This clever box opens up the possibility of many different routines – but here is the routine as taught. The performer removes a deck of cards from an attractive little box and says that there’s something else in the box. Then the spectator deals face up through the deck, stopping whenever they want to. When the box is opened, it is found to contain a prediction with the very card they stopped at. A miraculous effect!

What do you get

You get the ingenious box itself – which comes stored in another box (which is a bit of a tight fit when you first remove it!). The box is very well made and its secret is invisible. You also have a link to some online instructions, a deck of bicycle cards and a few other things to help make the magic happen.

The online instructions run to around 40 minutes and explain everything you need to work the effect straight away. There’s no additional preparation (beyond writing your predictions on some folded slips) unless you want to perform other routines. Angelo explains everything very clearly and at a good pace. It also includes a couple of performances to give you an idea of what it looks like.

What a gift!

The ‘main’ routine is very strong. It really is as clean as it sounds and is utterly baffling to any lay person. Angelo then teaches a brilliant alternative routine which is something like a predicted CAAN. I love this idea. In effect the spectator follows a series of instructions from a piece of paper, which include him thinking of a number and dealing down to it. But the final part of the instructions are missing – and are found inside the box and include a prediction of the card which has been stopped at.

This is an ingenious way of doing the effect and will really mess with your spectator’s mind! It does require a significant degree of preparation – but this is one time only – and well worth it for the effect!

These two routines, strong as they are, are really only the beginning. Because this clever box allows you to perform many variations depending on your style and confidence. A friend of mine performed it with a routine rather like Joshua Jay’s Inferno (which no longer appears to be available as a standalone routine but is on this DVD) but the possibilities are really endless.

What do we think

Some effects are fun to perform, some are fooling to watch, and some are both. The Gift is definitely in the latter category. It is pretty easy to perform – and will give you a real kick to ‘work’! But it is also incredibly fair looking and very fooling. In one sense Angelo has taken some old principles, but he has applied them so cleverly that the sum is really great than its parts.

One of the things I love is that it can be left ‘set up and ready to go.’ For me, this means that I may well leave this set up on my shelf so that if someone asks me to do something on the spur of the moment it is all ready to go. I probably wouldn’t use it in walk around because of the size of the box itself, but it would make a superb one-off or feature routine.

Re-set is simple but couldn’t easily be done on the fly – you will really need a moment by yourself.

One of the privileges of my job is that I get to see an awful lot of new magic throughout the year. Due to other commitments I haven’t really had time to give thought to my ‘trick of the year’ – but I have to say that I like The Gift so much that it would definitely be very near the top of the list, and quite possibly number 1. It does represent a significant investment – especially for the hobbyist – but I think it is worth the money.

The Gift comes highly recommended, and is available from MagicShop.co.uk for £80 (or in limited edition red for £99.50)

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

Angelo Carbone – The Gift – review

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The post Angelo Carbone – The Gift – review appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

First up is a lovely effect by the marvellous Matthew Wright. He has a knack of coming up with workable magic – often with a mental magic theme. Visions combines a prediction of a card and a thought of image. His instructional material is always worth learning from – he has a wealth of real-world performing experience to back it up. Available any day (depending on when you read this!) for £29.50.

We’ve enjoyed a number of releases by the clever American magician Ryan Schlutz and so Lifto is certainly worth a look (we hope to do a proper review shortly). In brief – a chosen card lost is in the pack. Then a bunch of cards stick to your hand – and then fall off leaving only the chosen card there. Only £21.50

Another new release which seems to have had quite an impact is Angelo Carbone’s The Gift – an exceptionally clean looking prediction effect using a lovely gift box as a prop. It’s getting some wow reviews (and again, we hope to do our own soon) but if you can’t wait, is available for £71.99.

We’re planning to do another feature on the latest bunch of Bicycle cards released in the UK, but just to wet your appetite, why not have a look at Deck One – Industrial Edition by Theory 11. This is a re-release of an earlier deck, but in a new and stronger tuck case which emphasises the orginal vision. A nice deck and reasonably priced at £9.99.

We hope these ideas get you going through the murky month of March. Watch out, too, for our February competition, which with breathtaking originality we’ve decided to run in March!

The post Trick of the month – March 2017 appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

It was obvious from the first time I heard Costas (the very nice proprietor of MagicTao) talk about the Travelling Deck that he was very proud of it. And they have certainly done an excellent job on producing and presenting this effect. The slim package has an attractively designed cover and contains a DVD and the gimmick. In my book there is a point lost for no written instructions – but then I’m a bit of a luddite and video is the world we live in. Positively there is no annoying music on the DVD (!) and it has a nice clear and easy to use menu.

There has been some debate on the forums etc. about some similarity to Angelo Carbone’s Humbug. I haven’t seen that particular effect, but he’s apparently given the thumbs up to Travelling Deck – and there is even a comment on the DVD to that effect.

The DVD mainly features Costas talking about and demonstrating the gimmick. It contains lots of tips on care and maintenance of the gimmick and also explains how to change the face or back of the gimmick to match your deck of choice. The package also comes with some ‘special something’ to help you make/repair a gimmick.

A number of different vanishes are explained, including a ‘one-handed’ version which actually feels slightly more natural than the way Costas prefers to perform it.

Takel – the inventor – originally conceived the effect as a travelling deck routine – the deck is removed from the card box – vanishes, leaving only a joker in its place and is found to have returned to the card box. This is performed and explained in separate sections.

A number of variations on the gimmick are suggested. Two of these – the vanishing stack of business cards and the deck of cards to bank note are true variations. It is a bit cheeky to call the third – deck of cards to 52on1 card –a variation, but it does make for a cheesy gag!

To get your imagination going there are also a number of routines which make use of the gimmick. I won’t go in to detail on them all – but there is a sandwich routine, a deck through table routine, a routine involving two chosen and signed cards, and even using the deck for an ‘8 ball’ type effect/gag. I was pleasantly surprised to see these extra ideas on the DVD – and it helps show that this is a little more than a one trick pony.

The gimmick itself is well made on Bicycle stock and I think looks good/works well. The wife was impressed after only a short amount of playing around with the effect! A little practise is required to ‘get into position’ beforehand, but it is not difficult. Alternatively, it could make a good opener as you approach a table. As with most effects of this kind the gimmick is a little bit angle-sensitive. But it looks very clean afterwards.

All in all a good addition to the range of vanishing decks available. And in my opinion very reasonably priced at £15.99. Exclusively available at MagicTao.

The post Travelling Deck by Takel – a mini review appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

	Now this one ticks a lot of boxes. Firstly, it is full of excellent card magic from some of the world’s best card men. Secondly, the proceeds are going towards a good charity (follow link for details). Thirdly, it is actually on special at the moment so only £16.00.
	Angelo Carbone has been producing clever magic for years. Here’s a nice way to start your Bicycle Card set – by making the deck float above your table! (The gimmick will work with other packs too.) £14.99
	OK, so this isn’t card magic, but I love close up magic of all kinds. The ‘Coin Unique’ is one of the most versatile and clever gimmicks in the repertoire, and this is an amazing achievement – a £2coin/50p version. Precision engineering. £45.00/td>

The post Trick of the Month – February 2010 appeared first on Bicycle Cards.