Magic Tricks

TITLE and Creator: Powerball 60 by Richard Sanders and Bill Abbott

Effect: A spectator, or multiple spectators, thinks of a number between one and sixty. After looking through your losing lottery tickets, you reveal EXACTLY which number they were thinking of.

Price: $40 on the dot

Teaching: I have to say right off the bat, I didn't watch the DVD that came with the product first. I downloaded the PDF right away because I didn't have a DVD player handy at the moment. I found that after reading the PDF that you can download that the DVD probably wasn't necessary.

To start, I will focus the review of the teaching portion on the written instructions that came via downloaded PDF from the web upon entering my product code. The PDF instructions are SUPERB. Within LITERALLY one minute I had the method down pat. The rest of the PDF goes into different presentations, some different reveals, and some different overall routines.

The PDF is well written with excellent illustrations and photos when they are beneficial. It's easy to navigate and covers MANY different things that can be done with the product, from a single person, to multiple people, to even a method that works with you not even in the same room as the person. The instructions even go so far as to give you some pretty good scripting that you can use to go with each different routine. The scripting, in my opinion, is pretty good but if you don't like what's provided it is still probably a good starting point for you to modify to come up with something that will work for you.

A few days after getting the trick, I took some spare time I had to watch the DVD, which is very well put together. The audio and video are great, the menu is nice, and the graphics/editing seem to be done very well. Richard and Bill split screen time, and each of them give you hints and tips on how to use the product.

The first bit of the DVD is an in depth explanation of how the trick works. It shows you how to do it, all the ins and outs of the product, and what you do to figure out the secret number.

It then moves on to a set of sections where Richard explains one routine, then Bill explains one routine. Those are the only routines on the DVD. The two that they show are pretty good ones, but I was hoping for some more live performances of different routines. The routines they show also only include one live performance for each one. I was hoping to get a few more views of live performances so that I could hear the patter that they use for the trick. So I was a bit disappointed with the amount of routines showcased, and the amount of live performances given.

The last section of the DVD goes into some hints and tips for what to do if you miss the secret number during the trick. Ways to play it out a bit longer so that you can make sure you've got the correct one. Things like that.

Overall, the quality of the DVD was very good, but I was hoping for a bit more out of it. Maybe I would have felt differently about the DVD had I not read the PDF first...but in terms of content the PDF absolutely SMASHES the DVD.

If you get this trick, watch the DVD definitely...but do yourself a favor and ABSOLUTELY download the PDF file from the website that is mentioned inside the package. The PDF contains so many more routines and so much more information that it is a must have for this trick.

Quality of materials: The quality of the materials, in my opinion, is absolutely perfect. The scratch off instant lottery tickets look JUST like the real thing...all the way down to the perforations on the edges where they would have been hooked together. You even have to actually scratch them off before you perform the trick, so if you so choose you could even leave some of the scratch off silver paint on the ticket. You COULD even leave them completely covered, and have your spectator actually scratch them off HERSELF and work that into the routine. There isn't much that I would change about the gimmick. Even the instructions and information on the BACK of the ticket appears to be really accurate and believable.

Difficulty: I am a beginner when it comes to magic. I've been doing some small tricks for years, but just recently got seriously interested in it as a hobby. As such, I don't have great control over tricks that require major sleights or any kind of really advanced handling. I can honestly say that this trick is DECEPTIVELY easy. Like I mentioned earlier, I literally had the method down in under a minute, and was practicing less than five minutes later. The hardest part about this trick will be not laughing when people start to react to the reveal. I have no problem saying that I don't think that anyone would have any serious trouble learning this trick. Another advantage is the fact that there is ZERO reset in order to be able to do the trick again. There might be a VERY slight reset for SOME of the routines, but for most of them the trick resets as soon as it is done, so you are ready for your next group or person.

Applications: This trick would be ideal for just about anyone. The routines given in the PDF vary from close up to on stage. So anyone could use it for close up, for street work, for restaurant work, or even for stage work. It would also be an ideal trick for any level of magician...from someone that's just getting started to a seasoned pro. Very shortly after getting the trick even a beginner will be able to perform it with good results, most of the effect (as with any effect) will be in the delivery and the words you use, but the actual trick itself will be able to be done in nearly any venue by any magician almost immediately after getting the trick.

One nice thing about this trick that seems to be a bit different than most that I have is that I don't think there's any problem performing this trick more than once for the same group. With many tricks, you don't want to perform it over and over again because someone might catch on, or the reset might be visible, or you're worried that the impact will be less...but with this trick I don't think that's quite as much of an issue. Because there is zero reset you don't have to worry about someone seeing a method...and because everything is done in the spectator's and the magician's head, there isn't any movement to catch on to. It also seems to keep the tension going after you've already done it once. My wife is my guinea pig for tricks that I get. This is one of the only tricks that I have that she has asked me to do over and over...and each time I did it she seemed even more baffled. Of course, the spectators will realize that the lottery tickets have something to do with the trick, but even after watching it several times the method still won't be clear to them. They'll just be more amazed that you get it right EVERY TIME.

In Closing: I think that this effect is absolutely awesome. I know that it's a new version of a trick that's been around for a good long while, but the lottery tickets are something that EVERYONE can relate to AND they are an everyday object, so it's not odd at all that you are carrying them around with you. From what I understand, the older versions of this trick aren't as practical and don't use an object as common as the scratch off tickets, and for that reason alone this trick is probably better than the other ones.

The DVD, in fact, in my opinion might be the only down side to this trick. I would rather have paid $10 less and NOT gotten a DVD at all BECAUSE the PDF is so good. With that said, I still VERY MUCH feel like I got my money's worth out of this trick.

Overall Rating: 10-Yes, it's that awesome.