Emotional intelligence is the daily deal for only 15 dollars. I have only a tiny amount of mentalism experience. Is it worth it?

Have you read the reviews in the listing? There are 66 of them (both good and bad.) That will likely give you a better idea of what "the people" think of it, than with the relative handful of folks who frequent this board on any given day.

The initial reviews (I didn't read all 66) said that it's good for mentalism beginners, which it sounds like you are. The other thing that caught my eye was that it is multi-phased; And I like effects that have multiple magical moments.

My stockpile is already mentalism-heavy, so I won't be getting this. But it sounds like it might be what you're looking for. And besides, at that price, if you buy it and decide the effect is not for you, you should be able to get most or all of your money back on re-sell.