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.

John Carey – Impossible Location Card Tricks – Review

3.8 / 5 Reviewer

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What’s the effect?

To a routine based on exposing pseudo gambling techniques, the four aces magically pass from one hand to the other – in sipte of being shown very freely and openly at every stage.

If you know your card magic, you will probably realise this is a variation on Larry Jennings’ classic Open Travellers routine. Fisher cites this as the inspiration and also mentions versions by Bruce Cervon and Terry Lagerould – but I haven’t had a minute to grab my copy of the Classic Magic of Larry Jennings to see how much of a handling variation this is.

Fisher’s big change is to include a clever fake card (I’ve not seen one printed exactly like this before – though he doesn’t explicitly claim the idea as his) which allows for some very clean handling – and in particular the possibility of showing the Ace in its ‘original’ location literally seconds before the ‘travelling’ happens.

What do you get?

You get the special card – on both red- and blue-backed bicycle cards. These are well protected in a reinforced plastic sleeve. There is also a link to online teaching. The video is only 17 minutes long – though it must have taken me nearer 40 minutes to watch due to issues with the streaming. As I can’t confirm whether this was a problem my end or theirs, you probably shouldn’t hold this against the effect.

Cody is a great teacher and everything is very clearly explained. Anyone who can use the adjective ‘honking’ to describe a break gets a bonus mark in my book. He includes some helpful little tips on the way which show that this is a routine he actually uses.

The ‘real world’ nature of this effect has been a marked feature of every release I have seen from Fisher – which is a breath of fresh air in an industry that often seems to put out ideas that haven’t been given that level of ‘road testing.’

If I have any small negatives they are to do with the ad copy. I would say that it is a little misleading to describe it as a ‘strolling’ handling since you do really need a table. It is also a slight (pun intended) exaggeration to say ‘almost self working’ – since you do need a number of (albeit basic) sleights.

With those small caveats, this packs some very visual and powerful magic into an easy routine which ends clean and in a good position for another four ace trick. There’s a lot to like about Las Vegas Aces so it gets a strong recommendation.

You can pick up your copy of Las Vegas Aces from MagicShop.co.uk for £21 (at the time of writing).

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

Cody Fisher – Las Vegas Aces – review

4.6 / 5 Reviewer

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Armchair Mindreading – Caleb Wiles

I recently picked up a copy of Caleb’s High Spots book so was pleased to see first item on disk was his. Spectator freely cuts to a card in the deck then shuffles their cards (and puts the rest of the deck out of sight in the card box). You then successfully read your spectator’s mind and reveal their card. Some set up required but a really sneaky method which you will love to perform.

Self Control – Simon Aronson

It’s quite rare for me to be completely fooled by a magic trick – but I didn’t have a clue what was going on here. Encouragingly neither, apparently, did James Went or Liam Montier when they explained it! There is a mathematical principle at work but it is not as ‘procedural’ as this kind of effect sometimes is. It looks very fair and is a real fooler.

Rising Card – Daryl

This is a really visual rising card effect which pretty much works itself. It looks great and is very easy to work. As Liam comments on the introduction, it is rare for a self-worker to be so visually impressive. You have to try this one out.

Memory Opener – Sal Piacente

A pseudo-memorised deck routine – nicely constructed with three phases. I feel like Ryan Schultz overplays this in performance but it is a great effect. There is a set up required, but it would (as its name implies) make a great opener because of that.

Casino Clock – David Solomon

Solomon’s twist on the classic ‘Clock Trick’ (you can find it in The Wisdom of Solomon) with a slight gambling theme. It brings it out of the ‘puzzle’ category and gives it a bit more justification. If you can deal cards you can do this one and there’s a nice (and very cheeky!) extra ‘prediction’ which makes the effect even stronger.

Quadruuple Matchup – Nick Trost

A brilliant example of Trost’s cunning – the spectator has a very free selection and yet manages to locate 3 cards which form a set with your prediction set down earlier. You can work it from a borrowed shuffled deck. Love it. (Well worth checking out his books if you like this).

The Stapled Card – John Scarne

This is a really clever routine where a chosen card swaps places with a joker and ends up stapled to another joker. There’s a lot of magic going on here – far more than seems possible for a self-worker. We liked it last week when we read it in Liam’s Shazam and it is still good!

Devestation – Geoff Williams

This really does look completely fair – the spectator seems to make all the decisions to choose and lose a card (with a borrowed and shuffled deck) and you can still locate it. Uses a principle you probably read about in your first magic book, but so well disguised this is a genuine killer! This goes straight in to my impromptu set.

Impossible Divination – Larry Jennings

A classic from Jennings 67 – this is almost entirely hands off, and yet you manage to locate a card selected by the spectator from a borrowed shuffled deck. It shares many of the strengths of Devestation, but feels slightly more procedural to me.

The Red and The Blue – Alex Elmsley

In this clever effect from Alex Elmsley a card chosen by you and the spectator swap places by magic – or rather the decks containing them do! And the set up is accomplished by performing the venerable ‘Do as I do’ effect. Not only does the ‘Do as I do’ set you up it creates a routine which builds together nicely.

Final Thoughts

It is hard to make absolute comparisons, but I felt the material on here was slightly stronger than the material in volume 2. There are some cracking effects which require nothing in the way of sleight of hand allowing you to concentrate on the presentation. As the quote from the legendary Dai Vernon (which appears on the cover) says: “In magic, today as always, the effect is what counts. The methods used are always purely secondary.” Well you get some GREAT effects which require very little technical effort. If you’ve got an ounce of performing skill you will be getting some brilliant reactions from this material.

Highly recommended and available from MagicShop.co.uk (with thanks to BBM who kindly supplied our review copy).

And as our summer competition we’re offering you the chance to win all 3 volumes of the Ultimate Self-Working Card Tricks series – so what are you waiting for?

The post Ultimate Self-Working Card Tricks Volume 3 – Review appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

Contact Colours (Aldo Colombini)

This is apparently one of Iain Moran’s favourites. A pack is shuffled, then a chosen card is found in the fairest way, and is compounded by a 4 ace discovery and a separation of the pack into the colours. Needs a table, some set up and a bit of drawn out dealing, but a nice and impressive looking effect.

Impossible (Mike Austin)

A ridiculously fair looking card location where the spectator seems to do all the work. Quite likely to fool any magicians that haven’t watched this DVD too! A really neat, also genuinely impromptu effect.

Shuffling Lesson (Chad Long)

Unfortunately the explanation button for this one takes you to the explantaion for Shuffleboard! The boys at BBM have been informed and I believe they may re-issue it.[UPDATE 12/07 – BBM tell me these have now been replaced] But you can actually get to it by using ‘play all’ and skipping through the chapters. This is a really cool effect (previously published in the classic Art of Astonishment Vol 3). Under a story of explaining how to handle cards and loads of fair mixing, the spectator manages to locate the 4 aces. And they won’t have a clue how they have done it. A small set up is required (and a table needed) – but the payoff is massive! Love it.

Henry Sugar (Liam Montier)

This is one of the newer tricks on the collection! It has a nice hook/story and an impressive feat of ‘seeing without seeing’ – all looking very fair. Well constructed routine with a big finish – and essentially moveless. A bit of set up required, but again a very strong effect which is worth it.

Pre-prefiguration (Larry Jennings/Mark Elsdon)

Spectator finds 4 of a kind from a borrowed shuffled deck. I particularly love the cheeky (and highly efficient) way the set up is done before their eyes. It does need a table but I just love this. In fact by this point on the DVD I am struggling to decide which is my favourite routine!

Your Aces are Marked (Terry Lagerould)

This is a triumph-esque effect with a 4 ace finish. It is very visual and really convincing. The routine easily lends itself to a patter line and is easy to set-up. A table is needed but this is very strong and ridiculously easy to do.

Shufflebored (Simon Aronson)

Shufflebored is one of the most well known effects on the disk (originally published in a booklet of its own, then re-published in Bound To Please). An amazing effect where in spite of very fair shuffling and mixing you have predicted the final state of a deck of cards. Needs a bit of space to perform, but will leave them floored.

The 716 Club (Alex Elmsley)

This is a clever little prediction effect where the spectator does all the work. For me it is a little ‘procedural’, but it is the sort of trick that you will fool yourself with. Easily set up on the fly. In the right place and with a lively presentation this could be a winner.

Impossible (Larry Jennings)
As Iain Morain says – Larry Jennings is not a name you usually associate with self-workers – but this is a blinder! Like the previous effect, it is slightly procedural. However, for my money the impact is much greater than 716 Club. (You can see this in print in The Classic Magic of Larry Jennings)

4,5,6 (Al Thatcher)

This is a really fair looking card reveal. A spectator freely cuts to a card which is lost in the pack. Cards are dealt into some playing card hands and you can then locate their selection. It uses a borrowed, shuffled deck – with no set up. But there’s a lot of dealing going on, so you will need some good audience management to keep the interest going. You won’t really understand how it works even when you know how it works!

Unbelievable (Bascomb Jones Jr/Michael Shields)

An intution testing effect. A shuffled deck is separated into two sections by suit which are then dealt out and end up in pairs. Takes a lot of space, requires a lot of setup, there is a lot of dealing and a time-consuming separation of the pack.. This is really the only trick on the DVD that doesn’t tick any boxes for me. I may be guilty of not reating like a lay-person here, but this one isn’t for me. Liam and Owen keep telling me it’s a killer but…

Extras
Some false cuts and shuffles are taught so you can add conviction to any routines which require a setup. There is also an interview/tip sections which address some of the concerns folks might have about ‘self-working’ tricks. There is a good emphasis on the need to put in thought and practise on the presentation in order to sell them. Don’t ignore this section – there is some key information here – especially if you are new to performing magic. Lots of valuable tips from a variety of performers.

Anything else to say?…
I really like the titles on the disk, but the nit-picker in me spotted that there are some variations in the way names are spelled etc. [UPDATE – I double checked this and in fact there is only one name which is spelled differently between the menu and titles] It doesn’t really matter, but combined with the wrong link on the menu for Shuffling Lesson this just makes me feel like there wasn’t quite enough attention to detail. But these are really very small niggles, and the quality of the magic more than makes up for it. I also appreciate the way that most of the effects have a brief introduction about their inventor. There is also a tantalising credit at the end about returning (volume 2?) with a Bannon!

For me this is one of the stand-out releases of 2012. Loads of good magic that is within the reach of magicians of all standards. But please take the time to come up with a decent presentation so that you don’t squander the goods…

Available direct from the Merchant of Magic (£19.99) or all your favourite dealers…

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

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