Trick of the Month Archives - Bicycle Cards

John Bannon – Fire When Ready – review

Phil Sweeting — Wed, 31 Jul 2019 23:01:09 +0000

Fire When Ready completes the ‘Bullet Trilogy’ from the excellent John Bannon. But I approached it with some trepidation since I was a little disappointed with the most recent Bannon releases (Dealing with it Season 1 and Season 2). I’m pleased to say this feels like a real return to form. So let’s get straight into the tricks.

Proxy Shock
Shuffled deck. Spectator remembers a card from the deck which is then shuffled again – and then the performer commits to a card. When the spectator names their card – you may have a miracle on your hands immediately! But alternatively your incorrect selection will instantly change into their card. There are some clever things going on here, as you’d expect. It’s not technically difficult but requires some boldness in presentation. Which is just the way I like it!

Rock the Voque
The spectator reads your mind and comes up with the card you had set aside. The title should tell you a key part of the method. And there’s a nice setting for the effect which ‘justifies’ that part of the method. And then some extra cleverness to give you a wider range – if you catch my drift. Great thinking. Very workable. Could become a classic.

Mundo
This (as you might have guessed if your Latin is any good!) is a sort of speedy (small packet) variation on OOTW. To a premise about intuition the spectator successfully separates the reds and blacks from a shuffled packet in a baffling way. I really like this too – a simple move which flies by turns this into a real miracle for the spectator. Brilliant.

Cut and Run
The spectator shuffles and cuts the deck yet with a few cuts you cut to the four Aces. This uses a sneaky procedure we’ve seen before in Bannon’s works – the Hybrid Holdout. Easy to do – pleasing quicky.

Stealth Aces
This is a super four ace-assembly. Although it uses a Bannon move it is actually a routine from the lovely and talented John Carey. As I watched it I spotted a discrepancy which I felt sure would be key to the trick – but that sneaky man got round it without me noticing! This was all the more annoying when I realised I had already read this effect in his Lucky booklet! I had forgotten how fabulous this is. It is so easy to do – the only ‘move’ flies by – and the magic seems to happen in an instant. Love it.

We’re still only half way!

Big Fat Bluff Aces
This is a rather more complex four ace trick after the last one. The three aces disappear from their packets and the fourth ace’s packet turns into four kings, then in an instant all the aces are back in their packets. This requires a little more handling but is still not difficult to do. As I was watching this I felt like I’d seen this before. Because I had! It was in his Lucky booklet and earlier on the Bullet Party DVD.

Blues Alley Jokers
A card is selected and somehow finds itself sandwiched between two other cards in a surprising way. This one does require a slightly more complicated technique – but with a little practise you should get the hang of it. For me, this was an underwhelming sandwich effect, but you might like it more than me. James Went adds some helpful explanatory commentary on this one.

Clean out of sight
This is a devastatingly clever routine where the spectator merely thinks about a card in a freely shuffled packet – then after testing their intuition you are able to locate their card effortlessly. This is a little bit procedural, but the premise wraps up an old principle in wonderfully new clothes.

Question Zero
A spectator chooses five cards, remembers one of them, shuffles her packet which is then returned to the deck. Yet you find it instantly. Uses the move you’ve already learnt for Blues Alley Jokers!

Line of Sight
This is essentially a card revelation framed in a nice way which relies on a humble glimpse. I love the premise and several different glimpses are taught – which is a useful one for your toolbag. This is another of the routines on the DVD which has been around for a while (it was originally in Dear Mr Fantasy) – but since the earlier publication is hard to find these days this may bring it to a whole new audience.

Final Thoughts

As I said at the beginning, Fire When Read feels like a real return to form. There are some superb effects on here, the majority of which require no complicated sleight of hand but rather rely on subtlety and clever structuring. If you don’t get at least three workable effects out of this I would be amazed.

One small criticism of pretty much any Bannon DVDs is that there are never any ‘live’ performances. Everything is done in the studio. Some are performed to ‘real’ people, and some with no audience at all. There are advantages to this approach – since sound and video quality is guaranteed. But sometimes I long to see the effects performed for real people in the wild. But that’s a really minor criticism.

I would have liked a bit more discussion with Bannon on the theory side of things – since I always enjoy his thinking. But at the end of the day this is full of good, solid tricks. I’ll be coming back to this DVD to work several of these into my impromptu set. Highly recommended.

You can pick up Fire When Ready direct from BBM (who kindly supplied the review copy) for £21.99. If you’re happy with a download, this is slightly cheaper at The Merchant of Magic (£19.99).

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Arnaud – Switch-a-lope – review

Phil Sweeting — Fri, 01 Feb 2019 17:39:41 +0000

Switch-a-lope is a stage solution to a common magic ‘problem’ a four-way out or switch envelope. Read on to see what we think of it.

What is it?

This is a utility prop which you can use in a variety of routines. It looks like a large ‘window’ envelope, in which you can see another ‘DL’ sized envelope. In spite of this being in full view throughout the performance it can effortlessly be shown to contain one of four different ‘predictions.’ The predictions can be on a sheet of A4 paper and the spectator may remove them from the envelope themselves.

What do you get?

You get all the necessary to perform this, plus a link to a 14 minute online explanation. The explanation has annoying background music playing all the way through, but it is clear and easy to follow. Although it is relatively short, everything is explained in plenty of detail, right down to the type of paper and envelopes to use if you want to replace them.

What do we think?

When I first started playing with this I found the handling just a little awkward, but with only a short amount of practise it was becoming much cleaner. One of the hardest bits is getting the small envelope out of the larger envelope in the first place! One possible outcome is totally clean, the others require a very small amount of choreography.

The spectator can remove the prediction from the envelope, but they wouldn’t be able to examine it (why would they want to?). This is definitely a stage or platform effect where you have a bit more control over things.

My biggest reservation is about the rationale for the ‘window envelope’ – why not simply have the inner envelope? But I suspect this is easily justified – especially if you have the larger envelope hanging somewhere, or standing on something (so it is in full view). It is great that the prediction can be a full A4 sized sheet.

So if you are looking for a four-way out in a routine you’re developing – perhaps in a chair-test or similar – Switch-a-lope would be a good bet. Of course, in a chair test you might have to end up buying four of them which would be pretty pricey! (and actually the slight discrepancies in handling might be a problem)

We would be even more keen to recommend Switch-a-lope if it were just a fraction cheaper, but as a versatile accessory, if you are a regular stage performer it is worth a look.

You can pick up Switch-a-lope from the Merchant of Magic for £55.50 (at the time of writing).

Review copy kindly provided by Murphys Magic to whom dealer enquiries should be directed.

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Eric Bedard – Suspenz – review

Phil Sweeting — Sat, 01 Dec 2018 00:01:15 +0000

Suspenz is a neat way to give the impression that you can float playing cards in thin air. Here’s our review.

I remember a floating deck effect around at least 30 years ago – and in some ways Suspenz uses a similar method – but the Suspenz gimmick is much more robust than the item I have in mind. That increases the range of options with the gimmick and probably also your confidence in performing.

It is a very simple idea – with a nicely machined gimmick. And the effect is really very eerie! It seems to me it could be used as an extra effect in a longer routine – anywhere that you might normally spread the cards out you could make the float. Imagine an in the hands Triumph routine where the final display floats!

Of course, you’re not limited to cards – anything of a similar size and weight can be ‘floated’ – and as you can see in this image – the gimmick will actually sustain a reasonable weight.

You really need to use two hands to ‘start’ the float – but once the cards are floating you can work with one hand which allows you to do things like…

Can you cope with the Suspenz?…

Trick 1 – This is a simple ‘find a card’ trick – where the card is found amongst a suspended pack of cards. Nothing too astounding here…

Trick 2 (don’t you just love the names?!) – A spectator takes and signs a card. Suddenly the rest of the deck turns blank and the whole deck floats in the middle of the deck. I like the way his scripting gives a rationale for the effect – and I suspect that for a lay person this would actually pack a bit of punch.

What do we think?

The gimmick is well-made and of a size that you can easily bring it in and out of play. The effect is visual and more or less angle-proof. For my money, it definitely needs to be used in the context of a longer routine, rather than being a stand-alone effect. But Suspenz is a nice re-imagining of the classic floating deck and I think you’ll have some fun.

The idea of using it out and about and floating some bank notes (watch out for breezes!) or business cards or credit cards is also quite appealing. ‘Impromptu’ magic at its best!

I’ll put in one caveat since I haven’t played with this enough to properly ‘stress test’ it. I find it slightly curious that more or less the first thing on the teaching video is instructions about how to strengthen your gimmick. That doesn’t strike a note of confidence in the user. But as I’ve said, on first glance the thing seems well-made – so perhaps this is just going the extra mile?

Vortex magic could also do with a bit of quality control on their videos – since all the titles on the instruction say ‘Supenz’! That being said I enjoyed their amusing touch at the end of the video!

If you work with cards, then I can easily see Suspenz bringing an extra element to your routines.

You can pick up your copy of Suspenz from the Merchant of Magic for £49.50 (at the time of writing).

Review copy kindly provided by Murphys Magic to whom dealer enquiries should be directed.

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Tango Magic – Ambitious Chip – review

Phil Sweeting — Sun, 30 Sep 2018 23:01:34 +0000

Let’s be honest, close up magicians do the Ambitious Card effect to death. And it’s a good trick. It’s easy to follow and involves the audience. So the idea of doing the same kind of effect with Poker Chips intrigued me. Here’s our Ambitious Chips review.

The Effect(s)

You’re supplied with the necessary poker chips (see below) and a link to some online instructions. The instructions only run to just over 15 minutes, and include an almost 3 minute introduction! So the teaching for the three different methods is necessarily brief. Let’s talk about the three methods.

Method One – The Tango Touch

In this version, the performer stacks three blue poker chips on top of one red one. With a ‘flick’ the red chip is seen to climb to the second position. And this is repeated three times so that it reaches the very top.

This is a pure sleight of hand method using ordinary chips. I say sleight of hand – like many sleights it is a bit of a knack. In my experiments the surface you were performing on made some difference. It will take you some practice to get it looking as effortless as Mr Tango – no matter how many times he tells you ‘it’s easy’.

In my experience it becomes easier the further up the stack the ‘ambitious’ chip is.
If you can get the knack this is an effective and visual piece of close up magic.

Ambitious Chip Method Two

This method is in many ways easier because it utilises some gimmicked chips – but nonetheless the larger portion of the teaching is given to this routine. It requires much less technique – though the ‘Tango Touch’ is utilised for the last rise of the first phase. This is the easiest use of the ‘Tango Touch’.

The second phase looks the same as the first, but uses a slightly different method for the final chip – which doesn’t use the sleight. So I suppose if you wanted you could just do phase two without needing to master the Tango Touch.

Method Three

This is actually a slightly different effect because the ‘ambitious’ chip is amongst four other chips. It is placed in the middle of the stack and jumps to the top twice. Like the second method this uses gimmicked chips, but also requires some sleight of hand.

I think this felt less like a routine and more like a ‘phase’. So you might want to work this into a bigger piece. Perhaps you could start with one of the earlier methods and then ‘make it more difficult’ by adding a further chip?

The Props

These are nicely made as you would expect from Tango Magic and are pleasantly weighted. Personally I have a bit of a soft spot for poker chips and think they are visually pleasing and pleasantly tactile. You could work these into other routines with Poker Chips if you wanted to.

I would have a small concern that if you were working in very close proximity the gaffs could be exposed from their sides. Best viewing angles would be from more overhead than side.

If you like magic with poker chips, then this would be a useful purchase. The Tango Touch could be utilised in conjunction with other sleights and gimmicks and routines. In fact given the nature of some of the moves in these routines, I wonder about combining these chips with an Okito Box or similar – a One Dollar size ought to match. Then the possibilities would multiply…

Ambitious Chip is available from the Merchant of Magic for £32.99 (at the time of writing).

Review copy kindly provided by Murphys Magic to whom dealer enquiries should be directed.

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Liam Montier – Mojo – review

Phil Sweeting — Fri, 31 Aug 2018 23:01:08 +0000

Mojo – is one of the latest releases from Liam Montier’s excellent Kaymar Magic Studio. I love Liam’s passion for magic and his desire to educate magicians and put out quality pieces – rather than just turning out another 10 pieces of old tat. So I was looking forward to reading Mojo. Liam – I’m sorry it has taken me so long to get round to it in the midst of all the chaos of our recent move. But at last, here goes, the Mojo review…

After a brief introduction, it’s straight in to the tricks. There are 12 of them. I’ll comment on them all in turn…

The Tricks

Biddle Print

A lovely shuffled deck impromptu routine sort of combining the Biddle Trick and the Finger print trick. A card is selected and lost in the pack. Some ‘indicator cards’ are cut to which reveal the location of the card. Which seems impossible because one of them is the chosen card. But all’s right in the end as the chosen card appears where it was indicated and vanishes from the indicator packet. A great little impromptu trick with pretty straightforward handling. Don’t miss the Killer tip on the Biddle steal in the footnotes!

In Decision

Liam has combined to 2 John Bannon effects (a good starting point!) to make something really special. To a fun presentation you read one spectator’s mind and a second spectator locates their own thought of card themselves! I love the subtle way that this has been built (including a genius John Gusastafarro idea). There’s a slight knack to making the final revelation work – but worth a little practise for a super practical effect. This is a great example of Liam’s genius for ‘cross-fertilizing’ ideas from different books and effects to build a killer new idea.

Hofferoom

A card is chosen and lost in the pack. Then the four aces are openly displayed. In a flash the one matching the suit of the spectator’s card vanishes and reappears in the centre of the deck right next to the selection. This is another strong effect. I think you need to be a slightly more confident card man to do this well – but it doesn’t require any real finger flinging. A solid effect.

Hand Clap

Liam’s take on the Alex Elmsley classic Between the Palms. Two cards are selected and one signed. Both are lost in the deck. The first card is located by counting down to a number indicated by two cards from the top of the deck. The second is found between the spectator’s hands – where a single card had been isolated before the trick began. I wasn’t so fond of the handling of this one – though I liked the presentational hook.

Selective Touch

This is a very clever take on an old effect and utilises more sleight of mind than hand. The spectator names any card – then you cut to two cards which represent it’s suit and value – and show that the actual card is in your pocket. This is a really interesting effect which has been well structured. You may have to perform a gamblers’ cop – which may put some off – but there is a fair bit of misdirection at that point so it shouldn’t be too intimidating. Unusually for Liam the description is slightly confusing at one point when he switches between the names of two different cards. I’m sure that will be corrected quickly.

Ink Thief

A neat signature transpo effect which is dead easy to do. And best of all – the signed card ends up being a Joker – so you can use up all those spare jokers that are knocking around and not trash a deck! This is based on a Roy Walton effect and is a really efficient handling. Good sstuff.

Baker Street AKA Kings Cross

This is an interesting premise where a spectator deals two hands of poker and then he and the other spectator both choose a card from their hands. Both cards are revealed in completely different ways. There are some nice ideas here – including an interesting take on the venerable PATEO force. I think this is really rather effective.

Ambitious Burier

This is an idea for a phase in your Ambitious Card routine where the card travels in ‘slow motion’ through the deck. Dare I say it, the Ambitious Card bores me. But if you perform it (and most people seem to!) then this could be a nice little extra element.

Ace Ripper

Three cards are lost in the deck and then found amongst a packet of four kings. And in a surprising climax the kings visually turn into aces in a very nice display. This is another interesting plot using some pretty moves. Liam details a number of alternative handlings to cover all abilities and tastes. Nice!

To the Untrained Eye

Four kings are lost in the deck. You instantly find them – but one is actually an ace. In an instant they all change into aces. I really like this (based on a trick I must have overlooked in my old copy of Cy Enfield’s Entertaining Card Magic!). There are a couple of moves to get your hands around – but really nothing too tricky and clever construction makes it very convincing.

The Twin Peeks

Two cards are chosen and returned to the pack. You read the first spectator’s mind. Then their card appears reversed in the deck. An instant later the second selection also appears in the same way. I haven’t had a chance to try this in anger and I suspect it will play better than it reads. Bold and cheeky!

Vacuum

A very visual transposition of a chosen card and indifferent card – with an amusing patter idea to support the mechanics. Pretty simple mechanics for a pleasing effect. Give it a go! And here’s a video – since I couldn’t describe the effect succinctly!

Final Thoughts

This is a solid release. There are some great effects here – and even if they don’t all suit you I would defy you not to find at least 3 that you will use – which makes it pretty good value!

The magic is good and it is a well written ebook. I enjoy Liam’s slightly quirky patter and also the many insightful comments and observations. The magic geek in me also enjoys reading about the development of the tricks – and how Liam’s twisted brain came up with the ideas.

Buy it, read it then read it again.

Mojo is exclusively available from Kaymar Magic for £11.99 at the time of writing (though they often have deals on!).

Many thanks to Liam for supplying the review copy.

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Brandon David & Chris Turchi – Project Swiss Army – review

Phil Sweeting — Sat, 30 Jun 2018 23:01:57 +0000

Project Swiss Army is a gaffed deck and card box which opens up a range of magic options for you largely without the use of sleight of hand. Here’s our review…

What do you get?

A nicely produced and printed cardboard box which houses your deck, and also has details of the link to the online teaching. Everything is well made and the teaching – which runs to a little over an hour – is clear and detailed.

In one sense with Project Swiss Army you have two utilities for the price of one. First the card box, which enables you to secretly extract (or insert) something into the sealed deck. I’ve never handle the Extractor Deck but I suspect it has at least some overlap with that – which they reference several times during the teaching. However, in addition to this you have the specially gaffed deck – which opens up a whole range of effects with barely any sleight of hand. So this appears to be more versatile (and much cheaper!) than The Extractor.

The Effects Taught

Time Out – The ‘basic’ effect – a card is chosen and signed, and returned anywhere in the deck – no break! The deck is then returned to the case (and freely shown all around) and put in your packet – whereupon you can instantly produce the selection however you want. Their presentation is a kind of ‘challenge’ one – how quickly can I do this. Simply, clear, magically strong, but an uninspiring presentation for me. But so easy to do – this would be the starting point for any presentation you fancy.

Utility Strip Out – this is a way to use the deck to instantly retrieve any set of cards you wish. It is taught with the four aces – which are clearly show throughout the deck – and then very visually can be removed in a flash. Could be a neat way into a packet trick – even the trusty Twisting the Aces.

Flick Out – a card is chosen and signed and returned to the deck. And then you visually locate it by flicking the deck – and it flies out! Again, simple and direct and visual. Maybe good filler in a longer routine?

They also teach a couple of handlings for using the deck to force cards.

A Bonus Ideas section outlines a few variations and begin to help you think ‘outside the box’ in terms of extra phases and options for the deck. Nothing hugely grabbed me here – but it is probably helpful to get your own ideas flowing.

What do we think?

This is one of those things where I am slightly in two minds. I can see that Project Swiss Army could be very appealing for the beginner – because it enables you to do some very useful things with very little sleight of hand. For someone who has been around longer, pretty much all of the effects could be produced with only basic sleight of hand.

The nature of the Project Swiss Army deck means it is slightly angle-sensitive – and you can’t really use it for any other routines requiring a ‘normal’ deck. As I write I can think of two other gaff decks which would enable you to produce very similar effects but which would also let you handle the deck more openly (and use for other ‘no gaff’ routines). But the advantage here is that the gaff makes the handling incredibly easy which would make it particularly helpful for a beginner. And you also have the benefit of the cleverly gaffed case – which could be used with any deck and routine you like.

I also like the idea of using it in a mentalism context where you are only using cards once – you could use this for a really easy multiple force as part of a mind-reading routine. And the simplicity of the procedure would enable you to concentrate on performance.

The teaching is very clear – possibly slightly on the long side – but it is probably better to be clear and longer than the opposite. I would, however, have really have liked to see some live performances.

So all told this is a pretty good release. I think it is more likely to appeal to the beginner than the pro – but I can see useful applications for both. Let us know what you think…

Project Swiss Army is available from MagicShop.co.uk for £33.50 (at the time of writing)

Review copy kindly provided by Murphys Magic to whom dealer enquiries should be directed.

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JP Vallarino – Offworld – review

Phil Sweeting — Mon, 30 Apr 2018 23:01:31 +0000

Offworld created quite a stir when it was released so we were excited to have a look at it for this review. JP Vallarino, the inventor, has taken the concept of Out of This World and turned it on its head. In doing so he has brought a number of benefits which make this an even more astounding effect.

What’s the effect?

In a nutshell, a spectator can accurately predict whether the next card will be red or black as they are dealt from a face up deck! This can be packaged in a number of different ways, and the detailed online tutorial (which runs to 55 minutes) describes three different frames or hooks.

The first is framed around recall and intuition. In the first phase the spectator correctly ‘recalls’ the colours of a series of cards. And in the second they are able to correctly name the number of red cards in a packet that have been set aside at the beginning of the effect.

In the second effect, influence is the frame. The performer asks the spectator to make a series of choices before the cards are dealt. They turn out to correctly identify the sequence of cards to which the spectator has cut. And in a final kicker the next card is predicted on the back of the sheet of paper.

Greg Wilson admits he only came up with the third variation minutes earlier and it shows. It is a kind of ‘mini triumph’ effect where a mixed up set of cards rights itself. Not all ideas are good ideas and I feel like this puts too much emphasis on the card, and loses one of the great strengths of the other routines – that the spectator is the hero.

The first two are both strong effects. Where Offworld arguably has an edge over the classic Out of this world, is that there is no need to go through the whole deck (so it is potentially crisper and more engaging than a poor performance of OOTW) and it could be done entirely in the hands if needed. Somehow the immediacy of seeing each card as it is called also adds to the dynamism of the routine.

What do you get?

You receive a special deck, the detailed online tutorial, explained in Greg Wilson’s typically entertaining style. The online video also includes a live performance which is always a bonus.

If I was being really picky, I would complain that the deck didn’t include a Joker. Greg makes much of the use of the Joker in the handling – but it isn’t included. This is a pretty tiny thing since if you’re anything like me you will have hundreds of the little fellas in your drawer – but it wouldn’t have been difficult to include one.

This is not a new principle – I’ve seen it before – but it is applied in (to my knowledge) a quite different way. And the end result is a very effective trick which is not at all difficult to perform. You will have to practise a little to get the handling perfect, but it is not far off self-working since the deck does most of the work for you.

It is possible that the deck might wear out if you used it a great deal. But it would be possible to revive it yourself (!) or to buy a replacement. I wouldn’t recommend using the deck for any other effects, but it comes on standard Bicycle cards, so could easily be brought in to play.

There’s a lot to like about Offowrld, and I could see this bringing OOTW into a more everyday context.

Offworld is available from MagicShop.co.uk for £37.99 (at the time of writing).

Review copy kindly provided by Murphys Magic to whom dealer enquiries should be directed.

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Troy Hooser – Charming Chinese Challenge – review

Phil Sweeting — Sat, 31 Mar 2018 23:01:08 +0000

The Charming Chinese Challenge is a new release from Vanishing Inc. But it immediately raises the question when is a ‘New’ release a ‘new’ release? Troy’s wonderful routine was first published in Destroyers all the way back in 2001. Then a couple of years later (2003) it was released as a DVD with some extra moves by other performers but with no coins. Fast forward another 14 years and Vanishing Inc have re-released this classic with coins and ribbon and new video footage (online) – all in a charming (of course) little box.

In case you’re not familiar with the effect it can be simply described. The spectator threads three Chinese style coins on to a piece of ribbon, and then one by one they penetrate off the ribbon. The first two fall off into the spectator’s hand. The third melts off and on the rope and then vanishes, reappearing with the other two.

What do you get?

First of all the coins. These are in 1 dollar size and have a good weight to them. The design is attractive and visual and the hole in the middle is of a good size to allow the ribbon to flow freely. I’ve tried sourcing coins for this routine elsewhere in the past but not found anything as nice as this.

You also get a suitable piece of ribbon (though you could substitute any you like) and a card with a link to the online teaching. The whole thing comes packaged in a really nicely made box which has recesses for each coin and even a gap for the ribbon. These little details make a difference.

The teaching

The online video is somewhat brief – running to less than 22 minutes all told. It starts with a 2 minute studio performance which is very nice. After a brief discussion of credits/influences you are straight into the teaching.

The main teaching section is only 8 minutes long. I struggle to classify the teaching. It doesn’t go into masses of detail on the moves, but they are fairly straightforward.
Troy has an easy, gentle manner in explanation. It isn’t hurried but I think I would have liked a little more detail on some of the sleights. He obviously knows the whole routine inside out (he’s been performing it for decades) and so perhaps finds it hard to realise what it is like for someone coming to it for the first time?

I would have preferred a few more camera views – I can only recall one ‘performer’s eye view’ – but I find these very helpful – finding it hard watching explanations that are ‘back to front’. If you’re used to performing coin magic then I don’t think you’ll find this too taxing, but if you are coming at it completely fresh you may have to work a little harder.

All that being said, coin magic is not my speciality, and yet I found myself picking the routine up fairly easily. And I would hope that with a bit more work it could become quite a useful piece.

After the main routine there is another 10 minutes of variations. I don’t think these were all in the original published version – and they give you some options for getting the coins on and off. I would say some of these were slightly more visual. They would certainly mean you could alter or extend the routine as you prefer.

What do we think?

I’ll be honest, I’ve been keen to learn Charming Chinese Challenge for a few years, and I think this release provides a great way to do so. The props are excellent and the routine is well thought out. There’s no real re-set and it takes very little space in the pocket, yet is visual and very magical. It probably drops a point overall for the relatively brief teaching. But nonetheless comes highly recommended.

You can pick up Charming Chinese Challenge from MagicShop.co.uk for £38.99 (at the time of writing).

Review copy kindly provided by Murphys Magic to whom dealer enquiries should be directed.

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TOTM – December – Christmas Magic ideas

admin — Fri, 01 Dec 2017 00:01:30 +0000

Traditionally at this time of year we suggest a few Christmas magic ideas for those starting out in magic, or struggling to know what to buy for a loved one who happens to be a magic nut. So here are a few ideas…

Ask almost any magician how they started out in magic and they will have received a magic set for Christmas. Some, like me, just persisted with it. So if you’re trying to encourage a newcomer to magic you could do a lot worse than the Marvin’s Magc iMagic set. This really tries to bring the humble magic set into the 21st century – and includes some tricks you can perform with your smartphone. £35.99

(For a more ‘traditional’ set – which is endorsed by the International Brotherhood of Magicians – the Ultimate Magic Legends set also looks very good.)

I’ve always been a bit of a sucker for ring and rope routines – it is very visual and elegant magic. Muse Rope has recently been released and looks like an excellent addition to this genre. It looks fantastic and promises to be easy to do. We haven’t had a chance to have a play yet, but it could make a great gift for the magician in your life. Or yourself! £32.50

If, like me, you like nothing better than curling up with a good magic book (in fact, there are things I like better – but it is definitely something I enjoy greatly!) – then this final work by Eugene Burger is definitely worth a look. Eugene’s passing has been much lamented in the magic community – he was an outstanding magician, thinker and teacher. And so I would expect Teaching Magic to become a ‘modern classic.’ £30.99

In a lighter, but potentially no less useful, vein, AbracaDAMMIT tells the stories of mistakes made by some of the big names. A chance to learn from their mistakes instead of your own! A fun read for £16.99

We have a pile of great new releases to review over the coming weeks – but our rate might slow down a bit over Christmas! Pile in if you have things you would like us to review, or features you’d like us to add…

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The post TOTM – December – Christmas Magic ideas appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

John Bannon – Move Zero Vol 4 – review (TOTM – Oct 2017)

Phil Sweeting — Sat, 30 Sep 2017 23:01:19 +0000

Trick of the month is a review again – not of a trick but of the excellent Move Zero Vol 4 – which is due out any day now…

We have loved the Move Zero series and couldn’t wait to get our hands on Volume 4. But there’s always that fear that the quality will drop – or the sequel won’t be as good. Well [spoiler alert] we weren’t disappointed. I guess you really want to know about the tricks first of all, so here’s our review…

Proximity – This is a clever presentational twist on an old principle. The spectator thinks of a card and you make two predictions you think will be ‘close’. When the spectator’s thought of card is located (in a freely shuffled deck), the cards either side are found to match your two ‘predictions’! This is a brilliant way to open the DVD and I love the entertaining twist on a principle you may well already know. And on a very few occasions you’ll get a different but possibly even stronger outcome! This one’s going straight into my impromptu repertoire!

Second Reckoning – this is a remix of Dead Reckoning (from Move Zero Vol 1 or Dear Mr Fantasy). The spectator shuffles the cards and then chooses a bunch. They remember a card at the number they have chosen and the mentally spell out the name of that card. Amazingly without anyone saying anything out loud, the performer stops dealing at the end of their spelling and has stopped on their very card. Very fooling effect – though it doesn’t use a whole deck – which may put some people off. Baffling for the spectator and easy to do. No reset. Brilliant.

Power of Poker – this is a routine which has appeared on at least one other DVD we’ve seen (and also in Dear Mr Fantasy) – but apart from anything else I really liked the jumbo cards he used in this version! Essentially, in spite of the the fairness of all the spectator’s choices, they manage to deal you a royal flush which beats their full house.

Banco – a spectator makes all the choices and yet you end up with all the envelopes full of cash! This is a nice example of taking a principle from one effect and moving it to another area. This is undeniably clever, but for me seems slightly less fooling than its playing card equivalent. On the other hand, effects with cash always pique a spectator’s interest and so it may be that the hook makes up for any possible shortcomings in the trick. To use the presentation Bannon uses you will need to purchase a few special bank notes which you can probably pick up online.

Depth Charge – this is a very clever ACAAN type of effect. One spectator chooses a small packet of cards to create a number. The second spectator creates a random card out of two that have been randomly shuffled to. This is a great example of how ‘layering’ really obscures the method. It looks so fair and the result is devastating. There is a very simple ‘move’ involved – but it is so easy it doesn’t disqualify it from the Move Zero label! One of the sneakiest ACAANs I have seen – and definitely a worker.

Lost in Translation – this is a fun prediction effect where three playing cards stand in for three words – which you can reveal. And then there’s a nice cheesy kicker (!) at the end. It’s a whimsical little effect which doesn’t have the feel of a card trick even though in one sense it is. If the gag appeals to you then it will be an easy addition to your repertoire. But I suspect not everyone will want to use the gag! You could easily take the idea and weave your own version around it.

View to a skill – this is a clever take on the classic Miraskill (which can be found, amongst other places, in The Encyclopedia of Card Tricks) which removes all the sleight of hand (instead utilising some sleight of mouth!) and turns the thing into more of a game. Typically lateral Bannon thinking here to make a fun effect. I love the way it is structured to cancel out methods in the spectator’s mind. The dealing procedure makes this a fairly long effect – so you will need the right context to perform – but it is a great one to have in your bag.

GoFiguration – after a very fair looking series of shuffles and decision by the spectator, you have managed to arrive at four of a kind. This is a masterclass in layering methods and subtle manoeuvers. Another really strong effect for very little effort.

Triplicity – the spectator cuts to a random number of cards, then remembers a card at that number in the deck. First you read their mind, then you reveal what number their card sits at (once the deck has been cut) and finally you reveal that you predicted both things in advance. This is another great routine which very much works itself but would be utterly baffling to a layperson.

What do we think?

This is the fourth volume in an excellent series. It has been some time since I looked at the earlier volumes which makes comparisons hard, but my sense this time is that this material is more consistently strong than the earlier disks. And they were excellent so that gives you some indication of the quality here.

There are several effects here which are well worth having up your sleeve when you’re out and about – they need no real preparation and are easy to do. Although this series is aimed at those who are new to card magic I think that even an old hand will learn a thing or two here.

In addition to the strong magic, there are insightful gems to be found in the interview segments which intersperse the magic. Like the earlier volumes there are also ‘Trick Bag’ sections which takes a look at some of the principles used in the effects in some more detail – which may help you utilise them in your own ideas. The final interview section has some pointers for ‘next steps’ for the magician who is just starting out. These could be really useful if you’re just finding your way with sleight of hand.

As always, everything is well attributed/credited. As you’ll notice, some of the effects have been published in recent years – so if you’re the sort of person that likes learning from books, you could do a lot worse than looking up his recent books.

Move Zero Volume 4 is unreservedly recommended and you can pick it up from MagicShop.co.uk – just as soon as it is released – for £26.99.

(Review copy kindly supplied by BBM)

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The post John Bannon – Move Zero Vol 4 – review (TOTM – Oct 2017) appeared first on Bicycle Cards.