Reviews: Read What Paul Philavong Is Saying
The Magician's Dream: a practical solution for any card at any number
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Paul Philavong (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Monday 21 November, 2011)
There are eight tricks in this booklet and neither of of them is a full hands off "ACAAN" as the original Berglas effect.
The cards are being too much "handled" as in a self-working mentalism card trick by either the spectator or magician in the process to make the trick work. For example:
Trick #1 - Random ACCAN - This involves 2 sprectators: spec #1 think of a card, spec #2 think of a number. So far so good, but then the deck is introduced and spec #1 deal the cards down and when he sees his card he is asked to remember the number where his card falls and cut the deck a certain way. Then spec #2 is given the deck and count down to the number he was thinking of and remember the card that fall in that position, blah-blah-blah and etc.... In short convoluted, boring and definitely not close to the Berglas ACAAN.
Trick #2 - ACAAN on Demand - Cards are not shown from the get go, ask spec to think of a card, then get a deck of card and have a number chosen.
Trick #3 - Perfect ACAAN on Demand - Cards are not shown from the get go, then they come out of magician's pocket uncased.
Trick #4 - Mixed Revelation - After thinking of a card and a number, spec is asked to do something with a certain card and then guided to do a shuffle.
Trick #5 - Final Cut Version #1 - Memorization is needed, cards are not shown from get go, when they are shown the magician touched it too long.
Trick #6 - Final Cut Version #2 - No memorization needed, cards are not shown from the get go and a set pattern and some calculation need to be done to get the trick to work.
Trick #7 - Dream - Make use of the "Oops I made a mistake let's do over" excuse and use sleight of hands to get the card to the desired position and bet that the spec will stay with the same card in the do-over phase - silly.
Trick #8 - Lucifer - Make use of a different trick to get the card to the desired position and then suggest to spec, let's do try and ACAAN trick - as silly as the one above.
Overall review: very disappointed.
Attacking ACAAN
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Paul Philavong (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Monday 21 November, 2011)
There are 4 Tricks in this booklet, neither one of them will give you the satisfaction that you came very close to the Berglas Effect.
Trick #1 - Psychometry Cards - Not ACAAN by a long shot but has a good potential to be a classic of magic.
Trick #2 - T Minus 1 - It is an ACAAN but at the end you, the magician, will never get the full satifaction of feeling like being the "hero" of the show.
Trick #3 - ACAAN OCD - Not an ACAAN because the cards are not shown from the get go, and when they finally make their appearance, they are uncased and it involves sleight of hands.
Trick #4 - Almost ACAAN - The world "Almost" in the title should give you a hint. This method involves additional props.
My last word on this booklet: if you are seriously seeking for something close to the "original and acclaimed" Berglas effect, you will be disappointed. I was.