Magic Tricks

Ok, this is one of the first reviews that I actually feel guilty to write. Why? Because I have some inner conflict going on. Let me elaborate.

1. I always do honest reviews. With respect, with tact... but they have to be honest.
2. I really like Paul Gordon. I always like his tricks. He's a great teacher, obviously very talented, and has a great accent. Haha
3. See #1.

So here goes... Paul, please don't take this personal. None of us are perfect, even though you remind me on a magician version of James Bond.

Let's start with the positive:
1. This is self-working... beginners, get this trick to build some confidence. It's not a bad trick at all... it just doesn't blow my mind. (Wait. Positive points. Sorry.)
2. This teaches a basic principle you'll want to learn.
3. You can put your own spin on this and make it your own.
4. Paul Gordon teaches it.
5. Paul Gordon's accent.

Now the negative:
1. Meh. The trick doesn't blow me away. To be honest, the audience didn't seem to be blown away in the demo (though they were impressed). In fact, even Paul seemed to not have confidence in how the trick would be received... he tried to tell everyone: "and you've gotta give a good round of applause because the camera gets lonely up here, ok?" But hey, at least he said that on camera... not like, ahem, Mr. Jibrizy. LOL (if you're not sure, Google it)
2. The patter. Another meh. It just seemed a little weak to me.
3. The demo was kind of unclear to me about when the second spectator's number came from. I watched it several times thinking, "Wait. What did I miss?" I finally decided to just continue on when it became apparent that they were both using the same number (the number of cards in their cut packet). But then that rose a new question, "Hold up. Wouldn't they have the same card if they were both counting the same number from the top?" After watching more, it turns out that the second spectator chose only after he moved the cards counted from the spectator to the bottom. So the second's count did indeed start from a different place. I know this sounds obvious but it wasn't obvious to me after watching the demo several times. (I didn't see Paul move the first stack to the bottom. It should have been more obvious)
4. This is a $5 trick. I mean this respectfully. If I bought this for $5, I would be happy with the price. I just think it's a little overpriced.

All the above said, I would like to say though that the trick IS easy and self-working. It has some potential with a little more creativity in the presentation. I'm sorry Paul... it's not my favorite trick, but you're still awesome. I'll very likely perform this with like my family or some friends... something casual. It's a nice trick but not a reputation maker.

If you're a beginner, get this trick. (While it's discounted, especially.) This is a good confidence builder and teaches a basic principle you'll want to know. If you're intermediate or advanced, you're probably better buying one of Paul's other tricks.

As for the score, I don't think it's a terrible score. 3 out of 5 might sound pretty low... but generally I save 5s for extremely visual tricks. So most tricks are usually going to be four stars for a "good" trick in my personal opinion. 3 stars is simply one docked off of that four star soft upper limit.

Sorry Paul. I'm just being honest. But I have nothing but respect for you.

(By the way, I always try to be honest and straightforward in my reviews, while being respectful to the magician. If you appreciate my reviews, can you please click the "Yes" button below beside the question, "Did this review help you?" It's not like I actually benefit in any way by your clicking it... but it would be nice to see if my reviews are helpful or not. I hope they are. If you ever have suggestions or comments or questions about my reviews, please feel free to leave me a constructive comment. I'm just trying to be helpful. I love the Penguin community and hope that I can someday contribute my own product. :-) Thanks for reading and for any (hopefully positive, but either way, at least kind) feedback!)