Reviews: Read What Others Are Saying: page 9
213 ★★★★★ reviews
145 ★★★★★ reviews
90 ★★★★★ reviews
130 ★★★★★ reviews
Abraca-Poof February 2020
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Brad Smithart (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Sunday 08 December, 2024)
This issue of Abraca-Poof contains articles on marketing and reputation, as well as taking care of magic props. There is nothing startling or new, but it provides good reminders for things that we might be tempted to forget -- things that can separate amateurs from professionals.
Definitely worth a read.
Abraca-Poof August 2020
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Brad Smithart (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 07 December, 2024)
In this issue, Brian provides some tips for pre-/post-show sales of small tricks.
Curiously enough, he also revisits some topics from older issues, including recovering from performance mistake, and backing up information (including patter) for tricks that might not be frequently performed.
The primary tip from the article on patter is: do not underestimate the patter that often comes with purchased tricks, as they are occasionally unexpected gold mines.
Abraca-Poof August 2019
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Brad Smithart (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 07 December, 2024)
My favorite article from this issue is on recovering from mistakes during a performance. It included some good tips and one-liners.
Another good article was on the role of assistants in magic.
Abraca-Poof April 2020
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Brad Smithart (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 07 December, 2024)
My favorite articles in this issue were on:
"Backing up" your magic so that you can revisit how to do tricks you might not have done for a while.
The necessity (and possibilities) of performing magic while working within your physical limitations.
Counts with Jumbo Cards
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Brad Smithart (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 07 December, 2024)
I haven't had a chance to practice these moves yet, but they seem like a practical approach. I want to see how well they work with regular-size cards as well.
I suspect using these methods as a casual display (rather than as a strict count) will be very effective.
The explanations and the illustrations are excellent, and the included video is a nice bonus.
Hands Off Book Test
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Mark Millen (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 07 December, 2024)
The method described here works, however, I will never prepare a book in the way described, with the justification given. It’s just silly. I have no doubt Unknown Mentalist has some good material but there seems to be a running theme behind his methods in that they are extremely contrived, convoluted, or lack realistic justification. Will you be able to perform this and reveal the words being read? Yes. Are there countless other book tests that don’t require an open preparation of each page with poor justification for such preparation? Absolutely.
100 Card Trick One-Liner Jokes
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Brad Smithart (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 07 December, 2024)
None of these short jokes are groaners, and a few of them will be usable when I'm performing.
One of Card Magic's Best Kept Secrets
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by martin iraizos
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Friday 06 December, 2024)
I didn’t purchase the PDF, but I emailed the Unnamed Magician asking him if my guess on the method based on watching the trailer was correct. I had my suspicions because I read this method in a book published ages ago. He told me that my guess was correct.
Although it’s been a while since I’ve used this principle, I did perform effects using it quite often back in the day when I first learned it. It’ll require some practice to get the hang of, but nothing too shabby.
It was good to be reminded of the principle after so long. I’ll start incorporating it into my performances again.
One of Card Magic's Best Kept Secrets
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Robert Taxin (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Thursday 05 December, 2024)
I've been performing magic for decades, including in the Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus. I've performed in the corporate world and in hotels and theaters. I've busked and performed all over Europe for 3 years during the 1970s. I've been a long-time supporter and client of lybrary.com and have purchased many products. They all presented possibilities for performance; some required a fair amount of practice.
In most purchased explanations we can see video demonstrations of the effect done in real time. Not so in this one. We get written and videoed explanations of the method and a historical account of other references to it. I believe this effect is undoable under performance conditions. I'm very disappointed.
Non-Verbal Transmission
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Darius Acuna (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Thursday 05 December, 2024)
First of all, it's a good method. The first time I saw something like it, or perhaps it was this same method, I had an inkling of what it may be. It's a very good, albeit cumbersome, idea that will absolutely work.
I removed 2 stars because the ad copy skips over a crucial moment, which could have easily been included in its writing and still retain the secret. I spent hours attempting to recreate the system in my head and came up with almost the exact same thing on a whim. Upon reading the material, I do not feel so bad at my lack of ingenuity. It was everything I expected, and as such, is not wholely unsatisfactory.
This was not a waste of munny. For what you get, it's clear and solid system, but I firmly believe this is not the most superior one, as purported. For what you learn, it's a good start for coding, and builds a foundation for the kind of effort required for such a performance, if you so choose to pursue it. Thank you for this release.
Del-Ardo's Private Sealed Envelope Reading Method
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Javier De La Hera (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 04 December, 2024)
Magicians that enjoy classical methods will recognize the two principles used here. It's an excellent methodology for those of us with limited or no sleight of hand abilities. I bought this along with Nelson's Mind Divination and I think they complement each other well. I feel I now have practical ways to handle private readings and Q&A acts. Assuming you can give passably good readings and answers to questions these methods allow us to concentrate on presentation instead of finger acrobatics. I'm mostly an armchair mentalist/magician but sometimes I do perform. I can see myself using these techniques. Good price and good product.
Mind Divination
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Javier De La Hera (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 04 December, 2024)
This is one of the best Nelson booklets available here. The blurb is correct. This method is simplicity itself and very practical. You probably already know the principle involved but it doesn't matter, you'll still like the handling and tips. Nelson gives you a workable Q&A act with no fluff for $8. Very satisfied with this product.
Hints and Tips
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Brad Smithart (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 04 December, 2024)
None of the tips included are earth-shattering, but I suspect that most people will find at least one or two ideas in this short collection. The tips cover a variety of topics, including improvements to specific effects and storage/transport of equipment.
Scripted #4: The 21 Card Trick
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Brad Smithart (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Monday 02 December, 2024)
This is the first of the "Scripted" e-pamphlets I've read. The patter is humorous, and the inventive plot does a great job of disguising the simplicity of this standard trick. I will definitely incorporate some of these ideas in a performance.
I look forward to reading the other issues of "Scripted."
Ancient Rings Mystique
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Brad Smithart (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Monday 02 December, 2024)
This is an interesting philosophical and psychological take on this classic trick. Unfortunately, it is only a teaser for the actual content. It would have been nice to see at least one example handling.
Counting Terminology
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Brad Smithart (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Sunday 01 December, 2024)
This is a very short video, but it explains something that I've never seen clearly explained anywhere else. I'm not sure it's worth the price, but I don't regret my purchase since it answered my questions.
The Card Magic of Peter Duffie
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by raphael czaja
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Sunday 01 December, 2024)
Those tricks used to be sold independently. Obviously, you have to provide your own special cards (blank backs, blank faces and so on). To perform Thunderstruck, you'll have to make the special cards by yourself. Tricks like A Free Choice, Bleached, Ghost Flight, Point-Blank Assembly are classics. They are worth the price of this ebook.
Perfected Sealed Message Reading
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Gregg Webb (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 30 November, 2024)
This is a handling of the Q & A envelopes and cards that is very do-able and that you will enjoy using and learning. It was published by Max Holden in 1950 and revamped for today's use. I have read many methods by Annemann and Baker and many others and find this one to have the simplicity needed to make the whole process seem second nature. I highly recommend it.
Triplesp
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by James Pearson (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 30 November, 2024)
3 great, self-working routines using ESP cards. I especially enjoyed the second trick, "Especial Double Diviniation." It's going into my repertoire!
The 'Holy Grail' of Phone Effects
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Wesley Schield (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Saturday 23 November, 2024)
So many tricks do not live up to the hype, this one surpasses it. No misleading wording in the ad, everything is exactly as described. You may present it as written or you have the freedom to personalize it. I’ve performed magic for over 50 years and I have never seen anything like this method used before. I can honestly say that I believe this will fool everyone who sees it, just like it did me.
Miraculous Hindu Feats
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by John Kauth (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Thursday 21 November, 2024)
There's really not much here. It's nine pages when you get past the cover, introduction, and table of contents. One of two "secrets," the rest is not a surprise. Going in, I knew that there would be nothing useful performance-wise, but I thought it might contain some interesting bits of Indian Fakir performances. There is not really much here that is surprising or interesting. It is $6 for a 10-minute read that I will not look at again.
Peek Steal
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Edwards Melvyn (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Thursday 21 November, 2024)
Very clever and practical. Explained and demonstrated by a master of this move. Very clean and convincing and surprisingly easy to do.
ESPerience X
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Marc Rehula (confirmed purchase)
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Wednesday 13 November, 2024)
This routine is very interesting, but what you get is a little weird. The pdf and the video are both incomplete; you need both to piece the explanation together. And that explanation is rather spare - you'll need to find a way to 'explain' why the cards are blank in the end (for example, why do they hallucinate?). So the trick is worthwhile, but the magic? - some assembly is required.
Sfida Impossibile al New Zealand Poker: Trionfo sotto Steroidi
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Davide Rubat Remond
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Monday 11 November, 2024)
Se Sfida impossibile al Poker Neo-Zelandese, il nuovo effetto di Biagio Fasano, fosse una magia da palcoscenico sarebbe certamente una grande illusione, paragonabile al baule della metamorfosi o ad una bella cassa per sezionare in più parti l’essere vivente al suo interno. La sfida consiste in un’inedita versione di poker, dalle regole un po' strampalate, ma comunque divertente e semplice da seguire: si presenta come una classica routine con il mazzo di carte da distribuire e tagliare in vari mazzetti, ma sul finale cambia direzione e culmina nell’impossibile. La sorpresa della sconfitta da parte dello spettatore, in una sfida che aveva tutte le caratteristiche per una facile vittoria, si produce quando le aspettative sono tradite dalla comparsa di un incredibile poker d’assi finale. L’illusionista vincerà la sfida se, alla fine delle varie fasi di gioco (che potranno essere tre o quattro), aprendo il nastro di carte, tutti e quattro gli assi risulteranno voltati a faccia in su, mentre tutte le altre carte saranno voltate di dorso. Se anche una sola di queste condizioni non si dovesse verificare, lo spettatore sarà decretato il vincitore.
Lo spettatore inizia la sfida con il grande vantaggio di giocare con il doppio delle carte coperte, rispetto all’illusionista che gioca a carte scoperte, e i quattro assi di dorso (le condizioni essenziali per la sua vittoria); per tutta la durata dell’effetto le carte saranno continuamente distribuite in vari mazzetti, poi ricomposti dopo essere stati eventualmente voltati dalla parte opposta, secondo la volontà dello spettatore. Un’attenzione particolare al movimento dei quattro assi da un mazzetto all’altro, da un verso all’altro, in ogni momento delle varie fasi di gioco, restituisce il senso di genuina casualità ottenuto dalle scelte assolutamente libere dello spettatore.
La cosa davvero incredibile di questo effetto di Biagio, che è ispirato ed è figlio del suo precedente Virtual Revelation Triumph, è la grande, totale libertà di azione dello spettatore sui mazzetti e, in particolare sulla distribuzione delle carte nella seconda fase, senza alcun ordine prestabilito. Allo stesso modo la terza fase (facoltativa perché allunga i tempi di esecuzione) simula l’utilizzo di alcuni dadi, che sono emblemi stessi di casualità. Ho avuto modo di testarlo prima della pubblicazione e devo dire che la prima volta non ho creduto ai miei occhi, ero sicuro non potesse riuscire, e invece i quattro assi si sono presentati puntuali tra tutte le altre carte di dorso. È assolutamente incomprensibile ad un primo impatto la meccanica di questo effetto che sfrutta il principio CATO (Cut And Turn Over) di Bob Hummer in una forma evoluta. Anche le versione contactless, offerta come alternativa all’effetto principale, da eseguire al telefono è qualcosa di incredibile (provato personalmente con Biagio) che accade direttamente tra le mani dello spettatore.
Oltre alla caratteristica di essere un effetto incredibile, incomprensibile, di grande impatto è totalmente automatico e impromptu, consente l’assoluta libertà di scelta allo spettatore, senza calcoli matematici, senza alcuno sforzo di memoria, senza tecniche particolari, anzi nessuna tecnica cartomagica. Solo un mazzo di carte, anche non completo, può essere personalizzato a proprio gusto personale.
Questa volta Biagio ha superato sé stesso, sarà difficile pensare a qualcosa di migliore di questa Sfida impossibile al Poker Neo-Zelandese, in termini di qualità dell’effetto magico, semplicità di esecuzione e totale libertà di azione.
Impossible Challenge at New Zealand Poker: Triumph on Steroids
Overall customer rating: ★★★★★reviewed by Davide Rubat Remond
Rating: ★★★★★ (Date Added: Monday 11 November, 2024)
If Impossible Challenge to New Zealand Poker, Biagio Fasano's new effect, were a stage magic, it would certainly be a great illusion, comparable to Metamorphosis or a beautiful crate to dissect into several parts the living being inside. The challenge consists of a novel version of poker, with somewhat wacky rules, but still fun and easy to follow it looks like a classic routine with the deck of cards to be dealt and cut into various bundles, but at the end, it changes direction and culminates in the impossible. The surprise of defeat on the part of the spectator, in a challenge that had all the hallmarks of an easy victory, is produced when expectations are betrayed by the appearance of an incredible final poker of aces. The illusionist will win the challenge if, at the end of the various stages of the game (which may be three or four), on ribbon spreading the cards, all four aces appear to be turned face up, while all other cards are turned face down. If even one of these conditions does not occur, the spectator will be declared the winner.
The spectator begins the challenge with the great advantage of playing with double the number of covered cards, compared to the illusionist who plays with uncovered cards, and the four back aces (the essential conditions for his or her victory). Throughout the duration of the effect, the cards will be continuously dealt in various piles, then reassembled after eventually being turned to the opposite side, according to the spectator's will. Special attention to the movement of the four aces from one pack to another, from one direction to the other, at each moment of the various stages of the game, restores the sense of genuine randomness obtained from the spectator's free choices.
The truly amazing thing about this effect of Biagio, which is inspired by and is the child of his previous Virtual Revelation Triumph, is the great, total freedom of action of the spectator on the packets and, on the distribution of cards in the second phase, without any predetermined order. Similarly, the third phase (optional because it lengthens execution time) simulates the use of some dice, which are emblems themselves of randomness. I had a chance to test it before publication and I must say that the first time I did not believe my eyes, I was sure it could not succeed, and instead the four aces showed up on time among all the other back cards. It is absolutely incomprehensible at first glance the mechanics of this effect that exploits Bob Hummer's CATO (Cut And Turn Over) principle in an evolved form. Even the contactless versions offered as an alternative to the main effect, to be performed over the phone is something incredible (personally experienced with Biagio) that happens directly in the hands of the viewer.
In addition to the characteristic of being an incredible, incomprehensible, high-impact effect, it is totally automatic and impromptu, allowing absolute freedom of choice to the spectator, with no mathematical calculations, no memory effort, no special techniques, indeed no card magic techniques. Only a deck of cards, even an incomplete one, can be customized to one's personal taste.
This time Biagio has surpassed himself; it will be hard to think of anything better than this Impossible Challenge to New Zealand Poker, in terms of the quality of the magical effect, simplicity of execution and total freedom of action.