 3 part series, so here is part 1, enjoy:
Sunken 21 - The description in the eBook says "The twenty one card, but not as you know it", which is exactly right. Those of you that are afraid of the cliche three rows of seven, you will be happy to know that it is only dealt out like that once. And once you deal them out the effect is essentially over any way. The effect uses a great "key" card principle, but it does require a bit of math. But nothing hard, just some simple multiplication and addition. When you are sessioning with your magician buddies try this out on them, you'll find it will probably even fool them!
Invisible 21 - This one combines the "invisible card" with the 21 card trick, for one great ingenious effect. This would be great to follow a spectator that just did the traditional 21 card trick, it would slay! It's the twenty one card trick where their mental selection vanishes, leaving only twenty cards, then reappears next to a chosen card. With David Solomon also at the helm you can't go wrong. This on also requires about of math, but less than the previous handling.
Fool's Gold - A great Ace Assembly! Wow, so much magic in one little package. An assembly where there are two backfires, and a surprise appearance of a royal flush. I really liked this one, I am a sucker for royal flush kickers! Only thing is that some people might need to use a soft surface for this effect since there is some Double handling.
Bare Naked Ladies - An ultra clean assembly with the queens with a backfire ending. This effect is pretty fast and minimalistic, only uses seven cards. There is one slight discrepancy in the effect which is easily overlooked by the spectator. But you might want to work on your Mexican Turnovers for this.....
Buried Alive - Favorite effect alert! An incredibly startling face-up transposition. So awesome, real quick, visual, and not really hard (For me atleast). Only bad thing is that it requires some thing that not every deck of cards has. But Jack does give a way to do it another way.
Smell of Success - An effect were you attempt to "sniff" out the mate of a prediction on the table. When you sniff the wrong card, the prediction changes into the correct card. This happens again except the spectator does it instead. I really wasn't feelling this effect to much, I don't why though. I already use an effect like this by Jay Sankey called Soul Mates, so I don't think I need to switch. Sorry Jack, but I am sure plenty of other people will like this effect.
Long Dimension Phone Call - Award for best presentation goes to this effect. You apperantly have a friend in another dimension who can do mystical stuff. And you call upon him to do the effect, the effect is that the 4 fours change into the 4 Jacks and then the 4s reappear in weird places. Sick effect + awesome presentation = Great effect.
Alone in the Dark - Jack trys to add a little "pizzaz" to a pretty dry effect AKA Impossible Card Location. I think he does a pretty good job at it too. This location uses a variation of the location used in Sunken 21 and puts it to good use! The patter brings a nice storytelling type presentation to this effect. Again this effect uses some math but nothing you can't handle!
Thought Provoker - A nice mindreading effect that can either turn out to be a Miracle or a Lesser Miracle. Which to me is a Win-Win situation! This effect combines Poker and mindreading, since the spectator mentally choses a card from a freely chosen poker hand. If you get the Prediction wrong then the alternative is that the spectator can imediately spell to their their mentally selected card. This does require a 20 card stack though, so if you are into stacks then you will most likely love this effect, I normally don't do stacks but I feel it is worth it for this effect.
Rumpshaker - AWESOME! An incredible Bottom Dealing Demo that is sleightless, the only that could add to this effect is if you can actually perform a decent Bottom Deal. If not you still have a killer effect, were you swindle the spectators and then slay them at the end by beating the four aces in poker. Awesome effect, does require an extensive stack, but again, it is REALLY worth it!
Ballerina Double - Jack's pretty and deceptive double lift. Not hard at all and it has a nice "snap" subtlety to it. Works for me, and you will pick it up in no time.
Flat Rate of Interest - The lone coin effect in the notes. In this one you push a coin "into" a playing card. Again I wasn't really feeling this one. I don't really like coins too much so this didn't tickle my fancy. But it does use a great coin vanish by Paul Harris. I'm sure someone would like this one.
This has "great buy" written all over it. The material in these pages are awesome, even if you don't like the effects, read them anyway because you might learn something! Jack is obviously a very clever magician and it shows in the material. Most of the effects are keepers in my opinion, simple and practical, not for beginners though. I am glad I got more from this guy! Great stuff people go buy it!!!
Final Score / 9.4
5.18.2007
Robert Moreland's
Illusive Actions
Available: From him directly at BottomDeal2000@yahoo.com , or any major dealer
Price: $35
Format: DVD
Let me just say that I have fallen in love with Robert's material, its just too damn good! I bought this because I keep hearing great things of Robbie, so I knew I had to have this. I bought this directly from him and got it signed, the way he is going it should be worth something in a couple of years. On to the DVD! :
Loose Change - This is a quick, at least in Robbie's hands, 3 coin flurry with just a 2 second setup/reset. This looks just beautiful and is fairly easy to do, working coin men should pick this up in no time. The only thing I didn't like about this was in the explanation there was a one-handed coin vanish by Geoff Latta that wasn't explained, and it looks awesome. *goes and cries*. BUT, good news, I contacted Robbie and he gladly explained the vanish to me so now all is well.
Bic-a-Chink Transpo - A coin is produced from a pen cap, then invisibly flies across the table, then another coin is shaked out of the cap, finally as the magi caps the pen, two other coins appear out of now where. The four coins are placed in the pocket then the pen VISUALLY transforms into the four coins. OH MY GOD the kicker of the pen turning into coins is so insanely visual I watched it four times in pure amazement. Then when I watched the explanation I found that this routine is not that hard at all. You might find it awkward at first but you'll ease into it, and it is a great lead in to a four coin routine. If all else fails just use the pen to four coins as an opener!
Yet Another Reset - Robert's handling reset is amazing! The aces are produced, followed by the queens, then the aces one by one transpose with the queens and then just as quickly switch back. One thing I really liked about this was at the beginning he uses a different switch than the standard Veeser Concept. As far as the changes go most are pretty standard, but in his hands they just look better. But the thing I love the most is the backfire ending, then think thats it and then BAM it hits them. And another great thing is the fact that when done correctly this routine is relatively quick.
Repulsive Interchange - One selection disapears from imbetween the four queens and reappears in your pocket. Another selection is placed in and this time the queens vanish leaving only one selection. You then pull the 4 queens out from your left and right pockets!
Cool effect here, can be done standing, which would make this a perfect effect for strolling. The effect its self is not too hard, but some might find it difficult. Also some may not like the discrepancies in this one, but it shouldn't be too hard to cover them up. Some may be scared of the palming in this but trust it is all covered under perfect misdirection. Great effect, I picked it up immediately after watching it.
Sandwich Routine - FAVORITE EFFECT! Love sandwich routines and love this one! Jacks are produced, three cards selected and lost, the jacks then sandwich each selection one by one and at the end vanish. So smooth! This is a take off of Gaston Quieto's Call of the Jokers, I have never seen that effect so I cannot compare. This routine is super simple, IMO, and packs a punch, especially when the Jacks just straight vanish. You will use this, I COMMAND YOU!
Two Places at Once - I see this as a KILLER finsh to any Collectors effect, and trust me it is. Three random cards are chosen by the spectator and placed into the deck box, then carry your favorite Collectors effect, Robbie gives a super simple handling for you to use. Then once the cards are "collected" you show the specator that the Ace, or anything else, as collected the three selections. Then the selections vanish! Now you bring attention back to the card box....open it up and take out the three cards, the Aces are placed aside. THEN the the cards turn into 4.....the four ACES! And the cards that were just placed aside are now the selection. Woah thats sick! And actually very simple to do, it uses a great move by Eric Anderson, and the other moves are not hard at all. And Robert gives a quick overview of his finesse to the Ascanio Spread which is too cool! Again, an AMAZING finish to your favorite Collectors effect, and this will make it straight up DEADLY...
I can't recommend this DVD enough! Robbie's stuff is workable, commercial, and pretty easy. The material is not for beginners though. On the teaching: He is very thorough in all his teachings, he goes over things multiple times "just for clarity", when he taught a neat two card production he went over it twice and did it over again at least 9 times. Also I forgot to mention Robbie gives a deep explanation of Juan Tamariz's Perpendicular Control, Side Steal work, and the D'Amico Multiple Shift, which is now my go-to shift. And a wicked 4 card production called Ambitious Solution, which is Robert's handling for Lee Asher's Ambitious Explosion. Another thing I also like is the southern accent he has, its just so kind sounding. The DVD Menu is super easy to navigate, gives you choices on what you want to see either the Performance or the Explanation. I actually think the only thing more enjoyable than learning the effects on this DVD was actually watching them. Robbie's card handling is just soo smooth, he has all these cool little moves he does here and there, and it just adds to the beauty of each effect.Overall a GREAT DVD!
Final Score / 9.9
Available: From him directly at BottomDeal2000@yahoo.com , or any major dealer
Price: $35
Format: DVD
Let me just say that I have fallen in love with Robert's material, its just too damn good! I bought this because I keep hearing great things of Robbie, so I knew I had to have this. I bought this directly from him and got it signed, the way he is going it should be worth something in a couple of years. On to the DVD! :
Loose Change - This is a quick, at least in Robbie's hands, 3 coin flurry with just a 2 second setup/reset. This looks just beautiful and is fairly easy to do, working coin men should pick this up in no time. The only thing I didn't like about this was in the explanation there was a one-handed coin vanish by Geoff Latta that wasn't explained, and it looks awesome. *goes and cries*. BUT, good news, I contacted Robbie and he gladly explained the vanish to me so now all is well.
Bic-a-Chink Transpo - A coin is produced from a pen cap, then invisibly flies across the table, then another coin is shaked out of the cap, finally as the magi caps the pen, two other coins appear out of now where. The four coins are placed in the pocket then the pen VISUALLY transforms into the four coins. OH MY GOD the kicker of the pen turning into coins is so insanely visual I watched it four times in pure amazement. Then when I watched the explanation I found that this routine is not that hard at all. You might find it awkward at first but you'll ease into it, and it is a great lead in to a four coin routine. If all else fails just use the pen to four coins as an opener!
Yet Another Reset - Robert's handling reset is amazing! The aces are produced, followed by the queens, then the aces one by one transpose with the queens and then just as quickly switch back. One thing I really liked about this was at the beginning he uses a different switch than the standard Veeser Concept. As far as the changes go most are pretty standard, but in his hands they just look better. But the thing I love the most is the backfire ending, then think thats it and then BAM it hits them. And another great thing is the fact that when done correctly this routine is relatively quick.
Repulsive Interchange - One selection disapears from imbetween the four queens and reappears in your pocket. Another selection is placed in and this time the queens vanish leaving only one selection. You then pull the 4 queens out from your left and right pockets!
Cool effect here, can be done standing, which would make this a perfect effect for strolling. The effect its self is not too hard, but some might find it difficult. Also some may not like the discrepancies in this one, but it shouldn't be too hard to cover them up. Some may be scared of the palming in this but trust it is all covered under perfect misdirection. Great effect, I picked it up immediately after watching it.
Sandwich Routine - FAVORITE EFFECT! Love sandwich routines and love this one! Jacks are produced, three cards selected and lost, the jacks then sandwich each selection one by one and at the end vanish. So smooth! This is a take off of Gaston Quieto's Call of the Jokers, I have never seen that effect so I cannot compare. This routine is super simple, IMO, and packs a punch, especially when the Jacks just straight vanish. You will use this, I COMMAND YOU!
Two Places at Once - I see this as a KILLER finsh to any Collectors effect, and trust me it is. Three random cards are chosen by the spectator and placed into the deck box, then carry your favorite Collectors effect, Robbie gives a super simple handling for you to use. Then once the cards are "collected" you show the specator that the Ace, or anything else, as collected the three selections. Then the selections vanish! Now you bring attention back to the card box....open it up and take out the three cards, the Aces are placed aside. THEN the the cards turn into 4.....the four ACES! And the cards that were just placed aside are now the selection. Woah thats sick! And actually very simple to do, it uses a great move by Eric Anderson, and the other moves are not hard at all. And Robert gives a quick overview of his finesse to the Ascanio Spread which is too cool! Again, an AMAZING finish to your favorite Collectors effect, and this will make it straight up DEADLY...
I can't recommend this DVD enough! Robbie's stuff is workable, commercial, and pretty easy. The material is not for beginners though. On the teaching: He is very thorough in all his teachings, he goes over things multiple times "just for clarity", when he taught a neat two card production he went over it twice and did it over again at least 9 times. Also I forgot to mention Robbie gives a deep explanation of Juan Tamariz's Perpendicular Control, Side Steal work, and the D'Amico Multiple Shift, which is now my go-to shift. And a wicked 4 card production called Ambitious Solution, which is Robert's handling for Lee Asher's Ambitious Explosion. Another thing I also like is the southern accent he has, its just so kind sounding. The DVD Menu is super easy to navigate, gives you choices on what you want to see either the Performance or the Explanation. I actually think the only thing more enjoyable than learning the effects on this DVD was actually watching them. Robbie's card handling is just soo smooth, he has all these cool little moves he does here and there, and it just adds to the beauty of each effect.Overall a GREAT DVD!
Final Score / 9.9
5.03.2007
David Forrest's The Trickery
The Trickery (Disc Two)
Available: www.full52.com
Price: £25/$50
Format: DVD
Alright this is just a continuation of The Trickery (Disc One) Review, so if you want the overall review of this DVD set please go to that post. Alright here are the effects for Disc 2:
Convention Triumph - A neat version of Triumph were first the selection is shown to be the only face-up, then the magician shows the deck again and all the other mates have turned up. I REALLY like the patter/presentation for this effect, telling stories from a magic convention, kinda setup like a magician v. magician type patter. As for the effect for me it was a bit meh, IMO the shuffling sequences take a bit too long, but do contain lots of nice displays.
Take Note - A cool card revelation, where you draw a prediction on a note pad, it turns out to be correct. And then you actually "rip" out the selection from the paper, leaving you with a real card and a blank peice of paper. And if I remember correctly you can do the one time setup on the notebook and you can perform this effect as many times as you have enough paper.
Moth Cut - David calls this the "ugly" brother of the Butterfly cut, IMO he is right. Now when I say that I don't mean it is Butt Fugly, its just not as elegant as the Butterfly cut. It also keeps the top stock of the deck.
Flying Cut - I am sure that everybody has atleast done this once, just an "aerial" variation of David Acer's Pendulum Cut.
Pip Trip - When an attempt at getting the selection goes awry, you visually "pluck" off a pip from an indifferent card and place it onto the mistaken selection, turning it into the the actual selection. SUPER easy handling for this effect, and it is just so commercial, and fun to do. I have only done this once for a spectator but when I "put" the pip onto his card, He just looked at it and started scratching the card seeing if it could come off!
Boxing Clever - I am not familiar with the original handling of card to matchbox so I cannot compare this to that. I wasn't really into this effect that much, I suck at contructing gimmicks, actually the gimmick isn't that hard to make its just I am lazy. But basically from what I gather is that you are able to show a card in the match box, then "tip" it out and the box will look empty. Im am sure some of you will like this one, but I wasn't feeling it.
Queekers - Awesome name Dave! Ok basically the four queens turn into the four jokers then for a finale the jokers turn into the four aces. That might sound hard, but actually it is pretty simple to do. It makes use of some convincing counts to show the cards, and all the "changes" are pretty basic.
Burger Kings - Favorite effect on Disc Two! Basically the four kings vanish one by one and eventually trap the selection. The effect is really simple and looks awesome, the patter is like when you are using an object and you get on the phone and you go back and the object "vanishes". Who can't relate to that!? Now I am sure some of you may think this effect is stupid, but that is just your loss!
Coins in Glass - Two coins penetrate through the deck box into a shot glass, the third one how ever doesn't make it all the way through. The magic spreads out the deck of cards and finds the coin is actually IMBEDDED in the SIGNED SELECTION! Closer much? Now if you are willing to put in the effort to setup for this effect then you have pretty much a miracle on your hands. But let me warn you the setup is pretty big and might take some time. Definetly not one of the more practical things on the DVD.
Shotgun CTP - Awesome FASDIU 4 cards to pocket effect! Four selections, two pockets, and a deck vanish finisher. And the deck vanish isn't the normal version used, it uses a slightly more angly variation but looks alot better. Actually the last selection is produced after the deck vanish. Great closer for strolling magic, and not too difficult to do. I say 2nd favorite of the DVD.
Tenkai Control - Way to keep the secret out of the name there Dave! If you want to see how clean this control looks go to full52.com and watch the demo video for "Trap-ease". That is were I first saw it, and it looks awesome! You'll enjoy this one, once you get over the angles
There you have it, this is it for the Trickery DVD set. I hope you get it because the effects are awesome, commercial, practical and most of them are pretty easy.
Available: www.full52.com
Price: £25/$50
Format: DVD
Alright this is just a continuation of The Trickery (Disc One) Review, so if you want the overall review of this DVD set please go to that post. Alright here are the effects for Disc 2:
Convention Triumph - A neat version of Triumph were first the selection is shown to be the only face-up, then the magician shows the deck again and all the other mates have turned up. I REALLY like the patter/presentation for this effect, telling stories from a magic convention, kinda setup like a magician v. magician type patter. As for the effect for me it was a bit meh, IMO the shuffling sequences take a bit too long, but do contain lots of nice displays.
Take Note - A cool card revelation, where you draw a prediction on a note pad, it turns out to be correct. And then you actually "rip" out the selection from the paper, leaving you with a real card and a blank peice of paper. And if I remember correctly you can do the one time setup on the notebook and you can perform this effect as many times as you have enough paper.
Moth Cut - David calls this the "ugly" brother of the Butterfly cut, IMO he is right. Now when I say that I don't mean it is Butt Fugly, its just not as elegant as the Butterfly cut. It also keeps the top stock of the deck.
Flying Cut - I am sure that everybody has atleast done this once, just an "aerial" variation of David Acer's Pendulum Cut.
Pip Trip - When an attempt at getting the selection goes awry, you visually "pluck" off a pip from an indifferent card and place it onto the mistaken selection, turning it into the the actual selection. SUPER easy handling for this effect, and it is just so commercial, and fun to do. I have only done this once for a spectator but when I "put" the pip onto his card, He just looked at it and started scratching the card seeing if it could come off!
Boxing Clever - I am not familiar with the original handling of card to matchbox so I cannot compare this to that. I wasn't really into this effect that much, I suck at contructing gimmicks, actually the gimmick isn't that hard to make its just I am lazy. But basically from what I gather is that you are able to show a card in the match box, then "tip" it out and the box will look empty. Im am sure some of you will like this one, but I wasn't feeling it.
Queekers - Awesome name Dave! Ok basically the four queens turn into the four jokers then for a finale the jokers turn into the four aces. That might sound hard, but actually it is pretty simple to do. It makes use of some convincing counts to show the cards, and all the "changes" are pretty basic.
Burger Kings - Favorite effect on Disc Two! Basically the four kings vanish one by one and eventually trap the selection. The effect is really simple and looks awesome, the patter is like when you are using an object and you get on the phone and you go back and the object "vanishes". Who can't relate to that!? Now I am sure some of you may think this effect is stupid, but that is just your loss!
Coins in Glass - Two coins penetrate through the deck box into a shot glass, the third one how ever doesn't make it all the way through. The magic spreads out the deck of cards and finds the coin is actually IMBEDDED in the SIGNED SELECTION! Closer much? Now if you are willing to put in the effort to setup for this effect then you have pretty much a miracle on your hands. But let me warn you the setup is pretty big and might take some time. Definetly not one of the more practical things on the DVD.
Shotgun CTP - Awesome FASDIU 4 cards to pocket effect! Four selections, two pockets, and a deck vanish finisher. And the deck vanish isn't the normal version used, it uses a slightly more angly variation but looks alot better. Actually the last selection is produced after the deck vanish. Great closer for strolling magic, and not too difficult to do. I say 2nd favorite of the DVD.
Tenkai Control - Way to keep the secret out of the name there Dave! If you want to see how clean this control looks go to full52.com and watch the demo video for "Trap-ease". That is were I first saw it, and it looks awesome! You'll enjoy this one, once you get over the angles
There you have it, this is it for the Trickery DVD set. I hope you get it because the effects are awesome, commercial, practical and most of them are pretty easy.
5.02.2007
David Forrest's The Trickery
The Trickery (Disc One)
Available: www.full52.com
Price: £25/$50
Format: DVD
Alright So I am gonna do this one disc at a time, because if I did both discs I would probably only do my highlights. But I really want you get a grasp the awesomeness of this set of DVDs. We are off now:
[The Ace Suite] - The next four effects can all be grouped together into one awesome routine, which is exactly what David does.
Wallop - A neat little production of a deck of cards from your wallet. I like this one, because it uses something just about every male has, maybe some masculen females, and is a neat alternative to just taking out your cards.
Ace-Capade - This is an easy and very workable four Ace production, I personally didn't like this production. Why? I am from the Bucks's school of Flourishing and Ace Productions, so I tend to use more flashy productiona. But I am sure many of you might like this one.
Blind Lemon Aces - I LOVE this damn effect! Favorite effect of probaly on both discs! The magi finds one ace with both hands, then he trys to do it one-handed....with a sucker finish. Extremely easy and workable, and teaches a neat control. Thank you Jack Carpenter for allowing David to include this effect!
Ace Collectors - It combines two of my favorite plots, Collectors and Triumph, therefore this might be biased. I liked this effect alot! It might be difficult for beginners. Actually the performance almost scared me away from this effect because a tiny bit of the Faro Monster showed, but once I got to the explanation I wasn't scared anymore. Lots of magic and a kicker that has so much built in misdirection that you could probably do the last move in slo-mo and not get caught.
Assembled - A fairly easy assembly of a four of a kind were the last one actually switches places with the selection! Very easy to do, only thing is that it tends to take up some table space, but what assembly doesn't?
Hypnotic Cut - Alright so I learned this cut and then I immediately thought why he called it "hypnotic", then I looked down at my hands and I was still doing the cut! I think this is good false cut for magic, but is not up to snuff for actual flourishes. Again the Buck's school of Flourishes.
On Holemeal - This one actually got me mad because, I saw it and I loved it, then I saw what was needed, I don't have any of the stuff needed! My suggestion to you would be to buy David's booklet called "Holes", it comes with the necessary gimmicks and includes two other effects as well, just make sure you get the booklet version! Oh yeah, it is an insanely visual sandwich effect where a hole is cut between two blank "sandwich" cards, and you can actually see when the selection appears in the sandwich.
Grass Box - This allows you to turn your ordinary deck box into a peeking machine. The one time setup is pretty easy, you could do it to every new deck you get. The peek happens in a matter of seconds and is completely natural.It could easily be used to transition from cards to mentalism.
Bil-Ink - An almost impromptu Bill to marker cap, it is so nize! It uses a gimmick that EVERY magician better have. Handling is very easy, and actually now that I am thinking about you could use it to answer the age old question "Can you make the Bill disappear?" that many restaurant workers probably hear. Because you make it disappear and oh course you then reproduce it, unless it's Jessica Alba or any other excessively hot girl, then its for free. hahaha!
Glazed and Confused - This is actually one of the things I didn't like on the DVD, maybe it's just me though. But I figure that I would rather put in the bigger setup for a regular card through window than the mini version.
Revolution Color Change - Now I didn't see too much originality here, but maybe thats my inexperience speaking. But none the less I still liked it, as you turn the deck a couple of times the face card changes, not that hard either but will take practice.
Overall I really enjoyed this DVD Set, it is just chock full of easy workable material, and I am dead sure that someone that buys this will add at least 2 of these effects to their immediate repitoire, I know I added mored than that! All the teaching is great, it gives you two angles to use, and he makes sure you know EVERYTHING on the explanation. The only bad thing I will say is that David needs to get better spectators in his next project because the ones in these performances were like dead, maybe L&L could lend him a hand.Seriously you can't go wrong with these DVDs. I will even go so far to say that these DVDs were my best purchase of the year, and I bought quite a few DVDs!
Final Score / 9.4
Available: www.full52.com
Price: £25/$50
Format: DVD
Alright So I am gonna do this one disc at a time, because if I did both discs I would probably only do my highlights. But I really want you get a grasp the awesomeness of this set of DVDs. We are off now:
[The Ace Suite] - The next four effects can all be grouped together into one awesome routine, which is exactly what David does.
Wallop - A neat little production of a deck of cards from your wallet. I like this one, because it uses something just about every male has, maybe some masculen females, and is a neat alternative to just taking out your cards.
Ace-Capade - This is an easy and very workable four Ace production, I personally didn't like this production. Why? I am from the Bucks's school of Flourishing and Ace Productions, so I tend to use more flashy productiona. But I am sure many of you might like this one.
Blind Lemon Aces - I LOVE this damn effect! Favorite effect of probaly on both discs! The magi finds one ace with both hands, then he trys to do it one-handed....with a sucker finish. Extremely easy and workable, and teaches a neat control. Thank you Jack Carpenter for allowing David to include this effect!
Ace Collectors - It combines two of my favorite plots, Collectors and Triumph, therefore this might be biased. I liked this effect alot! It might be difficult for beginners. Actually the performance almost scared me away from this effect because a tiny bit of the Faro Monster showed, but once I got to the explanation I wasn't scared anymore. Lots of magic and a kicker that has so much built in misdirection that you could probably do the last move in slo-mo and not get caught.
Assembled - A fairly easy assembly of a four of a kind were the last one actually switches places with the selection! Very easy to do, only thing is that it tends to take up some table space, but what assembly doesn't?
Hypnotic Cut - Alright so I learned this cut and then I immediately thought why he called it "hypnotic", then I looked down at my hands and I was still doing the cut! I think this is good false cut for magic, but is not up to snuff for actual flourishes. Again the Buck's school of Flourishes.
On Holemeal - This one actually got me mad because, I saw it and I loved it, then I saw what was needed, I don't have any of the stuff needed! My suggestion to you would be to buy David's booklet called "Holes", it comes with the necessary gimmicks and includes two other effects as well, just make sure you get the booklet version! Oh yeah, it is an insanely visual sandwich effect where a hole is cut between two blank "sandwich" cards, and you can actually see when the selection appears in the sandwich.
Grass Box - This allows you to turn your ordinary deck box into a peeking machine. The one time setup is pretty easy, you could do it to every new deck you get. The peek happens in a matter of seconds and is completely natural.It could easily be used to transition from cards to mentalism.
Bil-Ink - An almost impromptu Bill to marker cap, it is so nize! It uses a gimmick that EVERY magician better have. Handling is very easy, and actually now that I am thinking about you could use it to answer the age old question "Can you make the Bill disappear?" that many restaurant workers probably hear. Because you make it disappear and oh course you then reproduce it, unless it's Jessica Alba or any other excessively hot girl, then its for free. hahaha!
Glazed and Confused - This is actually one of the things I didn't like on the DVD, maybe it's just me though. But I figure that I would rather put in the bigger setup for a regular card through window than the mini version.
Revolution Color Change - Now I didn't see too much originality here, but maybe thats my inexperience speaking. But none the less I still liked it, as you turn the deck a couple of times the face card changes, not that hard either but will take practice.
Overall I really enjoyed this DVD Set, it is just chock full of easy workable material, and I am dead sure that someone that buys this will add at least 2 of these effects to their immediate repitoire, I know I added mored than that! All the teaching is great, it gives you two angles to use, and he makes sure you know EVERYTHING on the explanation. The only bad thing I will say is that David needs to get better spectators in his next project because the ones in these performances were like dead, maybe L&L could lend him a hand.Seriously you can't go wrong with these DVDs. I will even go so far to say that these DVDs were my best purchase of the year, and I bought quite a few DVDs!
Final Score / 9.4
Magic from the Session #2
Magic from the Session #2
Available: www.andigladwin.co.uk
Price: £5/$10
Format: Booklet
When I ordered the Session 2007 DVD, from Andi Gladwin only, I also received this booklet free. It is a nice little grey booklet, that contains 7 effects, but 3 of the 7 can also be found in the DVD. So I will only be doing the effects that weren't on the DVD, with the exception of one, since I didn't review that one. Off we go:
Savannah Switch [Robert Moreland] - This is Robbito's take on Kenner's Four4Four switch, what separates it from the original is the finger used to execte the switch and the position of the cards being switched. Now I do like this variation but I think I will stick to the original, I think the original is a little more "automatic" shall we say, and this requires a bit of misdirection. Well probably not in Robbie' hands!
Kaned [Jamie Badman] - Jamie's handling of Peter Kane's classic Jazz Aces, except done with Jokers and Kings. I really like this handling for some reason, it's very clean, no meaningless fumbling around. Good Job Jamie, this and Rock and Roll Aces are now my favorite handlings.
Snatch [Tyler Wilson] - Favorite effect! Even though, as Tyler said, there are no new sleights the way he constructs it it looks new, at least to me! It is basically a sandwich effect were the two jokers "sink" into the deck to find the selection. It looks SO cool, especially the first "phase". The only thing I need now is to get my hands on that Trapdoor issue so that I can learn the Hurricane Change, for now I will just use the Winter Change. T-Willy doesn it again!
Fire Writer [Luke Dancy] - This is a neat little card revelation were it seems that the spectator burns the intials of her selection on the back of an indifferent card. I don't really like the setup for this effect, even though it is a one-time setup, I am not sure I will be using this one. But before I do I have to atleast try it out a couple of times, "Try it, then you can say you don't like it" thats what my mom says.
Lunch Crunch [Paul Cummins] - No FASDIU here, this is a situational effect where you aparrrently break a credit card and then heal it. It uses an old optical illusion, accompenied with a nice audio illusion. I wasnt' particularly fond of this one.
Also included:
Versatile Sandwich Move [Jon Armstrong]
Twisting Maxi Twist [Allan Ackerman]
Overall I liked this booklet. Now would I have bought this by it self, had I not gotten the DVD, most likely. Now if I did have the DVD, then most likely I wound't have, but maybe just seeing Tyler Wilson and Robert Moreland's names would have done it. Still, no matter what nice stuff in here, pictures are clear and concise, crediting is on key, good stuff!
Final Score / 7.9
Available: www.andigladwin.co.uk
Price: £5/$10
Format: Booklet
When I ordered the Session 2007 DVD, from Andi Gladwin only, I also received this booklet free. It is a nice little grey booklet, that contains 7 effects, but 3 of the 7 can also be found in the DVD. So I will only be doing the effects that weren't on the DVD, with the exception of one, since I didn't review that one. Off we go:
Savannah Switch [Robert Moreland] - This is Robbito's take on Kenner's Four4Four switch, what separates it from the original is the finger used to execte the switch and the position of the cards being switched. Now I do like this variation but I think I will stick to the original, I think the original is a little more "automatic" shall we say, and this requires a bit of misdirection. Well probably not in Robbie' hands!
Kaned [Jamie Badman] - Jamie's handling of Peter Kane's classic Jazz Aces, except done with Jokers and Kings. I really like this handling for some reason, it's very clean, no meaningless fumbling around. Good Job Jamie, this and Rock and Roll Aces are now my favorite handlings.
Snatch [Tyler Wilson] - Favorite effect! Even though, as Tyler said, there are no new sleights the way he constructs it it looks new, at least to me! It is basically a sandwich effect were the two jokers "sink" into the deck to find the selection. It looks SO cool, especially the first "phase". The only thing I need now is to get my hands on that Trapdoor issue so that I can learn the Hurricane Change, for now I will just use the Winter Change. T-Willy doesn it again!
Fire Writer [Luke Dancy] - This is a neat little card revelation were it seems that the spectator burns the intials of her selection on the back of an indifferent card. I don't really like the setup for this effect, even though it is a one-time setup, I am not sure I will be using this one. But before I do I have to atleast try it out a couple of times, "Try it, then you can say you don't like it" thats what my mom says.
Lunch Crunch [Paul Cummins] - No FASDIU here, this is a situational effect where you aparrrently break a credit card and then heal it. It uses an old optical illusion, accompenied with a nice audio illusion. I wasnt' particularly fond of this one.
Also included:
Versatile Sandwich Move [Jon Armstrong]
Twisting Maxi Twist [Allan Ackerman]
Overall I liked this booklet. Now would I have bought this by it self, had I not gotten the DVD, most likely. Now if I did have the DVD, then most likely I wound't have, but maybe just seeing Tyler Wilson and Robert Moreland's names would have done it. Still, no matter what nice stuff in here, pictures are clear and concise, crediting is on key, good stuff!
Final Score / 7.9
5.01.2007
The Session 2007
The Session 2007
Available: www.andigladwin.co.uk
Price: £20/$40
Format: DVD
Alright so this was a DVD from this year's Session Convention. It features 16 effects from 13 contributors that all went this year. Here are some of the highlights for me:
Triple Sandwich [Mike Davis] - This is a very quick sandwich effect with three phases, hence the name DUH! I really enjoyed it because 1) I love Sandwich effects 2) Its Quick 3) Impromptu. And best of all it is fairly easy, I think the hardest move may have been this weird control he uses to ge a card into a certain position.
Versatile Sandwich Move [Jon Armstrong] - Alrighty this is a neat little move, another Sandwich YAY. I guess at it's roots it is just a switch of a card that is sandwich between two cards for another. It requires a little bit of choreography to make it look nice, but thats not to hard. As a bonus he includes this effect Handy Sandwitch, a two phase sandwich effect were on the second phase the card "melts" throught the spectator's hand, and appears between two jokers that are in the spectator's hands. I will definetly be using that one!
Moving Pip [Rob James] - An ungimmicked, super visual moving pip effect, that literally takes 7 seconds to do. It is also pretty simple, especially for those that have mastered the OHTP, like Rob has. When I saw the performance of this I literally yelled at the TV screen, I was like DAMN thats HOT!
Inverted Elevator [Robert Moreland] - With out a doubt the BEST effect on the DVD, for me this was worth the price of the dvd, Robert Moreland just earned another fan! This is a supped up variation of Marlo's classic elevator plot, were at the end the entire deck goes from all face-down to all face-up. It even includes a brief explanation of his Cloud Change! I am in love with this one, marry me!
Slo-mo Collectors [John Carey] - I love the Collectors plot so I had to include this one. In this one the selections one-by-one appear inbetween the aces, and is not hard at all. I would love to see how fast Kostya Kimlat could do this, if you catch my drift.
Cut and Restored iPod Cable [Noel Qualter] - This is simply a modernization of the classic CnR Rope, I doubt there is even a change in method. But the reason I liked this was because TONS of people have iPods nowadays so this would make a great "impromptu" trick that uses an object that lots of people have, therefore it is beyond suspicion. Only problem is that once you cut the cable you have like 4 seconds to restore before you get punched!
Twisting Maxi Twist [Allan Ackerman] - This one is too hot to tip, IMHO. Tons of magic in one, easy to do effect, what more could you ask for! Thanks Mr. Ackerman
Also included......
Rubbish Trick [Dynamo]
Firewriter [Luke Dancy]
Mealarang [Ollie Mealing]
Queens Variation [Myles Nakouzi]
Switch Trick [Ollie Mealing]
Road Trip [Andi Gladwin]
Mealing Peeling [Ollie Mealing]
Flexible Shift [Jamie Badman]
6am Production [Rob James]
Besides effects the DVD there was also an interview with Wayne Houchin, which I found really cool. He gives his thoughts on Magic on the Internet, Criss Angel, Performing vs. Creating and some other things. He even gives you the story behind Sinful's name and why Indecent is called Indecent, which I found hilarious. Then there is an interview with the Session Convention founders: Andi Gladwin & Rob James by Tyler wilson. Gives insight on why they started the Session and such. Which was very interesting, and they gave a quick little plug for Tyler and Andi's new booklet Movers and Shakers. And finally there where two performances from Marc Oberon and one from James Brown, Brown's was downright AMAZING.
Overall I think this was money very well spent, I wish I was able to go to the actual convention, and maybe someday I will. Also just because some of the effects didn't make my highlights doesn't mean they were crap, it's just I liked others over them. So in the end I definetly recommend this!
Final Score / 9.1
Available: www.andigladwin.co.uk
Price: £20/$40
Format: DVD
Alright so this was a DVD from this year's Session Convention. It features 16 effects from 13 contributors that all went this year. Here are some of the highlights for me:
Triple Sandwich [Mike Davis] - This is a very quick sandwich effect with three phases, hence the name DUH! I really enjoyed it because 1) I love Sandwich effects 2) Its Quick 3) Impromptu. And best of all it is fairly easy, I think the hardest move may have been this weird control he uses to ge a card into a certain position.
Versatile Sandwich Move [Jon Armstrong] - Alrighty this is a neat little move, another Sandwich YAY. I guess at it's roots it is just a switch of a card that is sandwich between two cards for another. It requires a little bit of choreography to make it look nice, but thats not to hard. As a bonus he includes this effect Handy Sandwitch, a two phase sandwich effect were on the second phase the card "melts" throught the spectator's hand, and appears between two jokers that are in the spectator's hands. I will definetly be using that one!
Moving Pip [Rob James] - An ungimmicked, super visual moving pip effect, that literally takes 7 seconds to do. It is also pretty simple, especially for those that have mastered the OHTP, like Rob has. When I saw the performance of this I literally yelled at the TV screen, I was like DAMN thats HOT!
Inverted Elevator [Robert Moreland] - With out a doubt the BEST effect on the DVD, for me this was worth the price of the dvd, Robert Moreland just earned another fan! This is a supped up variation of Marlo's classic elevator plot, were at the end the entire deck goes from all face-down to all face-up. It even includes a brief explanation of his Cloud Change! I am in love with this one, marry me!
Slo-mo Collectors [John Carey] - I love the Collectors plot so I had to include this one. In this one the selections one-by-one appear inbetween the aces, and is not hard at all. I would love to see how fast Kostya Kimlat could do this, if you catch my drift.
Cut and Restored iPod Cable [Noel Qualter] - This is simply a modernization of the classic CnR Rope, I doubt there is even a change in method. But the reason I liked this was because TONS of people have iPods nowadays so this would make a great "impromptu" trick that uses an object that lots of people have, therefore it is beyond suspicion. Only problem is that once you cut the cable you have like 4 seconds to restore before you get punched!
Twisting Maxi Twist [Allan Ackerman] - This one is too hot to tip, IMHO. Tons of magic in one, easy to do effect, what more could you ask for! Thanks Mr. Ackerman
Also included......
Rubbish Trick [Dynamo]
Firewriter [Luke Dancy]
Mealarang [Ollie Mealing]
Queens Variation [Myles Nakouzi]
Switch Trick [Ollie Mealing]
Road Trip [Andi Gladwin]
Mealing Peeling [Ollie Mealing]
Flexible Shift [Jamie Badman]
6am Production [Rob James]
Besides effects the DVD there was also an interview with Wayne Houchin, which I found really cool. He gives his thoughts on Magic on the Internet, Criss Angel, Performing vs. Creating and some other things. He even gives you the story behind Sinful's name and why Indecent is called Indecent, which I found hilarious. Then there is an interview with the Session Convention founders: Andi Gladwin & Rob James by Tyler wilson. Gives insight on why they started the Session and such. Which was very interesting, and they gave a quick little plug for Tyler and Andi's new booklet Movers and Shakers. And finally there where two performances from Marc Oberon and one from James Brown, Brown's was downright AMAZING.
Overall I think this was money very well spent, I wish I was able to go to the actual convention, and maybe someday I will. Also just because some of the effects didn't make my highlights doesn't mean they were crap, it's just I liked others over them. So in the end I definetly recommend this!
Final Score / 9.1
4.30.2007
Justin Miller's Strolling Hands Lecture Notes
Strolling Hands: A Lecture on the Art of Restaurant and Walk-Around Magic By Justin Miller
Website: ww.closeupjm.com
Price: $20
Format: eBook
Pages: 26
In this set of lecture notes Justin gives a quick overview of what it is like to get a reastaurant gig, and also explains six effects. He answers commonly asked questions such as:
-How do I approach a table full of people talking to each other?
-How long do I stay at a table?
-Do I accept tips if offered? Do I solicit tips?
-Do I work just for tips, or do I charge the restaurant a fee?
-How long do I perform each night?
Then he goes into an important aspect of reastaurant magic that is often overlooked, Pocket Management. He goes over the do's and don'ts of pocket management, He gives and example of bad management and then goes back and tells you what was wrong with it. He also explains a pretty slick deck switch in the context of looking for another Sharpie.
Next he gives his thoughts on the importance of having an Opener, Middle, and a Closer. "Opener’s should be quick and visual. Middle: Longer than opener and something that will leave them thinking. Closer: Total Mindblower! Knock there socks right off, back to the store, and make them pay for them again!" that is a direct quote from the notes.
Justin then talks about ways of dealing with employees at restaurants. He classifies them as: "The workaholic just trying to get by. The sour one that thinks magic is stupid and fake. And the fan of magic that just keeps bugging you and stuff." He tells you ways to bond/deal with each type of employee.
Finally in a couple of brief paragraphs, Justin explains what you should do on your "breaks".
Now off we go to the effects!:
Shockingly Sweet- A signed sugar packet's corner is ripped off and all the sugar is poured out, into the spectator's hand. Then you ask for the sugar back, you "forgot" to do something, you pour it back into the packet and then visibly restore the ripped packet...with their signature still on it.
Impromptu: No
Gaff/Gimmick: Yes, and I am pretty sure every self-respecting magician has at least one.
My View: Very neat effect, I like the pouring of the sugar in their hands as it proves as a nice convincer for them. This is a perfect opener for reastaurants, because it uses a known object from the table, and the gimmick does pretty much everything for you.
Keyed-Up- A card is selected, lost, the usual procedure. Then the cards are spread and the word "Key" and a picture of a key are found on the back of a card. The card is found to be the selection. The key is then VISUALLY "popped" of the back of the card and a real key lands in the spectator's hands. The signed card is then examinable.
Impromptu: No
Gaff/Gimmick: Yes, along with a household item.
My View: I like this one alot, this is one of those effects were you have to weigh the setup vs. the power of the effect. I would definetly be willing to do the set-up for this. When that key lands in their hands they look at you like "You Mother&^$%#$@". This was definetly the Highlite of the notes for me.
Chasing Ackerman's Back x3- Three cards are selected, signed and place away back in the pack. The four Jacks are then introduced and then go blank, then visually turn into 3 cards. Only 3 cards are then turned over and shown to be all three signed selections.
Impromptu: No
Gaff/Gimmick: Yes
My View: I personally don't like this effect to much, just not my can of coke. But I am sure plenty of you out ther could make it work for you.
Flushed Again- A card is selected and replaced in the deck. Then four blank cards are introduced, then with a rub each blank card helps determine what the selected card is, with the last blank turning into the actual selection. Then all of the sudden a fifth card is seen, the cards are tuned over and found to be a Royal Flush.
Impromptu: No
Gaff/Gimmick: Yes
My View: Same as Chasing Ackerman's Back, but I do prefer this one more, I'm a sucker for Royal flush kickers.
Coin-ivorus- Bring out a coin purse along with 3 half dollars, then a Chinese Coin is introduced and it lures each half dollar towards it. Then it visually "eats" each half dollar, till nothing is left. Then the magi opens the coin purse that has been on the table the entire time and pours out the 3 half dollars!
Impromptu: No
Gaff/Gimmick: No
My View: IMHO for the setup that is involved, it wasn't cuttin it for me. I mean it is a pretty cool effect, its just the set-up that turns me off. Or maybe its just the fact that I am a cardman.
Seal-a-Feign- A marked coin is visibly pushed through the cellophane of the playing card box. And for the kicker the coin actually goes through the card case and lands inside a SEALED card box. In fact the only way to get it out is to open the seal and dump it out.
Impromptu: No
Gaff/Gimmick: No
My View: Awesome effect, the setup is kinda tedious but I think it is worth it. No wonder he uses it as a closer.
All in all I think this was a pretty good purchase, personally I thought the information was more valuable than the effects. When I bought this I was hoping for some good Impromptu material, and I was disappointed when I saw that just about every effect uses a gaff/gimmick.
Final Score / 8.0
Website: ww.closeupjm.com
Price: $20
Format: eBook
Pages: 26
In this set of lecture notes Justin gives a quick overview of what it is like to get a reastaurant gig, and also explains six effects. He answers commonly asked questions such as:
-How do I approach a table full of people talking to each other?
-How long do I stay at a table?
-Do I accept tips if offered? Do I solicit tips?
-Do I work just for tips, or do I charge the restaurant a fee?
-How long do I perform each night?
Then he goes into an important aspect of reastaurant magic that is often overlooked, Pocket Management. He goes over the do's and don'ts of pocket management, He gives and example of bad management and then goes back and tells you what was wrong with it. He also explains a pretty slick deck switch in the context of looking for another Sharpie.
Next he gives his thoughts on the importance of having an Opener, Middle, and a Closer. "Opener’s should be quick and visual. Middle: Longer than opener and something that will leave them thinking. Closer: Total Mindblower! Knock there socks right off, back to the store, and make them pay for them again!" that is a direct quote from the notes.
Justin then talks about ways of dealing with employees at restaurants. He classifies them as: "The workaholic just trying to get by. The sour one that thinks magic is stupid and fake. And the fan of magic that just keeps bugging you and stuff." He tells you ways to bond/deal with each type of employee.
Finally in a couple of brief paragraphs, Justin explains what you should do on your "breaks".
Now off we go to the effects!:
Shockingly Sweet- A signed sugar packet's corner is ripped off and all the sugar is poured out, into the spectator's hand. Then you ask for the sugar back, you "forgot" to do something, you pour it back into the packet and then visibly restore the ripped packet...with their signature still on it.
Impromptu: No
Gaff/Gimmick: Yes, and I am pretty sure every self-respecting magician has at least one.
My View: Very neat effect, I like the pouring of the sugar in their hands as it proves as a nice convincer for them. This is a perfect opener for reastaurants, because it uses a known object from the table, and the gimmick does pretty much everything for you.
Keyed-Up- A card is selected, lost, the usual procedure. Then the cards are spread and the word "Key" and a picture of a key are found on the back of a card. The card is found to be the selection. The key is then VISUALLY "popped" of the back of the card and a real key lands in the spectator's hands. The signed card is then examinable.
Impromptu: No
Gaff/Gimmick: Yes, along with a household item.
My View: I like this one alot, this is one of those effects were you have to weigh the setup vs. the power of the effect. I would definetly be willing to do the set-up for this. When that key lands in their hands they look at you like "You Mother&^$%#$@". This was definetly the Highlite of the notes for me.
Chasing Ackerman's Back x3- Three cards are selected, signed and place away back in the pack. The four Jacks are then introduced and then go blank, then visually turn into 3 cards. Only 3 cards are then turned over and shown to be all three signed selections.
Impromptu: No
Gaff/Gimmick: Yes
My View: I personally don't like this effect to much, just not my can of coke. But I am sure plenty of you out ther could make it work for you.
Flushed Again- A card is selected and replaced in the deck. Then four blank cards are introduced, then with a rub each blank card helps determine what the selected card is, with the last blank turning into the actual selection. Then all of the sudden a fifth card is seen, the cards are tuned over and found to be a Royal Flush.
Impromptu: No
Gaff/Gimmick: Yes
My View: Same as Chasing Ackerman's Back, but I do prefer this one more, I'm a sucker for Royal flush kickers.
Coin-ivorus- Bring out a coin purse along with 3 half dollars, then a Chinese Coin is introduced and it lures each half dollar towards it. Then it visually "eats" each half dollar, till nothing is left. Then the magi opens the coin purse that has been on the table the entire time and pours out the 3 half dollars!
Impromptu: No
Gaff/Gimmick: No
My View: IMHO for the setup that is involved, it wasn't cuttin it for me. I mean it is a pretty cool effect, its just the set-up that turns me off. Or maybe its just the fact that I am a cardman.
Seal-a-Feign- A marked coin is visibly pushed through the cellophane of the playing card box. And for the kicker the coin actually goes through the card case and lands inside a SEALED card box. In fact the only way to get it out is to open the seal and dump it out.
Impromptu: No
Gaff/Gimmick: No
My View: Awesome effect, the setup is kinda tedious but I think it is worth it. No wonder he uses it as a closer.
All in all I think this was a pretty good purchase, personally I thought the information was more valuable than the effects. When I bought this I was hoping for some good Impromptu material, and I was disappointed when I saw that just about every effect uses a gaff/gimmick.
Final Score / 8.0
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