The Svengali deck is a great deck. Yes it's a very simple gimmick and a lot of people know about it: however, the effect is way to big to be without for those who don't. Besides if you are good with sleight of hand and usually use a normal deck you can just do a deck switch later on and people will believe that it was a normal deck.(idea, no method)

However: small warning. In my experience, riffle shuffling the deck is not something you are going to want to do. Can you get away with it?: If the deck is in new condition and you are very careful, but I feel it's a little misleading to say that you can do that with a Svengali and not risk ruining the trick. My recomendation: get the trick, but don't count on riffle shuffling.

I'll begin by assuring y'all that penguin magic sent me a great stripper deck, and gave good service/timing. However, the svengali deck was of poor quality (the cut): the gap at the end was too much, and the repeating cards were too obvious as a result. I would advise less cut overall, and having it at both ends to disguise the tailoring.

The Svengali deck is an awesome deck that I think pros and rookies should have at least once throughout their lives. Some people automatically think trick deck but this can be solved by putting it in your pocket and then pulling out a normal deck when they ask to see it after being awe struck by the trick. Anyhow, Like i said, i think all magicians should have this trick at some point. Go ahead get it! (I also think all magicians should get the invisible deck as well)

When I was a kid I had a Svengali deck with such a weird back that it was obviously a gimmicked deck. It is good to have a Svengali deck that looks like a regular Bicycle Rider-back deck of cards. A very effective presentation is to perform a Svengali routine, do a quick deck switch with a regular, matching deck, perform a couple of tricks with that deck and then let the deck be examined. The only issue I have with this deck is the gimmicked cards are a little too gimmicked, so I am having a harder time handling the cards in a normal manner than I have had with some other Svengali decks I have used. I assume it is just this particular deck I got, so I am not too worried about it. After this deck wears out I have will have no hesitation about buying another.

Svengali's are the best. Trick decks should never be an alternative to practicing skill, but when properly used they can slay audiences. Svengali decks are no exception. With the proper care and handling, svengali decks will drop the jaws of even those laymen who think they 'know' how it's done. This deck is of the same high-quality bicycle stock as normal cards. With they bicycle brand back you have the added bonus of the cards being familiar to your audience. All the easier to switch it out for a normal deck for those grabby specators

Hi! This is B_Magic.

Svengali Deck, try as I might, is simply something I cannot recommend. It may be fun for beginners, but even then I can't recommend it because it's best effect can be accomplished with basic sleight of hand, and the sleights will be more useful than a non-inspectible, gimmicked deck of cards. I think people would be much better off purchases Daryl's Ambitious Card DVD and a regular deck of cards. You'll get more fun, more amazement, and a lifetime more use out of that then Svengali Deck.

If you really want something that does all the work for you, then by all means go for it. I understand that my review comes with my personal bias toward learning magic and not being handed magic. But just be careful, this trick does not tend to promote good presentation or practice techniques, which is why most of the time I see it performed, it's performed poorly. You will have to work to make this look good to your audiences, in which case, why not put that work into something that will last?

B_Magic

This was my first effect ever purchased and I love it because I wouldn't be into magic without it! It's great for the beginner for many reasons, its simple, has an amazing effect, many possibilities and most of all is fun to perform. Any beginner will have their spectators in WOW when doing this and only takes a little practice!

I love the svengali deck. It was one of my first trick decks that I ever owned, and I remember even to me the trick looked like a miracle even though I knew how it worked. The first time I performed this for my friends, they nearly tackled me trying to figure out how it worked. This is how strong the trick can be. There are a multitude of effects that can be performed with this deck. Although you can in fact use this deck to transform all the cards in the deck to one card, nowadays I prefer a more subtle use of the deck (perhaps as a forcing deck or something of that nature). All in all, if you are unfamiliar with this deck, do not hesitate to buy it. It's one of the strongest trick deck effects ever.

This is a classic effect and bicycle are the leaders in card magic. I use this effect on the streets and it blows people away. This is another effect where the possibilities are endless, only limited to your imagination.

This can work for stage, street or close up magic.
The quality of the deck is as high as any other bicycle product, 5/5!

If you would lije to perform in front of anybody and you are not a pro. This is the deck to go. It can be used endless times and the knowledge on shuffling cards or else is minimum. Buy it now!