Reviews: Read What Others Are Saying: page 10
216 ★★★★★ reviews
150 ★★★★★ reviews
93 ★★★★★ reviews
138 ★★★★★ reviews
The Exception
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by John Paul (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 14 December, 2024)
I purchased this effect after coming across discussions of it on a few magic forums. It really does live up to the hype. Often one will find themselves purchasing effects that don’t live up to the hype, or where the ad copy is misleading in some way. Neither of those things was the case here. I can totally see why this fooled many top-flight card guys. As someone who is a fairly knowledgeable card magician themselves, I didn’t have any proper ideas on how this was accomplished when I saw the trailer. The method really surprised me, in a good way.
While I won’t be using this often, simply because I don’t perform for magicians often, this would make for a great performance piece to show your magician friends. It’s meaningless to perform it for lay spectators because they won’t be able to appreciate the impossibility of it, at least not in a way that a magician would be able to.
Even if you don’t ever perform the trick, it’s worth purchasing just to learn the method, which, with some thought, has other uses as well. It’s a powerful and deceptive tool to add to your knowledge.
Reverse Rings Mystique: Magic More Series
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Brad Smithart (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 14 December, 2024)
This routine reverses the normal linking ring plot of sequentially linking the rings, instead focusing on the unlinking process (or "breaking the chain") and introducing several unique ring handling techniques. It is written in a somewhat scientific tone.
It includes not only the mechanics but also the rationale for the choices made in designing the routine.
Another Sampler: Werner Miller
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Brad Smithart (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 14 December, 2024)
This short ebook contains more well-written and -illustrated samples of mathematical effects from Werner Miller.
It contains over 15 tricks using a variety of different props.
Abraca-Poof August 2017
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Brad Smithart (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 14 December, 2024)
The author discusses three types of magician personalities he has encountered.
He also includes tips for building a backdrop, instructions for making a rip-open change bag, as well as other useful articles.
Abraca-Poof August 2016
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Brad Smithart (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 14 December, 2024)
This issue contains an interesting article on magicians who "steal" bookings by undercutting the prices of other magicians.
It also provides advice on marketing your services as an investment, on non-verbal communication, and on the rewards of planting seeds of kindness.
Abraca-Poof April 2017
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Brad Smithart (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 14 December, 2024)
This issue contains another article on invoicing for charity shows.
It also includes an entertaining article on music licensing, among others.
Blistr
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Gregg Webb (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 14 December, 2024)
I didn't want the kind you stick to your fingers, which may be good if you are a real gambler. No, I wanted one that you use in private to mark cards for magic or mental magic. This is exactly what I was looking for. I use it all the time and I love it. Great for a key-card. It is a tactile instead of a visual clue.
Scripted #15: cut and restored ribbon
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Brad Smithart (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 14 December, 2024)
The "cut and restored ribbon" (originally done on a smaller scale with a straw and string) is a standard beginner magic trick. The author extends the handling with some new approaches to deal with the larger tube, and provides a full script to provide cover for the idiosyncrasies in the inherent handling of the effect and the his specific approach.
One of the most interesting things in this "Scripted" series is the author's detailed explanation of the thinking behind the creation of the script. His clever solution wraps the performance around the story of the classic "sawing a lady in half" trick.
This is another excellent release in this consistently excellent series.
Multiplying Golf Balls
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Brad Smithart (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 14 December, 2024)
My professional set of billiard balls was destroyed when my workshop collapsed, so I decided to look at a DIY alternative. This product was a perfect fit. It provides solutions for some of the challenges I faced in my own designs.
Keep Calm and Do It Yourself
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Brad Smithart (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Friday 13 December, 2024)
A handful of DIY projects.
The most tempting to me was a Magic Painting routine.
Tricks Without Names
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Brad Smithart (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Friday 13 December, 2024)
Subtitled "A Mathemagical Medley of Semi-Automatic Tricks," this collection contains effects designed for both regular and ESP cards.
Not all of the tricks are entirely self-working and may require some sleight of hand.
Generally, they are structured like other similar mathematical tricks, and the explanations are very well written.
The Exception
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Tom Vella-Lott (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Friday 13 December, 2024)
I've been a hobbyist magician for nearly 20 years. I've read a lot of books, watched a lot of lectures and tutorials and purchased a lot of products. This has got to be one of my biggest regrets of all time. If it wasn't for the fact some random dude messaged me on reddit asking him if I knew how it was done, I'd have never found this trick. I watched the live performance twice and was intrigued by how fair it seemed so I bought it, I read the PDF and I am actually angry. This is not 100% reliable. There are at least 3 factors that could easily go wrong. The method is impractical and convoluted. I can't say more without hinting at the method but do yourself a favour and don't spend your money on this; Just do Vernon's Emotional Reaction (from Dai Vernon's Inner Secrets of Card Magic) and don't worry about trying to fool magicians. Even if you pulled this off, the effect is so mediocre they'll forget about it in two minutes.
Victory Cartons
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Brad Smithart (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Friday 13 December, 2024)
Unfortunately, this minimal ebook doesn't add anything to all of the other easily available literature on this classic effect.
Limitless: more than 50 effects using the Romero Box
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Brad Smithart (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Friday 13 December, 2024)
I was not familiar with the Romero Box before reading this book, but it is built on several familiar principles.
The gimmick no longer appears on any of the online magic stores I checked, but is apparently still available from the creator's official site.
It is not inexpensive, but I suspect it would be difficult to build at home because of some of the mechanics involved, so the price might be justified.
The Romero Box has some clever features that allow for a variety of effects.
The book itself is filled with a large number of excellent tricks, many of which could be adapted to other methods, so it is a worthwhile read even for those who don't own the gimmick.
Si-Step
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Brad Smithart (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Thursday 12 December, 2024)
This is my first attempt at working with a stacked deck. It's something I've avoided since I've been concerned with the memorization and/or mental math required. I believe the approach advocated in Si-Step will be a good place for me to start, since it provides a lot of techniques to limit both of those requirements. And using a standard stack like the Si Stebbins stack means I should be able to leverage a lot of the existing resources available.
(I appreciated the diagram showing the full deck in order, which made it easy to set up the deck the first time.)
Abraca-Poof November 2016
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Brad Smithart (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 11 December, 2024)
This issue contains another nice collection of mostly business-oriented advice. The article on invoicing for donated performances was particularly interesting.
Suzy the Psychic Fish
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Brad Smithart (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 11 December, 2024)
This is a VERY short routine which is dependent on a hard-to-find commercial product.
I assume this is for a very limited audience, even as a free product.
Magic Roadshow Special Issue #6
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Brad Smithart (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 11 December, 2024)
This newsletter contains instruction for a number of professional tricks, links to Youtube tutorials and performances, and reviews of a variety of commercial/for-sale tricks.
The reviews are well-written and I found them helpful in determining my potential interest in these purchases.
I highly recommend it.
Scripted #25: Hofzinser Card
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Brad Smithart (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 11 December, 2024)
I wasn't familiar with this effect, but the author does a good job of explaining it, critiquing the normal handling, and providing a routine -- with detailed patter -- to overcome the limitations.
I definitely want to play with this idea.
Abraca-Poof October 2016
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Brad Smithart (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 11 December, 2024)
This issue is jam-packed with useful information. I particularly like the short routine called "Bar Code."
The running theme through most of the articles is on elements that separate professional magicians from amateurs.
The Double Issue 2
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Brad Smithart (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 11 December, 2024)
The highlight of this newsletter is a short interview with Peter Duffie, but it also includes instructions for a couple of small effects, and a few other tidbits.
Dice Stacking Without A Cup
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Brad Smithart (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 11 December, 2024)
This download provides a short description for constructing a card trick that incorporates a stack of dice (or a dice trick that incorporates a card selection). It doesn't have much to do with traditional dice stacking.
It's an interesting idea, but the document is poorly edited making it harder to follow.
This isn't yet a fully developed effect, but it is a good seed for one.
Propless Name and Place in 45 Seconds
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Karen King (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 11 December, 2024)
It is very interesting when an idea can polarize opinions to both extremes. It indicates that the idea has merit, imo. So my curiosity made me pick this up. I like the simple brilliance of the core principle. The routine has a well designed structure and flows smoothly. Personally, I would like to use a couple of my business cards instead of keeping it purely propless. I would also prefer to use two participants - one for name and another for place. The link up to the Vampire Diaries web series is a nice touch. I took this for a test run briefly and I am happy with the results. This is worthy of my time and money, imo.
Symphony of the Rings
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Terence LaSorda (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Monday 09 December, 2024)
I don’t know whatever happened to my original copy of this great instructional book, but it is great to have these well-written instructions and clear pictures before my eyes again!
My first read-through of this wonderful digital rendition of this absolute magic classic brought me back to the summer of 1974 on the campus of Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA., where I read my original paper copy of this great tome! This classic pulled me deeper into my lifelong love affair with the art of sleight of hand. It is wonderful to feel that passion in my heart again!
My mastery of this wonderful routine led to my winning the all university talent show at Lehigh University in the fall of 1974, which led to a lucrative side career, which was a great monetary support to my academic career! Indeed, mastery of this book and other classics like it provided me with the sleight of hand mastery to impress Mr. Muhammad Ali in an unexpected meeting with him in 1978. The outcome of that meeting was a year long contract to travel with him, and be his personal magic teacher! This experience prepared me for a lifetime of performing professional magic, which also enhanced my career as a metallurgical engineer. Visualization is absolutely needed to learn and be proficient at sleight of hand, but visualization is also an absolutely necessary skill to have to be successful at metallurgical engineering. This is how patents are produced; and, I have produced 4 patents in my metallurgical engineering career!
Binary Bucket List
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Ray Jack (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Monday 09 December, 2024)
Fully agree with the previous review. A simple additional idea and the structure of the routine take this from being a bare binary trick to being a brilliant binary effect. I prefer to carry it on my phone, so almost nothing physical to carry.