Similar in concept to the Mastermind deck, but each has its pros and cons. With this deck, you can
repeat the effect or get multiple people involved; with the Mastermind deck, you can't do either,
but you don't need to do any fishing to know what card the spectator has chosen. Depending upon
your presentation preferences, either or both may be suitable for you.
Some quibbles: the
suggestion in the documentation that you can hand this deck to a spectator and let them thumb
through it to make a selection, is absurd. No amount of audience management can prevent the
inevitable disaster that will eventually ensue if you hand the deck to a spectator and let them look
through it.
As for the reference to the Derren Brown routine, don't feel as if you're
missing anything by not having it. No, you can NOT deduce the card without fishing; the routine
involves tossing out a couple of early guesses that are thinly-disguised as "subtleties", but
they're only guesses. More times than not, you will be wrong. And frankly, tossing out guesses
that the spectator may recognize as cards that were physically near his chosen card, opens up a huge
can of worms that you'd rather leave undisturbed.
Bottom line: if you like mentalism with
cards, and don't mind routines that require a little fishing, and you have the presentation skills
to pull it off, you can really mystify people with this deck.
I agree, you can mystify people with this deck, just one consideration - it's yet another gimmicked deck that you will need to find space for in your pocket. Plus at some point you'll need to switch the deck in and out again to be totally clean.
You're also right about audience management - beware of friends grabbing the cards because the deck CANNOT be examined.
OMG, yet another misleading description:
"Spread a deck of cards face up on the table and ask a spectator to look at any card. No one else could possibly know the card because she never touches or names it. You concentrate, then slowly but surely read her mind and name the card!" Boom! Sounds great, except that's apparently NOT how it goes, and you have to fish around with questions or guesses.
Thanks for the helpful heads up.
