We have loved the Move Zero series and couldn’t wait to get our hands on Volume 4.  But there’s always that fear that the quality will drop – or the sequel won’t be as good. Well [spoiler alert] we weren’t disappointed.   I guess you really want to know about the tricks first of all, so here’s our review…

Proximity – This is a clever presentational twist on an old principle.  The spectator thinks of a card and you make two predictions you think will be ‘close’.  When the spectator’s thought of card is located (in a freely shuffled deck), the cards either side are found to match your two ‘predictions’!  This is a brilliant way to open the DVD and I love the entertaining twist on a principle you may well already know.  And on a very few occasions you’ll get a different but possibly even stronger outcome!  This one’s going straight into my impromptu repertoire!

Second Reckoning – this is a remix of Dead Reckoning (from Move Zero Vol 1 or Dear Mr Fantasy). The spectator shuffles the cards and then chooses a bunch.  They remember a card at the number they have chosen and the mentally spell out the name of that card.  Amazingly without anyone saying anything out loud, the performer stops dealing at the end of their spelling and has stopped on their very card.  Very fooling effect – though it doesn’t use a whole deck – which may put some people off. Baffling for the spectator and easy to do. No reset. Brilliant.

Power of Poker – this is a routine which has appeared on at least one other DVD we’ve seen (and also in Dear Mr Fantasy) – but apart from anything else I really liked the jumbo cards he used in this version!  Essentially, in spite of the the fairness of all the spectator’s choices, they manage to deal you a royal flush which beats their full house.

Banco – a spectator makes all the choices and yet you end up with all the envelopes full of cash! This is a nice example of taking a principle from one effect and moving it to another area. This is undeniably clever, but for me seems slightly less fooling than its playing card equivalent.  On the other hand, effects with cash always pique a spectator’s interest and so it may be that the hook makes up for any possible shortcomings in the trick.  To use the presentation Bannon uses you will need to purchase a few special bank notes which you can probably pick up online.

Depth Charge – this is a very clever ACAAN type of effect. One spectator chooses a small packet of cards to create a number. The second spectator creates a random card out of two that have been randomly shuffled to.  This is a great example of how ‘layering’ really obscures the method. It looks so fair and the result is devastating.  There is a very simple ‘move’ involved – but it is so easy it doesn’t disqualify it from the Move Zero label!  One of the sneakiest ACAANs I have seen – and definitely a worker.

Lost in Translation – this is a fun prediction effect where three playing cards stand in for three words – which you can reveal.  And then there’s a nice cheesy kicker (!) at the end.  It’s a whimsical little effect which doesn’t have the feel of a card trick even though in one sense it is.  If the gag appeals to you then it will be an easy addition to your repertoire.  But I suspect not everyone will want to use the gag!  You could easily take the idea and weave your own version around it.

View to a skill – this is a clever take on the classic Miraskill (which can be found, amongst other places, in The Encyclopedia of Card Tricks) which removes all the sleight of hand (instead utilising some sleight of mouth!) and turns the thing into more of a game. Typically lateral Bannon thinking here to make a fun effect.  I love the way it is structured to cancel out methods in the spectator’s mind.  The dealing procedure makes this a fairly long effect – so you will need the right context to perform – but it is a great one to have in your bag.

GoFiguration – after a very fair looking series of shuffles and decision by the spectator, you have managed to arrive at four of a kind.  This is a masterclass in layering methods and subtle manoeuvers.  Another really strong effect for very little effort.

Triplicity – the spectator cuts to a random number of cards, then remembers a card at that number in the deck. First you read their mind, then you reveal what number their card sits at (once the deck has been cut) and finally you reveal that you predicted both things in advance. This is another great routine which very much works itself but would be utterly baffling to a layperson.

What do we think?

This is the fourth volume in an excellent series. It has been some time since I looked at the earlier volumes which makes comparisons hard, but my sense this time is that this material is more consistently strong than the earlier disks.  And they were excellent so that gives you some indication of the quality here.

There are several effects here which are well worth having up your sleeve when you’re out and about – they need no real preparation and are easy to do.  Although this series is aimed at those who are new to card magic I think that even an old hand will learn a thing or two here.

In addition to the strong magic, there are insightful gems to be found in the interview segments which intersperse the magic.  Like the earlier volumes there are also ‘Trick Bag’ sections which takes a look at some of the principles used in the effects in some more detail – which may help you utilise them in your own ideas.  The final interview section has some pointers for ‘next steps’ for the magician who is just starting out.  These could be really useful if you’re just finding your way with sleight of hand.

As always, everything is well attributed/credited.  As you’ll notice, some of the effects have been published in recent years – so if you’re the sort of person that likes learning from books, you could do a lot worse than looking up his recent books.

Move Zero Volume 4 is unreservedly recommended and you can pick it up from MagicShop.co.uk – just as soon as it is released – for £26.99.

(Review copy kindly supplied by BBM)

John Bannon – Move Zero Vol 4 – review (TOTM – Oct 2017)

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The post John Bannon – Move Zero Vol 4 – review (TOTM – Oct 2017) appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

Bannon is a great magician and a clear teacher. He starts this first in a proposed series of DVDs with a definition of what self-working magic is. Throughout the DVD Bannon continues to explain his philosophy of what makes a strong ‘self-working’ trick. The concision of his explanations matches the concision of his effects and it is particularly interesting to hear about his personal favourites from all the effects he’s created over the years. But let’s take a look at the magic taught on this DVD.

Move Zero – The Tricks

Collusion
Two spectators place jokers at positions they choose themselves, and the cards at these positions are used to create a new card. This is then located by dealing down to the number made by adding the spectators’ two numbers. This is a lovely twist on the ‘Gemini’ principle which turns it into a pseudo-ACAAN. A lovely twist combined with a nice premise and, of course, dead easy to do with only minimal setup. He even explains a way to set up on the fly without too much effort.

Sort of Psychic
This is a lovely effect where under the premise of testing the spectator’s intuition they are able to locate their chosen card by simply cutting the deck. This is a beautiful example of how the presentation and framing of an effect can make an enormous difference. It takes a potentially dry procedural trick into an engaging effect. A great one to have up your sleeve when you’re asked to do a trick.

Ulterior
A spectator chooses a card which is lost in the deck. The magician then removes a few cards and the spectator manages to eliminate all but the chosen card. Although this is move-free, it does require some linguistic subtlety. Bannon covers this in some detail but it does require a little ‘jazzing’. For me this is not one of the strongest effects on the DVD, however the whole thing is really an ulterior motive for setting up a stack within a freely shuffled deck. In other words, having performed this effect you are then in a position to perform an even stronger effect which you’ve set up without the spectator noticing! Neat.

Prophet Motive
After an enormous amount of random shuffling and dealing on the part of the spectator they then manage to cut to a card which matches one you put aside before the whole thing began. This is another great ‘spur of the moment’ effect which is very easy to do but packs as they say a lot of ‘bang for your buck’. Bannon teaches a number of different tweaks to the presentation and takes you through some clever subtleties.

Ion Man
This is a quirky little prediction effect (based on a Max Maven trick) where the spectator chooses one of three imaginary coins, then chooses whether it is heads or tails up, and you demonstrate that you have predicted all their choices in advance. This is all about sleight of mouth – one of my favourite kinds of magic. An unusual little prediction and a neat idea.

Ban-nihilation
The spectator shuffles the deck and then cuts the deck somewhere between two ‘marker’ cards. The card at that location is found to be the card predicted on the back of the marker cards. A couple of little subtleties make this a super-convincing and super-easy effect to do – so it’s presentation all the way.

Four Sided Gemini
Three randomly selected cards match a fourth you have already set aside. This is really a slightly different presentation for the method used in Collusion. A clever routine with a nice presentation – you’ll do this often.

Perennial
Again, this is really a nice presentation for a principle you’ve seen elsewhere on the DVD. I like the presentation – where you predict a card which has been chosen via the random elements of an unknown date selected by the spectator. You can do this anywhere with any deck with no setup. Another fabulous little effect.

Move Zero – The Moves Taught

It is perhaps slightly paradoxical that a DVD called Move Zero teaches you a number of different ‘moves’ – but none of these can be described as ‘sleights’ but are useful tools for performing the tricks on the DVD and many others. Here they are:

Jay Ose False Cut – not really a move since if you can’t cut a deck of cards to the table you really shouldn’t be handling cards. But a very deceptive looking false cut. He also teaches a variation where the spectator does the work!

Cross Cut Force – another classic yet simple way of forcing a card. Bannon teaches you some of the psychology that will make this even more deceptive. Also a variation on this called the Deal & Cross Cut Force which adds a further apparent level of fairness.

Balducci/Cut Deeper Force – another ‘self-working’ force which is used in a number of the routines.

Rosetta Control – a nice way of helping a spectator who can’t riffle shuffle a deck to achieve the same effect – and also to control a card or cards in the process.

Remote Control – This is a clever away of allowing a spectator who can riffle shuffle do so whilst still keeping control of a particular card.

Equivoque – a powerful mentalism technique which is used in a number of different effects on the DVD. Bannon shares a few thoughts on this – but to be honest I felt like this section was a little light on detail given that he describes himself as a ‘student of equivoque.’ I think this is a bit of an omission since on a ‘self-working’ DVD, this is in many ways a sophisticated technique. True, it doesn’t require any ‘moves’ – but the mental and linguistic gymnastics involved in using equivoque well could arguably take this out of that category. I love equivoque and have read quite a bit around it myself and used many tricks utilising the technique over the years, so none of the effects proved problematic for me – but if you’re an out and out beginner you may need a little more help.

The Verdict?

Bring on Volume 2. Which is to say, we love it! The teaching is clear and it’s shot in a low-key understated way. There are some really strong, easy to do, and pretty much impromptu effects here. I will try to work a few of them into my memory banks so they are available at any request. This is a great DVD which you must buy!

Available from the Merchant of Magic for £25.50 at the time of writing. (Many thanks to Big Blind Media who kindly supplied the review copy.)

The post John Bannon – Move Zero – review appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

While I don’t much care for the tuck box on this one, the Bicycle Utopia Gold deck is a really good looking set of playing cards.

The back design is understated – not the nicest we’ve ever seen but pleasing to the eye.  But it is the court cards and the work on the custom pips that we admire. A nice premium deck.  £8.50   (Also available in black – but we think that is a bit grim!)

And finally, well this one’s a bit of a sneak preview.  John Bannon is one of the legends of close up and especially card magic and he’s recently released Move Zero – a selection of killer self-working magic. We will be doing a full and in-depth review very shortly – but in case you can’t wait that long – you can pick up Move Zero for £24.99 right now!

Finally a heads up for lovers of good quality magic books (like me!).  For a long time I tried to chase down a copy of the (out of print) One Degree by John Guastaferro.  I did manage to get one and found it a fabulous read – full of great magic and wonderful insights.  Well the good news is that it has now been re-published in softback.  So if you haven’t yet read this wonderful book I highly recommend it.  £23.99

That’s all for now. We’ve got some exciting news, more competitions, reviews and interviews coming your way soon…

The post Trick of the Month – June 2016 – all shuffled up appeared first on Bicycle Cards.