Magic Tricks

I almost never write negative reviews, as I generally abide by the old "if you can't say anything good..." adage. But I have to say, I feel like I've been "had" for paying 50 dollars for this.

It was obvious from the video that the markings were somehow physical in nature and not visual, but I was expecting it to be a little more subtle and undetectable. The gimmicking on the cards seems VERY crude and obvious to anyone touching the deck for more than a second. And I have to say, the instruction video is a little confusing; I had to watch one part several times to try and understand what he's saying about counting the cards. This has nothing to do with his English, but rather his speeding through things in a way that you keep having to replay the video and try to decipher what the heck he's talking about.

For $19.95, I might be a little more forgiving of this card marking. But for $49.95, nope. The deck is like something you'd expect to find in a dime store magic shop, alongside stuff like Svengali and tapered decks. Without totally giving away the secret, I reiterate that it's very crude and obvious, like a marked deck for little kids or something. I can't imagine that you could let anyone examine this deck without them instantly calling foul. Your mileage may vary, and I don't enjoy saying negative things about those who spend their time and effort creating card tricks, but this one's a bust for me. I understand that what you're paying for with these tricks is the secret knowledge behind the trick as much as for the cards themselves, but this "secret" just isn't sophisticated enough to justify the price, IMO. All I could keep thinking was, "This is the secret?! I spent 50 bucks for this"?!