This is my first review for Penguin and while I have bought several things from them I actually have
owned this before it was available on Penguin. After seeing the trick performed in French, was
intrigued by all of the changes. I will say that the video is fairly accurate in effect. The video
instructions were in French with english subtitles but was not difficult to follow. Without giving
it away, obviously the deck is not examineable as it has gimmicks of the
What you get:
The Deck
Some extra "material" for deck repair.
Angles:
Not too bad, most
bad angles can be blocked by your handling with the exception of the box change...only 180 there.
Pros:
Very visual changes one of which seems to happen in the spectators hands if
presented properly.
Cons:
Only one trick with this deck, so either be ready for a deck
change or using it as the last...even in the french performance after the trick is done he picks it
all up and walks off.Also, without giving too much away, only one of the changes is done "hondo"
style, the other you do manually.
Overall:
While I am not a big fan of gaffed
decks, as I would prefer just improving my card handling skills, the effect is pretty amazing to the
spectator. I have performed this trick probably fifty or so times and always gets a very good
reaction. I usually do end with this trick or switch to other tricks not using cards. Price wise I
felt it was worth the money.
I am not at the level of magic that you are., I am about a couple of years beginner.. but I could not follow the French subtitles, I had to constantly pause the video to get the basic idea of it.
But did not understand the complete performance as it was not explained very well.
I did like the whole idea, and it seems to be a great stunner, only
if you are a very good magician.
I'll split the difference on the comments about the French tutorial. I am not by any measure a skilled magician but I could fairly easily learn the trick via the English subtitles. That's the good news. The bad news is that not everything was translated. So, the possibility arises that some tips for giving a smoother performance -- the fine points that make all the difference -- may well have been missed. I'm sure that js753 can also learn to perform the trick if he gives it another go. Pausing the video and watching more than once is fair game. (I long ago lost track of how many times I've watched Shin Lim's excellent video for his 52 Shades of Red performance. Trying to get the details down is part of the fun. But, then again, I'm old enough to have learned some patience (a lot more patient, I fear, than skilled!)
In any event, the effect is visual and quite pleasing to non-magicians. True, you can pass out nothing (everything is gimmicked) but that doesn't bother me as it once did back when I'd avoid tricks that can't be performed clean. It finally occurred to me that I'm not pretending to be performing magic -- just entertaining those who enjoy being mystified a bit by the trick's effect. Unless one is performing to impress magicians, it makes no difference whether one is working "clean" (i.e., is able to distribute, or seem to distribute, all that was used in the performance) or dirty. It also doesn't matter how much skill the magician demonstrated since it should ALWAYS appear that the magic is effortless. No points are awarded for level of difficulty by the layman.
The layperson is interested simply in the effect and in whether the magician is entertaining or obnoxious, charming or awkward, natural or showing off, aggressive or laid-back, self-focused on fooling him or other-focused on providing him enjoyment.
There is, by the way, a little construction involved when you buy the trick. It's not quite ready right out of the box. (It involves a little bit of sewing -- nothing difficult but perhaps a little unfamiliar to some.)
A finger stutter had me sending off my review before I could implement my intention to edit what I had jotted down. I'll just amend the end of my first paragraph.
"Trying to get the details down is part of the fun. But, I'm old and have learned some patience, more from necessity than wisdom. Time, repetition, and practice partially compensate when skills aren't mastered. Some may never be mastered, but progress has to be respected as much as mastery if mastery itself has any hope of arriving."
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