Magic Tricks

This is a classic of magic, of course, and Michael Ammar continues to be a great teacher. If you are serious about card magic, you'll want to be investing in Ammar's old series, "Easy to Master Card Miracles" which is where I first learned this effect. (Disclosure: I'm reviewing this video in exchange for being provided a free download.)

If you like the effect and can see yourself wanting to amaze everyone with it, by all means purchase this right now!

But I have a few tiny quibbles.

First of all, the video is super short, about 6 minutes, only half of which is instruction. Normally this doesn't bother me. I feel, "don't make a video any longer than it needs to be." Still, the construction of the gaff could be explained a little better. It might have been a good idea to show how it is constructed on not only Bicycle, but also Tally-Ho, Bee, etc.. Which is best for this effect, and why? Are aces better, jokers, or face cards, and why? These questions are not addressed. It just feels a little rushed. That said, making the gaff is so simple that you can easily experiment until you get it just right for you. (Every pair of hands is slightly different.) It's not as if you won't learn how to do this. It's just that more detail could have been provided.

Another tiny quibble, the price point. List price is $10 for one effect? (Even on sale at $6 for one effect...) If you want to get serious about card magic, you would do well to invest in Easy to Master Card Miracles by the same teacher here, Michael Ammar. Penguin has these DVDs ranging in price from $26-36, most having 10-12 effects on it. That doesn't mean this download is "bad," but at $6 (or $10) for one effect, you'll find the DVDs are probably a better investment. (I can't remember what volume this effect is on, #5 or #6, but you'll end up wanting all the DVDs, I'm sure.)

Lastly, and maybe this is just me, but I've never been able to quite get the reactions I would like from this effect. It's like there's an optical illusion going on in front of the spectator's eyes. They don't gasp, they don't say, "How did you do that?" You know that optical illusion where you see a vase, or you could see two faces staring at each other? You look at that optical illusion and watch both effects flip back and forth, sort of hypnotized, wondering why your eyes are tricking you. That's what I get whenever I perform Close Up Illusion. It's not a magician providing some astonishment... instead it's like the spectator feels their own eyes are fooling them.

Again, maybe that's just me! But this is an effect that could really use a kicker. I've never quite figured out what to do, however. The cards can NOT be given out for inspection. And you can't really move on to something else with these three cards. (You can insert two of these three cards back in the deck, which only puts heat on the one card...and besides, I can't think of any full-deck trick that is a solid kicker to this effect.)

Add 'em all up, these tiny concerns, and I've got to deduct at least one star.