Taking the rough with the smooth

So, what’s it all about? The first thing you see when you play the DVD is a warning. BBM and Lawrence have been very safety conscious in this DVD and there are multiple warnings about suitable precautions when using roughing spray products in particular. You might want to bear that potential risk in mind before buying this DVD for a minor. Though there’s no risk if you use the products sensibly.

The DVD looks at the different options available for roughing your decks – notably roughing sticks and roughing sprays. And it explains the pros and cons of both and the technique needed for using both. After explaining the basic options and principles of roughing playing cards (and various different methods of applying the roughness to achieve different results are explored) there are then explanations of a number of different gaffed decks utilising this method.

There are all the usual suspects (Invisible Deck, Brainwave Deck, Nudist or Mental Photography Deck, Pop-eyed Popper Deck) and also clever variations on a theme.  We love the way he combines different principles to extend the ‘functionality’ of a deck.  So there’s an ID on steroids which you can fan, dribble and it has a ‘brainwave’ feature. There’s a really clever variation called the KKID (with a nod in the direction of Kenton Knepper’s classic Kolossal Killer) which allows you to show the backs of the ID.

Tips, tips, tips

There are also lots of tips, different ways of setting up the deck, ideas for making a forcing deck (including for non-card forces) – you name it, it’s probably there. If you love doing all these XCM flourishes which involve cutting decks into silly numbers of packets, there’s even a deck which might help you – the DNF (=Does Not Fan) deck – so if you drop cards in practise they won’t go everywhere!

There’s more detailed explanation of the technique for spraying cards and a tutorial on the whole process of making an ID – including tips to make pairing it up easier. During this (and various other) explanations, they make good use of speeding up the process to an amusing backing – classic BBM humour!

You even get an FAQ section – covering some really useful questions about all aspects of preparing and handling roughed cards. Sensible advice from someone who knows what he’s talking about! In addition to the DVD you get a sample roughing stick to get you started – it really is quite an easy process.

What do we think?

This is a hard disk to score. It is a quality product – filmed nicely and covering all you need. I really appreciate Lawrence’s straightforward and down to earth explanations – he says all that is necessary but very succinctly – no wasted words. The ‘performances’ aren’t really performances – but then that’s not really the point of the project. This is more about technique and manufacture than performance.

And that’s the rub really. Would you actually want to make your own gaff decks? Well, maybe. You might save a pound or two by making them yourself – though probably only if you were committing to making quite a few since you’d have to buy your spray or whatever you were going to use.

On the other hand, if you want to make up your own packet tricks utilising this principle, or you want to make up a special deck in a non-standard back design, or for a special trick of your own design, then this DVD will really tell you all you need to know to be able to get right on and do that. So if you’re a creative sort – or if you like working with a particular brand of cards that don’t currently come in the various gaffed flavours – then this is definitely for you.

Rough and smooth is a powerful principle – and there were a few twists or new ideas to me on here and I’ve been in magic for 30+ years. So if that sounds like you’re sort of thing, we’d definitely recommend it. And remember that buying a roughing stick on its own would cost you around £19 (though NB you are not supplied with a FULL stick with this DVD).

Available direct from MoM for £28.99 (at time of writing). (With thanks to BBM who kindly supplied the review copy)

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The genius of this routine is that it makes the ID entirely suitable for a platform performance and adds a brilliant kicker ending where some paper balls which have been used to select audience members are unfolded to reveal the name of the freely constructed card written on the sheets before the trick even began.

I am completely sold out on the important magic truism that effect is everything, method is (almost) nothing. And if you’re performing in the real-world for real people you will know this to be the case. Which is one of the things which makes reviewing quite challenging because magicians sometimes take a different view.

But either way, the effect that the audience is left with seems to me extremely strong – and the clever construction of the routine flew past me when I watched it the first time. Cody goes into a lot of detail about why he does things the way he does and so there is much to learn from the DVD. You won’t find any radically new principles here, but there’s some clever thinking and wording going on which adds much to the overall strength of the effect.

On the downside, in addition to the necessary deck (which isn’t supplied – only an instructional DVD), you will also need to make a modest investment to make up the rest of the necessary. But this is a very modest additional expense – and for the overall value of the routine seems to me very worthwhile.

Teaching is clear and detailed, and it is nice to see a live performance included – which always gets a thumbs up from me. He explains a variation using the Brainwave Deck instead of the ID, but for my money I would probably stick to the ID version.

A small excursus on Invisible Decks

On the subject of IDs, I will share my own experience. In spite of our name, I have found Bicycle Invisible Decks to sometimes be a little bit too ‘slippy’ which makes it harder for me to use, so for many years I have favoured the Royal Magic (non Bicycle) version which had a bit more ‘stick’. But I’ve just got my hands on a Card Shark version in a Pheonix Deck and this is my favourite version to date – and will become my regular deck. It has the added advantage that it is made in their ‘Parlour’ size which makes it more visible in a stage setting than a standard Poker deck. End of diversion.

All in all, I like this a lot. Although I don’t do as many platform shows I can see me making this up and adding it to the set, since you get a good amount of magic for a modest investment. It is not difficult to do, so will leave you plenty of time to work on your performance. Which is just the way I like it.
Available from Merchant of Magic for only £31.99 at time of writing.

Review copy kindly provided by Murphys Magic to whom dealer enquiries should be directed.

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What’s the verdict?
We really like the effect and think it is very strong. Depending on which version you perform (at least 3 different versions are on the DVD) you will need some basic sleght of hand – but nothing too difficult. Everything is explained very clearly on the DVD supplied. It is one of those methods which is exceedingly ingenious – and you will love performing it. So what are our reservations?

Depending on your performance context this may have some limitations. One of the versions requires a table, though a different version could be performed in the hands. Re-set is straightforward, but you would probably want to be on your own to do it. And though you could use the deck for other effects, in practise there would be a few limitations on you, depending on which version you performed and at what point in your set you performed it (difficult to say more without exposure). Finally, the stickers themselves are not re-usable – so if you are performing this regularly you will certainly need to buy refills. These are available at £17.99 for 50. Oh yes, and you’ll need to do a small amount of ‘craft’ for the initial set up. It’s not too tricky, but I wonder, at this price point whether that could have been supplied already done.

So it boils down to whether you think the strength of having a sticker on the back of the card (which would certainly make a good giveaway) is more powerful to a layperson than the effect you can achieve with an invisible deck – which in terms of effect is essentially the same to a layperson – freely thought of card reversed in deck (hence known in advance). With an ID, you get more or less instant re-set, and no re-fills – though of course the deck couldn’t be examined as it could here.

So as ever, you pays your money and you takes your choice, but we think this is a clean and powerful effect. Available now at MagicTao – for £21.99.

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