Ok, this is one of the first reviews that I actually feel guilty to write. Why? Because I have some inner conflict going on. Let me elaborate.

1. I always do honest reviews. With respect, with tact... but they have to be honest.
2. I really like Paul Gordon. I always like his tricks. He's a great teacher, obviously very talented, and has a great accent. Haha
3. See #1.

So here goes... Paul, please don't take this personal. None of us are perfect, even though you remind me on a magician version of James Bond.

Let's start with the positive:
1. This is self-working... beginners, get this trick to build some confidence. It's not a bad trick at all... it just doesn't blow my mind. (Wait. Positive points. Sorry.)
2. This teaches a basic principle you'll want to learn.
3. You can put your own spin on this and make it your own.
4. Paul Gordon teaches it.
5. Paul Gordon's accent.

Now the negative:
1. Meh. The trick doesn't blow me away. To be honest, the audience didn't seem to be blown away in the demo (though they were impressed). In fact, even Paul seemed to not have confidence in how the trick would be received... he tried to tell everyone: "and you've gotta give a good round of applause because the camera gets lonely up here, ok?" But hey, at least he said that on camera... not like, ahem, Mr. Jibrizy. LOL (if you're not sure, Google it)
2. The patter. Another meh. It just seemed a little weak to me.
3. The demo was kind of unclear to me about when the second spectator's number came from. I watched it several times thinking, "Wait. What did I miss?" I finally decided to just continue on when it became apparent that they were both using the same number (the number of cards in their cut packet). But then that rose a new question, "Hold up. Wouldn't they have the same card if they were both counting the same number from the top?" After watching more, it turns out that the second spectator chose only after he moved the cards counted from the spectator to the bottom. So the second's count did indeed start from a different place. I know this sounds obvious but it wasn't obvious to me after watching the demo several times. (I didn't see Paul move the first stack to the bottom. It should have been more obvious)
4. This is a $5 trick. I mean this respectfully. If I bought this for $5, I would be happy with the price. I just think it's a little overpriced.

All the above said, I would like to say though that the trick IS easy and self-working. It has some potential with a little more creativity in the presentation. I'm sorry Paul... it's not my favorite trick, but you're still awesome. I'll very likely perform this with like my family or some friends... something casual. It's a nice trick but not a reputation maker.

If you're a beginner, get this trick. (While it's discounted, especially.) This is a good confidence builder and teaches a basic principle you'll want to know. If you're intermediate or advanced, you're probably better buying one of Paul's other tricks.

As for the score, I don't think it's a terrible score. 3 out of 5 might sound pretty low... but generally I save 5s for extremely visual tricks. So most tricks are usually going to be four stars for a "good" trick in my personal opinion. 3 stars is simply one docked off of that four star soft upper limit.

Sorry Paul. I'm just being honest. But I have nothing but respect for you.

(By the way, I always try to be honest and straightforward in my reviews, while being respectful to the magician. If you appreciate my reviews, can you please click the "Yes" button below beside the question, "Did this review help you?" It's not like I actually benefit in any way by your clicking it... but it would be nice to see if my reviews are helpful or not. I hope they are. If you ever have suggestions or comments or questions about my reviews, please feel free to leave me a constructive comment. I'm just trying to be helpful. I love the Penguin community and hope that I can someday contribute my own product. :-) Thanks for reading and for any (hopefully positive, but either way, at least kind) feedback!)

First of all, if you work with cards at all, I recommend every download Paul has released.

And if you normally don’t work with cards, but find yourself occasionally in the situation where somebody hands you a deck of cards and says, “You’re a magician, wow me!”, this would be a great efffect to hit them with and then drop the mic and walk away.

What is presented in the trailer is really fun and fooling, but in the video, Paul elaborates on options that I like even better. Then Dee Christopher (who’s running the camera) adds another twist that takes it in more of a mentalism direction (great stuff Dee!)

I like to do tricks sometimes where it does look like I got it wrong, only to find out I got it right. That can be really powerful. But this trick is flexible. It’s self-working and could be performed without “getting it wrong” first. Could be done in total silence, just staring at the participants and seemingly stopping at a “felt” card for each one, only to reveal that you’ve hit their cards with deadly accuracy. Spelling out the wrong cards really doesn’t have to be part of the trick.

There are no cons to this trick.

Borrowed deck if you like.

Spectator shuffles.

One spectator selects a random number.

No force of any kind.

Two spectators remember two different, random cards located at that random number position in the deck.

You really don’t know their number or the cards, but you deal right to their cards with deft accuracy.

If the deck wasn’t borrowed, they’d think you were working with a marked deck!

It’s strong enough for workers, yet easy enough for beginners!

As always, Paul’s teaching is clear and concise. He’s a fantastic and articulate presenter and teacher. I’ll use this effect for sure!

This is great for beginners, or for intermediate/advanced magicians who just want to add an impromptu trick to their repertoire that doesn't need a bunch of memorization or preparation. Just remember that the patter is what makes this a sneaky "trick" VS just interesting card math.

It doesn't take much thought to remember how to do it, so can be a go-to affect anytime you want to use a borrowed deck. Make sure all cards are there, as one thing Paul didn't really cover is the importance of ensuring that no cards are missing, and that jokers need to be removed (exactly 52 cards need to be present, no more and no less). That, along the fact that it is a bit mechanical, are the reasons for it losing one star from me.

I like Paul Gordon and his work a lot. His Penguin lecture and his Ace routine are both excellent. This is not quite in the same league. If you are looking for a trick with little hard work, this is a pretty good one. It is "self-working" if you like that title for pieces that don't require any/much sleight of hand.
I have two issues with the piece: one is that it requires a full deck. When I am working, because of the kind of things I often do, I rarely have a full deck and thus couldn't use this; two is that there is a lot of procedure which needs two very careful and attentive spectators. If they have been drinking or the atmosphere is loud, this is not the trick to use.
On the other hand, if you are looking for something to show friends or family, or even a special piece to show a really great table, this might fit. It depends on your own performing style. I highly recommend Paul's Gordon's other works. They are full of good material.

They shuffle the deck, you can use any deck - their deck, it's self working, it’s a card trick, it’s a mental effect, it’s so easy to do, no gimmicks to make or add … what more do you want? As always, Paul Gordon does an amazing job of teaching and presenting this trick. I know that some of you out there don’t like spelling tricks but don’t forget that it’s not about you, it’s about amazing away your spectators and creating a minor miracle in front of them that they will remember and tell others about. With this trick, you are going to come off looking like miracle maker, the finale will ‘blow them away'. Because it’s self-working, all your energy can be spent working on the build up, your patter and showmanship, the rest is easy. You can repeat it immediately spelling different cards and it will still be very magical. Buy this, you won’t regret it.

Impromptu, uses their shuffled deck, self-working, and it's by Paul Gordon! What more could you want? If you like the demo, you'll love this.

I'm a big fan of Paul Gordon. He's a great creator, provides excellent teaching, and is entertaining to watch. Be sure to check out his other tricks on Penguin. I'm sure you'll find several that you will like!

This is a nice self-working trick that is entirely impromptu. It involves a bit of dealing/counting, but all of it is well-motivated. None of it feels gratuitous. And the method is all but impossible to reverse engineer. It will fool almost anyone.

Simple , direct , a great trick to have in your arsenal, clear concise teaching as always from Paul Gordon, with a nice touch of supermarket music in the background:)
This may well fool your smart magician mates as well as slay Lay audiences

OK - I HATE tricks with SPELLING and CARDS. HATE THEM. I almost passed up on downloading this one after seeing the trailer. Then it hit me! w Serious card guys can poke fun at the old spelling tricks that everyone learned as a kid by using this ruse. It's fantastic as a kicker. Well worth it. Paul is always a great teacher and creator. Done. Easy. worth getting!

This download presents a self working trick using a principal that can be extended and changed and lis limited only by your imagination. I really like the trick and with a little practice I will be adding it to my impromptu routine.