After a down-to-earth foreword by Gary’s good friend Mark Bendell (and by the way if you still haven’t seen The Unknown – you really must – it is brilliant!) and a brief encouragement from Gary to actually try the things out (!) we get straight into the tricks.

First up is a cracking self-worker called B’Waver. If you can imagine B’Wave plus card to impossible location you’ve got the idea. And it’s so easy to do. Great start!

Crazy Card Trick is basically a chance for Gary to show off how many ways he can show four cards to be the same card! After two cards are selected and lost in the deck, four cards constantly change into different cards – including the selections – which then vanish and reappear in the card box. This is worth studying just for the individual sequences even if you don’t like the routine. Which you should, because it’s a good one!

Pocket Aces involves the four Aces jumping around and ending up in the spectator’s pocket. You’ll need to be confident with palming for this one, but it makes a nice change from some of the more common four ace plots.

Thoughts is a somewhat ballsy mentalism effect where a card the spectator names a card and it is the one you have placed on the table in front of them. Gary’s given some thought to outs so you can give this a go. You know you want to!

Card in Balloon does exactly what it says on the tin. It reminds me of a routine I used to perform years ago (though the method is completely different!) – and there really is something very appealing about a chosen card appearing in this way. You have the drama of the balloon popping combined with a very visual appearance. Worth a look.

Mystery Card 2.0 is a no gimmick version of the mystery card effect. Briefly – a card is reversed in the face up deck. The spectator chooses (and signs if they wish) a card which is then lost in the deck. When the deck is spread the face down ‘mystery card’ is found to be the spectator’s selection. This is really strong – and I love the cheeky method for getting everything into the right place. Excellent effect. Gary says he uses this as an intro to his Ambitious Card and I imagine that is a great way to do it.

Back Palm Thank you Mam. Apart from having an excellent title, this trick utilises one of the few more flourishy moves I ever got round to putting the effort in to learning. Can you guess which one from the title? Two cards are selected and lost in the deck. An indifferent card is removed from the deck – it vanishes – and then reappears in your hand changing into the first selection. This card then vanishes and reappears turning into the second selection. And if you want an optional kicker both cards can then re-appear in your pocket. That seems like overkill to me – but then I haven’t tried it in front of real people yet. Another nice plot.

Pause for thought

At this point I realise that if I’m going to describe every effect in the book this is going to be a long very long review indeed. So I’m going to give you some selected highlights followed by some final thoughts…

Gary’s in depth understanding of misdirection is on display in a number of effects (notably Card under Glass and Pocket to Pocket) and you will learn lots about constructing your routines to take the heat off your moves if you pay attention here.

Did we mention Gary’s bold methods? Vanishing Point is a super sandwich effect which requires a certain amount of Chutzpah!

One of the few non-card items in the book – Exact Change 2.0 – is also one of my favourites. A prediction routine where you predict the exact change from your spectator’s imaginary trip to the sweet shop.

Coins Predicted has possibly the least exciting title in the book but is a really commercial effect with an engaging hook. It includes a script by Christopher Williams who has provided some great scripts for a couple of the routines in the book – well written and effective.

Iphone 20 shows Gary’s knack for coming up with fun plots which are a bit different and also very commercial. This involves a spectator’s signed selection merging with an ‘iphone’ playing card.

Kickback Sandwich is a neat sandwich type effect with a merely thought of card and some built in comedy which also effectively enables the method. Great lateral thinking and a fun routine.

Rubik Revelation cashes in on all the interest in Rubik’s Cube magic at the moment and is a very straightforward and somewhat bold method of predicting the pattern on a cube the spectator has freely mixed.

Colour Diffusion is another fun effect where a small packet of cards change to all have different coloured backs. That is a very bald description – but the routine is nicely structured in a way which involves the audience really well and maxes out the psychological effect of the change. Oh, and did I mention It is dead easy to do?

Colour Remix is a great multi-phase oil and water routine using an idea I have never before seen (and I’ve seen a lot of oil and water effects over the years – though I may just have missed this idea) – where the red and black cards also have contrasting backs so that you can apparently tell from the front or the back whether the cards are mixed or not. A simple subtlety means this actually makes the routine much less sleight-heavy than most similar routines – and it also includes a multi-coloured backs finish. Neat.

Coin to Anywhere is an idea of pure cheek contributed by Chris Congreave. It enables you to vanish a borrowed and signed coin and have it appear anywhere – with precious little effort on your part. There’s a variation on this theme which might appeal to mentalists too…

And there’s loads more I haven’t even mentioned. Gary has a knack for coming up with direct plots or clever variations on existing plots. Some of the ideas might even stimulate your own creativity.

As before the book is packed with clear illustrations and also photos of Gary performing with amusing captions.

This is another fabulous release which will more than repay your investment of time and money studying it. I think performers at all levels will find multiple routines they can use here. They range from self-working effects to things which will require a bit more sleight of hand – but I would say that most things would be in the reach of most performers with a little bit of practise.

You can pick up Life’s a Beach Volume 2 direct from the publishers at MagicSeen for £25 (at the time of writing). I’m very grateful to Gary for supplying the review copy.

Gary Jones – Life’s a Beach – Vol 2 – review

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Gary is a very talented performer and creator of magic. He seems to have a knack for coming up with ideas which are really commercial – direct effects which audiences appreciate. Some of the effects in the book are self-working and some will require a bit more technical proficiency.

Let’s get into the tricks

First up, it’s worth mentioning that a few of the effects in print here have previously appeared on DVD. If you’ve seen the brilliant Automata series (you can read our reviews of Volume One, Volume Two and Volume Three) – then you will already know about the following: Aqua Ring (a self-working ring off string); Fireballs (an easy, portable, impactful cups and balls); Metal Sheep (clever self-working coin transposition); Lead Free (a neat little coin bend); No Luck (a prediction effect using dice); Peeky Blinders (a superb little mentalism routine); ESP-ionage (a clever and again more or less self-working ESP prediction effect).

But even if, like me, you’ve seen them already, I was pleased to have them in print to refer to more easily. They are all cracking effects! And there are still more than 30 other effects in the book too.

Something for everyone

There’s so much other material in Life’s a Beach that I can’t go into detail on all of it. Instead I’ll try to give you a flavour and some highlights. The book starts with a sneaky ACAAN type effect which uses a gaffed deck to great effect.

I really like the Paul Gordon Card To Wallet idea which gets rid of the need to palm. This is taught and then Gary’s variation is also explained. Both are real workers. There’s also a super little oil and water routine which I have already started playing with.

One of my favourites is Grater – which is a great example of how Gary combines different principles and adds entertainment. The spectator chooses a card – and then merely thinks of a different card in their mind. You can then show that you predicted their thought of card (in combination with a great pun) and then read their mind to reveal the original card. Love it.

Although the majority of effects are card, there are also tricks with coins (a no palm coins through table – would you believe!), silks (a colour changing silk effect which would be great for strolling), a bottle production (you can guess what that is, right?!) and several mentalism type effects.

There are variations on a number of classic plots and one that caught my eye was a really straightforward Card Under the Box routine which with one sneaky ruse gets you so far ahead it’s brilliant.

A cracking collection

I hope, by now, you have got the impression that I think this is a super collection. The writing style is easy and Gary is generous with his experience which shines through. Throughout the tricks are short tips which contain excellent advice if you are wanting to get into close up magic in a more professional way. There is also a longer article with Gary’s thoughts on being a pro. Well worth a read.

I know that I will keep coming back to this book as there are routines in here I definitely want to perfect to add to my strolling set – and I’m sure you will too. Life’s a Beach comes unreservedly recommended – in spite of the fact that the beach I sat on while I reviewed it was cold and miserable!

You can pick up Life’s a Beach direct from MagicSeen for £25 (at the time of writing) – or if you contact Gary directly he can fix you up and he might even sign it – though not necessarily in his own name! His address is Gary at Gary Jones Magic dot com. Type it as you read it people. Many thanks to Gary for providing the review copy.

Gary Jones – Life’s a Beach – Volume 1 – review

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Let’s kick straight off with Trick Soup. A confession – I’ve not clapped eyes on this twin DVD set. However, everything that Gary Jones and Chris Congreave put out is worth looking at. They are two top class working pros and have released some superb magic over the years. So I have no hesitation recommending this sight unseen, and look forward to getting hold of my copy! £34.50

Next up is a lovely twist (did you see what I did there?!) on the old Paul Harris Reality Twister (without the lens) and the latest in a long line of effects using the humble sharpie marker. In Spiralled the barrel of a Sharpie Pen becomes tightly twisted leaving a wonderful visual effect. £14.72

I’m a die hard Chop Cup fan, and I love the thinking behind Alan Hudson’s Chop Glass. This is a way of performing the classic chop cup routine but with a glass you pick up from the table you’re working at. This both makes it seem utterly fair and saves pocket space. A genius idea for anyone who does lots of wedding or walkaround gigs. £48.50 (For another, really unusual, new take on the chop cup idea check out the Transformer Chop Cup by Sean Yang – though I’m less convinced by the look of this one!)

Nicholas Einhorn is a wonderfully understated gentleman of magic who also puts out some cracking effects. Just when you thought there could be no more variations on the bill switch a fantastic new alternative comes along. A receipt from a store is folded into 8ths and immediately turns into a banknote. Insta-Change is a great effect and well thought out idea. £34.50 (We’ve linked to the UK currency version. It is also available in Dollars and Euros.)

There have been a spate of new decks out too – so many that I’ll try and do a feature later in the month – but here’s just one of the releases to keep you going which is close to my magical heart. The Hocus Pocus playing cards have been commissioned to celebrate a wonderful US-based bricks and mortar shop – of the kind for which I have a great fondness. A bit of slightly nostalgic yet classy design, in a deep regal purple which is one of my favourite colours. What’s not to like? £12.99

As if all this were not enough, watch out for our (somewhat delayed) giveaway – which will be live soon! Have a great month.

The post Trick of the month – April 2017 – loads of new releases appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

But you want to know about the tricks first, right?

ESPionage – Gary Jones has come up with a really simple but effective use of an old principle which provides you with a super-clean miracle. Essentially in spite of a really (genuinely!) fair mixing and selection process, you can reveal which ESP symbol a spectator has chosen. In the routine taught you do this twice under increasingly astonishing conditions.

The same principle is also adapted for a variation Steven Tucker’s Visa Cabaret routine – where you can predict which coloured card ends up in which of the spectator’s pockets. This requires a little bit of one-off craft work to make the necessary – but it is very straightforward and only takes 5 minutes. I believe Full 52 are also selling the cards ready made up if you prefer. Super little effect.

A-Can – This is Dave’s twist on the old barcode gag which takes it to the next level. The spectator chooses a card from a whole stack of cards which have different grocery products on the front. You reveal your prediction to be a barcode – and after the groan show that the barcode does actually contain the name of the product. In a final kicker ending you then produce a tin of the product from the (previously obviously flat) prediction envelope. Great fun, easy to do. Love it.

Dobson’s Diddle – a clever prediction effect based on a Wayne Dobson idea. Despite some very fair looking choices you reveal that you have predicted the outcome of a spectator’s free choices about where to place various objects. This is very easy to do, but will require you to think about the procedure on the fly. A couple of subtleties lead to a very fair looking outcome.

Arty Farty – this is a different sort of a prediction effect. The spectator chooses the name of a famous piece of artwork from a selection of many. You make a drawing (‘forgery’ in the clever plotline!) to reveal their choice – but it just looks like a load of scribble. But when some heat is applied, the spectator’s chosen image is revealed. This is a fun and different take on a prediction effect. Easy to do, though a small bit of preparation needed. Quirky.

Fruit Loop – this could be my favourite effect on the DVD. The spectator (genuinely) freely chooses a card from a selection of cards bearing the names of different fruits. You show that you have predicted not just that choice, but the cards either side of it – in a very funny and visual way. I don’t want to spoil the fun by telling you the detailed scenario – but you’ll have a lot of fun performing this entertaining and very easy effect.

Any Tome, Anywhere – this is a book test where you can reveal the word or words at the top of a page in any book. This essentially relies on a mathematical principle to do the dirty work for you. For me, the process the spectator goes through in order to get to a ‘random’ number is a little bit involved. There are some nice subtleties in Dave’s handling of the revelation, but for me this wasn’t a highlight.

Purple Monkey – in this routine you appear to read a spectator’s mind and reveal a random image they have simply created in their mind. Lots of nice things about this one – it is genuinely easy to do, takes up little space, and gives them a nice takeaway too. And again there are some great subtleties which obscure what is going on here. Brilliant.

Positive Change – the spectator places three coins on the table according to various free choices and then chooses one which they ‘flip’ behind their back. Your prediction shows you knew both which coin and which way up it was going to be. Building on some previously released ideas this is a neat semi-impromptu effect. For me this wasn’t earth-shattering, but with good presentation skills it would certainly impress a spectator.

RPS Extreme – in this effect you appear to be able to predict the outcome of several games of Rock, Paper Scissors. The first phase is impressive but the second knocks your socks off. Gary is clear that he has combined ideas of others to make the routine work, but it is a fantastic idea with good audience involvement.

The Secret is not so much a magic trick as a puzzle, which I first saw on an earlier Full 52 release – David Regal in the UK – though its history is much older. To an interesting story you trade ‘bank notes’ and pints of beer and everyone is puzzled by the outcome. It seems to me this would work really well in certain settings, but if I’m honest I’m unlikely to use this one myself. The necessary ‘notes’ are available as pdfs on the DVD to print your own.

As if this were not enough – there is also a free download of two extra missing effects which didn’t fit on the DVD. The tricks are:

Pageboy – this is a sort of ‘book test’ but with an unexpected extra ending. This is something called the Pegasus Book Test (not sure of the creator) – not only can you predict the word on the page they freely choose, as an extra kicker, when they look at the book again the page they looked at has been torn out – and is found in a prediction which the other spectator was holding from the outset. You will need to make up a couple of things to perform this – but the effect is so strong that it is well worth the effort.

Call the Chops – a series of number cards are freely mixed based on choices made by the spectator and end up predicting your phone number! This is based on an old principle but makes a nice way of giving out a business card or passing on your number…

The whole thing is well produced – although there were a couple of glitches in the sound level when I watched (which may just have been to do with my computer but I haven’t had the time to check) – though this didn’t get in the way of understanding.

Explanations are very clear and easy to follow. And I, personally, enjoy the banter between Dave and Gary. It’s great to see two magicians who get on well together and respect each other and who chuck in ideas on the fly and discuss wrinkles and subtleties as they go. They are both real performers and are worth listening to.

It’s hard to compare different releases with each other – was this the strongest of the set? Possibly. I really could see myself using all but one or two of these effects in the real world, and will definitely be making some of them up to use. If you don’t want to go to the trouble of manufacturing some of the items, Full 52 are (as in the past) selling some of the accessories you will need.

Highly recommended. What are you waiting for?

Automata 3 is available direct from Merchant of Magic for £21.98 (at the time of writing).

And if you’d like to be in with the chance of winning one, then enter our giveaway!

The post Automata 3 – review appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

Aqua Ring

An impossibly clean looking escape of a borrowed finger ring from a knotted loop of dental floss trapped in a cup of water. A slightly bizarre premise – but a really clever idea which looks like real magic. Ends clean and examinable – entirely self working. The tiny downers are the need for a little bit of pre-preparation and a cup of water in your performing area – but I can see many contexts where this would be a real worker.

Fixed Quote

This is Dave’s take on a self-working book test using (though not limited to) a book of quotations. In order to make this self-working there is a slightly drawn out (see how I’m resisting the use of the word contrived) process for selecting the page. I don’t think this is an inherent drawback – but does require some personality/presentational ability to carry it through. Dave has this in spades which makes it an entertaining routine – and as the reaction of his spectator shows. There are also a number of levels of subtlety/dressing which hide the principle quite well. I love book tests – and the use of a quotation book certainly adds lots of scope for extra reveals and presentation.

Lead Free

This is a really clever idea which enables you to do a self-working coin bend. You show the spectator two contrasting coins, they choose one, and it bends whilst in their hand. That’s really the way it plays. It requires a gimmicked coin which you may already have (especially if you own Automata 1 – no more hints!). There is also an extension of the routine which gives you a double bend and still virtually no moves, and other ideas which use the principle in different ways! The very simple handling is completely disarming – and I can certainly see this making its way into my walkaround set. Great stuff.

My Hero

This is a clever idea using the latest technology! You send the spectator a photo of themselves, and then they make a choice from a selection of cards with the names of different superheroes on them. When they look at the picture it shows them looking like their freely chosen superhero! You will need a smart phone to do the routine as presented (though you could, of course, do the whole thing with just an ordinary prediction, but the photo is much more effective). This is a really fun routine – the selection process is engaging and easy to do. Makes me wish I had a smart phone!

No Luck

This is a prediction effect using three dice and a nice premise about being ‘out by one’ all the time. A clever principle is in play here which is surprisingly deceptive. Not my favourite routine on the disk but worth a look.

P.O.A.

This starts off looking like a memory test, and turns into a coin which vanishes and re-appears on a card previously signed by the spectator. Uses a couple of old principles to create a nice routine – which could also leave a business card in their possession at the end. An unusual and self-working trick.

Chip Shot

A poker chip passes through a solid table top. A very simple method first found in Bobo, but with a modern twist. It looks like clever slight of hand but a very simple ‘gimmick’ does all the work for you. I’m not sure it makes a routine in itself but could be a nice extra in the context of a longer routine.

Peeky Blinder

Three spectators draw pictures on business cards and you correctly identify who drew which one – revealing the final picture without even looking at it. Gary explains how you can make the necessary wallet very cheaply – though I can see myself using this routine with the Jaks Wallet. There is something very poweful about this routine which far outweighs the simplicity of the method – and the emotional involvement of drawing a picture always engages the spectators. Well worth a go.

Ear Worm

This is a clever mind reading effect where you can reveal the song a spectator is merely thinking of after a very fair looking procedure mixing up a stack of cards with different songs and artists on them. The clever principle used here is not new, but is not widely known – and you will fool yourself when you use it. This is a nice routine – and I could also imagine re-using the principle with other applications.

Weird Wallet

This is a sort of just chance routine using a wallet with four different coloured compartments. The spectator(s) chooses 3 out of 4 pockets and, of course, the remaining one is the one with the cash. This is an old principle (which I first met in a wonderful Larry Becker book) applied to a prop which you can buy online (Full 52 can supply these if you can’t find your own). Easy to do, very clean and very fooling for a spectator.

The Amazing Business

A nice little prediction effect where a set of business cards are mixed face up and face down according to the spectator’s choices. You correctly predict two outcomes and then the final card is found to be your own business card. It is essentially a Peter Duffie routine (from Cards by all means) re-imagined with business cards. This one didn’t do that much for me but is certainly in the puzzling category. You can re-use the principle in a number of ways – I rather like the idea of using it with lottery cards.

What do we think?

The interaction between Dave and Gary makes the teaching segments engaging and everything is clearly explained. They bounce off each other well and often chip in thoughts and subtleties which are really helpful. Almost all the routines are in the hands with very easy re-set. Several involve business cards – which is always a bonus if you’re looking for more work!

We think this is another cracking DVD and are excited to hear that a 3rd disk in the series is in the offing (with the return of Chris Congreave). There is a great variety of routines here, all of which are very easy to do. But don’t despise them because of their simplicity – these are almost all strong effects which will play very well in the real world.
Highly recommended.

Available direct from MagicShop.co.uk (with thanks to Full 52 who kindly supplied the review copy). £19.99 (at time of writing).

The post Automata 2 Review appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

The method relies on boldness rather than sleight of hand – which means it should be within the reach of all. But you will need a little confidence to do this the first time. However, the reactions should more than re-assure you that it is worth the risk.

What do you get?

You are supplied with a special deck – which is based on another deck you may already be familiar with (everything is credited on the DVD but I don’t want to say more here for risk of exposure). It comes in Bicycle stock – though you could make it up in any stock you wanted.

The effect is all but self-working. You need a little bit of basic card handling but there is no real memory work or sleight of hand. It re-sets almost instantly – so is ideal for walkaround – the only downside is that the deck can’t really be used for anything else. But for me, the strength of the effect means this is worth the pocket-space.

The teaching DVD is clear and includes a live performance and some studio performances. There are variations for using one or two spectators – and a few alternative options if you are less confident in performing – but I personally think the original two-spectator handling is the strongest. The DVD explains everything you need to know – down to how to fan a deck (!) and a few ideas in case you get it wrong.

I’m not sure that there is much more to say – except I can’t wait to get using this in the real world. You’re not getting an ingenious new principle – but you are getting a well thought through and powerful routine which you should be able to perform fairly quickly. This comes highly recommended and certainly won’t end up at the back of your magic cupboard out of sight and out of your mind!

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

(Thanks to MagicTao for kindly providing the review copy)

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Anyway, here’s the effect. The magician has a set of 4 of a kind. They turn face up, one by one, then all together, and then their backs change colour!

It must be said there are many close variations on this kind of thing, but this is a nice one. It only requires one ‘move’ – which you will probably already know (and which is taught on the DVD if you don’t). A lot of magic happens quickly – and Gary’s presentation is amusing and engaging.

Things we like: Lots of magic, fairly easy to do, very visual, re-set instantly so great for walk around, a couple of presentational variations provided.

One thing we like slightly less: we’ve got so used to ‘fractal’ type effects that it seems a shock that the cards can’t be examined at the end (not a deal breaker with proper audience management – but worth mentioning).

The DVD has no frills but doesn’t need them. You get a ‘live’ and a ‘studio’ performance, a clear explanation, the ‘move’ is taught, and there are a few notes on the history/credits for the effect (it is actually quite an old effect re-released – but I think falls into the category of ‘so old that it’s new’…)

This is a great little addition to the genre and I’ve had good reactions from it with the people I have shown it to. Shock Twist is available from Merchant of Magic (with thanks to MagicTao who kindly provided the review copy).

The post Shock Twist Review appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

Here’s the effect. The magician is holding a small spiral bound notepad – the kind a waiter might take your order on. It visually changes into a pack of Bicycle cards with which you can go straight in to your favourite routine.

This is going to be a pretty quick review because there’s not much to say! It does exactly what it says on the tin. It is a simple gimmick (which is always a good start) and very easy to use.

The DVD contains a short performance section and a careful explanation of all the necessary, including an idea or two to get your imagination running with other performance options.

You could perform this in a variety of situations, and reset is very simple. It would suit any kind of walkaround performance very well. A nice, quick, visual opener. Great fun. And only £10.99 direct from MagicTao.

The post Noted – by Gary Jones – Review appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

52 on Rye!

A thought of card appears between 2 jokers after cheesy gag (let’s face it – there are likely to be lots of them given the title gaff and the performers involved). This is easy and effective – though for me the set up (which happens at the start of the trick) feels a bit obvious/without motivation – so I prefer the ‘signed’ version later on the disc (Sign This).

Welcome to the underbox

Signed card appears under card box after a cheesy gag. This seems very strong and dead easy to do. It requires basic card control but one of the strengths of the routine is the nice strong misdirection for the actual load of the card.

Sign This

A signed card appears between 2 jokers. Largely the same routine as 52 on Rye. Basic card control required again.

The J in B Trick

A neat transposition where a spectator’s signed card changes place with another card inside the card box. This made a nice change to the routines so far and is a pleasing effect. It doesn’t use the 52on1 gaff.

Kickback 52

This is another interesting transposition effect where the chosen card ultimately ends up between the jokers after leading the spectator up the garden path. In some ways a similar routine to the J in B one, but uses your wallet.

Miracle Vanish

An old trick providing a clean vanish of a spot card amongst 3 jokers. The spot card can reappear wherever you have a duplicate Not much new here, but an easy to do effect.

Card to Pocket

I can’t decide what I think about this one. 4 cards are signed and travel to the performer’s pocket one at a time. The final card disappears from the spectator’s hand leaving an impossible object… The salami from ‘Dupes’ (or at least a duplicate salami!) makes a brief appearance here too. For me this all feels a bit too involved/contrived, which I find surprising because its near cousin from Dupes (Predicto Pocket) I love and use. It requires a bit of palming and an Elmsley count.

Extras
The Sharpie Doctor – a tip to get some extra life out of the magician’s favourite pen.
Top Con Control – an explanation of a move which is used (unexplained) in an earlier routine. A neat way of controlling a selected card to the top.
There are also trailers for my current top 3 BBM DVDs – Dupes, Annihilation Deck and Bullets after Dark.

Overall

I think I preferred the variety of effects in the Dupes DVD. I suppose given the title/premise of this DVD we would expect there to be less variety, but I think it is perhaps slightly overpriced for what you get. On the other hand, I really like several of the effects – especially the underbox effect and the J in B effect – and the gaffs are included. So it is well worth a punt.

Available direct from BBM at £17.99 + £1.50

The post The 52 vs Joker Project – review appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

What about the tricks? Here’s the contents with a few thoughts.

Nearly CAAN
A very fair looking selected card at any number and dead easy to do thanks to the use of duplicates. They also teach a little 4 ace production at the start which reappears in a couple of routines using four of a kind. I like this routine a lot, but the deck is a bit of a one-trick pony…

Kicked Right Back
A nice little sandwich effect with a surprise kick. Two cards are selected and lost in the pack. The two black queens ‘catch’ 2 cards between them – but when the cards are removed they turn out to be the two black queens, whilst the queens in the performer’s hands have turned into the selections. This is a real worker and doesn’t require too much finger-flinging for a really strong effect.

Joker Surprise
The spectator’s selection is the only card which isn’t a joker. No real surprises here for the performer, but a funny effect for a layman. Again a one-trick pony, but a nice easy effect which would play well for lay-people.

C2B with Zilcho palm
2 black aces are placed in card box. Spectator’s card ends up sandwiched between the 2 aces in the card box, and the aces have changed to red ones on the way! This, for me, is one of the strongest tricks on the disc. A lot of magic happens – it looks very fair, and requires only basic card handling – and no palming.

Packed Wallet
2 chosen and signed cards are lost in the pack. The first one is found in performer’s pocket. Second is meant to appear in his wallet, but in fact the remainder of the pack turns up in the wallet, and the selection is in the performer’s hand all along. Another strong effect with a striking twist, and also a handy way to switch in a new deck! Requires some card controls and a rather bold move, but the latter is really easier than it looks.

Pocket Aces
A nice 4 aces to spectator’s pocket. Requires palming (and again some card controls) but a helpful discussion of this to reduce your fear! I rarely use palming but think I could manage this…

The Big Transpo
Spectator’s card apparently swaps places with a card in your pocket. Also a way of introducing a duplicate card to the deck. For me this is not a particularly entertaining effect, but it is fairly easy to do.

Jump Back Sandwich
Repeated signed card to joker sandwich. The use of a duplicate allows some really clean displays but this doesn’t appeal to me as much as some of the effects.

Sucker Deal
The old ‘next card I turn over will be yours’ sucker trick – but made much more powerful and visual with a dupe… However, I wonder if the dupes are seen in too close a succession in this routine which may make the workings a bit obvious.

Box Sitter
Chosen card appears under box in impossible conditions. Very clean. I like this a lot and can see this being a worker.

Pocket Interchange – and variations
The four aces and queens change places (from pockets to table) instantaneously. Very easy handling. As well as being a nice routine, it is a useful way to ditch a dupe. After the original handling several variations are provided.

First a non-pocket handling where the packets swap places on the table. Then a no gaff (i.e. no duplicates) handling is provided – which is a slightly odd inclusion on a dupes DVD (!) – but does mean you can do the routine impromptu. This requires a bit of extra handling and a slight discrepancy, but it still works! Then there is a third handling using sticky card – which is possibly even cleaner – but is obviously more gaff-intensive. Overall, I think I like the original best.

Lee Smith’s Predicto Pocket
Another ‘impossible’ signed card trick – where the previously shown ‘prediction card’ becomes the actual signed card the spectator chose. A few subtleties with the Hindu force which are nice. Possibly my favourite trick on DVD. Does require some palming (explained).

Hypno-Tastic
An easy to perform routine incorporating some gentle hypnotism (suggestion) to lead to a really nice reveal at the end. Also an extra non-dupe version for when you’re caught on the hop… This could be a real worker for my money.

The disc ends with a brief discussion on the use of duplicates and some tips for extra convincers.

Final Thoughts
Although most of the moves required are taught, it is probably fair to say the DVD assumes basic card control – however, I emphasise the ‘basic’ here – there is nothing out of the reach of most performers (with the possible exception of the palming).

I think most people would take at least a couple of effects from this DVD to use, and it should also stimulate further ideas with this under-utilised technique. For me – if a simple ploy like a duplicate card can reduce the amount of sleight of hand and increase the wow-factor of an effect, it is worth doing.

And if you buy it direct from BBM at the moment (£19.99) they will throw in a free copy of ‘Get Connected’ (worth £15)

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