It is a 104 page perfect bound book from his 2016 tour containing 10 items – most of which haven’t been in print before (though a couple have been put out on DVD since Lucky was first published).

Let’s tackle them in order.

Chop Shop – is a lovely fractal packet trick (and in the BBM bundle comes complete with the necessary cards). An odd card repeatedly jumps back to the packet in spite of being placed in your pocket. And in a kicker ending all the cards change to aces. This was not new to me (we first saw it on Fractilicious) – but remains a strong effect with superb routining. And it’s not too difficult if you can manage an Elmsley count. Although it is great that they have bundled the cards, I’m not a massive fan of the card stock (and especially the faces of the cards) they have supplied – so I will probably make my own set up. In Bicycle cards of course!

Proxy Shock – this is a subtle and fooling revelation of a card only thought of by the spectator. It requires a degree of confidence to perform well but will be utterly baffling if you can pull it off.

Cut and run – is a full deck running false cut culminating in an ace production! Not only is this a neat idea, I like the way he combines it with later ideas in the book to provide a logical series of effects which are set for one another.

Hybrid Holdout – this was another one that was familiar to me – due to it appearing on Bannon’s forthcoming ‘Dealing with it’ DVD (review to follow next month). It is in effect a very sneaky way of retaining a stock of cards whilst giving the spectator the strong impression that they have shuffled the whole deck thoroughly. A very versatile little procedure.

Stealth Assembly – this is actually a routine by the talented John Carey – using some Bannon moves. Aces are placed on the top of four piles, three of which the spectator stacks. In an instant all the aces have gathered in the fourth pile. This is how I like my magic – simple but bold. And I enjoyed Bannon’s reflections on ‘badinage’ (what you’re going to say to frame the effect).

Big Fat Bluff Aces – you may have already seen this on the Bullet Party DVD (or the book of the same title, or even in High Caliber – which, by the way, I am still trying to get hold of if anyone wants to put me out of my misery!). It is a surprising take on the classic 4 ace assembly. The first three aces disappear from their packets, but then the fourth packet turns into a packet of 4 kings. Then instantly all the aces return to the top of their packets. A nice twist with a degree of Chutzpah required!

Plot Twist – this is essentially Vernon’s classic Twisting the Aces with a typically whimsical Bannon wrapping and a few little subtleties and what I would almost call an extra phase on the end. You’ve probably already got a version of this trick but you might get some new ideas.

Triplicity – Bannon seems to have been more interested in mentalism in recent years and this is a devastating (to the layman) triple demonstration. First you read the spectator’s mind naming their card only thought of. Then you accurately divine its position in the deck. And then at the end you show that the whole thing was predicted in advance. It uses some incredibly devious (yet wonderfully simple) principles which you have probably come across before. But the whole thing is wrapped up into a very strong routine. Definitely a keeper. (in spite of the paragraph which gets repeated on page 80-1!) (This also appeared on the excellent Move Zero Vol 4)

Blues Alley Jokers – this is a quirky little sandwich effect based on a Jack Carpenter idea. Two Jacks are reversed in the deck near the top and the bottom and a selection is made from somewhere in between. The performer cuts to one of the Jacks and then as he apparently tries to cut to the other one using only one hand, we suddenly discover that the chosen card has appeared between the two Jacks in the performer’s other hand. This plays better than I’ve described it, but does require some slightly more advanced handling than the rest of the material in this book.

A Fred by any other name – this is a twist on the classic Fred (or Phil) trick where you use an ordinary ungaffed deck – and instead carry with you a card with all the ‘names’ of the playing cards on it. I like the way this sort of turns the original concept on its head and retains the ‘gag’ value of the original, but uses an ordinary deck. Typical Bannon cunning. You could argue that the effect is slightly less ‘clean’ for this – but magic always involves some kind of compromise (unless you can actually do real magic!) and this seems like quite a sensible one.

A lucky find?

It’s Bannon so I came to Lucky predisposed to like it. But it’s not just the magic, I love his down to earth and stimulating (provocative) style. Like his spoken style, he writes laconically, but every word is worth reading.

I think Lucky contains something for everyone, so would encourage you to head down to BBM’s special Bannon Sale section to get yourself the book or a bundle deal before they all go! (And watch this space for a review of the delightfully titled Djinn and Tonic very soon)

Thanks to BBM who kindly supplied the review copy.

John Bannon – Lucky – review

4.4 / 5 Reviewer

{{ reviewsOverall }} / 5 Users (0 votes)

Quality of writing

Practicality of material

Production Values

Value for money

What people say... Leave your rating

Order by: Most recent Top score Most helpful Worst score

Be the first to leave a review.

Verified

{{{ review.rating_title }}}

{{{review.rating_comment | nl2br}}}

Show more

{{ pageNumber+1 }}

Leave your rating

Your browser does not support images upload. Please choose a modern one

• Quality of writing
• Practicality of material
• Production Values
• Value for money

The post John Bannon – Lucky – review appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

[UPDATE BBM have sold out but it is now available from Merchant of Magic]

I like John Bannon’s work (I came clean on that one when I reviewed Bullets After Dark) so it is probably no surprise that I enjoyed this book, which was first released at Blackpool earlier this year.

It’s 75 pages long and contains 7 tricks (all cards, all ‘packet tricks’) – so it is only just over £1 a trick which is a bargain. They are part of his ‘fractal magic’ thinking – packet tricks which end clean and examinable (like Duplicity or Spin Doctor). Here are my thoughts on the routines.

Mega ‘Wave – is a close cousin of Steven Tucker’s Omega series of routines (in its latest incarnation that is available in another BBM DVD – Alpha to Omega) which in itself has some links to Max Maven’s B’Wave. The plot is a bit like Twisted Sisters but ends clean, and unlike Omega requires no palming. I will probably say this again, but much of the value here comes in reading Bannon’s thinking on plot, effect and method. Learn from this man! But it is a great trick and not too difficult to do.

Fractal Re-Call – a no-gaff version of his Call of the Wild effect – or Wild Card with a rationale (and some extra magic!). A few more moves here though still do-able. I like the plot but am not convinced that the original Wild Card presentation was as week as Bannon suggests. Also, it is a bit of a set-up to go into from a normal deck (which to my mind is necessary for the presentation he suggests). So for me, this is not one of the strongest items in the book.

Short Attention Scam – this is a re-mix of his Royal Scam. In brief, from a set of 9 red-backed Ace of Spades, 5 turn into a royal flush, and the other 4 get completely different back designs. I love this routine – lots of magic in a short time, and not too difficult to do. It uses the same set of cards as Royal Scam so if you already have that you are on to a winner.

Mag-7 – a streamlined handling of The Magnificent Seven (from the now out of print Smoke and Mirrors) which is essentially a no-gaff Wild Card routine. Not much to say here. It builds on a number of the concepts in the previous effects and works well.

Poker Pairadox – a re-working of Nick Trost’s classic Matching Court Cards. This is not the most mystifying effect for the audience, but it has a nice patter and routine and is all but self-working making it very clean from a presentation point of view. My only real gripe would be it isn’t an instant re-set (though the re-set isn’t difficult) – so not ideal for walkaround.

Fractal Jacks – almost an oil and water routine where the Jacks keep on returning to the performer’s hand (in spite of being dealt into two hands) – with the kicker of the other cards being the four aces, and as usual all examinable. For me, this wasn’t too magical. It did contain an interesting digression on why Bannon didn’t go with Simon Aronson and David Solomon on a plot variation here. I think I’m with them…

Wicked – this is a transposition effect where a card travels from between two black queens to between two red queens. I have mixed feelings about this one. It is a pretty clean transposition. But in the first phase, the ‘extra’ card (the one which transposes) is not actually shown until after the transposition has taken place. Given Bannon’s own comment that “in any transposition, it’s important that the spectators know which cards are where” this seems like a bit of a problem. On the other hand, I like the fact that the second phase ‘happens in reverse’ – since it is always good to keep the spectators guessing!

General Thoughts

There are seven effects here – I think most people would find at least a couple that would suit them. Several of the effects require a table which may be a problem for some contexts. Some require a set-up (though with the more truly ‘packet trick’ ones – that is to be expected). As ever, I enjoy Bannon’s thinking and discussion of the evolution of the effects almost as much as the effects themselves. They will, I hope, help you think more about your own magic – the why and the how.

For the price I think it’s a bit of a no-brainer. Get it! Especially while BBM are throwing in some free cards. And if, like me, you are a bit of a book collector, the you’ll want to get one before they’re all gone!

UPDATE 12/2/11 – Mega Wave now available at Merchant of Magic for £9.95

The post Mega ‘Wave – a review appeared first on Bicycle Cards.