I'm puzzled as to how this trick could have been rated so highly. To begin with, the demo is worse
than misleading--it is virtually fraudulent. It seems clear that the selection is made from all the
bills placed randomly on the table. "You take out the bills from an envelope. Some of them say
'win' on the back, some of them say 'lose'. So you turn them over, mix them around and then the
spectator decides which bills they want and which bills they want you to have." The video seems to
support this--it looks as though the bills are spread out on the table and the subject is making a
free choice from among them. All of this is a lie. The bills are presented in pairs, unmixed, and
the subject is required to choose one. The trick is amazingly easy to figure out, when you see the
full performance. Moreover, under certain conditions, one is forced to finish with a magician's
choice, always a weak move. (Lax mentions one of the contingencies that might present problems, but
there is a second as well. This is when the subject consistently choses the smaller denomination.)
I realize that it is common practice in these demos to not show the entire performance, which is, of
course, a clue that the trick is not as good as they're making it look, but I did not think that
Penguin would stoop to downright deception.
While to do like this version of Bank Night (4 Stars), this reviewer is correct when he calls out some misleading (or apparently misleading) statements in the promotion. Rick does say that the magician "mixes" the bills. But he doesn't. Or at least Rick does not show us how. Rick? What did you mean by that? How would that be done? Thanks. Robaire
I also agree with this review. If the whole performance was shown most people with a bit of training would have a pretty good idea on how it is done. I too was impressed that the money could be mixed up and then set out on the table for free selection but it can’t.
Thanx OP, really appreciate your candidacy. <3
The "mixing" happens during the choice procedure!
It's not a shuffle,it's a "mix" this is why the kicker ending (not shown in the trailer) work so well!
Response to Emerson2006
The narration says you take the bills out, turn them over, mix them around, and then let the spectator decide which bills to choose. Are you seriously saying that that is an accurate description? Rick Lax.and Penguin need to apologize for this.
So,is GFactor your real name? Or are you hiding behind your laptop?
Mr Puzzled, thank you for your helpful review correcting the misleading advert.
Mr GFactor - the only one 'spewing negative comments' here is you - and whilst hiding behind a computer with your anonymized name.
What Penguin should really do is disallow aggressive, immature comments calling people names, then perhaps we could have a grown up discussion free from childish insults. This is supposed to be a community that people would want to be a part of, not a poor man's Twitter.
Yeah, I'm not a kid in my mom's basement, and I prefer when people leave honest reviews. If this did not happen, then I would not look at reviews at all. They would be useless. And I also believe in anonymity. The ad hominem attack on what sounds like an accurate and legitimate review is what should not be allowed. Why should a reviewer leave a name when they can be publicly attacked for no good reason (or in a civilized world, at all).
Why don't we let someone at Penguin respond to this? If the video or ad copy is in some way misleading, they've usually been good in the past about responding to legit criticism, but attacking someone for simply writing a criticism and expressing their opinion, "GFactor" calling 'Winggibbons" names - saying that he 'lives in his mom's basement' is incredibly immature and serves absolutely no purpose and I would hope that a moderator would be vetting these posts.
So is there any official response from Penguin regarding the allegation that this video is misleading?
I'm glad to see the responses to that inane posting. My name is Jack Bilmes and magic is something that interests me, nothing more. I don't perform. I am almost 80 years old and do not live in my mother's basement. I chose the 'anonymous' option pretty much without thinking. When I reviewed Nathan Kranzo's Dark Triumph, which had a similarly deceptive trailer, I used my real name and mentioned that it was me who had done the anonymous review of 'Money'.
Special thanks to those of you who have called Penguin (and Rick Lax?) out. They should explain themselves or apologize.
RICK LAX IS CAUGHT MORE TIME SELLING THE TRICK ANY WAY HE CAN TO GET THE MOST MONEY ,MAGICIANS LIE A LOT WHEN PERFORMING ,HE LIES A LOT TO SELL THE TRICK ,I CAN NOT TRUST HIM ANY MORE,TIME FOR ME TO MOVE ON.
Whether the reviewer wants to put his name on the review or not, some valid points are made. Too often Penguin creates misleading descriptions and videos. I am purchasing less since because of this.
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