I was really taken by this effect and the "cleanness" of it. I was looking for a "quickie" effect to learn and use in short order, as are most of the "deal of the day" inexpensive downloads. This ain't that.

First of all, I do like the effect. I have no doubt it works if mastered. Would have preferred much more info as to the level of expertise and setup required. That is the major reason for the low rating: lack of disclosure on the requirements of the effect.

I don't think this is giving anything away because I won't go into actual details. However, this effect requires a memorized, marked deck, and not just any marked deck. You have to mark it yourself using a "Braille" technique according to his system. This is tedious at best even if you have a device made for such work (and trust me, hardly anyone will!), but if you have to do it by hand, it will be difficult to do consistently and not mess up the cards until you learn the knack. Not to mention memorizing the deck - he says you can learn it in a week and teaches you his approach. Maybe.

Then there is some Binary math involved in the markings and their interpretation.

He teaches you how to do all of the above as part of the download, but sheesh...even HE gets confused trying to predict the card which will come up, and gets confused more than once with his own system that he has used for years and years. Given the ease of re-filming/editing, not sure why the failed attempts were even included, but glad they were.

So if I go to the trouble to make this deck up and learn the routine, what chance do I have to get a confident and successful performance in less than a year or two?

If you can get past the above and want a refresher in binary and work diligently, you may be able to do this effect in due time, and it will be something no other kids on your block are doing...

Before the flames start, let me say that I have been doing magic for over 30 years and have a minor in math. I LIKE math and already know binary. I like combining principles and I enjoy practicing and working on effects to get them down properly. You have to weigh the time investment versus audience entertainment value and decide for yourself. If I had known the above, I would not have bought the download. If the balance of effect vs. technique is right for you, go for it!

Properly performed, this will definitely fool your audience, magicians and layman alike, and, in the right hands (such as Ian's!) will be tremendously entertaining.
Ian credits Simon Aronson and Michael Close for precursor effects, but Ian's method has a significant extra subtlety which leads to a significantly cleaner effect.
As close to pure mind reading with a pack of cards as you're going to get.
Recommended!

A great and baffling effect. The principles here are something that you will use. This will take some practice but it will be worth it. The video is very clear and shows a number of presentations as well as an in depth explanation.