What’s the effect?

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

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

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

What do you get?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cody Fisher – Las Vegas Aces – review

4.6 / 5 Reviewer

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The post Cody Fisher – Las Vegas Aces – review appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

I’ll start with a DVD – even though you know I prefer books! Terry LaGerould, as well as having an almost un-spellable surname, creates some brilliant magic. He is best known for his fabulous presentations – and when I discovered there is a new DVD out with some of his routines on I had to share it with you. This Session with Terry LaGerould DVD is clearly his second release. I haven’t seen it yet, but I suspect it would be a really beneficial watch if you want to learn from a master. £21.50

I much prefer taking a book away on holiday with me, and if I hadn’t just read this, it would certainly be in my bags. In fact, it is so good, I might take it and read it again anyway! If you’ve not heard of Maximum Entertainment, where have you been? This very readable book is jam-packed full of amazing practical advice to take your magic to the next level. The focus is not on the mechanics of tricks, but how to do them and routine them better. You are guaranteed to learn something. A great investment. Only £29.99

I know some people are a bit sniffy about close up mats. But we notice that Paul Romhany has just released a couple of new ones. The designs look quite elegant (pictured is the Regal Mat in Black), the size is sensible (10″x15″) and they are designed to be rolled up which makes them good for travelling with. Could be worth a look. £25.99

Here are a couple of new decks which have caught our eye. Although the NOC decks have been very popular and are now onto their third edition, if I’m honest I haven’t much liked the idea of some of the bright colours. But the new and understated Noc V3 Limited Edition White release looks good to me – and I rather like the sideways loading tuck case too. £11.99

You may recall we were rather covetous of the gorgeous prohibition playing card set – and it is good to see that many of the decks are now being released individually for those that couldn’t afford the whole presentation set. We rather like the Absinthe v2 deck recently released by Ellusionist – beautiful attention to detail makes this a very tasteful deck. £7.99

And finally, here’s a bit of fun. Remember the old ‘hot rod’ trick? Someone has thought of a brilliant way to make the prop seem much less like a prop – for a really impromptu seeming little effect. The search engine pen uses the logo of a well known search engine – you know who we mean – which changes colour to match a letter chosen by the spectator. Why didn’t we think of that? A great little pocket trick you can always have with you. Only £8.50

Have a great summer. We hope to be publishing a load of new reviews to keep you going over August – as ever – if there are things you would like us to review, comment below or contact us on Facebook.

The post Trick of the Month – August 2015 – holiday magic 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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