The Effect

This is (one of) Mark Elsdon’s take on the classic ‘which hand’ effect. The premise for this utilises the Truth Teller/Liar puzzle which you may well know. Briefly, the spectator chooses whether to play the role of a truth-teller or a liar, and then hides a coin or small object in their hand. They also have the option of switching hands or not. And yet the performer is able to reveal exactly where the object is hidden.

The Pros

This is a fabulous method for this effect – which doesn’t need any of the electronic tomfoolery of some modern methods – and is incredibly easy to do allowing all effort to go into presentation. Irrelevant to the magic, but I also love the derivation of the title!

Mark explains the whole thing very clearly in the early pages of a 36 page booklet or pdf (we had the download version). I love the method and presentation. He then outlines several variations utilising slightly different objects and presentations.

And if this were not enough, we then get Colin McLeod, Peter Turner and Michael Murray’s presentations/extensions of the idea.

The variations

Colin’s version extends it to a showier piece with more participants. Peter’s uses a slightly different premise which I personally preferred. And is full of other little gems on the ways. In fact I think I might well try to combine this with one or two other effects which a related premise (e.g. Lolli Hero).

I love Michael’s work generally and applaud his desire to get a further reveal out of the thing. But I found his take a little too complicated – certainly on first reading. Perhaps it would come across more clearly in performance, or if I wasn’t reading the day after I flew to the other side of the world…

The Cons

I’m really not sure there are any really. Tequila Hustler is delightfully impromptu (you can work with the people and objects that happen to be around) and wonderfully simple. I suppose the standard drawback of all these kinds of routine is the fact that at the end of the day they are only 50/50 choices. But with good presentation and moderate repetition you can overcome that.

So I would highly recommend you grab a copy of Tequila Hustler and get hustling! It’s available as a download or physical booklet.

MagicShop.co.uk stock both – the physical book is £20.99 or the ebook is £18.99 (at the time of writing).

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

Mark Elsdon – Tequila Hustler – review

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The post Mark Elsdon – Tequila Hustler – review appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

What’s in the box?

You receive a DVD which features a live performance and thorough explanations. The DVD also includes artwork so that you can print your own photograph for the prediction.

You will need to supply some blank cards (you can use playing cards or just any old bits of card) and write on them in different colours. You’ll also need a deck of cards (Bicycle of course! though other decks are available).

The explanation is clear (as long as you’re ok with Scottish accents!) and detailed. There are lots of different levels of subtlety going on here. It’s one of those effects which is difficult to assess from the point of view of difficulty. It doesn’t require lots of technical expertise – but it does require a little linguistic subtlety – so you need to be confident to speak and to ‘jazz’ a little depending on the choices the spectator makes.

In addition to the ‘self-working’ version, he also teaches an alternative handling using a slightly different force which may require some further skills. It has a different type of reveal at the end which will appeal to some people more. Personally, I think I prefer the original version.

The good, the bad, and the borrowed…

Dave has very cleverly taken a number of old (and newer!) principles and combined and extended them to make a very strong and fooling effect. He is good at attributing the different elements as he goes along – and one whole element is actually borrowed from a brilliant Mark Elsdon routine we have reviewed elsewhere.

Make no mistake, REM is an involved routine which takes some time. For that reason, I don’t think it would fit many table-hopping scenarios – it is more of a performance piece in a more formal setting, or where you have longer with your spectator than the ‘gaps between courses’ normally allow. Related to this, I would be just slightly concerned that the spectator might forget the card they are thinking of, since there is quite a lot of presentation until the final reveal comes along.

Notwithstanding these small reservations, I really like this. The premise is engaging and the final prediction is a complete surprise. There are some really subtle techniques going on – some of which I could see me reapplying in other contexts. There are no multiple outs on the prediction so the reveals really are squeaky clean. I’ll definitely be using this!

REM is available from Merchant of Magic for £27.50 (at the time of writing).

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

The post Dave Forrest – REM – review appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

This is a great little effect. Technically it is very easy to do and Mark’s teaching makes everything clear. You are supplied with everything you need – which includes a lottery ticket holder, a nice deck of number cards (of which more anon) and a special gimmick to facilitate the effect. There’s also a link to an online instructional video. In contrast to our last reviewed item (Cold Case) this is a mere 20 minutes long – but it explains everything you need to know.

The cards are printed on a nice quality stock and handle well. The backs are also cleverly marked which, though not needed for this effect, would have many other applications. The website says a pdf is coming soon which explains some of these ideas and how the marking system works – but it was fairly easy to spot when you knew there was something there. There are also a couple of extra cards which may have uses in other effects.

The teaching is clear – but I would also recommend paying careful attention to the performance section – and learning from Mark how to draw in and engage the audience. The appeal of a trick like this is the presentation – the lottery tends to evoke strong feelings either for or against so you are half way to engaging your audience without really trying.

I should say, if you are the sort of magician that is primarily interested in finding the latest, greatest method, there is nothing shockingly new here. In fact, having opened the packet and seen the gimmick, I was able to suss the method simply by watching the performance. But method is nothing. And the gimmick works well and is justified/hidden in plain sight.

Although Mark describes how he apparently performs this for multiple tables with different results, to my mind that wouldn’t be too practical in many working situations. But that doesn’t matter since I would be tempted to save this for a one-hit performance in an evening – perhaps for a special guest. Especially since (as he recommends) you really should give away the ‘winning ticket’ to your spectator.

Guaranteed Jackpot is simple to perform, engaging premise, powerful effect. What’s not to like? In fact, the result is almost too strong. Well worth a look – especially with the extra possibilities the number deck will open up for you. It feels a fraction over-priced for what you get, but with that one small reservation is it highly recommended.

Available direct from Merchant of Magic for £41.50 (at the time of writing).

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

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There are lots of things to like about this. The routine itself contains natural comedy and is not difficult to do. It also re-sets pretty quickly which is always handy. The quality of the supplied gimmicked deck is good – I didn’t even notice it was gimmicked when I first played quickly with the cards!

But that’s not quite the end of the story…

The first negative is probably only a downside for people like me who are not quite as well connected to the world wide web as the rest of the world seems to be. But there are no written instructions nor a DVD with this – the only way to learn the routine is by logging on to a website and watching it online (or downloading). If, as I was, you’re trying to learn it on a slower internet connection at a busy time you might be disappointed. That is in no way a deal-breaker – and I suspect we are likely to see more and more releases put out in this way since it must save money over sending physical media.

The second is simply a musing about whether or not there is much that makes this new. If you’ve been in magic any time you’ll be able to think of half a dozen ways of creating a similar effect. Now Mark has brought a few subtleties in which add some degrees of fairness to the selection process, but at the end of the day you could remove some of that freedom and then reduce the complexity of the gimmicked deck – and the effect on the audience would be little different.

Who get’s the last laugh?

I suppose the fair way to test that is in repeated real-world performance. And we haven’t had time to do that. And so for us the jury is out slightly. We’re generally great fans of Mark’s work, but the Last Laugh just doesn’t seem quite as satisfying as some of his releases.

But for all that, the plot is appealing and I think that for a lay-audience this would play very strongly. You have to give up the pocket space for 2 decks of cards, but in return you have a strong effect which is relatively easy to do.

You pays your money and takes your choice as they say. And Mark Elsdon gets the last laugh…

Available in the UK from Merchant of Magic for £25 (at time of writing).

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

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Do we need any more magic wallets? Probably not, but we all love them don’t we? In fact my local magic club is having an evening devoted to magic with wallets this month! The thing that caught my eye on the Lynx Wallet is that it was inspired by an effect (which is no longer in production) that I love – Bang On (by Marc Oberon). I am not familiar with the manufacturer but will try to get in touch to see if we can review some of their stuff. But this certainly sounds clean. £88.50. [Update – read our review here]

February, is, of course, the month of love.  So we always like to include at least one recommendation on that theme.  Joker’s Love isn’t new but is a whimsical little packet trick which fits this category well.  To a charming story about 3 male jokers vying for the affection of a female joker there are lots of visual changes to the designs of the cards to tell the story of true love.  £24.99

I don’t know whether you’ve had a chance to catch any of the ‘At The Table’ series of lectures which launched last year. All the ones I have watched have been excellent, and I am currently working through this Mark Elsdon DVD. The lecture is called Creating Magic, and what I love about it is that as well as teaching you some great tricks he also talks about the creative process and how he came up with the ideas – which should stimulate your own creativity – perhaps you might even come up with some effects of your own? Well worth the modest investment. £8.50

That’s all for now. Don’t forget to check back for the latest news, reviews and Bicycle cards! If you have ideas for features you’d like to see, why not comment below or use our Facebook page to keep in touch?

The post Trick of the Month February 2015 – love is in the air appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

In fact, that’s not quite the effect. In this very strong presentation you have a conversation with the spectator where they ‘imagine’ something which happened earlier – and at the end of the effect the outcome is exactly what they have described.

The title of the effect tells you the method (and again – if that doesn’t help you I’m not going to tell you!). If you’ve been around in magic any time this will not be a surprise to you. What you are really buying are the subtleties in Mark’s very sneaky handling. It is sleight of mouth, not sleight of hand here.

What do you get?

A nicely produced DVD which includes a couple of live performances and a studio performance. The explanation is full without becoming tedious and there are some really useful details on the way. You also get an envelope and all the necessary cards – though these are un-gimmicked and you could swap in any you wanted to use.

What do we think?

For me this ticks a lot of boxes. You end clean/examinable, it takes up little pocket space and is instantly re-set. It relies more on presentation than complicated moves. But it is precisely that which makes it difficult to rate. I could imagine a poor performer making a right pig’s ear of this – yet in competent hands it could be a miracle. It is not inherently ‘difficult’ – but some of the performance skills needed are difficult to teach – so at the end of the day you need to get out there and get doing it.

For only £11.99 I think this is great value and well worth a punt. B’voque is available from Merchant of Magic (with thanks to Mark Elsdon (who kindly supplied the review copy).

For a similar approach – but with the Twisted Sisters type plot, you should also consider John Bannon’s excellent Duplicity.  If you like Mark’s work, you may also enjoy On the Mark – one of my go to walk around effects.

The post Mark Elsdon B’voque – review appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

Clearly See Thru

A card the spectator merely peeks at (from a shuffled deck) disappears (becomes ‘invisible’!) and then instantly reappears face-up in the middle of the deck! This is a real fooler and a nice whimsical plot idea. There’s a virtually self-working version and also a slightly more ‘technical’ version if you want to fry magicians too. A great start to the DVD!

No Hassle Hof

The spectator ‘merely thinks’ of a card, and it appears amongst a packet of aces held by the spectator. As seems to be the case with a few of the routines – it requires more boldness than moves (though there is a more advanced handling provided too). Another worker from my point of view.

Split Decision

A slightly zany lie-detector type effect where you (of course) locate the spectator’s card from a shuffled deck. Some really sneaky thinking here which you could easily apply to other effects.

Wrongly Convicted

The magician makes a mistake in trying to locate the spectator’s freely chosen card just by looking into their eyes. All this is magically righted as their card appears in the packet in their hand instantaneously.

Forget to remember

The spectator makes up a card in their mind, which then disappears from the deck and is discovered already predicted. Easy to do and packs a punch. Shares some similarities with a Mark Elsdon effect (But Not Here) but is different in plot and method.

Fish Sandwich

To a plot based on ‘poker tells’ you fish to read the spectator’s mind. For me, this is the weakest effect on the disk and the presentation is a bit drawn out. More positively it makes a nice change from the pick a card type routine, and is a really ‘lateral’ use of a standard move, but this just doesn’t do it for me.

Needs a name

This uses a borrowed, shuffled deck, and you can locate a card merely thought of by the spectator. Looks super clean and fair and needs no preparation. This could well become the ‘go to’ impromptu effect when you’re asked to show someone a trick. Nice!

Extras and final thoughts

The Gap Principle is Ryan’s name for a key part of the method in a number of the effects on this disk. In an extra section this principle is explored in conversation with Liam Montier. It’s super sneaky and allows for a really fair looking control of a freely chosen card. Once you’ve got your head round this you will see the principle has a lot of applications in your own effects.

A new feature on this DVD (well it’s the first time I’ve seen it) is the Bullet explanation – essentially a stripped down explanation of the effect. This is useful if perhaps you’ve gone back to the DVD and just want a reminder of the details of the routine without all the talking that goes on in the detailed explanation. I can see this becoming a regular feature.

In other notes, this is the first time I’ve laughed out loud at a credits section. You’ll just have to see for yourself because I’m not spoiling it for you!

All in all this is another strong DVD from BBM – I can see everything in here playing well in the real world and with a decent presentation really doing the job.
Effortless Effects is available from Merchant of Magic (with thanks to BBM (who kindly provided the review copy).

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Here are some of the latest and greatest new magic items in June…

I’ve long had a fondness for the myriad variations on the plot of Phil Goldstein’s B’wave – and have owned and used many. B’voque – the latest version from the prolific Mark Elsdon ends clean and examinable – relying on clever subtlety rather than gaffs. Worth a look at only £15.99 [UPDATE – full review now available here]

If you’re looking for a classy new deck, look no further than the Totem Deck. Inspired by Chinese mythology and in a super-colletable run of only 2,500 for each edition you’ll want to snap these up! Available in red and blue. £11.50

Our next suggestion requires a bit of an investment – but I am convinced it will be worth it as the author knows his stuff inside out. I am one of many who grew up to Paul Daniels as THE TV magician – and on
Bravura he spills the beans on all you need to know about his act. The tips on here are bound to be gold-dust (we’ll try and do a review if time permits) – one for the magician who is serious about improving their act. £119.99

And a final tip – especially for anyone beginning to think about summer reading! This isn’t new, but I have been reading Darwin Ortiz’s wonderful Designing Miracles book recently – and it is full of really helpful ideas which will help you strengthen the impact of your magic. Well worth a read if you haven’t done so. £30.99

That’s all for now. Watch this space for loads more card and close up magic reviews and news…

The post Trick of the month – June 2014 appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

What the audience sees…
The demo which is widely available is very fair. The spectator ‘freely’ thinks of a card which is then found to be written on the back of a random card the performer has cut to.

If you’re thinking like a magician, you may find the ‘freeness’ of the choice rather restrictive. But the truth is, with a bit of presentation this will sail pass a layperson. There are plenty of ‘convincers’ built in to the routine and it has real punch. Instructional DVD is clear and straightforward. It contains a section on variations and alternatives – I was expecting a bit more here if I’m honest, but what was here was worth a look.

Downsides
The deck is really a one trick pony – but for all that can be handled very freely in the context of the routine. There is some one time set up but it will only take you five minutes to do. As with all mentalism type effects, it is your presentation which will make or break this – don’t take it ‘on the road’ unless you have polished that up. Positively, there are not really any moves to speak of so you can concentrate on presentation.

In brief – we like it, and will almost certainly use it. If you like your card magic with a mental flavour you could do much worse than splashing out £24.99.

[We got ours at Merlins of Wakefield who at the time of writing have a January sale on with 15% off everything – use the code ‘Jan15‘ before Saturday 19th January – and at Merlins it is only £22.99 to start with!]

The post But not here – mini review – and Merlins 15% off code! 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…

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