Spec-Cut-Aces

A beautifully clean looking effect where the spectator cuts the pack into four piles, the top card of each pile is an indicator, and the card at each position matches – the four kings – as an extra kicker, the bottom of each pile shows the four aces. All but self-working – and a real killer.

Switchcraft

A whimsical little effect where an Ace and Jack of spades swap places twice and then leap to the middle of the deck.

Invisible Toss

The spectator’s chosen card vanishes from a set of four random selections – and reappears at the position you reach when you add up the values of the other three cards. That sounds confusing but is quite magical. Slightly less direct in method and effect than some of the other items on the disk and does require some slightly more advanced technique.

Folding the blanket

A card selected by the spectator is located in a process of ‘folding up’ a blanket made of face up and face down cards. If that sounds weird, it is! But it is a fooling effect – not least because you probably won’t understand how it works even if you know how it works! And as an added bonus you can work from a shuffled deck.

Jazz A234

This is a really nice slow motion transposition of 4 red and 4 black cards followed up by an instantaneous repeat of the same. I think this is a beautifully crafted routine loaded with plenty of magic. You can pretty much set it up on the fly so it could well be entering the impromptu collection…

Magnetic Cards

A follow the leader type effect using a magnetism theme. Very easy to do – and the one simple move leaves you so far ahead you won’t believe it.

Poker Aces

A twisting the aces type routine with a royal flush finish. A neat routine with plenty of surprises – and surprisingly economical in construction.

A Blah Day

Another variation on the clock trick with a blank card surprise at the end. This did little for me, and by its nature is quite procedural (and requires a set up). That being said, it has a few nice subtleties which make it seem fairer than many alternatives. Not one of the strongest items on the disk.

Primitive Shufflebored

A very clever variation on Simon Aronson’s classic effect. A freely shuffled and cut deck is mixed up face up and face down. The spectator freely chooses a number – and that number of cards are found to be face up. Requires a bit of maths/thinking on your feet – but a very impressive effect if you can nail it.

Spellino

A quirky little spelling effect – where the spectator spells to their own freely chosen card. Some memory work required and a slightly unclear explanation here.

Successful Succession

This is a really nice 4 ace trick where the aces travel from packet to packet rather than all in one go. This requires some moves – but there isn’t much heat on most of them, and so it should be within reach of most intermediate card magicians. Nicely routined.

Anytime Double Matcho

From a freely shuffled deck the magician makes two predictions which then match two cards the spectator freely cuts too. The use of a gimmicked card (supplied – but you’ve almost certainly got one) makes for a clean handling, but for me the impact of the effect isn’t much greater than the classic Gemini Twins – in fact in many ways the handling appears clunkier. And the use of a gaff card means it’s not genuinely ‘anytime’ unlike the Gemini effect.

Gold from Straw

A novel routine based on a Peter Duffie idea. The Jacks repeatedly jump to the top of a pile of Aces and then at the end of the trick the Aces turn into royal flush. In spite of the slightly curious name (which is explained!) this is a really nice effect with a lot of magic and an unexpected climax.

Reading the tea leaves

A card is selected and returned to the deck then a small packet of cards is mixed by the spectator and dealt into four piles. The four piles reveal the identity of the chosen card and then their combined value reveals the chosen card’s location in the balance of the deck. Another whimsical little plot with an extra surprise at the end. Quite a bit of set up but not too difficult to do.

A few thoughts

We’ve spoken before of Solomon as a creator rather than a performer and I have a sneaking suspicion that watching some of these effects live with a better performer would give them some zing. I’m aware that the way you respond to a performer is very individual – so I can only speak from my own perspective here.

One of the things I love about Solomon is his evident joy and enthusiasm in the method and construction of the effect – here is an enthusiast at work – and I enjoyed some of the stories he told on the way. Less positively his explanations are not the clearest I’ve ever seen on a DVD. Liam does a valiant job of trying to ask helpful questions to make things clearer where Solomon has rushed over something (and a few subtitles are added for the same reason) – but compared to the general quality of teaching on BBM disks this is a little disappointing.

One nice extra feature which I don’t recall seeing on any other DVDs is a separate menu item for ‘setup’ – so you can see the setup for the trick without having to watch the explanation again. This is a useful feature – but also points to the fact that many of the effects do require quite complicated setups.

I would love Owen to explain the thinking behind the somewhat quirky titles/menus – and in particular why they feature a slightly out of focus floating table lamp!

So all in all we’re blowing a bit hot and cold on this one. There are a couple of effects which we will definitely pursue, and several which (in performance) may yield reactions strong enough to justify the setup required. Solomon will never be my favourite performer, but you will learn a lot about constructing a routine from his work.

Available direct from MoM (with thanks to BBM who kindly supplied a review copy) £19.99 (at time of writing).

The post Solomon’s Secret Subtleties – Review appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

Armchair Mindreading – Caleb Wiles

I recently picked up a copy of Caleb’s High Spots book so was pleased to see first item on disk was his. Spectator freely cuts to a card in the deck then shuffles their cards (and puts the rest of the deck out of sight in the card box). You then successfully read your spectator’s mind and reveal their card. Some set up required but a really sneaky method which you will love to perform.

Self Control – Simon Aronson

It’s quite rare for me to be completely fooled by a magic trick – but I didn’t have a clue what was going on here. Encouragingly neither, apparently, did James Went or Liam Montier when they explained it! There is a mathematical principle at work but it is not as ‘procedural’ as this kind of effect sometimes is. It looks very fair and is a real fooler.

Rising Card – Daryl

This is a really visual rising card effect which pretty much works itself. It looks great and is very easy to work. As Liam comments on the introduction, it is rare for a self-worker to be so visually impressive. You have to try this one out.

Memory Opener – Sal Piacente

A pseudo-memorised deck routine – nicely constructed with three phases. I feel like Ryan Schultz overplays this in performance but it is a great effect. There is a set up required, but it would (as its name implies) make a great opener because of that.

Casino Clock – David Solomon

Solomon’s twist on the classic ‘Clock Trick’ (you can find it in The Wisdom of Solomon) with a slight gambling theme. It brings it out of the ‘puzzle’ category and gives it a bit more justification. If you can deal cards you can do this one and there’s a nice (and very cheeky!) extra ‘prediction’ which makes the effect even stronger.

Quadruuple Matchup – Nick Trost

A brilliant example of Trost’s cunning – the spectator has a very free selection and yet manages to locate 3 cards which form a set with your prediction set down earlier. You can work it from a borrowed shuffled deck. Love it. (Well worth checking out his books if you like this).

The Stapled Card – John Scarne

This is a really clever routine where a chosen card swaps places with a joker and ends up stapled to another joker. There’s a lot of magic going on here – far more than seems possible for a self-worker. We liked it last week when we read it in Liam’s Shazam and it is still good!

Devestation – Geoff Williams

This really does look completely fair – the spectator seems to make all the decisions to choose and lose a card (with a borrowed and shuffled deck) and you can still locate it. Uses a principle you probably read about in your first magic book, but so well disguised this is a genuine killer! This goes straight in to my impromptu set.

Impossible Divination – Larry Jennings

A classic from Jennings 67 – this is almost entirely hands off, and yet you manage to locate a card selected by the spectator from a borrowed shuffled deck. It shares many of the strengths of Devestation, but feels slightly more procedural to me.

The Red and The Blue – Alex Elmsley

In this clever effect from Alex Elmsley a card chosen by you and the spectator swap places by magic – or rather the decks containing them do! And the set up is accomplished by performing the venerable ‘Do as I do’ effect. Not only does the ‘Do as I do’ set you up it creates a routine which builds together nicely.

Final Thoughts

It is hard to make absolute comparisons, but I felt the material on here was slightly stronger than the material in volume 2. There are some cracking effects which require nothing in the way of sleight of hand allowing you to concentrate on the presentation. As the quote from the legendary Dai Vernon (which appears on the cover) says: “In magic, today as always, the effect is what counts. The methods used are always purely secondary.” Well you get some GREAT effects which require very little technical effort. If you’ve got an ounce of performing skill you will be getting some brilliant reactions from this material.

Highly recommended and available from MagicShop.co.uk (with thanks to BBM who kindly supplied our review copy).

And as our summer competition we’re offering you the chance to win all 3 volumes of the Ultimate Self-Working Card Tricks series – so what are you waiting for?

The post Ultimate Self-Working Card Tricks Volume 3 – Review appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

We’ve been sitting on this 2 disk DVD set for a while – but it was well worth waiting for. Though it hurts us to say this on bicycle-cards.co.uk, I should warn you at the outset, that Liam uses Aviator cards all the way through! And whilst we’re on full disclosure he has a slightly unsightly plaster on his left hand thumb nail which I found slightly distracting as I watched. But don’t let these things put you off!

The Elmsley Count is undoubtedly an important move in card magic. But Liam argues that as a group, we magicians have often done it without thinking carefully about it. So he has researched lots of the literature on the move, and tried to bring together lots of tips and his own experiences to explain the move exhaustively.

So after a short history of the move, he moves on to teach it. The count is taught in painstaking detail – with each tiny step explained and analysed. Every beat of the count has its own menu entry so it is easy to come back to the details. There is a helpful discussion of the movement of your hands, rhythm (which is usually the ONLY thing talked about), and the use of the count with larger and smaller packets.

The next section looks at a number of variations on the count. Each one is first demonstrated, and then explained carefully.

Ed Marlo’s Opec Count is a kind of ‘out of position’ Elmsely.

Jack Parker’s Outjogged Elmsley – I’d not seen this one before and it is a very fair looking variation.

Pinch Grip – this is the version I first learned in my first trick with the count – Walton’s classic Rainbow Cascade. On a slightly geeky magic note, Liam says this was originally a Jack Avis handling with jumbo cards – but I first saw it in Ed Victor’s EYE trick – which I think might have predated, and possibly been part of the inspiration for the Elmsley count. But either way, Liam clearly doesn’t like it!

Snap Count – this is an Elmsley with sound effects! Particularly useful when you are emphasising the number of cards.

Dai Vernon’s Twist Grip – to avoid some of the problems of repositioning cards between different count grips. [If you listen carefully on this explanation you can hear someone’s kids in the background!]

Underground Elmsley – leaves packet in original position. (good for practising)

Vertical Elmsley – a variation for use when seated at a table – I’ve also used it with jumbo cards when standing up.

The next section includes some Other Counts

Jordan – this classic goes with the Elmsley like horse and carriage.

Spirit – this is more related to the Jordan count and shows 2 as 4.

Discrepancy City Display (Bannon) is used in one of my favourite impromptu tricks (which is explained later on the disk).

Siva Count (Jack Avis) sort of a combination of the Elmsley and Jordan counts.

Bullet Party Display (Bannon) – this displays 1 odd card and 3 duplicates whilst actually concealing 2 faces.

In all this is a really useful set of counts and variations. Time for a quick bit of nostalgia by way of approving of this disc. One of my earliest and most treasured books was the classic counts, cuts, moves & subtleties. It was about 20 years ago I first laid my hands on that and it was a fantastic way to learn some of the most useful moves in card magic. If I was starting all over again, this section of the DVD would be a really serious alternative – especially for those that don’t like books so much.

Disk 2

After a brief tutorial on making multiple lifts in a small packet (using a Bro John Hammon technique) we get into some really strong tricks which utilise the count.

Four Card Trick – Alex Elmsley’s classic. If I am honest, I didn’t really enjoy Liam’s presentation of this. But it remains a great trick with a kicker ending and ends clean. You can also enjoy the sound of sheep bleating in the background of this and many of the following effects!

Twisting the Aces – Dai Vernon’s classic. A wonderful economical effect. Hard to know what to say, except everyone should know this routine.

The Odd Man Out – Liam Montier – I’d not seen this before. But it is a nice engaging presentation with lots of magic. And it ends clean. Great stuff.

One Too Many – George McBride – close up version of classic 6 card repeat. This is a whole pack trick not a packet one and can therefore be performed anywhere. It’s a great routine – and in Liam’s version has no need for palming. A real worker.

Que Sera Sera – John Bannon – this is one of my favourite impromptu effects. A really cheeky (in method!) prediction effect which is strong in performance and easy to do. I can’t remember where or when I learnt this – but the presentation on this disk works better than the one I had remembered from before!

Jacks in the Box – David Solomon – here’s a clever sandwich and transposition effect which all takes place in the card box! Some clever routining enables a lot of magic to take place with very little work on your part.

Whisperstition – Liam Montier – this is another clever bit of routining, which shows you the power of the Elmsley count in the context of a whole deck routine. You get 2 revelations of selected cards plus a clever transposition in this conjoining of a number of different effects.

Jazz Aces – Peter Kane – another classic routine – the aces transpose with 4 indifferent cards in the cleanest possible way. A variant handling is also included.

In Conclusion

I have always loved packet tricks. This set has got me to revisit the wonderful world. Although I often think of the Elmsley count as something to use with a special set of gaff cards, some of these really strong and impromptu effects show how versatile this count is.

The explanations are very clear, and a pdf is supplied with all the credits for the routines (though it does reference one trick ‘The Montinator’ which does seem to have made it to the final cut of the DVD!).

Whilst this would be a brilliant set for someone just starting out in card magic and wanting to learn the move, I think even experienced magicians would pick up some useful tips, or learn a couple of strong routines from this. So it comes highly recommended.

Available from MagicShop.co.uk for £22.99 (at the time of writing). Many thanks to BBM who suppplied the review copy.

The post The Elmsley Count Project – Review appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

Here’s a 34-word summary if you can’t be bothered to read the whole thing:

Are you a fan of thought-through card magic? If you like John Bannon but you don’t like beards, David Solomon could be the answer. We just wish he would move a bit more…

Otherwise, here goes…

Disc1 ‘Mathematically Speaking’

In this section Solomon brings some of his thinking and twists to three more or less self-working effects.

Casino Clock
The venerable ‘clock’ trick on speed with a Blackjack theme. It gives extra climaxes when compared with the original, but for me, just like its predecessor, the whole premise/selection process is a bit contrived.

The 21 Card Trick
A streamlined version of the ‘old classic’. 3 phases – each looking more impossible than the previous. For me the explanation here was slightly confused – Solomon is not the most natural teacher in the world. Often his ‘sidekicks’ have to prompt him to go over details more clearly. But when you’ve understood it, this is a lovely way of turning a simple trick into more of a mystery.

Jamesway Poker
A multiple phase poker routine with lots of very free and fair looking mixing. Based on an old Stuart James routine (hence the name) but with a few Solomon tweaks. Pretty much a self-worker. You will fool yourself! Neat.

The second part of Disc 1 is called Classics Plus

a234 elevator (revised)
This is a clever ‘elevator’ routine which needs a table to perform. There is lots of magic in the effect but it is quite complicated to follow the first time you watch it.

The Fingerprint Trick
I wasn’t familiar with the earlier versions of this but it is apparently an established plot. You locate a spectator’s card by a fingerprint on it, and when it appears to have gone wrong you recover it very magically. For me a puzzler more than a stunner, but I can see it working well for laypeople.

Simplex Oil & Water
I have been interested in variations on this theme for many years and there is much to commend this version. Only 4 black and 4 red cards, no gaffs so do it anywhere. I really like this one and think I will be using it… Why don’t you pause and have a watch…

O’Henry Jazz Aces
This is a clever ace assembly where the final climax is really unexpected. Largely achieved with an efficient set up. Definitely worth a look at this one.

Solmar Aces Revisited
A ‘one at a time’ ace assembly where they dis-assemble (!) again at the end. It was developed in conjunction with Marlo (hence the name). This is quite a detailed handling to remember, but if you like this kind of effect, this is a well thought through routine. Once more Solomon’s explanation is made clearer by the intervention of a sidekick (in this case John Bannon).

A number of the routines in the next two discs can be found in Solomon’s book, The Wisdom of Solomon.

Disc 2 – Just a little something extra

Blank Jazz Aces
This is a strong closer. It uses some gaffs (as you’d expect with a routine that ends with a blank deck!).

Blank thought revisited
A spectator does the mind-reading sandwich effect with a blank card! A few spread controls are required but otherwise fairly straightforward and a novel effect.

Jokers are wild
A signed joker morphs into spectator’s chosen card. Not an impromptu effect, but a neat little routine. Based on a Dick Kornwinder idea.

The second part of Disc 2 is titled Subtle Card Effects

Card in the card case
An interesting premise of an ‘observation test’ to provide the basis for a card to card case routine. Very clever little routine with some sneaky convincers. I like this one a lot.

Just Friends
This is another clever routine which combines a ‘King Assembly’ with a ‘Spectator cuts the Queens’. Best of all it relies mainly on one ingenious and not too difficult move. Another ‘worker’.

Marlo’s secret Kato
A chosen card cleanly jumps from a face down packet to a face up one. For some reason this one doesn’t really grab me.

Pure Vice Versa
Two selected cards jump out of the pack, and then swap places in a very subtle way. The main thing here is a very useful little swap move which should have many applications.

Whispering Queens
Two queens are of assistance in locating two chosen cards. A solid routine.

Disc 3 – For the Card Expert

Clearly up the ladder
This is the only time I’ve ever seen a poorly filmed effect on a BBM disc. In the performance segment he could have done just about anything after his initial display – we just couldn’t see what was going on. Four cards repeatedly rise to the top of a packet with a royal flush finish.

Double Triumph
Does what it says on the tin – but with a ‘four of a kind’ kicker.

Half a dream
A chosen card reverses itself in the back after the trick appears to go wrong.

Kissing cousins twice removed
This is a real fooler. King and Queen repeatedly jump from top and bottom of pack to the centre. Looks great. Based on an old Paul Curry effect. Will require some handling to get it looking this good…

S-V-S Shuffle
A shuffling trick where the Kings, and then Aces rise to the top of the deck with a royal flush finish. This doesn’t do so much for me though with a bit more pizzazz it might work for lay folk. The explanation is a bit brief – but a more detailed explanation can be found in the The Wisdom of Solomon book.

A couple of bonus items
The disc finishes with a couple of routines that require extra props.

Time warp wallet
A thought of card to wallet using a wallet which Solomon can provide.

Gypsy Curse
Solomon’s take on Peter Kane’s classic effect using cards supplied by card-shark. His patter story wouldn’t work for me. But an interesting variation on the handling utilising ideas from a number of other places.

Throughout the discs there is an extended interview with John Bannon that has been split into four segments. This is an interesting insight into the differences between the two magicians. It covers the creation of magic, the feel of their infamous ‘Chicago Sessions’ like and reactions to other people using your work.

Some general thoughts…

Whilst there is much to enjoy on this set, I have a few reservations which I will deal with first.

The discs contain very little ‘real world’ performance and for my taste, some of the presentations a bit boring? In this context it is interesting that Solomon admits during one of the interview segments that he is more of a ‘creator’ than a ‘performer’. That is why the title, ‘Card Solutions’ is so appropriate. He seems to come to his magic from the point of view of solving problems rather than creating engaging routines. That is not to say that a good performer couldn’t use these effects and make them very engaging – but Solomon’s performances sometimes seem a little uninspiring.

On a related note, he frequently ‘improves’ an effect by adding a poker-based kicker of climax. I wonder whether that works more effectively in his US context than in our UK one, where poker is probably not so pervasive.

From a technical point of view, many of the effects require a significant stack so they are not really impromptu or re-setting – so not great for walkaround. He also seems to rely heavily on culling – or variations on that technique.

More positively

As with his friend John Bannon’s work, you will learn lots here about how to routine an effect and to streamline a routine. He is very good at attributing sources and there is often interesting discussion about the development of trick.

And make no mistake, there are some very strong routines on here – and also a range of ‘levels’ – from the self-worker to the more finger-flinging. At around the £30 mark, this is good value. You get a lot of magic for your money. Why not take a look…

Available from:
MagicShop.co.uk – £29.99 (at time of writing).

(With thanks to BigBlindMedia who kindly supplied the review copy)

The post The Card Solutions of Solomon – review appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

David Solomon is one of the great card men of our time. In this entertaining routine 4 blank-backed jokers gain colourful banks and then their faces vanish and reappear on a blank faced card. A fantastic little packet trick for only £9.99

A stunning visual assembly trick with specially printed Bicycle cards meaning minimal sleight of hand. The DVD also includes a bonus routine with a borrowed deck. And it is currently reduced by 25% to only £8.99

The Wisdom of Solomon is a great way to get into the excellent card magic of David Solomon. Over 50 effects with over 200 illustrations – that’s a lot of great magic for only £26.99

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