All of Diamond Jim's magicical effects are practical worker's and this lecture did not disappoint. He has a great delivery and is a fantastic teacher. This lecture provided dozens of easy to perform bar bets and other puzzles to stump the people you perform for...I cannot recommend this (or anything else Jim does) high enough...FIVE STARS +. Thank you Jim

I knew this was a whole thing of bar bets, so I really only have myself to blame for my disappointment. As someone who used to read every riddle and puzzle book in the library as a kid and who still subscribes to GAMES Magazine, this was a major disappointment. I guess I expected some fresh material, but instead I spent the entire video either saying, "Oh, it's this one. I know how this works," or "Oh, it's this one. What's the catch to it again? Oh, right." If you've watched Jim on Scam School, you're not getting anything different. Nothing particularly "magical" and not much related to presentation. Just a lot of "Hey, I bet you..." and then sitting there until they give up.

Diamond Jim Tyler's second Penguin lecture departs from the usual magic performance demo and teach-in, and moves into some different territory he's uniquely known for: Bar Bets.

Well, bar bets, puzzles, and stunts.

Technically not magic, but that doesn't mean they're not magical. In fact, one trick involving pennies is quite magical.

And another that uses straws is downright telekinetic...

And a REAL show piece!

Drawn from his Bamboozlers series of books there are over 40 bits of business taught on this lecture. Yes, FORTY.

Their practical and impromptu nature makes them the perfect interlude in a magical set, or when you just want to have a little fun.

I won't recount them all here... but I do want to share a few of the highlights... at least for me.

However, there's so many to choose from, you're bound to find a dozen or so that fit right into your own style of performing.

I'll start with Three Burnt Matches. If you're not familiar with this game, you'll be searching your kitchen drawer for a book of matches shortly after watching.

And hey, it's a fun way to win a dollar!

Another standout is the riddle, "KST." All you need is a piece of paper, a pencil, and these three letters, and you'll have a headscratcher.

There's the classic, Three Glass Betcha, try as they might, unless they know the secret/solution, they won't be able to match your actions, no matter how close they watch!

Then there's Soda Stunt... I won't ruin the surprise... but I've been doing this one for years since first watching Diamond Jim demonstrate it at a lecture. It just plain looks cool.

And there IS magic in this set too... Con Coin Prediction, sometimes called the Trick that Fooled Einstein is a solid piece of mental magic taught here that involves a series of three escalating predictions...

And Pennies From Heaven is a real fooler. I've done this for corporate folks and they were perplexed, they can't imagine where the extra coins go... it's almost like a fifth-dimension thing...

I mentioned the Telekinetic Straws earlier. I loved this... and no surreptitious breathing on the straws... or secret threads... they move by another force altogether. It's very cool.

There's some interesting math puzzles on here, similar to some memes you may have seen on social media, but I suspect you haven't seen these puzzles, specifically. One in particular I really liked was called, Bad Math 5555.

With a single stroke you solve a complicated math puzzle...

The solution is SO SIMPLE, but they will NEVER see it without your help. You'll see, it's awesome.

I'll stop here... but that's only EIGHT out of FORTY fantastic, fun, and fascinating puzzles you will enjoy watching, learning, and presenting.

Definitely a FIVE STAR lecture!

John Keever

If you were to tell me I was going to see a lecture all on bar bets I would have said no thank you, where is the magic? BUT... Diamond Jim Tyler did a great lecture all on bar bets that got me excited to try them. I found a perfect fit for these at my regular restaurant I work weekly and have been working for over a decade, they have see it all but they have not seen bar bets from me. It infused a new energy into just another night at my restaurant and I thank Jim for that.

Diamond Jim broke another record. 40 tricks / bar bets/ puzzles in a lecture, with enough time to talk about being a professional magician afterwards.

I subscribed to the lecture series for the purpose of experiencing DJ for the second time. These tricks and puzzles were used immediately. There were many gems that I will have ready for those frequent times I am asked for just one more. He even had a bonus trick that you could request and download. I hope Diamond Jim becomes an annual event.

The material is not bad. It was a slog of bet after bet, until my eyes glazed over. They are of varying quality, usefulness, and practicality. What can be said is that there is a lot to choose from. But what can be said is there is a lot that are not particularly interesting.

I have mentioned before elsewhere, but ratings on Penguin need to be more discerning. So many mundane items are given high scores. We all have a limited amount to spend (even if the limit is high), both money, but perhaps more importantly time. We should want to know were are getting the best value.

In this case, if you want a laundry list of bar bets, then go for it. But if you want to spend your time mire effectively, look elsewhere.

Many people will discount bar bets and cons as throw away filler. Those of us that perform regularly understand that these routines can be great ways to connect with audiences and create wonderful bridges between magic effects. There is SO much in here.

Many of these have been around for a while but this lecture was a great reminder of why. The static straw is a must for restaurant workers. The coin con from India is a great addition to my street con set. There WILL be something in here you will use. Just sit back and enjoy some fun!

Many people will discount bar bets and cons as throw away filler. Those of us that perform regularly understand that these routines can be great ways to connect with audiences and create wonderful bridges between magic effects. There is SO much in here.

Many of these have been around for a while but this lecture was a great reminder of why. The static straw is a must for restaurant workers. The coin con from India is a great addition to my street con set. There WILL be something in here you will use. Just sit back and enjoy some fun!

Many people will discount bar bets and cons as throw away filler. Those of us that perform regularly understand that these routines can be great ways to connect with audiences and create wonderful bridges between magic effects. There is SO much in here.

Many of these have been around for a while but this lecture was a great reminder of why. The static straw is a must for restaurant workers. The coin con from India is a great addition to my street con set. There WILL be something in here you will use. Just sit back and enjoy some fun!