The effect is easily described. A card is chosen and lost in the middle of the deck which is returned to the case. Then a coin is borrowed and signed and vanishes instantly. It reappears inside the deck, inside the case, resting on top of the chosen card.

Anthony also teaches a variation where a signed coin is in view right until after the spectator has taken the deck. A little more sleight of hand is required but it is still fairly straightforward.

What do you get?

You receive a neat package containing a highly gaffed deck of cards! The box is gaffed and so are a number of the cards themselves. The good news is that this is all done for you – so no construction required here. That being said, they do supply some special ‘something’ which would enable you to repair/replace some of the gimmicks – though the instructions for doing so are not yet available online. There is, however, a link to about 40 minutes of online instruction.

What do we think?

When I first saw the trailer it reminded me of an old Jay Sankey release – In a Flash – and it is good to see this credited on the website. Someone (Eugene Burger???) once said “There are few tricks that can’t be improved by the judicious use of flash paper” (I may have just made that up!) – and in some ways I prefer the plot and simplicity of handling of the Sankey effect.

On the other hand, it is probably fair to say you can have a bit more freedom in handling the Sherlock’oin cards – and could probably perform another effect or two with the deck before or after. This would be harder with In a Flash.

Pros and Coins

The clever gimmicks do make the handling of Sherlock’oin very straightforward. However, I found the vanish to be a bit fiddly with a light coin. I suspect that with a bit more practise this would come good, particularly as the gimmick ‘wore in’ a bit. The vanish is certainly incredibly visual and would give the impression that you were a black belt in sleight of hand!

The gimmick puts some constraints on the size of coin you can use – and in the UK I think that would restrict you to a 1p, 5p, 20p or old £1 coin. (I’ve not been able to try with a new £1 coin – but having checked the dimensions online I think they would be too big; as are 2p and 50p coins). However, I see no reason why you couldn’t perform the effect with a lady’s finger ring – and the impact might be even greater.

Teaching is clear and everything has been put together really well. I would expect the gimmicks to last for a decent length of time in normal use.
So there’s lots to like about this. But I remain slightly unconvinced. Sometimes magic creators go so far out of their way to make things ‘easy’ to perform, that the solution is more ‘complicated’ than necessary. I think this feels a bit like that. For that reason for my tastes I prefer the simplicity and the spectacle of In a Flash. But for those who prefer the slightly higher degree of freedom with these cards, and the potential for a very visual and fooling vanish, Sherlock’oin is well worth a look.

Sherlock’oin is available from the Merchant of Magic for £32.36 (at the time of writing)

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

The post Sherlock’oin – Thomas Riboulet & Anthony Stan – review appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

The basic effect (and a number of alternatives are taught) is that a card is folded into quarters and placed in full view on one side – perhaps underneath a wine glass. The spectator then chooses and signs a card which is lost in the deck, and when the card placed aside at the beginning is opened up it turns out to be the spectator’s signed card. The effect is simple, direct, powerful.

What do you get?

Basically a DVD, and also a couple of cards which you might use for some of the variations. The teaching is a little on the underwhelming side – I’m not sure whether that was because I was watching the English version (the creator is French I believe). So it relied more on showing/miming the explanations than using words. That being said, it was still fairly easy to follow.

The idea at the heart of The One 2.0 is a little move which makes it all possible. It is a little knacky – but not very difficult. In fact I would suggest that it is easier than the Mercury Card Fold which (as with many of these effects) you will need to be able to perform. (The MCF is taught – though again, not in any great detail.)

Variations on a theme

A variation is taught where the effect is the essentially the same – but the ‘prediction’ card has a different coloured back – and yet their chosen signed card still ends up there.

There’s also a variation called Any Number and Any Card. The spectator chooses a number, deals down to that number and folds the card at that location into quarters, placing it on the side. Then they name any card, look through deck and it’s not there – because it was the one already counted to and set aside earlier.

Transpo – is a different effect using the same move. Two chosen (signed) cards which have been folded into quarters switch places in the spectator’s hand.
Revea’Lighter – takes the same idea to create a revelation as a drawing set aside earlier changes into a prediction. And clearly you could come up with other variations on the theme fairly easily.

Slight handling variations are taught allowing you to leave the card on the table, under a glass or in your top pocket. There’s also a more ‘gimmicked’ version taught. To my mind, what this gains in a fractionally cleaner initial display it loses because it requires an extra move later – so I would have thought there’s not much advantage in this version.

The One 1.0

As its name implies, this is the second version of this kind of effect created by Anthony Stan. The DVD includes explanations and performance of the original version. This is a similar ‘mystery card’ plot but with an unfolded card. It is rather more involved in terms of set up – but if you can be bothered with the more complicated set up it is very easy to do. But to my mind version 2.0 is a significant improvement – as long as you can do the mercury card fold.

Using the version one set up, there is a version of Transpo – but to be honest the ‘sleight of hand’ version is really easier. The use of the gimmick makes some of the moves feel somewhat unnatural to me. If you’re a fan of version 1, a sandwich and a card to pocket effect using same kind of approach are also explained.

The final section of the DVD contains some ideas for different switches involving further gimmicks. For me, these lose the simplicity of the original version, but if you like fiddling with these things, why not?

Is it The One?

Compared to some of the more ‘prop-based’ variations on this theme, the great plus of The One 2.0 is its simplicity. You don’t need any extra gimmicks so you can do it anywhere, there are no unusual looking boxes or props, and its really very clean. It’s a simple idea which are often the best. The switch used could have many other applications if you’ll only get creative.

The only two minor negatives are that the teaching quality is adequate but not the most thorough, and at the end of the day you’re really simply learning how to do a neat switch. And you might think at £22.99 it is a trifle over-priced.

Available direct from Merchant of Magic at £22.99 (at the time of writing).

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

The post Anthony Stan – The One 2.0 – review appeared first on Bicycle Cards.