John Carey Archives - Bicycle Cards

Sweet Simplicity by John Carey – Review

Phil Sweeting — Wed, 15 Jan 2020 16:13:06 +0000

Sweet Simplicity by John Carey is the latest in a number of John Carey releases we’ve reviewed here at Bicycle-Cards.co.uk. There are lots to like about this DVD from Big Blind Media full of straightforward close up (mainly card) magic. Let’s get straight into the tricks…

Sweet Simplicity by John Carey – The Tricks…

1 in 52

John Carey is a bit of an equivoque fan – and this is essentially another take on the imaginary card plot using this technique. I didn’t feel like there was anything particularly new here – but my opinion with equivoque is that the more different approaches you see the stronger your own personal technique becomes. And since this is a relatively short and direct process, it would be a good starting point for someone who hasn’t used this technique much before.

The Trick that can be explained

A nice prediction effect from a shuffled packet from a shuffled deck. It’s a little like a small packet version of the classic Trick That Cannot Be Explained. I’m not sure that John understands what a perfect number is – which is part of his patter for the trick! But it is a cool little effect. You’ll need to practise a bit to make sure you understand the procedure for the different outcomes – and some are definitely a little weaker than the others – but you don’t need to jazz in the way you would with its distant relative.

Technicolour Reset

I really like this transposition effect. Four red-backed jokers and blue-backed jokers, swap place one by one, and then suddenly jump back to the original position. This is nicely routined so you get a lot of magic without needing too many moves. I’ll be trying this one out.

Five Oh!

Sweet Simplicity by John Carey is a simple little effect where the spectator chooses a card and you can read their mind, show you’ve predicted it in multiple ways and then show the rest of the deck is made up of jokers. I’m in two minds about this. It almost feels like too many climaxes. And the deck is obviously a one-trick pony. But it’s dead easy to do – so if it appeals to you then do it!

Perception Shuffle

This is a sort of pseudo sloppy riffle false shuffle. Maybe that’s only me. It looks surprisingly deceptive. Worth a look.

More tricks!

Spectator Star

This is a great take on the spectator cuts the aces premise. They really do appear to have an enormous amount of freedom in shuffling and cutting but the clever construction means that this is really easy to do. There is a small set up but it isn’t at all complicated. I love the way the first phase covers the set-up for the second in plain sight. And the second phase is cheeky beyond measure! Great routine.

Somewhere over the rainbow

This is an ace cutting routine with a surprise rainbow deck ending. As a magician watching this it is pretty easy to spot what’s going on, but performed with confidence this should fly past a spectator. It works nicely with the Spectrum Deck.

Don’t make me cross

A thought of card turns out to be the only one in the deck from a different coloured pack and with a big cross on it for good measure. You’ll obviously need to set this up since you’ll need a special deck. But it is easily made up. Straightforward and surprising. It seems to me that with an awkward spectator you could have a miss – which isn’t really covered – but with careful handling, you’ll be fine.

Entrapment

This is probably my least favourite routine on the DVD. It’s a slow-motion small packet sandwich – if you can imagine such a thing. It is essentially self-working, relying on the use of a down under deal. As a magician, it doesn’t feel very magical – but he certainly got a good reaction from his volunteer. I suppose if you sell this right it does appear as the spectator has merely thought of their card so it does become more surprising.

One Thought, One Spell

Baldly, the spectator cuts to a card, that card is spelt from the top of the deck, and you have predicted the card arrived at. The thing that makes this surprising is that the spectator fairly shuffles the deck beforehand! There’s minor jazzing involved here but the system – which I’d not thought about in quite the same way – is quite flexible. I’m not usually a great fan of spelling effects – but this is good.

Final Thoughts

As I said at the start there’s a lot to like about Sweet Simplicity by John Carey. Most of the effects are very direct and none require too much hard work on the part of the performer. Carey’s performances are always somewhat understated – that’s his personality – so you have to work hard to imagine what these could be with a bit more VA VA Voom! But I think there are some strong effects here which you will certainly use.

You can pick up a DVD copy of Sweet Simplicity by John Carey from Merchant of Magic here. If you prefer a download, it is marginally cheaper at MagicShop.co.uk

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Liam Montier – The Seer Deck – review

Phil Sweeting — Thu, 01 Nov 2018 00:01:52 +0000

With the Seer Deck that clever man Mr Montier has combined two old ideas that you may well already be familiar with in a way which opens up a whole load more possibilities…

The Seer Deck core effect

The main effect Liam teaches goes something like this. Two spectators each glimpse a card as you riffle through them. You are then able to read the mind of the first, and then show the second that you had already predicted their choice in advance! This plays even better than it reads – you will get great reactions!

Liam explains the method clearly in conjunction with John Carey who adds some helpful observations. As with many mentalism effects you will need a little confidence/practise to perform this well – but it doesn’t require sleight of hand, rather a small amount of sleight of mouth. And it is routined in a way which makes even this easier than it might be.

The deck is heavily gaffed – so is not really any use for other routines. But you could come up with alternative applications of the deck supplied with a little imagination..

What do you get?

In addition to the cleverly gaffed deck, you get a link to an 18 minutes teaching video. That may sound quite short – but it is ample time to explain all the necessary. You also get (hurrah!) a small sheet of printed instructions. These are written in quite a small font – but I’m always a fan of clear written instructions too.

What do we think?

I’m going to keep this one short and sweet because the effect is. A powerful routine with a clever deck that does most of the work for you. What’s not too like?

The Seer Deck is a real worker – and you can get it from the Merchant of Magic (also available in Red Bicycle cards) for£22.99 (at the time of writing).

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

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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.

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John Carey – Sublime Self Working Card Tricks – review

Phil Sweeting — Thu, 25 May 2017 23:01:20 +0000

BBM have an impressive reputation for putting out DVDs of high quality self-working magic, so does this latest release from John Carey carry on the tradition? Read our Sublime Self Working Card Tricks review to find out more.

John Carey is a real understated gentleman of magic and we have looked at and enjoyed many other of his releases before. This latest release promises “10 incredible routines that require no sleight of hand”. Let’s get straight into the routines.

Opening Time – you name a card – they choose a number – and they match! The performance of this was amazing. In performance you won’t always get quite such a strong result. But with any outcome you still have an extremely strong and all but self-working effect. Some lovely subtlety built into this simple routine.

Think as I think – to a nice premise about learning how to handle playing cards the spectator makes all the choices as they shuffle and cut their cards and choose one. Yet amazingly you end up thinking of the same card. This is disarmingly fair and incredibly simple. (first published in crafted with carey – and if you like his work this is well worth a look)

One hand one pocket – this is very clever. The spectator mixes some cards up and chooses one. The performer takes the cards in one hand (the other hand has been in his pocket since before the trick began) and deals them out – and the spectator’s card is seen to have disappeared. When the performer removes his hand from the pocket it contains the missing card! A simple little gimmick makes this one self-working. I love the plot and the simplicity. Great routine.

Yes you caan – this is a great simple card at any number variant. The spectator thinks of a number and further randomizes it. Then looks at the card against that number on a ’52 on 1’ card from your pocket. This is found to match the card already predicted in an envelope at the beginning. This uses a clever mathematical force and a bit of subtlety to make a strong routine. Instant reset and minimal pocket space. What’s not to like? You will need to print a special 52-on-1 card for this – pdf supplied on dvd.

Scattered – This is a sort of ‘invisible deck’ kind of feeling routine where the spectator makes lots of choices and yet the outcome of their choices is shown to be predicted. There’s a little bit of set up but most of the work is done with clever wording. I’m a bit ambivalent about this – I generally enjoy this kind of effect but am so familiar with the various techniques that it felt like there was little new here. But if you’ve not performed this kind of thing before this is an easy introduction.

A la goldman – this is a ‘do as I do’ kind of effect which starts with both you and the spectator shuffling the cards very fairly – and yet after a super clean looking procedure you have both chosen the same card. This is a great easy to do effect with no set up required. Wonderful.

Dice Caan – a card is chosen based on the roll of three dice. This is found to be the card predicted at the beginning. This may be to do with my mathematical bias or my mis-spent use – but I would hazard that the principle on which this is based is very well known – even amongst non-magicians. This made this one of the weaker items on the DVD for me.

Sync – a spectator ‘creates’ a card by combining a suit they’re only thinking of with a value they have cut to from a shuffled deck – and yet you are able to show you’ve thought of the closest match. There are some nice subtleties in this which give you a lot of bang for your buck!

Make believe – (the only) non-card effect on the DVD. The spectator examines three imaginary coins and makes some choices about who is going to hold what. And yet the coin only thought of appears in the performer’s hand. A nice use of an old gaff which makes a pleasing little routine. I think I would have done a little more ‘verbal work’ and given the spectator a further degree of freedom – but if you’re starting out with this kind of routine, this would be a very easy starting point.

Redford unplugged – based on an effect by Patrick Redford – from a shuffled deck, three cards are chosen for three spectators and based on some random decisions they are distributed in different ways while the performers back is turned. Yet you are able to reveal who carried out which actions and the chosen card. This is a whole lot of window dressing for a very simple force. With a bit of presentational skill this could be a very entertaining routine.

Is it sublime?

As John himself says, these are not magician-foolers but are designed for performance in the real world. That being said, the most frequent word in my review is probably ‘simple’ – and sometimes these felt almost too simple. I think there are 2 or 3 routines that would play very strongly, but several that slightly underwhelm.

The possible caveat here is that John himself has a very understated performing style – and it is possible that with your own performance style these could fly a little more. This would be a superb DVD for someone who was very new to card magic, and a good DVD for someone who has been around a bit more and is looking for one or two more impromptu effects to have in his repertoire.

Sublime self working card tricks is available from the Merchant of Magic for £25.50 (at the time of writing).

(With thanks to BBM who kindly provided the review copy)

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John Carey – Eclectica – review

Phil Sweeting — Sun, 24 Apr 2016 23:01:33 +0000

As is often the case, I had a pile of items waiting to be reviewed, but the decision ‘which next’ was easy to make when I saw some John Carey in the pile. I have really enjoyed John’s work in the past so I had high hopes for Eclectica. As usual, I’ll review the effects first before making some more general comments.

Backs to the wall – based on Dai Vernon’s ‘All backs’ routine this is a nice effect where the cards appear to be printed with backs on both sides, but then become printed. The solid backs on the NOC playing cards look particularly good with this. You’ll need basic card handling skills (holding breaks, dribble force, etc.) which aren’t taught in any detail – but there is no tricky finger flinging here (unless you include the Erdnase colour change which is a little knacky – but an alternative is suggested). A solid (irony intended) routine building on the shoulders of others.

Bluff Cull/Ensemble – a great technique for culling cards which is hidden in plain sight, leading on to a ‘spectator cuts the aces’ routine. The culling is covered by some pattering which won’t suit everyone, but it seems like a nice solution to the challenge. The cutting the aces routine is really nice – using a variety of subtle techniques which are all easy to do. Nice.

Three Phase Daley – extends the classic two card transposition effect into something greater. Two aces and jokers repeatedly change places. I like this routine a lot. In the performance/explanation I found the similarity in design between the NOC Aces and Jokers rather confusing (the NOK joker is just a star in the middle of the card – so could easily be confused for an ace to my mind) – so I would perform this with more visually distinctive cards. But a great routine and easy to do.

Mental Sandwich – nb this is the first of three effects on the DVD for which there is no performance video so the DVD goes straight to the explanation (confusingly the performance is listed on the menu, but that also takes you to the explanation). The spectator merely thinks of a card from a packet of 5 taken from a shuffled deck. The 5 cards are then lost in the pack and the chosen card is instantly located between the 2 jokers. Some nice thinking here – utilising subtleties old and new. Not too tricky, though it does require a bit of culling. There’s some extra teaching on the cull technique provided separately – which is handy since it is used in a few of the effects.

Sent and received – the performer telepathically sends a card to the spectator who is shown to be correct. A lovely homage to Dai Vernon using a sneaky and very easy technique – a good one to have in mind for a performance with a borrowed shuffled deck.

Top, Middle and Bottom – the spectator eliminates cards from the top, middle and bottom of the pack which is shuffled along the way, finally selecting a card. This card is fairly lost as the spectator shuffles and cuts the card away into the deck. You can then reveal the card they’re “merely thinking of” and, if you choose to, locate it in an instant. Another great little routine – nothing complicated here but an entertaining effect.

Slow Motion Triumph – this is a packet version of the triumph effect where the cards gradually right themselves after they have been mixed face up and down – finally leaving only the spectator’s chosen card the right way round. On the way you’ll learn a lovely Justin Higham small packet false shuffle which is beautiful. You’ll need another technique which is taught in ore detail earlier on the DVD

Telekinetic – to a nice premise about ‘telekinesis’ cards repeatedly turn over within the pack, the final one being the spectator’s chosen card. There’s a small set up which then pretty much makes this one fly with very little effort on your part. Another goody!

Splistville – another one which has no performance video, only an explanation. Inspired by Paul Harris’s Las Vegas Split, this is quirky effect. A face up four appears in the middle of the deck, and is then “split” into two ‘twos’ and then into four aces. This didn’t do too much for me – though it might have felt stronger if we’d seen the effect performed first.

Homage to Bannon – a ‘reverse sandwich’ effect where the two jokers appear and then the whole deck becomes sandwiched between jokers with the exception of the spectator’s card. John’s take on a Bannon effect – need I say more to assure you of the quality?

Whispers – the jokers ‘whisper’ the identity of 3 cards chosen by the spectator. As an added climax, the jokers turn into the first two chosen cards. Simple to perform, strong, effective. A number of effects on the DVD (including this one) rely on a sort of small packet ‘repeated ambitious card’ phase – so you might not to perform more than one of them in a set.

Assisted Ambitions – a spectator’s selection repeatedly jumps to the top of a small packet of cards, and then the three ‘indifferent’ cards instantly change to match the first selection. Influenced in lots of ways by the excellent John Bannon, this is another strong routine – though note my comments earlier about the ambitious sequence. I particularly like the penultimate phase of the routine where the chosen card rises through the packet though everything is held in their fingertips.

Invisible Interlude – a card effect with a coin, or a coin piece with a card? You decide. After a series of coin vanishes and reproductions, the coin vanishes and reappears on top of the spectator’s chosen card in the middle of the deck. This will require some basic coin handling skills but is a nice routine for involving your audience if you can manage it. John briefly teaches all the moves involves and gives references if you want to investigate them further.

Two’s company and? – this is the final one with no live performance section. It is a great sponge ball routine which has a different shape to the one you normally see magicians do! It’s got a few good moves and forms a pleasing little ensemble.

One card and one thought – the first spectator selects a card and then the second one creates one in their mind – and they miraculously match. Based on an Al Leech idea this is a very practical solution to the effect. There is a little bit of set up involved, but the set up enables a very clean looking effect which nicely involves your spectators.

Final thoughts

John has an easy teaching style which I appreciate. Explanations are at a good pace and are easy to follow – though not perhaps as detailed/deliberate as some DVDs. On screen titles – especially for the performance sections – would have been helpful to aid navigation – especially since some performance sections were missing.

Everything is well attributed and the explanations are peppered with little tips and ‘questions’ to consider. John’s something of a magical magpie – he’s widely read which means he’s unearthed some gems of moves and put them together into clever routines.

His magic is very efficient – achieving a lot of magic with minimal moves – in this respect he’s similar to John Bannon whom he obviously admires. None of the effects use gaff cards – and most can be done with a borrowed shuffled deck. I would think anyone would find a couple of routines that suit them here – and most will find several. Recommended.

Eclectica is available from Merchant of Magic for £24.99 (at the time of writing).

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

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Trick of the Month – March 2016

admin — Tue, 01 Mar 2016 00:01:46 +0000

We’re gearing up for a big trip at the end of March – and are trying to plan how to cram as much magic in as possible! But in the meantime here’s our round up of some of the latest magic and cards. We’ve gone a bit card heavy this month since we missed out on our round up of cards in February…

We’ve been quite a fan of a number of the Madison decks, and really like these Madison Revolvers which are due in the same day we go to (virtual) print. An understated but striking design which I believe is a fairly limited edition and so very collectable. £13.99

I’m not sure if I’d use these in performance, but I love the design of the Killer Bee playing cards. The court cards have been fantastically stylised using the honeycomb theme and the back design is bold and mesmerising. Even after you cut away all the Ellusionist hype I think these are a super deck for collectors and ‘cardies’! £8.49

(From a purely design point of view, also check out the wonderful Duel deck at £9.99 – gorgeous!)

Here’s a brand new release (worldwide release 2nd March) which looks wonderfully visual. A card visually smudges and then turns into a previously selected and signed card. A clever custom made gimmick does most of the work for you allowing you to concentrate on enjoying the reactions! If Alcardmy is even half as good as the trailer it’s going to be brilliant. £25.99

We’ve enjoyed the recent John Carey releases we have looked at so even unseen we would recommend Eclectica his latest release. 15 items for less than £2/effect has to be worth a look! Packet tricks, full deck tricks and even, gasp, a trick with sponge balls! £28.99 [UPDATE – you can now read our full review here]

What’s caught your eyes recently? We didn’t get up to Blackpook this year so are still waiting for the buzz of the Blackpool releases. But worry not, we’ll be bringing you all the latest honest magic reviews in the coming days.

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Classic Carey – Review

Phil Sweeting — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 10:40:19 +0000

It’s a while since we’ve looked at a DVD of pure card magic, but we were keen to do a Classic Carey review, since John Carey has a superb reputation for his well refined card magic and this was our first direct look at his work.

The DVD has been nicely filmed in an under-stated way – which seems to fit with the man from what I can tell. In his introduction he self-classifies the material as intermediate, with some effects suitable for beginners. We would broadly agree with that analysis – though I think most of the routines would be in the range of anyone who has been doing card work for a while. Let’s take a look at the effects.

If we could turn back time

It starts off looking like a clock trick, but to a pleasing presentation the spectator’s card jumps back to its initial location in the deck. This is an easy to do and understated little effect – which is truly impromptu which makes it a great addition to have in your repertoire.

A little oil, a little water

I’ve a bit of a soft spot for oil and water routines and this is a good one. What is nice is that the routine builds up – first with one of each colour, then two and so on. The cards keep on mixing and un-mixing with a nice variety in the phases. This requires a little bit of practise but should be within the range of all but the very beginner.

Think n synch revisited

In effect you have ‘predicted’ a card which the spectator only thinks of. I really like this – it is very easy to do allowing you to focus on presentation – and can be done with a borrowed shuffled deck. Excellent!

Paradox

A version of the ‘mystery card’ – a chosen and signed card disappears and reappears amongst 3 cards which were placed to one side before the effect even began. This is a very strong effect but does require a couple of trickier moves. Well worth the effort though for the impact.

A Card and a number

A freely shuffled pack, a freely selected card, a freely selected number – and they co-incide. A very clean looking version of one of my favourite plots. A couple of sleights needed to achieve this, but nicely routined so there isn’t too much heat at the critical point. A worthy addition to this oeuvre.

You and me

Is a nice transposition effect where a spectator’s signed card swaps places with your lucky card whilst in their hands. Very direct – easy to follow – but very surprising for the spectator and the magic happens in their hands. It includes a lovely variation on a Paul Wilson force which I think I’ll be using in other contexts too. Great routine.

Personal Ambition

There’s a lot of magic in this entertaining routine. Four indifferent cards become the four queens, and then a mini-ambitious card sequence follows with each queen jumping to the top of the deck. As is becoming the pattern, this is beautifully routined which means the amount of magic is out of all proportion to the effort required.

YAFT

I can’t tell you what this stands for – it’s too rude! But it is an in-the-hands triumph which is pretty easy to do and hangs together with a time-travel plot. Nice.

Just think

Another variation on the mystery card – this time a merely thought of card appears to have been on the table from the outset. There’s lots to like here, but you do need some confidence to pull it off.

Just whisper

A chosen signed card is located with the use of some jokers. For me this was an unremarkable routine – one of the weaker ones on the disk.

Trilogy

This is a nice three phase sandwich routine. I really like this, apart from the opening production of the jokers – though my reaction there may be conditioned by the audience on his performance who seemed generally underwhelmed! Requires a slightly trickier move in the first phase.

Open for business

Another thought of card to freely dealt to spot in the deck. I love the subtlety of this one – the dirty work is done so far ahead and the procedure seems incredibly fair. Not bad for a minimal setup and a very strong routine.

Mental projection

Mind-reading and the transformation of a blank card into a freely chosen card. It would be easy to overlook this because of its simplicity – but in fact it should play very strongly for a layperson with very little effort on your part. Well worth a punt.

Final thoughts

As you can see there is a lot of material that I like on the disk. But I think it would be sort of material you could easily miss because of John’s under-stated performance and the spectator’s under-stated response. Although the DVD is really nicely filmed, the spectators seem unresponsive – possibly self-conscious about being filmed? I would have loved to see some slightly more ‘real world’ performances rather than this slightly artificial context.

Explanations are at a good pace – though occasionally a different view might have been helpful to teach some of the moves. John is very good at attributing moves/inspirations which I always appreciate. Several moves/techniques recur throughout the DVD – so if you can get them nailed you’ll get several tricks.

John himself comes across as a really nice guy – and I, personally, would love to know more about his thought processes as he put some of these routines together. But there are some good tricks here – I’d be very surprised if you didn’t get several usable items from this DVD. So it comes recommended.

Available direct from MagicShop.co.uk – £24.99 (at the time of writing).

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

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