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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If you’ve not seen the earlier volumes (where have you been?) the series is based on the aim of teaching hard-hitting magic effects (mainly cards) that are self-working in nature. I know you really want to know about the tricks, so let’s start with them.

The Tricks

The 32nd Sense – a deck (which can be borrowed) is shuffled by the spectator. They then choose a ‘clump’ of cards from the deck and note the number of cards they have chosen. They remember the card at this number in the remainder of the deck. Using a prediction which has been on the table the whole time you can successfully locate their chosen card. A remarkable coincidence!

This is a great trick to open the DVD on – it fooled me first time (since I’d forgotten the very sneaky principle it is based upon). It is essentially self-working and, to my mind, very strong for the spectator. I love the way the routine is structured for maximum impact. A great start! The principle behind this is then explored in a ‘trick bag’ section (which you may remember from previous volumes is a section for teaching moves and techniques). You could jazz on this to come up with your own routines.

Mouse Trap – the spectator merely thinks of a card at a number only they know. Then a pair of Queens manage to locate the card in a very surprising sandwich type way. This utilises the principle at the heart of ‘The 32nd Sense’ but the different reveal turns it into a quite different effect. You’ll have to remember a couple of small things but this has definitely got legs.

Candy Crush – the spectator creates a card by inserting a business card in the deck – they then spell out the name of the card and successfully locate it. A bit of set up required for this one – but very easy to do because of that. This is a clever combination of principles you may well already know to make a pleasing effect. I’ve no idea why it has been given this name! OK – having seen the credits section I do… but I’m going to leave you to find out for yourself.

Poker Pairadox – is a classic Bannon routine we’ve seen before – (See our Ultimate Self-Working Card Tricks Volume 2 review; Bullet Party review; MegaWave review)
– based on a Nick Trost idea. In brief you show a bunch of court cards in no particular order, but then in an instant they pair themselves up – all to a Texas Hold’em patter. This is a classic – and if you’ve not learnt it already then it is about time. I think it works best to make this a proper ‘packet trick’ – and to keep some cards specially set aside and ready to go – especially if you go with the Poker theme and use some Casino cards.

Origami Prediction – this is another trick with a venerable history – I believe I first learnt it in Bannon’s classic Dear Mr Fantasy. It uses a devastatingly clever principle that enables you to mix up a bunch of cards very fairly and with so much freedom, and yet to have predicted the outcome. Baffling, easy to do, bring it on.

Origami Poker is another variation on the Origami Prediction but with a Poker Flush reveal. Still utterly baffling – though for my money the ‘randomness’ of the prediction somehow makes the overall effect of Origami Prediction more ‘plausible’.

Big Bad Add – this is a very clever prediction trick. A spectator deals two hands of playing cards and then two spectator’s choose cards from their hands to make four 2-digit numbers. These are added up and you have predicted the outcome beforehand. For a small amount of set up you get a very puzzling effect which is very easy to do – and appears to have little relationship to the clever mathematical principle which underlies it. Bannon has a particularly fun/quirky presentational hook which really adds to this. You may not be able to access the currency to use that approach – but other ideas will lend themselves.

Cross Thoughts – two spectators each remove packets of cards from a deck and count their packets. One spectator remembers the card at their number, then the second spectator finds the same card at their number! A very streamlined co-incidence effect with a dash of ACAAN. What’s not to like?

Box of Doom – this takes the Jackpot Coins/Trick that fooled Einstein principle and stirs in a whole lot of prediction madness (the Overkill principle). That makes a baffling effect for the layman. Not only do you appear to have predicted the number of cards they would deal, but you have also predicted the very card they will have stopped on. Smart thinking here and the ‘box of doom’ itself adds a little presentational intrigue. Quality.

But that’s not all

In addition to the tricks themselves, the ’Trickbag’ sections explore some of the principles that are behind the effects. Each of these sections contains a good discussion of the principle and often also some insight into the structuring of the routines on the DVD. This is a valuable resource which may help you to come up with your own variations. You really benefit from Bannon’s logical approach here.

Interspersed between all of these sections are some fascinating interview segments. These cover all sorts of interesting questions to do with Bannon’s personal philosophy of magic – performance and construction; practical performance questions; personal insights into favourite routines and ideas and much more. I’m always interested in the creators/performers and their thinking so for me these are some of the most interesting sections on the DVDs.

Something old, something new?

If I had a critique, it would be that a few of the effects have already had outings on earlier releases. In addition to those that have been on earlier BBM DVDs, quite a few of the effects are from Bannon’s recent books Destination Zero and Mentalissimo – so if you prefer learning that way I would recommend the investment.

The flipside of that is you are gathering some of his best ideas, so I would say this DVD is possibly even stronger than volumes 1 and 2. The whole thing is produced to BBM’s usual very high standards – which manages to combine professional production values with an attitude that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Explanations are clear – and often take you beyond the bare bones of how to the much more important question of why. As usual with Bannon the performances are somewhat understated – but at least you have some non-magicians reacting to them.

If you haven’t picked up already I’m a big fan of this release. There is always the risk – especially by the time you get to volume 3 – that the life will have fallen out of a franchise. But Move Zero goes from strength to strength. Buy it, enjoy it, learn from it, and you might even fool yourself with some of the magic!

Move Zero Volume 3 is available from the Merchant of Magic for £27.99.

(Or if you prefer to stream or download you can do that here for only £24.99)

[With thanks to BBM who kindly supplied the review copy.]

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Let’s talk about the tricks

Interstellar OOTW
Here’s Liam’s handling and get in to Paul Curry’s classic OOTW. It’s got a nice presentational premise, works with a shuffled deck and is easy to do – though requires some bold handling! OOTW is a fantastic effect – and even though it takes a while to perform, there is little to beat it from a pure magic point of view. Liam teaches some neat handling subtleties on the way and using the first effect as a way to set up ‘in plain sight’ is genius – a superb start to the DVD!

Mates
This is a funny and clever way of producing four of a kind from a borrowed shuffled deck. You start by reversing three ‘prediction’ cards without changing the order of their shuffled deck. After an amusing start, you reveal their chosen card, and then the earlier predictions reveal the three ‘mates’ of their chosen card. I was caught out by the second phase – though it is actually delightfully simple. Love it!  (If you get to the end of the review I’ve included a performance video!)

Gemini Location
This uses an old principle in an unusual way. Under the premise of reading ‘body language’ or ‘vocal tellls’, you are able to correctly identify 3 different cards that spectators have looked at and lost in the deck. Liam teaches 3 phases but you could easily just use one or two of them if you prefer. I like this – and may well use it as an alternative to another routine I often perform with the same principle.

Silly Questions
The spectator’s chosen card is placed within a small packet, then a series of silly questions are asked which result in one card being found – the chosen card. This one didn’t really grab me, but I haven’t road-tested it with real people so it might come across better in the real world.

Wheel of Fortune
A pseudo fortune telling demonstration in which you manage to predict two cards at random locations from a selection from a shuffled deck. There feels to be a lot of freedom in the spectator’s choices and if you can do a little bit of cold reading too, you’ll have an entertaining and fooling routine.

Jack’s Poker
From a well-mixed deck, the spectator gets a poker hand worth of cards and merely thinks of one card which would improve their hand. They then manage to cut to their merely thought of card! Some lovely subtleties going on in this very effective routine.

Salto Triumph
This is a very easy routine with a triumph kind of feel to it. You and the spectator each take half the deck, and choose a card behind your back. You insert your cards into each other’s section and then shuffle the two halves into each other, half face up and half face down. With a click of the fingers, all the cards turn the right way round, with the exception of your two choices. Variations of this effect have been around for a while – so it doesn’t feel radically new – but it is nonetheless a great easy effect.

Last to Turn Up
This is the least ‘movey’ and most ‘procedural’ effect on the DVD and is based on an old Ken de Courcy effect (which immediately took me on a nostalgia tour). A card selected by the spectator is lost amongst three poker hands and then the spectator finds it themselves by following a simple procedure. I think you’d need a pretty compelling hook to make this one truly entertaining, but a completely self-working surprise.

Invisible Dice
An imaginary dice (die, technically!) is used to help the spectator merely think of a card from a random selection of six. The cards are then lost in the deck and the spectator pushes your ‘lucky’ card into the deck and manages to locate their merely thought of card. This is probably the most complicated effect to perform and is definitely pushing the limits of ‘self-working’ – since it requires a couple of ‘procedures’ one of which needs to be done somewhat covertly. That being said it is still not ‘difficult’. However, I personally didn’t much like the ‘outs’ used in this one.

One over the Eight
To a presentation about the so called ‘butterfly effect’ several spectators all deal random quantities of cards from a shuffled deck, and the card finally reached matches your prediction. In some ways it is a self-working CAAN effect. Entirely self-working but not, perhaps, the greatest mystery in the world.

So is it any good?

For me the disk falls in two uneven halves – six of the first seven effects are brilliant and though you may have seen some similar things before, they each merit inclusion on the DVD. The last 3 all feel a little weaker to me – but some real world road-testing may prove that wrong.  The fact that all of them can be done with a borrowed shuffled deck is amazing!

As ever I appreciate Liam’s self-deprecating style, clear teaching and the little tips along the way. All the effects and explanations are shot with classic BBM clarity – even if I do find the lightly jigging Liam on the DVD menus slightly disconcerting!

I’m always on the lookout for routines I can perform on the spur of the moment when challenged to ‘just show us a trick’ – and several of these would meet my criteria. So for the small cost of a DVD you’ve got yourself a lot of credibility!

Any shuffled deck, self working, impromptu miracles is available direct from MoM for £28.99 (at the time of writing).

Review copy kindly provided by BBM.

Mates video as promised…

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But you want to know about the tricks first, right?

ESPionage – Gary Jones has come up with a really simple but effective use of an old principle which provides you with a super-clean miracle. Essentially in spite of a really (genuinely!) fair mixing and selection process, you can reveal which ESP symbol a spectator has chosen. In the routine taught you do this twice under increasingly astonishing conditions.

The same principle is also adapted for a variation Steven Tucker’s Visa Cabaret routine – where you can predict which coloured card ends up in which of the spectator’s pockets. This requires a little bit of one-off craft work to make the necessary – but it is very straightforward and only takes 5 minutes. I believe Full 52 are also selling the cards ready made up if you prefer. Super little effect.

A-Can – This is Dave’s twist on the old barcode gag which takes it to the next level. The spectator chooses a card from a whole stack of cards which have different grocery products on the front. You reveal your prediction to be a barcode – and after the groan show that the barcode does actually contain the name of the product. In a final kicker ending you then produce a tin of the product from the (previously obviously flat) prediction envelope. Great fun, easy to do. Love it.

Dobson’s Diddle – a clever prediction effect based on a Wayne Dobson idea. Despite some very fair looking choices you reveal that you have predicted the outcome of a spectator’s free choices about where to place various objects. This is very easy to do, but will require you to think about the procedure on the fly. A couple of subtleties lead to a very fair looking outcome.

Arty Farty – this is a different sort of a prediction effect. The spectator chooses the name of a famous piece of artwork from a selection of many. You make a drawing (‘forgery’ in the clever plotline!) to reveal their choice – but it just looks like a load of scribble. But when some heat is applied, the spectator’s chosen image is revealed. This is a fun and different take on a prediction effect. Easy to do, though a small bit of preparation needed. Quirky.

Fruit Loop – this could be my favourite effect on the DVD. The spectator (genuinely) freely chooses a card from a selection of cards bearing the names of different fruits. You show that you have predicted not just that choice, but the cards either side of it – in a very funny and visual way. I don’t want to spoil the fun by telling you the detailed scenario – but you’ll have a lot of fun performing this entertaining and very easy effect.

Any Tome, Anywhere – this is a book test where you can reveal the word or words at the top of a page in any book. This essentially relies on a mathematical principle to do the dirty work for you. For me, the process the spectator goes through in order to get to a ‘random’ number is a little bit involved. There are some nice subtleties in Dave’s handling of the revelation, but for me this wasn’t a highlight.

Purple Monkey – in this routine you appear to read a spectator’s mind and reveal a random image they have simply created in their mind. Lots of nice things about this one – it is genuinely easy to do, takes up little space, and gives them a nice takeaway too. And again there are some great subtleties which obscure what is going on here. Brilliant.

Positive Change – the spectator places three coins on the table according to various free choices and then chooses one which they ‘flip’ behind their back. Your prediction shows you knew both which coin and which way up it was going to be. Building on some previously released ideas this is a neat semi-impromptu effect. For me this wasn’t earth-shattering, but with good presentation skills it would certainly impress a spectator.

RPS Extreme – in this effect you appear to be able to predict the outcome of several games of Rock, Paper Scissors. The first phase is impressive but the second knocks your socks off. Gary is clear that he has combined ideas of others to make the routine work, but it is a fantastic idea with good audience involvement.

The Secret is not so much a magic trick as a puzzle, which I first saw on an earlier Full 52 release – David Regal in the UK – though its history is much older. To an interesting story you trade ‘bank notes’ and pints of beer and everyone is puzzled by the outcome. It seems to me this would work really well in certain settings, but if I’m honest I’m unlikely to use this one myself. The necessary ‘notes’ are available as pdfs on the DVD to print your own.

As if this were not enough – there is also a free download of two extra missing effects which didn’t fit on the DVD. The tricks are:

Pageboy – this is a sort of ‘book test’ but with an unexpected extra ending. This is something called the Pegasus Book Test (not sure of the creator) – not only can you predict the word on the page they freely choose, as an extra kicker, when they look at the book again the page they looked at has been torn out – and is found in a prediction which the other spectator was holding from the outset. You will need to make up a couple of things to perform this – but the effect is so strong that it is well worth the effort.

Call the Chops – a series of number cards are freely mixed based on choices made by the spectator and end up predicting your phone number! This is based on an old principle but makes a nice way of giving out a business card or passing on your number…

The whole thing is well produced – although there were a couple of glitches in the sound level when I watched (which may just have been to do with my computer but I haven’t had the time to check) – though this didn’t get in the way of understanding.

Explanations are very clear and easy to follow. And I, personally, enjoy the banter between Dave and Gary. It’s great to see two magicians who get on well together and respect each other and who chuck in ideas on the fly and discuss wrinkles and subtleties as they go. They are both real performers and are worth listening to.

It’s hard to compare different releases with each other – was this the strongest of the set? Possibly. I really could see myself using all but one or two of these effects in the real world, and will definitely be making some of them up to use. If you don’t want to go to the trouble of manufacturing some of the items, Full 52 are (as in the past) selling some of the accessories you will need.

Highly recommended. What are you waiting for?

Automata 3 is available direct from Merchant of Magic for £21.98 (at the time of writing).

And if you’d like to be in with the chance of winning one, then enter our giveaway!

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New to card magic – where do I start?

Many people think that performing card magic requires strong sleight of hand and polished technique. While we would encourage you to practise and develop these areas, and will suggest some helpful resources below, there is more to performing magic than excellent sleight of hand. Magic is a performance art – and 90% of the impact of your performance will be affected by the way you perform, not how good your sleight of hand is.

That’s why we recommend starting off by learning some ‘self-working magic‘ to get you started. This magic is easy to do which allows you to concentrate on your performance and building confidence in front of people.

Fortunately there have been many great new magic DVD releases in this area recently:  John Bannon’s Move Zero series is superb, as is the Ultimate Self-Working Card Tricks series.

If you prefer learning from magic books (and there is much to be said for this) then we would highly recommend Roberto Giobbi’s Card College Light/er/est series.  You might also look at Karl Fulves’ superb book – Self Working Card Tricks – I still perform two of the effects from here with a bit of dressing!

At some point, however, you need to read up on the basics of card magic.  The absolute classic beginners book is called the Royal Road to Card Magic.  However, it’s style is a little dated now.  R Paul Wilson has done an excellent job of turning it into a 5-DVD teaching set if you prefer.

If you like books and have a little more money to spend, Roberto Giobbi’s Card College Series is a modern classic. They five volumes are much better illustrated than the Royal Road and very clearly explained, and contain a good number of tricks with each technique that you learn. Why not buy a volume and save up for the next one while you are mastering the content!

If you do prefer to learn by watching a DVD, Born to Perform is an excellent introduction to card magic. A good number of basic sleights are taught, and several top quality effects which will amaze your audience whilst being relatively straightforward to perform. Highly recommended for the newcomer to magic.

What about cards?

It should go without saying, but you will need a decent deck of cards to perform and practise with.  Playing cards come in many designs and qualities.  Bicycle Cards are the brand most frequently used by magicians – hence the name of this site.  And anything which is branded Bicycle will be of a good standard for magic use.   Poker Size is most commonly uses by magicians, but if you are younger or have small hands you may want to use Bridge Size, but we would encourage you to progress to the Poker Size as soon as possible. If you’re interested in the latest bicycle cards and designs, we review many of them on this site.

In addition to ‘regular’ decks of cards, you can also get special magic cards which are gimmicked to make your life easier. The first such deck that I and many magicians receive is called a Svengali deck – and it allows you to perform many impressive looking effects without any real sleight of hand. It is very easy to use and so allows you to concentrate on the presentation.

A marked deck of cards can also be useful – and this will enable you to tell the value of a card without looking at its face. There are many different kinds of marked cards available, but the Ultimate Marked Deck has the advantage that it matches your regular Bicycle deck and comes highly recommended.

And finally

As we mentioned early on, 90% of the effectiveness of a magic trick is to do with your presentation and performance skills. So if you are serious about becoming a better magician you may like to invest in a book about presentation and showmanship.  Magic and Showmanship is the classic treatment of this subject, though there are more modern volumes available. This would be a good starting point.

We hope this is enough to give you a good start in card magic. If you have other questions, or recommendations, then do chip in below or via our Facebook page – we always love to hear from our readers.

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51 Fat Chances is an intriguing little effect with the premise of a bet. The spectator is given ’51 chances’ to find a particular card in the deck. After a very fair set of cuts and deals the final card is, of course, the chosen one. It’s a clever way of using the Balducci Force in an unusual way since the ‘forced’ card is not actually chosen. This feels a bit more like a puzzle than a mystery, but with the right presentation could be powerful. I like the way the routining justifies the slightly odd Balducci procedure. And it can be done with a borrowed shuffled deck – with the spectator doing the all the work.

Leverage – this is a sort of ‘sucker’ prediction where you revise your prediction, apparently based on how the spectator cuts the cards, and the spectator is seen to behave completely as you predicted. This is really just a simple force and revelation, but the presentation lifts it well above this. Again – perform anywhere with any (shuffled) deck.

Tiny Contrary Killer – I love the typical Bannon weaving together of different principles and ideas here to make a really clever routine. A spectator cuts to a random card and a second spectator merely thinks of a card – with one or two surprising twists you demonstrate that you predicted both cards much earlier. I love the subtle thinking here and the magical effect is out of all proportion to the effort required. Wonderful.

Pedal to the Metal – this starts as a simple revelation of a chosen card but in the second phase after a really fair looking random procedure the spectator ‘builds’ a card which again you have earlier predicted. This uses a force I haven’t seen before (I need to complete my set of Semi-Automatic Card Tricks It think!) plus one you’ll be very familiar with on this DVD! This is a brilliant impromptu (ish – there is some set up but it is quite easy to do this on the fly) routine and the principle lends itself to all sorts of sneaky variations. Get your thinking caps on…

Matchismo – from a well-mixed deck the spectator selects three cards for you and for them. They are found to match – and then they make a number which you’ve already predicted in advance. This one doesn’t appeal to me as much as some of the others. It is an interesting effect, but the routine didn’t really do it for me. The shuffling procedure may well have other uses and is worth pondering, and as always the thinking behind it all is worth listening to. John also provides a few extra thoughts and variations.

Chronic – the spectator merely thinks of a card at a number known only to them. After various cuts and shuffles you manage to locate their card. It is a distant relative of the clock trick – though the link is more in the use of time as a theme than anything else. For me this was one of the weaker effects on the DVD but I think this was more about the presentation not grabbing me.

Bannon Triumph – this is quite an early Bannon creation so you may have come across it in other books /dvds. In effect, the spectator chooses a card, the rest of the deck is mixed up face up and face down and then instantly righting itself, leaving all the cards of the spectator’s chosen suit face up and everything else face down. Some set up required but a really lovely triumph which is easy to do and has a slightly quirky presentation.

Free Willy – this is a lovely 3 card prediction based on a well-known principle alluded to in the title! I love the presentation for this which somehow lifts a simple prediction into something much more engaging and entertaining.

Move Zero Moves

As on Volume 1, there is also a ‘trickbag’ teaching a number of useful moves. They are as follows:

Down Under Deal – this isn’t really a move, so it seems odd to have a section devoted to it. But Bannon makes a few helpful observations on the way.

Jay Ose False Cut – repeated from Volume 1 – but included in case you haven’t got it.

Probability Cull – this is a clever way of stacking your deck ‘on the fly’ almost imperceptibly. This is a really useful technique which will be of use in lots of routines including some on this DVD.

Gilbreath Second Principle – this is an ingenious principle which can be used to strengthen the appearance of many effects which use some kind of stack. Even if you don’t understand why it works it’s great to have it in your repertoire.

Key cards and crimps – some reflections on two useful weapons in your arsenal – enabling you to locate cards and sets of cards with ease. Don’t underestimate the power of these ‘basic’ techniques.

Remote Rosetta – this is a helpful technique which helps a spectator do a riffle shuffle when they can’t riffle shuffle! You can also use this to retain a small stock of cards.

Final thoughts

Interspersed throughout the tricks and moves are short interview segments with John Bannon. They are all interesting – though I particularly enjoyed the fascinating discussions of his creative process and philosophy of card tricks.

A number of these effects (like in Vol 1) have already been published in Bannon’s 2015 book Destination Zero – but for those of you who prefer to learn from a DVD this is another superb addition to the library. I will probably try to get hold of the book too. Although sometimes the second volume in a series is weaker – all the good stuff going into the first one, this manages to maintain the quality and is building into a great series – roll on volume 3…

Move Zero Volume 2 is released at the beginning of next month – you can pre-order now at the Merchant of Magic..

(Review copy kindly supplied by the good folk at BigBlindMedia)

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This is classic Cameron – it is easy to do (all but self-working – you will just need very basic card handling skills to pull this off), entertaining and packs a punch. The spectator will be genuinely baffled by how they ‘do the magic’ and the audience will be thoroughly entertained.

The DVD is shot to BBM’s usual high standards and includes a couple of live performances (including one from the Magic Castle, where Cameron used this to close his set each night) as well as a detailed explanation and some other fun stuff. If you look closely you’ll even find a discount code to save you money on other Cameron Francis titles. You also receive a special deck of Bicycle cards – all ready to use (without giving too much away, they’ve even done the pencil dots for you!).

Over the Top is a really strong routine which I think you will enjoy performing. It does require good audience management skills (especially the very first part), and to really sell it you will have to work hard at providing the necessary energy, but we all know that the secret of strong magic is in the presentation don’t we?

The deck is fairly obviously a one-trick pony and Cameron does include some basic thoughts on switching it in. It might have been nice to include a little more detail here – but there are plenty of resources you can go to for that information if you need any help (e.g. Giobbi’s masterful Art of Switching Decks – or Greg Wilson’s excellent Cold Case which we review here).

Re-set is very straightforward and can be done in front of the audience as you ‘clear up’ the final display – so this is very versatile. It really is hard to find anything to dislike. Except perhaps the name which I think is a bit Over the Top…

Available from Merchant of Magic for £27.50 (at the time of writing).
(With thanks to the gents at BBM who kindly provided the review copy)

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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.)

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Aqua Ring

An impossibly clean looking escape of a borrowed finger ring from a knotted loop of dental floss trapped in a cup of water. A slightly bizarre premise – but a really clever idea which looks like real magic. Ends clean and examinable – entirely self working. The tiny downers are the need for a little bit of pre-preparation and a cup of water in your performing area – but I can see many contexts where this would be a real worker.

Fixed Quote

This is Dave’s take on a self-working book test using (though not limited to) a book of quotations. In order to make this self-working there is a slightly drawn out (see how I’m resisting the use of the word contrived) process for selecting the page. I don’t think this is an inherent drawback – but does require some personality/presentational ability to carry it through. Dave has this in spades which makes it an entertaining routine – and as the reaction of his spectator shows. There are also a number of levels of subtlety/dressing which hide the principle quite well. I love book tests – and the use of a quotation book certainly adds lots of scope for extra reveals and presentation.

Lead Free

This is a really clever idea which enables you to do a self-working coin bend. You show the spectator two contrasting coins, they choose one, and it bends whilst in their hand. That’s really the way it plays. It requires a gimmicked coin which you may already have (especially if you own Automata 1 – no more hints!). There is also an extension of the routine which gives you a double bend and still virtually no moves, and other ideas which use the principle in different ways! The very simple handling is completely disarming – and I can certainly see this making its way into my walkaround set. Great stuff.

My Hero

This is a clever idea using the latest technology! You send the spectator a photo of themselves, and then they make a choice from a selection of cards with the names of different superheroes on them. When they look at the picture it shows them looking like their freely chosen superhero! You will need a smart phone to do the routine as presented (though you could, of course, do the whole thing with just an ordinary prediction, but the photo is much more effective). This is a really fun routine – the selection process is engaging and easy to do. Makes me wish I had a smart phone!

No Luck

This is a prediction effect using three dice and a nice premise about being ‘out by one’ all the time. A clever principle is in play here which is surprisingly deceptive. Not my favourite routine on the disk but worth a look.

P.O.A.

This starts off looking like a memory test, and turns into a coin which vanishes and re-appears on a card previously signed by the spectator. Uses a couple of old principles to create a nice routine – which could also leave a business card in their possession at the end. An unusual and self-working trick.

Chip Shot

A poker chip passes through a solid table top. A very simple method first found in Bobo, but with a modern twist. It looks like clever slight of hand but a very simple ‘gimmick’ does all the work for you. I’m not sure it makes a routine in itself but could be a nice extra in the context of a longer routine.

Peeky Blinder

Three spectators draw pictures on business cards and you correctly identify who drew which one – revealing the final picture without even looking at it. Gary explains how you can make the necessary wallet very cheaply – though I can see myself using this routine with the Jaks Wallet. There is something very poweful about this routine which far outweighs the simplicity of the method – and the emotional involvement of drawing a picture always engages the spectators. Well worth a go.

Ear Worm

This is a clever mind reading effect where you can reveal the song a spectator is merely thinking of after a very fair looking procedure mixing up a stack of cards with different songs and artists on them. The clever principle used here is not new, but is not widely known – and you will fool yourself when you use it. This is a nice routine – and I could also imagine re-using the principle with other applications.

Weird Wallet

This is a sort of just chance routine using a wallet with four different coloured compartments. The spectator(s) chooses 3 out of 4 pockets and, of course, the remaining one is the one with the cash. This is an old principle (which I first met in a wonderful Larry Becker book) applied to a prop which you can buy online (Full 52 can supply these if you can’t find your own). Easy to do, very clean and very fooling for a spectator.

The Amazing Business

A nice little prediction effect where a set of business cards are mixed face up and face down according to the spectator’s choices. You correctly predict two outcomes and then the final card is found to be your own business card. It is essentially a Peter Duffie routine (from Cards by all means) re-imagined with business cards. This one didn’t do that much for me but is certainly in the puzzling category. You can re-use the principle in a number of ways – I rather like the idea of using it with lottery cards.

What do we think?

The interaction between Dave and Gary makes the teaching segments engaging and everything is clearly explained. They bounce off each other well and often chip in thoughts and subtleties which are really helpful. Almost all the routines are in the hands with very easy re-set. Several involve business cards – which is always a bonus if you’re looking for more work!

We think this is another cracking DVD and are excited to hear that a 3rd disk in the series is in the offing (with the return of Chris Congreave). There is a great variety of routines here, all of which are very easy to do. But don’t despise them because of their simplicity – these are almost all strong effects which will play very well in the real world.
Highly recommended.

Available direct from MagicShop.co.uk (with thanks to Full 52 who kindly supplied the review copy). £19.99 (at time of writing).

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We’ll jump straight into the tricks first of all before making some more general comments.

Your thoughts are mine – John Carey
You reveal a spectator’s thought of card which then magically turns face up in the deck and turns out to be from a different pack. There are some nice touches here but for me it was one of the less striking effects on the disk – which makes it a shame that it is most likely the first one you’ll see.

Compatability – Wayne Dobson
Here’s a clever effect with a nice premise – testing your compatibility with the spectator. Despite an incredibly fair looking procedure you and the spectator end up having signed the same card without knowing it. Can be done with a borrowed shuffled deck. There’s a little bit of mental maths to do – but with a bit of practise you’ll be baffling your audiences.

Wayne Man – Wayne Dobson
This is a fantastic pseudo-memorised deck presentation which is incredibly easy to do – but if you can sell it you will absolutely knock their socks off. I love the simplicity of this and directness – and it can be done with a borrowed shuffled deck. This probably won’t fool magicians but is a brilliant application of an under-used principle.

Future Deck – Jack Vosburgh
From a classic book (Scarne on Card Tricks) this is an effective prediction trick where a freely chosen card matches one you previously set aside in the card box. It requires a bit of set up (and will be a one trick deck) but all this preparation makes it incredibly easy to do.

Automatic Ace Triumph – Kuniyasu Fujiwara
This is an unusual effect (originally published in the well named Japanese Ingenious) in which having mixed the aces up in amongst a larger packet of cards, some face up and some face down, in the fairest possible way the cards instantly right themselves leaving only the Aces face up. Now I know how it works, I still don’t know how it works! It’s a little bit ‘procedural’ but in the right context it could work. You’ve got to try it out!

Emotional Reaction – Dai Vernon
A subtle little routine, as you’d expect from Vernon, using a very well known technique but in a very well hidden way. This enables you to locate a card the spectator has peeked and lost in the fairest (looking!) possible way. Reveal it in your favourite way. Again this can be done with a borrowed and shuffled deck.

Power of Thought – Paul Curry
This is a very powerful coincidence effect with two decks of cards. The spectator thinks of a card from the first deck – and it turns out to be the only one which matches with the second deck as they are dealt out together. This fooled me first time – which is quite rare – and the method is so simple yet devious you’ll love it. Some set up required but re-sets quite easily for subsequent performances. (Paul Curry is clearly a genius – if you liked this, check out Worlds Beyond, the book it comes from – full of more Curry magic)

What a Turn Up – Kaymar Magic
A small packet ‘do as I do’ – where you and the spectator both turn over a single card in a packet behind your back and they are found to match. Not a massive puzzler – but easy to do and a nice kicker at the end when all the other cards are seen to be jokers. It has the benefit of slipping in your pocket or wallet when you need a no-pressure trick to perform.

Route 1 – Dave Forrest
This is a very clever and fair looking ACAAN effect utilising two decks of cards. I love the sneaky and subtle method here – a great example of Dave Forrest’s lateral thinking. You will need to do a bit of work to set this up but it is well worth the effort. A few variations are suggested too.

Double Salto – William B Gibson
You and the spectator have half the deck each, then each choose a card and return it in the other person’s half. In an instant both cards reverse themselves in the re-assembled deck. Super simple to do – but with a strong impact on your spectator. You can do this any time with a one second setup. This is a classic effect.

Further than that – Stewart James
You read the spectator’s mind, spell to their card, produce the aces and a straight royal flush. Quite a lot of magic for almost no effort! There’s a setup (of course) but otherwise self-working – though a false cut or shuffle will significantly improve the impact of this. A great little trick.

So is it really awesome?

Yes – I think it is. The list of contributors alone should be enough to tell you that! The DVD is as usual very well produced. It has been shot in a variety of locations with a range of performers and the usual good-looking ladies to assist! Explanations are all clear and concise and for the most part the effects really are self working – in the sense of requiring no sleight of hand.

I keep wondering when they will run out of material for these kinds of disks, but I have to say that this feels like one of the strongest releases yet. They seem to have plumbed a few of the more classic routines which many newer magicians may have missed and made them more accessible by making a DVD of them. So I’m highly impressed by the collection – although one or two effects feel less strong I could see me using almost all of them in the right setting.

Highly recommended – and available direct from Merchant of Magic – £23.99

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