Reviews of products by Jon Racherbaumer
4 ★★★★★ reviews
3 ★★★★★ reviews
Playing Canasta
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Dan Sherer (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Thursday 18 September, 2025)
This is mostly good, though it has some copy-editing problems here and there. Worth a look if you like the sort of effect described.
All That Jazz
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Brian Marks (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 20 August, 2025)
This is one of my favorite effects, and I get several versions in one place.
The Complete Gypsy Switch Handbook
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Gregg Webb (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Monday 04 August, 2025)
The Gypsy Switch lends itself to a lot of variety as per the objects used and the effects possible and the stories that can be told along with these. The supposed origin of this technique was used in a way that played the locals for suckers. You (probably) won't use it in that way, but you can learn from it and tell about it in your story that you can tell about the routines in this book, or just keep it clean and use it for a great magic show piece.
Aenos 1 & 2
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Frank Machniak (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Friday 01 August, 2025)
Excellent book I was unfamiliar with!
Another Roadside Attraction
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Frank Machniak (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 08 March, 2025)
The work of Jon Racerbuamer is legendary. And to have it in this form is just wonderful. The quality and service are first rate.
Edward Marlo's Compleat Devilish Miracle
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Frank Machniak (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Tuesday 28 January, 2025)
Jon goes to great lengths to add detail to this classic. Gave me a lot to think about and use. It’s great the younger generations will be able to study these and move the art forward. Great value for the price.
When a Hat Drops
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by hal barlow (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Monday 16 December, 2024)
The title would inply that these are impromptu tricks. They are certainly good tricks, but most need gaffs of some sort. Not something you could do "at the drop of a hat".
A Hobsonian Handbook
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Larry Ekin (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 06 November, 2024)
Jon Racherbaumer's excellent treatment of Equivoke includes well-chosen examples to illustrate multiple ways to approach the subject. Well worth a read and re-read.
Analects and Analogues
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Larry Ekin (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Tuesday 05 November, 2024)
Some nice effects, all cards, many needing gaffs or stacks. I am not that much of a card guy but there is some food for thought.
Marlo's Chameleon Aces
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Howard Port (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Thursday 14 March, 2024)
Well-written review of the history and variations of Marlo's Chameleon Aces routine in which four red-back aces interchange with four blue-back aces one at a time. I would have given this a four but about 2/3 of the photos are missing from the pdf.
Speeding Bullets
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Howard Port (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 16 August, 2023)
I am a hobbyist, just retired, but I performed extensively in my twenties. This is a typical Racherbaumer book with a complete look at the seven-card assembly. The book includes many items by two of my favorites, Marlo and Steve Reynolds.
My rating is lowered because about fifty figures and photos are referenced in the text but not included. However, I have been able to figure out the workings of these items without too much trouble.
Robert Walker's Hyper Twist
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Russell Wagner (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 20 May, 2023)
Wonderful packet trick, I bought it the first time in 1976 from Paul Diamond, in Hollywood FL. He didn't think I would be able to do it hands to rough, I was a carpenter. Worked hard on it got it down went back and showed Paul, then spent the weekend for the next six months learning more about cards from Paul at his shop. Funny guy, was hard to get to know but once he saw you put in the time would go out of his way to teach you. Miss those days. Lol the packet trick is basically twisting the ace I've always enjoyed it. It's a bit longer but well worth learning.
Fifth-Business Monkey Business
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Dan Sherer (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 06 July, 2022)
As expected from Harry Anderson, it's full of good stuff. Well worth a read.
A Promising Premise
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Gareth Jones (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Friday 05 November, 2021)
Lazily compiled.
The entries in this book are cut and paste from other Racherbaumer sources, such as The Hierophant. No problem with that, that's what makes these "one plot" books great, the compilation of methods of a certain plot bringing them all together for those who may not have access to the original sources.
Unfortunately in this particular book, in-text references to non-existent photos are present. It's disappointingly lazy from Racherbaumer. Either include the photos or at least remove the references!
This annoying problem aside, the methods are all worth reading.
Burn: Surviving Riffle Forces
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Sarin Suriyakoon (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Friday 04 June, 2021)
A great resource to look into and tinkering with riffle forces. It's quite fun to play with all the moves that create the same result and see which one you like. The explanation is clear with some illustrations here that I can follow along with(except the first one). You might find 2-3 riffle forces you like in here.
Grand Hotel
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Sarin Suriyakoon (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 29 May, 2021)
I have seen the "hotel" plot from Allan Ackerman and was wondering if there is any streamlined or easier/shorter version out there. This one is really good. It shows you how you can do the same effect with different methods and choose the one you like. There is one big trick inside that I can't quite understand how it works and there is no illustration to help me through. The rest are great tricks and easy to understand.
Cull-Mination
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Sarin Suriyakoon (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 29 May, 2021)
I am a beginner in card magic and trying to move into intermediate rank. I find this ebook very useful especially convincing control and several ways to "control" multiple cards to "top" or "bottom" in a "cull" fashion. There are a lot of tricks explained here that use these moves which help you understand them better. This is almost like a study for one subject. Well researched and organized.
Piano Roles
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by J.A. Murphy (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 19 December, 2018)
Being a Racherbaumer publication, I suppose I should have expected all of the routines to involve cards, but being familiar with some of the wonderful non-card versions of this principle, I was hoping for more. A quick scan reveals one routine using business cards, the rest using playing cards. I'll probably eventually read them all, but it would have been nice to be forewarned that it's all cards.
The Universal Card
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Michael Lyth (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Tuesday 19 January, 2016)
I have not been able to find a printed copy of the author whose work and quality is well established so this will work well in my library and in time, I will put the practice into doing the effects justice
At the Table
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Paul Lelekis
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Thursday 02 July, 2015)
Jon Racherbaumer is a "magician's magician" and his magic is not only entertaining, but in Jon's hands it is inexplicable! I have been a huge fan of his for many, many years and I think that Jon's influence on my approach to magic has made me a better entertainer! Read what he has offered in this remarkable e-book - you won't be sorry!!
Holistic Hamman
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by David Martin (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 30 August, 2014)
This synergistic routine is par excellence!
If you, the reader, have never been introduced to Bro. John Hamman; then get ready to learn some great Hamman effects that you will perform every chance you get. If you're like me and own The Secrets of Brother John Hamman and The Card Magic of Brother John Hamman; don't think for a second that this manuscript won't benefit you as well. Even the Hamman enthusiast will be inspired to see how these effects are blended together to create a VERY STRONG synergistic routine that will leave your audiences stunned!
What starts out as a simple game with four queens turns into a whirlwind of stunning card magic. Cards vanish, transpose, and transform with no apparent manipulation. What a fantastic homage to Bro. John Hamman!
Good Turns
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Howard Port (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Monday 26 March, 2012)
This is a good overview of magic's "twisting" craze. Descriptions are good but bare bones, though Jon does describe what I think is an improved version of the Elmsley Count in the context of Vernon's original routine. You should know that a few illustratons are missing from this version, but this did not cause me any trouble. I think it is a good buy at $10.