Lots to like

Magicians – you will simply love this – because the gimmick is SO clever. It is ingeniously engineered and works beautifully. The thing you will have to work hardest at is trying not to smile when you perform it! The gimmick looks very well made and is undetectable at very close range.

The DVD explains everything you need to know very clearly. I particularly appreciated some of the thought which had gone into Andrew Gerard’s bonus routine. It’s not really a new routine but has some clever subtleties – several of which I would incorporate into my own handling. And subtlety is the name of the game since selling this effect is all about presentation.

One of the major attractions of this effect for me is that it fits logically on your key ring – and takes up very little pocket space – and so is available to perform at a moment’s notice. The downside of this is that I probably shouldn’t continue to keep my wallet in that pocket – let the reader understand…

A few buts

If I was being really picky I would also question whether they’ve tried too hard to make the prediction look like it is on a piece of notepaper. There are possibly some design reasons why this was necessary – but it doesn’t quite work for me. The reset is also a tiny bit fiddly – but since I wouldn’t want to perform this twice in quick succession this may not be an issue.

Also many reviews have mentioned the language issue – in particular the original (US) version uses the word ‘bill’ which is not a common way of referring to currency in the UK at least. There is now a UK version which says ‘note’ – and I don’t think ‘bill’ is so unintelligible to the average person that this is a deal breaker for me. In fact, you could always use a receipt instead – saying that it is a ‘bill’ from a restaurant visit or something?

In conclusion

All in all, this is a superb little effect. A great prop, well-made, simple to perform, allowing plenty of scope for your own presentation. Very highly recommended.

£29.99 at the time of review for the Original (US) version or the UK version.

Review copy kindly supplied by Murphys Magic – to whom all dealer enquiries should be made.

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If you really want to go to town on a magic set then the Metamorphtrix set from Fantasma is the one. An enormous number of tricks, some good quality props and an instructional DVD. But it rocks in at £49.99.

To my mind the Deluxe Magic Set by the Las Vegas Magic Company is a very credible alternative with some classic pro quality tricks for only £34.50

But our top recommendation is probably still the
Joshua Jay Complete Magician set.  This consists of a book plus a DVD plus a few key props. Joshua is a fantastic teacher – and I have a bias towards books as many readers will know. £34.99

There have been a load of new cards out recently so we’ll do a special ‘Christmas Cards‘ (pun intended!) post in a few days.  But here are a few more new and notable releases – which would of course make great Christmas gifts for that special magician in your life…

I haven’t physically seen this yet – but I’m very excited about it. There seem to have been a whole plethora of different approaches to this problem recently – the in view switch of a card/billet – but this looks the best I’ve seen. One of the great features of Mystery Solved is that you can be seen to place something in at the beginning of the routine. £59.50

This is the UK edition of a trick that has really caught my eye. Fair Play looks like the perfect prediction effect to have about your person (OK – on your keyring) – so you are set to perform some amazing magic at a moment’s notice – and better still it is very easy to do. £29.99

Our final plug will only be of interest to a few I suspect.  I don’t actually perform stage illusions (and this is a close up magic blog!) but I LOVE reading about them.  One of the UK’s leading illusion designers has just released his magnum opus – the Confictura of Thomas Moore – and if you have any interest at all in this field you should really check out this serious (and heavy!  3KG!) book.

That’s all for now. Don’t forget to check back for the latest news, reviews and Bicycle cards! We’ve got a new John Bannon effect and a new Liam Montier DVD to review in the next few weeks.  So much exciting magic to enjoy!

The post Trick of the Month – December 2014 – the magic set edition appeared first on Bicycle Cards.