Briefly, the spectator chooses one of the four kings. This turns out to be the only face up card in a pack of 4. Then all the other cards are shown to be blank. The King is tabled and in an instant turns blank – and the remaining 3 cards turn blank. Everything can be examined at the end. Actually, that last bit isn’t true. But their jaws will be dropping so much you can just quietly pocket the cards.

You get all the necessary cards, and also (and I love this) both printed instructions – you know, using words – and a link to a video explanation. The video lasts about 16 minutes and includes explanations of the necessary sleights.

But if you’ve been around in magic for a while you’ll be able to jump to the chase much more quickly with the printed explanation.

The video is nicely filmed to normal BBM standards with clear explanations aided by the unflappable Liam Montier. It includes brief explanations of the Boris Wild’s Kiss Count, Vallerino’s Rumba Count and some more widely known counts and moves.

Nitrate is a really fun effect to perform and packs a lot of magic into a short space of time using just four cards. Cameron is clear – his presentation is a magic trick not a mentalism effect – and I think that’s a great call. A few ‘normal’ packet trick moves are required – but if you’ve been in card magic for any length of time you will have no problems with this.

Often in packet tricks that include this kind of instantaneous transformation often use some extra gaffs (which have often been treated roughly – let the reader understand) – one of the great strengths of Nitrate is that the cards can be handled so freely.

I know that I am a bit of a Cameron Francis fanboy – but Nitrate really is a very good addition to the world of packet cards. Many people ‘improve’ a standard and end up with a complicated or confusing routine. Cameron has managed to give a logical plot to justify his changes and produced a super piece of magic.

Buy it, you won’t be disappointed. Nitrate is available at magicshop.co.uk for £18.99 (at the time of writing).

(Review copy kindly provided by BigBlindMedia)

Trick of the Month – August 2017 – Nitrate – review

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The post Trick of the Month – August 2017 – Nitrate – review appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

In fact, that’s not quite the effect. In this very strong presentation you have a conversation with the spectator where they ‘imagine’ something which happened earlier – and at the end of the effect the outcome is exactly what they have described.

The title of the effect tells you the method (and again – if that doesn’t help you I’m not going to tell you!). If you’ve been around in magic any time this will not be a surprise to you. What you are really buying are the subtleties in Mark’s very sneaky handling. It is sleight of mouth, not sleight of hand here.

What do you get?

A nicely produced DVD which includes a couple of live performances and a studio performance. The explanation is full without becoming tedious and there are some really useful details on the way. You also get an envelope and all the necessary cards – though these are un-gimmicked and you could swap in any you wanted to use.

What do we think?

For me this ticks a lot of boxes. You end clean/examinable, it takes up little pocket space and is instantly re-set. It relies more on presentation than complicated moves. But it is precisely that which makes it difficult to rate. I could imagine a poor performer making a right pig’s ear of this – yet in competent hands it could be a miracle. It is not inherently ‘difficult’ – but some of the performance skills needed are difficult to teach – so at the end of the day you need to get out there and get doing it.

For only £11.99 I think this is great value and well worth a punt. B’voque is available from Merchant of Magic (with thanks to Mark Elsdon (who kindly supplied the review copy).

For a similar approach – but with the Twisted Sisters type plot, you should also consider John Bannon’s excellent Duplicity.  If you like Mark’s work, you may also enjoy On the Mark – one of my go to walk around effects.

The post Mark Elsdon B’voque – review appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

Here are some of the latest and greatest new magic items in June…

I’ve long had a fondness for the myriad variations on the plot of Phil Goldstein’s B’wave – and have owned and used many. B’voque – the latest version from the prolific Mark Elsdon ends clean and examinable – relying on clever subtlety rather than gaffs. Worth a look at only £15.99 [UPDATE – full review now available here]

If you’re looking for a classy new deck, look no further than the Totem Deck. Inspired by Chinese mythology and in a super-colletable run of only 2,500 for each edition you’ll want to snap these up! Available in red and blue. £11.50

Our next suggestion requires a bit of an investment – but I am convinced it will be worth it as the author knows his stuff inside out. I am one of many who grew up to Paul Daniels as THE TV magician – and on
Bravura he spills the beans on all you need to know about his act. The tips on here are bound to be gold-dust (we’ll try and do a review if time permits) – one for the magician who is serious about improving their act. £119.99

And a final tip – especially for anyone beginning to think about summer reading! This isn’t new, but I have been reading Darwin Ortiz’s wonderful Designing Miracles book recently – and it is full of really helpful ideas which will help you strengthen the impact of your magic. Well worth a read if you haven’t done so. £30.99

That’s all for now. Watch this space for loads more card and close up magic reviews and news…

The post Trick of the month – June 2014 appeared first on Bicycle Cards.