Move by Gianni Vox from Ellusionist

As you may have read on other faster sources the effect can not be done as shown in the clip. I'm not too upset about that because it's a recreation of how it should appear to the spectator if you do it right, but lay spectators should not be viewing a trailer, magicians should be. Plus doing the effect for real in the video would have resulted in another moron kicking up sand because he saw through the effect in the trailer.

The idea I had when I saw the trailer turned out to be wrong (due to faked trailer). I don't know if I'm happy about that. The idea I had was that the signature that does the jumping was on a clear something that was ditched later.  The reason I might not be happy about being wrong about the method is because the complaint I have about this effect is the same as I had with Modulate and I'm not sharing it here for the same reason. And it really does keep me from doing either of the effects until I find a solution I'm happy with. Beyond that it requires a minimal amount of props, and is shown two ways one that uses the deck and one that starts free of the deck.

The video is under nine minutes and starts with the trailer, it's the same level of quality as the other recent downloads I've purchased. I can't really say any of them really felt scripted more like they were just making up what to say as they go along. But for five bucks I see no real reason to complain about that.

Chaos Theory by Danial Madison from Ellusionist.

An in the hands Triumph effect for five bucks sounds good right. I'm not sure one could say that was delivered here. Really it's more of a false shuffle for five dollars. The download glosses over one of the most important bits, getting the selected/named card into position. Madison basically says that he knows the deck so well that finding the named card and getting it in position is no problem. Well that's well and good but what about those of us that lack Madison level skills with a deck? Without the selected card part most of the rest of the routine taught is useless, so it is a bit of hurdle. That said, the false shuffle taught seems easy but it does require getting one hands used to unfamiliar movements, and made my hands sore. Specifically my index fingers which are not used to riffling cards. It looks like a cross of two table shuffles I don't know the name of, but have seen the instructions two. Once I get it down it'll probably be my go to in the hands false shuffle.

Modulate by Dee Christopher form Ellustionist

A nice little card transposition effect, simple and cost effective (to buy, actual use may not be as cost effective).  It's visual and happens free of the deck. It's so simple that I'm surprised it's not in some old book, and it's not a magician fooler. I think that when seeing the full unedited performance at the beginning of the video most will know what's what. The download only costs $5, and it's feel like a rather versatile idea. Dee Christopher shows three variations on it. And regardless of what the ad copy says (though reading it after watching the download I think they may be saying something other than what I think the ad copy implies) I don't think it translates away from cards very easily. All the things that make it work with cards may not be present in other mediums. If two things look the same how will someone know that they switched places until the reveal. And so if you're using something like two index cards a different transposition may be better. My biggest complaint is hard to air with out exposing more than I'd like. But basically I feel really limited in the ability to repeat the effect for multiple audiences and I would have like to have seen that addressed because if Dee Christopher uses this effect with any regularity it must be an issue he has run into.

The Best Color Monte Ever.

The original Color Monte (or at least the one I know as the original) using a red and blue diamond is a bit of a silly trick. And I always wondered if it was just colored squares why have a standard card back. There are a lot of versions of color montes out there. Various colors, pictures, and themes. But for the most part they are very similar, they feel similar. This one feels different. It has three actors and makes use of the audience. The audience participation is funny without making anyone the butt of a joke. Even if the story is similar, I feel a lot of thinking went into this effect. Then think of the effort of working in two other actors. Thats a lot of work in jazzing up the color monte and to me that shows that the magician really cares about giving his audience something to see.

Shapeshifter by Marc DeSouza from Ellusionist

So I came in runner up in a contest on the Ellusionist forum and my prize was the download of shapeshifter. This download had been on my wishlist for a while and I wanted it, so I was quite happy. Old video is old at least that's what I felt watching the first half of the video. The section with Marc DeSouza has a grainy quality to it, especially next to the video of Brad Christian. But other than that I have no complaints about the quality.

First up is Brad Christian with some jibber jabber and after him is Marc Desouza and a history lesson on the move even going so far as to show you the move that Shapeshifter was based on. More info than I really needed but compared to the videos that give no credit to the people its a good thing. He does an excellent job of explaining and demonstrating the move. After teaching Shapeshifter he talks about how he does it most often and introduces another move called the 'Dribble Double' which he uses to set up for Shapeshifter. The dribble double is an OK move, not too hard but it seems like a lot of work to get a double. Next is another move and an effect based on it I prefer called the 'Cover Change'. Its a little double color change effect that I feel makes a good opener. It's quick and it visual. Following that is another color change called the 'New Theory Classic Change' It's good one but a little awkward for me as I did not have a good foundation of skills for it. Next  up came a move that I immediately added to my ACR to replace a move I was not happy with. The new move being "LePaul Side Steal". This move was a move I needed, I'll probably get more use from it than from the Shapeshifter. Next up was the 'Erdnase Palm Shift' which I felt was more of the same as the side steal. And that's it for DeSouza's bit.
Next up is Brad Christian section. He start with some advice in the keep at it and you will get it vein of advice. Then he teaches a way to get set up for Shapeshifter that is good for practice and an alternate handling for tiny hands, how to get out of it and just more advice in general. Now here comes my big complaint for this DVD, the effect Gypsy Burn. Move wise its overly complicated. It felt to me like while they were planning it someone said "What this DVD need to make it sellable is a full effect that uses Shapeshifter." and they had none so they took an effect and stuck Shapeshifter in it. The problem is that they are using it as a switch instead of the visual color change change it is. Move wise there is a lot to do so that you can use Shapeshifter which means there is a lot of area to get caught. By replacing all that nonsense with a double turnover you minimize the complexity and the chance of getting caught. Other than being made too complicated move wise its a good effect.

Overall I've very happy with the product and I'm glad I have it. What was in this download, three color changes, two side steals, a fancy double, a quick effect, and a bigger effect that needs work.

If you found this review to helpful or you thought it sucked let me know in the comments section.

Robocycle from Bicycle

As usual I was in my local big box store and I came across a deck of cards I did not own yet so I got them. Bicycle Robocycle, robot themed playing cards. There were two options dark gray and light gray, I opted for the dark gray ones. I ran them through my drills which mean I did every move I use and all my effects with them and they felt and handled like a standard deck of bikes. The robot motif is expressed on the backs of the cards with a circuit board design. The back is also where a lot of magicians would complain because while it does have a border, the boarder is dark gray while the front to the cards are white. The suits are all standard and look like you would find on any other deck of cards. The face cards and jokers are all robots and I liked that the suicide king and the one eyed jacks where well represented. Under the seal is the words Theory11 but I couldn't find this deck on their website so I don't know. But if it is a product from a magic company that would explain the blank faced card that came with the deck. But not why it was at a local store for so cheap. Anyway personally I don't like this deck I think it's ugly and the whole point of using a custom deck is that it aesthetically pleasing.

If you found this review to helpful or you thought it sucked let me know in the comments section.

Kard Klub from Ellusionist

So I knew going in that Kard Klub was all based around the Two Card Monte effect, but I was more interested in it for its claim of being aimed improving ones performance skills. I have the same complaint for this that I had for Stigmata, cheap case that broke. Other than that the DVD was fine physically. So I have thought about learning the Two Card Monte, effect maybe it would be easier to apply the lessons of the DVD. I could even make it work easily with my character. But I just don't like the effect all that much. So I'm not going to be doing it. However in addition to a few moves worth learning there is a lot to be gained from this DVD. Of course Brad Christian teaches the Two Card Monte, that is just a small part of it, most of the DVD is clips of people with various skill levels performing the the Two Card Monte and then re-playing the clips with Brad Christian pointing out where they were good and where they were bad. For example one performer gets so caught up in playing with the spectator that she gets bored and ends up messing up the effect. The performer lost his ability to manage his audience with his goofing off. Although I felt that while it wasn't when he wanted her to turn the cards over, if he had just rolled with the punches he would have been fine. When the trick goes south he just folds up, his whole body droops, its obvious to everyone that what happened wasn't supposed to happen. He was done with all the secret moves though, the part he was at was a final build up before the reveal. So there was impact lost there, nothing he can do about that, but if had just went about the routine from the reveal no one but another magician would known that wasn't supposed to happen. While I don't care for the Two Card Monte I do like that using one effect throughout the video makes it easier to compare and contrast performances. In addition to the DVD I got a little booklet and access to the private forum. The booklet is nice, it's mostly re-iterations of the info on the DVD but it does have the routines and I've found it easier to learn a routine from a written source. The forum was active at some point in history as evidenced by the fact that at the time of this writing, it goes back 18 pages but its pretty much dead now. The last time someone made a post in it they had to post in the general forum to get attention drawn to it.

If you found this review to helpful or you thought it sucked let me know in the comments section.

That's a trick deck.

Due to the specific nature of this blog its probably safe to say that you my reader have been to a forum of some sort for magicians. However just in case you have not allow me to illuminate you as to a constant theme that pops up over again. There are basically two groups, one group says that if you use any deck of cards other than Rider backed Bicycles your spectator will think that you are using a trick deck. And the other group is sane, I'm kidding but the other group doesn't think that it has anything to do with the deck. I am of the second group and I believe that if the spectator thinks you are using a trick deck then it is your failing as a performer that caused this.

I only use Rider backed cards in two instances, practice and gaff work. The only time that I use Rider backs in front of  spectators is when they have the most reason to be suspicious. I mostly use Artifices now and before that oddly colored decks produced by MagicMakers INC.

I remember that cards existed before I got into magic seriously but I can't say that I remember their backs, and rarely were they expensive Bikes only serious card players would buy those. I can remember one back. When I was about 10 I got every trick deck at the Dollar Tree. One of which was a marked back deck and I had to memorize the secret markings. So that back kind of sticks out in my memory.

You know that if you go to your nearest store that sells cards, they have decks that only cost $1. They are complete crap when it comes to handling but they will work for any card game you could want to play. Now if you need to manipulate cards then you want bikes. Did you also know that right next to the Bikes, there are decks with much more interesting designs for a comparable price. Coke-Cola, Spongebob, Micky Mouse, Star Wars, are all represented in card form at my local store. My mom plays solitaire and she has two deck of bikes that I gave her after I no longer needed them. One of them is that silver deck Bicycle put out.  She has two other decks one has American flags on it and the other Battleships. My sister likes card based drinking game both of the times she went out and got a deck, she did not get bikes, she got Micky Mouse and Spongebob. I left a deck of red backed bikes out on a table one day after practicing and my mother asked me if it was one of those expensive decks I got online.

So if its not the cards that make people think you are using a trick deck then what does that leave? It leaves the performer. More so it is the performers character that leads the audience to believe that it is a trick deck. If you can't find anything in your performance character that leads people that way maybe its some of the real you slipping through. How do you feel about tricks and gimmicks like that? Me personally I'd rather do it all through slight of hand if I could. Which is probably why people come to that conclusion when watching me instead of the trick deck one.

Artifice Deck from Ellusionist

So what can I say about the Artifice deck besides "Why do you hate me Ellusionist?" I mean you make this awesome deck and you make the reds limited and hard to get. It sucks. But I do have a blue and green artifice deck and I haven't noticed any significant difference between the two. Handling out of the box is smooth as silk and the look just too pretty. I love the artifice deck and after reading that all of Ellusionists custom decks had a subtle one way back I almost went crazy trying to verify this. One of things I like is the vibrancy of the court cards. They are just beautiful and the Ace of Spade is the first card I've ever considered as a tattoo. The box is as nice as one expects from an Ellusionist deck. One of the things I like is that there was no deck seal. After the clear wrap the seal was the most pain in butt part of opening a new deck. On the lid of the box is a Latin phrase "Ars est celare artem" which I'm told translates to "Good art is concealed art" meaning the how should not show in a piece of art. The Joker is awesome and contains a reveal and is one of the better looking of Ellusionist's Jokers.

I have had one problem with this deck and that is that some blue ink has rubbed off on the card above it. I think this may be do to the the cards getting too warm in my pocket and being compressed. Maybe even a little moisture from the humidity.

If you found this review to helpful or you thought it sucked let me know in the comments section.

Bicycle Masters Edition

I had a pretty big order from Ellusionst and they through in a free deck of blue Bicycle Masters. Unlike my posts about other cards I will not include pictures I took myself with this one because with the exception of the Ace of Spades this deck looks like a regular deck of bikes. One of the things I like about the Bicycle Masters is that instead of a regular Joker and the tiny one with the guarantee this deck come with two normal Jokers. Now this deck's claim to fame is that it's tougher, that it is made from tougher card stock. I don't know if the claim that it lasts seven times longer than regular bikes is true or how they came to that conclusion. But you can feel the tougher when you're handling this deck, fresh out the box the cards are so stiff that I have trouble doing a riffle force. I have have a hard pushing the deck down with my thumb, its too tough, the deck pushes back. If I were a florisher or or extreme card manipulator this would be a great deck. But as a regular manipulator of the pasteboards this deck is just too tough for me too use. It would make a good deck to practice with just because it would last longer for only a buck more.

Also for some reason this deck came with the Ace of Spades from a Ghost deck. I guess to make me interested in the Ghost deck but if that was the case then they should have sent a red card which is where the Ghost deck stands out.

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Vaudeville Decks from Blue Crown

So maybe I'm spoiled by my experiences with other online retailers but I think when all I order is three decks its fair of me to expect a quick turn around. I ordered three Vaudeville decks from Blue Crown. I always order three when I get a new style of deck. That gives me one to wear out, one to show off and one to keep mint for my collection. Well I ordered on Thursday morning around five am. I received conformation of shipping the following Monday. As far as I'm concerned that means it took them three business days to ship three decks. That's a strike against Blue crown as far as I'm concerned.

Now it seems a double backers are little on the popular side as several decks come with them. But the double backer in the Vaudeville deck has a reveal that looks nice and fits the theme. And as a bonus if you buy one of the decks you get a free download of how to use the double backer reveal. Well it was free so I can't really complain about that now can I. The effects on it were not stunners but they at least will get ones thoughts flowing. Although I think that one of them could be built up into something pretty good even though the guy in the video didn't even consider it to be an effect by it self.

So I got the package and I open it and I'm so very taken with the tuck box that the slow shipping is forgiven. The pictures don't do it justice. The tuck box is embossed so the all the gold parts stand out so elegantly. I open the box and the card are just beautiful I'll be honest the stock and the finish are nothing special and is at least on par with the quality of regular bikes. The four kings are four magicians from the vaudeville era; Houdini, Alexander, Thurston, and Carter. Houdini is easy to pick out. The others are too if you know their history, the jacks and queens are supposed to just be modeling the fashions of the times. I like the all the spades myself. Also the pips are not solid mono colors there is swirl to them that is just lovely.

I'm glad I got mine when I did because it seems they are sold out now. I also hate that I could not get an uncut sheet. I revived an email with the opening of the House of Playing Cards that said they had 3000 decks and there would been no reprints. That's some bull in my opinion. I loved the Vaudeville deck but I'm not too happy with Blue Crown.

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Blue Gaff Deck from Ellusionist

I got the blue gaff deck from Ellusionist. Thirty bucks is a lot of money for some cards. But some of the things you can accomplish with a good gaff are awesome. Pip matrix for example is well worth a good bit of money. So the gaff deck contains 58 cards. 20 I will never use, 20 I may use, and 18 I intend to use. Of these four of them will definitely be used. 14 were reveal cards and most of those I won't use and they weren't all that nice in my opinion. There are a few variations on the ace of spades and those seem pointless to me.There are some cards that weren't there that I felt should have been and those are double backers, a regular one and a red/blue one. Those two cards would have been more useful than most of the deck. The only utility card in the deck is a blank face. There is something in it for just about every type of cardician. But I have to say that there is not a lot in there for one individual.  There is a reveal on the tuck box but the rest of the box is reversed so meh and there's a green sticker that says gaff deck over the reveal. I think they'd be better off selling the various gaffs individually than a whole deck.

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Update Smash By Hugo Luccioni

A while back I did a quick review of Smash By Hugo Luccioni, been practicing and here's an update.
So with the wordless demo of Smash a lot is left up to the performer to figure out through practice. And the more you practice the more you pick up, e.g. that bit of silly flourishing turns out its vital misdirection. So yeah get it and practice even if you don't intend to use it.

Ghost Card Clip From Ellusionist

What can one say about a card clip. It is a piece of metal bent to fit around a deck of cards. Actually, I'm really glad I got this thing. I carry my cards in my vest pocket and they get warm there pretty fast and they kinda bow, I'm not sure if this is the heat or from handling but with the clip they don't have anywhere to go. Now as for the design it has the pip from the Ace of Spades from a Ghost deck etched on one side and Bicycles Rider Back design etched in the other. They're OK and look better than blank metal. But for me the deciding factor in this clip above others is "Mundus Vult Decipi" etched on the spine. I love that phrase. Ellusionist suggest sanding the edges in the the thumb grove but I did not and have had no issue due to this. However it was holding the cards kind of loosely and I fixed that by squeezing the sides towards each other until I had the level of hold I wanted. All in all I'm happy with this purchase. It adds a touch of class and gives more importance to the magic. It shows seriousness and respect for what you are about to do. I think it has subtle effect on everyone involved. Plus people just seem to like it.
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Stigmata by Wayne Houchin from Ellusionist

So what did this cost me, nothing it was part of a prize pack from a contest. I think it cost like 30 bucks. What you get is a DVD in a very flimsy case. So the thing I like about this DVD is that the performances are in front of live people on the street. And after going over the how, they go back through the video of the street performances with voice over telling whats happening behind the scene. There is also some extra footage of live performances. And an interview with Banacheck. So what is Stigmata, at its most simple level its a reveal. What you get is three ways to set up for the reveal; one with cards, one with a peek, and one with a psychological force. Beyond this its up to you and your imagination. In addition to the reveal Wayne Houchin goes over the classic force and the Acidus Novus peek (Which is useful for so much more than just Stigmata)

In the video it appears that Wayne just walks up to people and just does Stigmata. I can't see my self doing it that way unless I knew my time was limited and I wanted to blow their minds right away. I'd either use this as a closer or as a transition effect. After doing a few regular effects I could see myself using this to transition to more heavy bizarre material after I'm sure I have them along for the ride. It starts in a familiar pick a card territory and slowly builds to bizarre.

I will say this like a lot of Wayne Houchin effects this one takes presentation. It does not work as a hey look what I can do. However if you think you have the acting skills to sell this effect and the character to support it I could see it being worth the $30. Personally I'm just happy walking away with the Acidus Novus peek but it was a free DVD for me.

If you found this review to helpful or you thought it sucked let me know in the comments section.

Secret uses for your favorite moves.

Sometimes I think being a card magician is synonymous with move-junkie. Honestly how many false cuts and card controls do you know? I know a few my self and am always on the look out for more. But I recently came to realize that true understanding come from using the same move over and over.

For example the Playboy cut which I learned for the Jacks to Backs DVD from Magic Makers. One of the few things I took away from that DVD. The Playboy cut is a rather flashy false cut. And I liked it for its flashiness, (for all you anti-florishers reading this, be quite, I don't want to hear it my character can handle the odd bit of flashiness) so learned and started using it. I liked it so much it became my go to cut. Any way on the DVD its taught as a simple false cut. But after months of play with it I have found another use. If I stop one move before completion I'm set up for my preferred force. And I was playing around with a control just now and I realized that if I start from a break I can use the playboy cut to bring the card to the top. I don't know if the guy on the DVD even realized these extra uses for the cut, but the point is while it's nice to know a lot of move. Its only through repeated use that they become truly useful.

Tricks vs Effects.

I'm not sure who originally said it but in one of Ellusionist's videos Brad Christian says something along the lines of "If you know 100 card controls and one reveal you know one trick. If you know one control and 100 reveals then you know 100 tricks." No for the purpose of this post I'm going to define tricks as methods and effects as what the spectator perceives. For instance the Erdnase color change is the trick, the idea that one card chnged into another is the effect. So you could do the Erdnase and then do a snap change and to you it two completely different things but to you spectator you just did the same thing twice only one was more flashy (while we'er on the subject I think my favorite color change is the Svengali color change by Dai Vernon).


It seems to me that every time I turn around there an effect I just have to know that I have to learn a new slight or subtly for, but I feel that what I need is more effects that use the tricks I already know. And I know its possible cause when I read Life, Death and Other Card tricks by Robert Neal one of the thoughts I had was 'this man is in love with the Elmsly count.' There were a lot of effect in that book that used the Elmsly count, but to my mind they were different enough to be separate effects.

Magic Makers's Jeff Maxwell's Jack to backs.

So I don't remember what I paid for this but I think it was somewhere in the $20 range. What does this DVD teach well it teach one effect and a bunch of random moves. You take four jack square them up into a packet and fan it back out ones turned around back wards, you do this again and again till all four are reversed. Its a nice visual effect I should probably learn but meh. It's too darn complicated I can do all the moves but I don't feel the pay off is worth all the practice required when I could just do Dai Vernon's Twisting the Aces. What I did take away from this video were a few of the random moves. So while Jack's to backs isn't worth it the moves to accomplish it and some other are.

I do have one problem with one of the moves taught. On the box and in the video they call it a "Bittle position" but its quite clearly the "Biddle grip" This just seem like a glaring oversight to me.

Overall this is a dvd I'm glad I got. It has a false cut called the Play Boy Cut which I like to use to set up for card forces. A move called the Orbital Spin which is a nice flourish for packet tricks and I use it in Twisting the Aces. The Snap Change and the Gamblers cop which I use but not often.

If you found this review to helpful or you thought it sucked let me know in the comments section.

Christian Cagigal The Gambler and The Stranger

Tomorrow a regularly scheduled post will appear as if by magic one minute after midnight. It will be comparing Three shell game DVDs but as I call my self the card king I figured I'd make a post with some card magic first. So here I present to you Christian Cagigal's The Gambler and The Stranger. Christian Cagigal is a great magician and a pretty nice dude. I just love this effect.

The Royal Road to Card Magic

The Royal Road to Card Magic by Jean Huguard. I really wish that back when I was first getting serious about card magic, someone would have said to me "Hey before you spend money on anything else get this book first" There are plenty of books and dvd's that teach you moves and tricks. But this book is a course in card magic. It starts off with the overhand shuffle and then how to make it tricky and then it gives you a drill to practice then some tricks with it. All the while explaining about magic theory and how to work with the audience. Then it moves on to another move then another as you learn new moves you learn new tricks and by the end you have a good solid foundation in card magic and a collection of effects to wow anyone.