Creativity+Prop=Entertainment
When this prop arrived it failed completely almost immediately. A replacement was sent and has worked fine.
Suggestion: Obtain ‘flashers’ from your hardware store that drop into light sockets so the bulbs flash for animation.
This prop does what it’s advertised to do, but it requires clever and original thinking to make it entertaining.
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Use Your Imagination
I’ve owned one of these for years and used it with children for a very funny reaction. It is NOT a trick in itself, but a supporting prop. In this use it’s a humorous item.
It’s also been featured in my annual Halloween show with an adult, but in a much different, darker manner. It was not —and wasn’t meant to be— funny at all.
It’s well made and works well, too.
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Really Terrific
If you can create a clever presentation, this is a very well thought out prop that —with one exception— works exceedingly well.
The clever arrangement that allows a non-forced —but signed— card to wind up in the serpent’s mouth is genius. However, the concept hasn’t been engineered to the degree of being foolproof. The very smart inventor devised a method for the signed card to appear along with the serpent, but the thread that facilitates this tangled with the coiled spring of the snake. My personal routine, using children and alphabet cards, doesn’t require the actual selected card to be in the snake’s mouth so I just removed the thread.
The supplied basket is fine, but I found a more exotic one. The self-contained mechanism can be placed into anything.
The SUDDEN appearance of the snake is a high point for audience reaction.
This is a great prop.
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Unusual props for a popular effect
This is quite a collectible, but only because it’s an Anverdi. I have always been interested in the matrix assembly effect and these Oriental "stones" are an offbeat set of props to perform this trick. One problem I have with these small stones lies in their handling throughout the effect. A semi-close fist is recommended in the instructions for that special move and that looks suspicious to me. I would prefer a more flat hand approach but it’s difficult with these small cylinders. It could be just me but clearly plenty of practice and skill is needed; certainly not an apparatus for beginners. I do like the clever "locking" feature in the main gimmick so the "stones" can be passed out for examination at the end.
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You look like a 39!
This card trick is just one of Bruce Bernstein’s great card magic. All of his magic is strong and relatively easy to do but packs a wallop with its effect. This is no different. You can use this in a resturant situation whereby you can approach the table or person with a simple ‘hello’. Then tell them they look like a 39 (or some other number). After a lot of byplay, they select any card chosen that will be their favorite. It will then have their number written on the back of a card. You can then show them that all the cards are numbered from 1 to 52 and that they chose " their number" that you first spoke to them about. This is a great "approach" trick for the working person whether it be club, party, corporate or bar. It never fails to put a smile on the faces of the one you show it to. Powerfull stuff and highly recommended.
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Soooo many possibilities with this one!
This item is really cool and effective. I use it to apparently vanish my regular deck of cards to have them appear elsewhere, when in fact this item allowed me to switch seamlessly to another trick deck (rising card, etc.) I would have given it 5 stars if it was sturdier; however, it is made of cardboard and can easily be damaged.
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Great story line, Great Surprise, and good handling.
This new routine by Paul Mims holds great promise and almost delivers! It has an entertaining poker based story line and a very visual transformation from 4 aces to a royal flush, it is also fairly easy to do, with an almost instant reset.
Unfortunately, for me a couple of the moves to get to the end don’t seem to flow as well which makes the counting seem a bit inconsistent. I’m sure there is a solution to the handling, and I intend to continue to work on it because I really like the overall routine. In fact, I’m quite sure that lay people probably love this routine as it stands, but for me it just seems a bit inconsistent. It could just be me of course!
I am keen to see more from Paul and his good friend Doug Gorman as they do seem to be producing some clean, strong effects that have great visual impact and interesting storylines. Keep them coming guys!
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Good material – However, not hard hitting…
I originally purchased this book because it discusses many slieghts used in most card magic. I was also short on budget and couldn’t afford the entire "Card College (Volumes 1-5)" by Roberto Giobbi at the time of purchase.
The routines contained within "The Card Magic of Nick Trost" are great for the historical card magician. There are lots of references to Dai Vernon and other past greats. Many of the routines are older and have been reworked by Trost to take on a contemporary flair at the time of publishing. However, due to the fact that most of the routines are fairly old they are somewhat lengthy and cumbersome in contrast with today’s fast paced, hard hitting street magic as seen by David Blaine or T.H.E.M.
If you’re looking for a nice collection of older, less common routines, this is a great book. I have adapted many of the routines for my own personal tastes. I find many of the routines contained herein work great with an older crowd, especially when you are in a sit-down, close-up environment where their attention is all yours.
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Classic
everything from close up to full blown stage effects with swimming tanks and trap doors.Not a great lot of detail on anything but lots of everything!!!
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Great Effect and it Feels Good, too!
Using the duplicate outer box takes this somewhat standard effect to a whole new level! The box(es) can be sitting on your close-up pad, loaded in another box, bag or "impossible" location and you’re set to perform a miracle.
The best part is that the set-up is easy, so you can concentrate on PRESENTATION.
I want to mention that I did have a problem with my set of boxes being too tight and I had put them aside. During a conversation with George at Viking I mentioned this and he invited me to return my set to his shop.
His craftsman did whatever Magic it took to fix the problem on ALL the boxes and I’ve been a happy camper ever since.
Score one for George Robinson! (and me) 🙂
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