Reviews: Read What hal barlow Is Saying
3 ★★★★★ reviews
5 ★★★★★ reviews
4 ★★★★★ reviews
2 ★★★★★ reviews
Smooth Honeycutter
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by hal barlow (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Tuesday 29 April, 2025)
Smooth indeed! Well worth the $8.
Bath Towel Mentalism: on steroids
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by hal barlow (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Thursday 20 February, 2025)
The ad copy should tell you that you need to buy 2 gimmicked decks and one regular deck. [Lybrary.com: Strictly speaking one can get the necessary cards in one particular gimmicked deck plus one regular deck.]
Borrowed Bill in Balloon
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by hal barlow (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Sunday 05 January, 2025)
This is a good idea and a good routine, but you will need to find a new method to gimmick the balloon, as the one given does not work well.
I found a way to do this and now use the trick to good effect. The effect is like the classic bill in lemon, but easier to prepare and no mess!
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".
Propless Name and Place in 45 Seconds
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by hal barlow (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 05 October, 2024)
This is not really like advertised. It uses a very contrived process that is nothing I would use. Not worth the money. The only deceptive thing about it is the way it's advertised.
A Very Great Deal
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by hal barlow (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Thursday 18 July, 2024)
The method and effect are good, but nothing new. It is the presentation and funny tag lines that make this a five-star. You will actually want to perform this just as it is written. It is not hard to do, and very entertaining.
Forgotten
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by hal barlow (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Monday 26 February, 2024)
A fun read. There is some useful material here. The more elaborate effects will require fairly good DIY skills, but as is suggested, this is material that has not been overdone.
Clockwork Magician
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by hal barlow (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 13 January, 2024)
I really like this! It uses an old principle that you already know, in a very commercial way. I have to say I didn't recognize it at first, due to the presentation. I think this is a real worker!
Hide and Seek
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by hal barlow (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 16 December, 2023)
A bit pricey for one card trick, but the trick is a good one. A novel plot well presented, and the instructions are excellent!
Easy Touch
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by hal barlow (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Tuesday 14 November, 2023)
This is very good. The method is simplicity in itself, but as I have found through using it, very fooling. This is one of my favorites of Ian's releases.
Tradeshow Transposition
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by hal barlow (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 30 August, 2023)
The trick is just glossed over. Not worth the money in my opinion.
Bammo Ten Card Poker Slam
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by hal barlow (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 26 July, 2023)
Good routine, but note that you will have to make or buy gimmick cards. For that reason, I gave it 2 stars. I think it should have been noted in the ad copy.
First Call to Cards
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by hal barlow (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Monday 24 July, 2023)
Occasionally interesting card material from the past. Most of the tricks do not seem very commercial. Much dealing and mathematical processes. There was nothing there I would ever show to a paying audience.
No Delay: Think Stop
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by hal barlow (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Friday 19 May, 2023)
There are better methods for this effect. What is presented is workable, but not revolutionary.
One Glass One Card One Box
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by hal barlow (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Friday 19 May, 2023)
This is a true sleeper! Not in a boring way, but in a fly-under-the-radar way. A clever, well-constructed routine that would make a nice opener. Might be the best $5 you will spend on magic this year.
Coffee Bones
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by hal barlow (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Friday 31 March, 2023)
You need more than dice and a coffee cup. Not a bad idea, but I didn't think it was worth $10.
Kings over Queens
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by hal barlow (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Thursday 09 March, 2023)
Great effect, but his instructions are a bit hard to follow. He gets mixed up at times and can't seem to remember what comes next. His accent does not help the effort. This is a very nice effect overall, but the explanation could have been enhanced with just a bit more effort.
Twist plus Bonus
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by hal barlow (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 01 February, 2023)
Not an improvement in my opinion. The added climax is weak and illogical.
Beyond Reloaded
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by hal barlow (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 01 February, 2023)
Overly complicated in my opinion. The ACAAN effect loses clarity and impact due to the structure of the routine. I feel the audience could get confused quite easily.
Die-Bolical ACAAN
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by hal barlow (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Tuesday 13 December, 2022)
This is not strictly ACAAN, but close, and quite clever. I fooled myself when I tried it out. Probably the best dice and cards trick I have seen.
Refining Vernon's 1-2-3
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by hal barlow (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Tuesday 19 July, 2022)
A simple clear plot finally gets a simple clear handling. This handling makes this wonderful trick easily accessible to most everyone with no loss of effect. Worth much more than the modest price of $4.
Four Told
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by hal barlow (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Monday 18 July, 2022)
Basically Al Mann's Ti-Id-El principle. This is a very good, more visual item. Very high level, believable, mentalism.
2020 Vision Fault
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by hal barlow (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 09 March, 2022)
Perfect large group card trick. Lots of comedy potential.
A Lesson in Card Magic
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by hal barlow (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 09 March, 2022)
A bit dated, but this idea has a lot of potential.
A Three Ring Routine
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by hal barlow (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 09 March, 2022)
Very practical. No fancy moves, but short and effective.
Ring and Silk Progression
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by hal barlow (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 23 February, 2022)
This is at best a mediocre trick. The author spends most of the book trying to convince us how presentation makes the trick into a minor miracle. It doesn't in this case. His theories on what makes a trick an experience of magic is very long-winded and tedious.