Jack Tighe Archives - Bicycle Cards

Ultimate Self Working Card Tricks Vol IV – review

Phil Sweeting — Sat, 21 Dec 2019 00:01:56 +0000

The Ultimate Self Working Card Tricks series is one of the jewels in the Big Blind Media crown. It’s some years (2014) since we looked at the last volume in this series – though there have been some side volumes (a bit like the Star Wars spin offs) focused on individual creators. But it was worth the wait. Let’s get straight into…

The Tricks

Karmatic by John Bannon
The DVD starts with a corker. This is the Mighty Bannon’s sort of take on the Trick That Cannot Be Explained. Which is to say that it relies on a certain amount of ‘jazzing’. But the premise and method mean that the jamming doesn’t require any sleight of hand – only a bit of on your feet thinking. In effect the spectator shuffles the deck and yet you have successfully predicted the outcome. I like this a lot – and it is dead easy – the only possible negative is that it does somewhat depend on the spectator being able to riffle shuffle.

Coincidence by Bill Simon
The spectator spookily finds two matching pairs without ever knowing how they did it. That bald description doesn’t really do justice to what is a very strong bit of magic from the ingenious Mr Simon. The bad news is there is some set up required. But it is worth it for a really fooling bit of magic that is very easy to do. I love the construction which makes the effect build to an apparently more impossible second phase.

Five Nine King by Martin Gardner
In this clever mathematically based trick, in spite of a high degree of freedom of choices, the spectator manages to find 4 of a kind. It relies on a clever set up and is pretty fooling. For me it is a little on the procedural side, but nonetheless a clever effect.

Company of Three by Roy Walton
This is a Roy Walton classic – where you can locate two different spectators’ cards by spelling and counting. As taught it requires one very simple bit of sleight of hand – but a truly sleight free handling is also taught. I like this. A very simple set up does all the work for you. A lot of bang for your buck.

Sorta Swiped by Jack Tighe
This is a clever and easy take on the mystery card idea. The spectator chooses and signs a card – and through a slightly ‘sucker’ presentation your different-coloured-back ‘lucky card’ morphs into their selection. Two versions are taught – one of which includes the use of a man-servant! This is a strong routine – but you’ll need some extra cards beyond your normal deck to bring it about. But you leave your spectator with a nice souvenir they can keep. There’s a really nice force taught that I’ve not seen before which would have other uses – especially in an Anniversary Waltz type routine.

And there’s more tricks!

Miracle Aces by Stephen Tucker
Another take on the ‘spectator cuts the aces’ type routine. The spectator seems to have a fair degree of freedom and yet still all comes good. A small set up is required and then the procedure is very simple. A clever self-working solution.

Baker Street by Liam Montier
Baker Street is a two-phased mind-reading effect where you can reveal two cards chosen by two spectators. Again, a small set-up is required. I love the way the construction enables you to deduce both selections in an impossibly fair way. Great little worker.

Third Attribute by Michael Breggar
A really nice routine where a card from a borrowed shuffled deck is selected in a fair manner – then shuffled into a face up and face down deck. The spectator picks three random cards from the deck and then you ‘deduce’ their chosen card. The presentation provides beautiful distraction from the very simple method. I’d not heard of Michael Breggar but this makes me want to investigate his work some more.

Swindle Conincidence by Peter Kane
A fantastic combination of ideas which produce the effect of two spectators selecting the same card in the fairest possible way from two borrowed shuffled decks. Although I knew the principles involved this one flew past me first time. I love the sneaky procedure. Fantastic effect.

Card U Reka by UF Grant
A triple prediction effect with a pseudo-card-reading presentation. There’s some set up required to make up the decks for this effect. But you’ll then have a powerful effect without any hard work at all. Sneaky.

Final Thoughts

One of the many things I like about this series is that they don’t just teach some cracking new tricks, but they unearth and polish up some classics (hence here tricks by UF Grant and Peter Kane etc) which may have passed you by. I’m a firm believer that in our attention to all the new releases all the time we often overlook gems from the past.

The teaching is clear and everything you need to know is explained. If you can’t get at least a few routines from this that you will use then I don’t know what you’re doing! This volume reminds me particularly of the strength of even a small set up in terms of getting you so far ahead. Although these are self-working, it would be of real benefit to get your head around a false shuffle or two in order to add another layer of convincing to them.

It is a while since we looked at the last volume, but Ultimate Self-Working Card Tricks Volume 4 feels like it is the best in the series so far. Full of fantastic, workable material.

What are you waiting for? Go out and buy a copy!
You can pick it up direct from BBM for £21.99 or the download for only £20.50 (at the time of writing).

Many thanks to BBM for supplying the review copy.

Liked it? Share it...

The post Ultimate Self Working Card Tricks Vol IV – review appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

John Carey – Impossible Location Card Tricks – Review

Phil Sweeting — Tue, 21 Aug 2018 19:24:31 +0000

When I picked up Impossible Location Card Tricks – I was expecting something totally different! I was envisaging ‘location’ as a noun – and expected a DVD full of effects in which chosen cards appeared in impossible locations. In fact, ‘location’ was functioning as a verb – so the DVD is crammed full of chosen cards which are located by the magician in impossible ways.

If I thought that then someone else probably will, right? Or am I just very odd? Don’t answer that.

The tricks

Anyway, let me tell you about the tricks. Although John’s name is on the project and he does the teaching, a good number of the tricks have been contributed by others. Here’s the skinny…

Entrapped – John Carey
Spectator chooses a card from a shuffled deck which is lost in a packet of 5. Two queens are added to the packet. The queens ‘whisper’ the name of their card and then trap the chosen card in a sandwich. Easy to do and with some presentation skills could be an entertaining little routine.

The 7 Card 21 Card Trick – Mike Powers
The venerable 21 card trick meets a truth telling dealing effect. And the spectator’s card is located. The questions/dealing procedure takes this away from the trick that everyone’s grandad taught them – and it does seem impossible. But it is a little procedural for me – which will also affect the kind of audience you might want to perform it for.

Bake Off – Jack Tighe
A card is chosen and lost in the deck. You can reveal the card – and then (in spite of the pack being shuffled and cut) locate the card by touch in your pocket. One of the few effects on the deck which requires some set-up/preparation. But a strong effect nonetheless.

Impossible – Larry Jennings
A Jennings classic – in spite of losing a card with a high degree of fairness – the spectator locates their own card by spelling the word ‘impossible’. There’s a reason it’s a classic. Pretty easy to do and very fooling.

Bloody Amazing – Steve Bryant
A rework of Steve Bryant’s trick with toned down language for the UK market! Again it is spelling the title of the trick which helps locate the spectator’s chosen card. Some might still be uncomfortable with the toned down language – but with only a little thought you could change that too…

Lost and Found – Nick Trost
Nick Trost’s name is usually a guarantee of quality and often of ease of performance. A card is selected by the spectator and returned in the middle of the deck which is then fairly shuffled and cut. And yet you can still locate their card. A bit of set up needed – but a strong effect with very little effort on your part.

Counting on You – John Carey
Spectator thinks of a number and deals that number of cards down from a shuffled deck and remembers the card at that number. The cards are cut and mixed, then the performer cuts a selection of cards from the deck. The spectator then reveals the number they’re thinking of – and you’ve cut that many cards – and amazingly you’ve located their actual card. Again, easy to do and simply constructed, yet quite baffling to a layman.

Princess in my Pocket – John Carey
A card is thought of and shuffled away into a small packet. The cards are then put in your packet and you are still able to locate their chosen card. A very straightforward effect – easy to do.

Waikiki Location – Bill Morata
A deck is shuffled and divided into three sections. The spectator chooses one and selects a card and the cards are reassembled face up and down. After a cut and a mix, you are able to reveal their chosen card. I found this one distinctly underwhelming – the method seeming entirely obvious to me. But then I’ve been doing card magic for over 30 years. I suspect a layperson would be more baffled.

Emotional Reaction Plus – Dai Vernon
This is a nice twist on the Dai Vernon classic, using such a simple technique, and yet providing a strong piece of magic. A deck is shuffled, and the spectator takes them and chooses a card and cuts it into the midst of the packet. You can then locate the card in whatever way you please. A lovely cheeky set up and a strong effect. Definitely worth keeping this in your impromptu repertoire.

Anything else?

The DVD also includes a short ‘interview’ with John Carey. He speaks to camera answering questions which appear on the screen. I love how straightforward and down the line he is. An answer which may be of particular interest for the readers of this site – how much is too much for a pack of cards?!

BBM always put out decent DVDs that are well produced with good content. Quite a few effects on this DVD rely on specific procedures and as such will require careful instruction and handling of spectators. I don’t think there are man ‘magician foolers’ on Impossible Location Card Tricks – but it contains many effects which would be helpful for the beginner or newcomer.

If you’ll forgive a slightly ‘old man rant’ – there does seem to be a bit of a trend to put out DVDs of tricks which can be found in books all over the place. The host then becomes like a guide to the treasures of the magic library world to those who can’t be bothered to invest the time digging. I’m really grateful for the way they do this – and they often ‘mine’ some wonderful magic. But I feel that something is lost if you don’t go digging yourself.

So in conclusion, Impossible Location Card Tricks is not my favourite BBM release ever, but nonetheless, is full of routines which are strong and accessible.

You can pick up Impossible Location Card Tricks from the Merchant of Magic for £22.92 (at the time of writing) or just a fraction less as an instant download.

Review copy kindly supplied by BigBlindMedia.

Liked it? Share it...

The post John Carey – Impossible Location Card Tricks – Review appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

James Went – Meditations – review

Phil Sweeting — Fri, 06 Jan 2017 00:01:05 +0000

Meditations is a double DVD set, the debut release of the very talented Welsh magician, James Went. In spite of my age, I first came across James through the wonderful children’s television series Help My Supply Teacher is Magic. But as this set demonstrates, he is a very clever and thoughtful magician in his own right.

This releases oozes class (is that even possible? Can class be oozed? Or is oozing not classy?) – even from the DVD cover. I love the simplicity and elegance of the tree silhouette on the outline of his jacket. But that’s enough about externals, what about the content?

Right from the introduction, James’ passion and concern for the details of an effect comes through. He’s read widely (and attributes brilliantly) and has clearly worked at the routines at length. The DVDs are shot to BBM’s usual high standards, and each disk contains effects, techniques and some interview sections.

The effects

Inevitable
James starts with a really strong routine – a distant cousin of the open prediction plot. A spectator chooses one of two decks of cards and it is set aside. Then the other deck is shuffled and they get to select any card. This is turned over and the value of the card is counted down in the deck to reveal another card. These two values are added together to create a new number and they count down to the card at that number in their deck. This is the card you predicted at the outset. A clean and strong routine, easy to do – definitely worth playing with.

Roy’s Sandwich
This is a nice sandwich routine where the two red aces, inserted at random locations near the top and bottom of the deck manage to move to capture a card merely glimpsed by the spectator earlier. In the (optional) second phase this is mixed with a kind of triumph effect where the deck is mixed up (face up and down) and instantly righted at the same time as locating the chosen card. This is heavily influenced by a Roy Walton routine as its name implies. This requires a little more technical skill (the moves are explained in another section of the DVD) but the second phase, in particular is extremely easy because of the structure of the routine. Beautiful magic.

For Krenzel
A card is merely peeked by your spectator – you’re then able to read their mind and reveal the card, which then instantly reverses itself in the deck. This is basically a routine which showcases a move which James created. The choreography beautifully covers the move – which is worth a short investment of time to learn.

Conditional Triumph
This is a great example of how presentation is king. James justifies the ‘Triumph’ plot by making a ‘find a card’ trick seem more and more impressive. This really works well with James’ personality and the premise primes your spectator for a good reaction. It can be done with a borrowed, shuffled deck, and doesn’t require too many knuckles to be busted for a great effect.

Sandwich Thing
A quick sandwich routine – combining a number of ideas by other people into one snappy routine. A card is selected and lost in the middle of the deck, and a face up king placed on the top and bottom of the deck – these instantly locate the chosen selection in the middle of the deck. Then the two kings visibly jump out of the deck trapping the selection a second time. And then a moment later the kings are back on the top and bottom of the pack and the selection is in your pocket. Again, there’s a little card handling required. But if you’ve been doing card magic for any time it should be within reach.

Poker Con
In this entertaining routine, the spectator is involved as your ‘confederate’ in a poker routine when, from a well-mixed deck, the performer manages to deal four cards to complete a perfect hand with a card the spectator chose at random. Requires some setup but utilises a lovely simple but convincing false shuffle which is justified by the plot narrative.

Selected Daley
This is the first thing James published (in a lovely ebook I own – Celtic Cabal). A selected card is lost in a deck. Four Aces are discovered in the course of a faux gambling demonstration (during which, a la Daley’s Last Trick, the red and black aces repeatedly transpose) and then the selection appears in the middle of it. A nice technique for controlling the chosen card from the middle of the deck which will require some practise but is worth the effort.

Broken Triumph
Another take on the Triumph plot. A spectator glimpses a card and then shuffles the deck. The performer can then both read their mind to reveal the card and then perform the standard Triumph effect – where a mixed face up and face down deck instantly rights itself with the exception of the chosen (“merely thought of”) card.

Collectors
This is a traditional collectors plot – but what makes this so nice is again James’ presentation and the routining which is very slick.

Searchers
Like a slow motion version of the earlier sandwich trick where the 2 aces move towards the spectator’s selection in two stages! Fair bit of handling required.

The Techniques

4 of a Kind Production
Does what it says on the in – a fancy way of producing four of a kind. Not too tricky and nice if you like this kind of thing. And if you do, there’s another version too!

Tit Peak – Tabled Injog Turnover Peak
This is a move to peek a card in the move of handing a deck out to be shuffled by a spectator. A little bit of a knack, but pretty straightforward and versatile move. There’s also another variation taught which can be done standing without a table and without being contrived at all, the acronym this time is TITTIES…

Top Card Production
This is a way of producing the top card apparently from the middle of the deck. A useful and fairly easy little technique.

Jack’s Ginger Snap
A variation on a Jack Tighe move – again making a card look a lot like it comes from the middle of the deck. A nice little move.

Spread Peak
Again, does what it says on the tin – a peak which is made during a spread on the table. This man is obsessed with peaks. This is quite disarming.

Relaxed Pass
The pass is another move James rates highly – interesting how some sleights come in and out of fashion. As its name suggests this one is deliberately casual to avoid the awkwardness sometimes associated with this kind of move. James has combined parts of two other moves to make this pass and it does achieve he casual feel he is aiming for.

Thoughts on Controls
James teaches a couple of controls whilst explaining his thinking around this key area of card magic. Nodding his head in the direction of a Roberto Giobbi essay (from Confidences) there are some helpful tips here around the psychology of making your controls more convincing.

Spread Pass
It’s another pass people. The selected card is passed as the spread is squared up. You’ll need to work at this to get it smooth but it is a very useful move and James gives you several tips born of playing with the move incessantly.

Spread Half Pass
This is the technique used in Roy’s Sandwich (and turns up quite a bit in Roy Walton’s work). A potentially under-used move and well worth getting your fingers around.

The Interviews

As much as I love magic, I enjoy getting to know people even more, so I always look forward to interview sections on these kind of DVDs. They contain and nice mix of serious and light-hearted questions. You do get to see a bit of the real James and he comes across as a really nice guy.

One major encouragement to any aspiring professionals is that he started out in magic (relatively) late in life an yet has achieved a great deal in a short time. It’s never too late to learn. Oh, and like me, he’s a big fan of magic books – what’s not to like?!

The story behind how he got involved in Help My Supply Teacher is Magic is also really fascinating and he comes across as a very humble guy. I really enjoyed these sections.

Any Final Thoughts

This is an impressive debut and I hope it brings James more recognition in the magic community. There are some great effects and useful techniques.

Whilst I love his relaxed and personable performance style I don’t think his teaching is quite as clear as that other BBM stalwart, Liam Montier. James often goes a little quicker and seems to assume more. To be fair, many of the releases Liam has taught on have been aimed at beginners and Meditations is probably a little more advanced than that.

Some of the more complicated routines have a nice feature – an extra fast recap for practise purposes so you can refresh your memory or practise without having to go through the whole teaching slot. And as often on BBM disks, there are some fun messages on screen and little bits of banter – as if the magic weren’t enough.

A great release for any lover of card magic. Meditations comes recommended and is available direct from the Merchant of Magic for £34.50 (at the time of writing).

Many thanks to BBM who kindly supplied the review copy.

Liked it? Share it...

The post James Went – Meditations – review appeared first on Bicycle Cards.