Price$35.00
Media TypeDVD
CategoryClose Up
Date AddedJan 15, 2014
Unshuffled
James, Anton
The Magic Estate
(Based on 3 reviews)
Show a mixed pack, give a wave of the hand and instantly the deck is UNSHUFFLED! Similar effects take years to master with a normal deck but with UNSHUFFLED you will be doing it right away! A utility deck that can be used for impressive, nearly self working effects or combined with standard card sleights, technique, and theory for more impact.
Over 60 minutes of instruction covering...
- Various Visual Deck Changes & Reveals
- "Pick A Card" Effects
- The Vanishing of A Card
- Details for Use In Walk Around
- Creating Multiple Decks from an UNSHUFFLED Pack
- Additional Effects
- and MORE!
The perfect logical kicker to your card set, ace cutting routine, oil and water and more.
Create New Effects : Modify Classics
Comes with 60+ minute DVD and a pack of red United States Playing Card Company Bicycle brand cards
Reviews
(Top ▲)
The ad copy for Unshuffled by Anton James is accurate, with one change. A DVD is no longer supplied.
The 59:08 long video is now available on Anton's website, unlisted, so that only purchasers will be able to find it.
The deck that you receive is printed by the USPC, so the quality is very good. It handles well. The video is clear and well edited.
Aside from the folded product card with the link to the instructions, you get a professionally designed deck. Perfectionists may want to replace the card case with one from a regulation Bicycle pack.
The deck pretty much does all of the work for you. If you can fan, ribbon spread or spread the deck between your hands, you can perform the basic version of Unshuffled. Professionals will probably want to use their own sleights and a deck switch with Unshuffled, so that they can start and/or end clean.
The instructional video goes over tips, handlings, revelations, changes, presentational angles, a peek, vanishes, how to hide the secret, how to use the deck in walk around, Dual Reality, use with a Zarrow Shuffle (the Zarrow is demonstrated, but not explained), use of a half stack, Suit Up, Ace Reassembly, as a kicker to Cutting the Aces, Oil & Water, Triumph (this is a heavily shortened version of John Bannon's Play It Straight Triumph), and some additional ideas, which are offered for you to develop on your own.
In my opinion, Unshuffled is worth your money, if you like the un-shuffling effect. The only challenge? Choosing only one effect to do with this deck each performance (as doing repeatedly using the deck will make the method obvious).
The 59:08 long video is now available on Anton's website, unlisted, so that only purchasers will be able to find it.
The deck that you receive is printed by the USPC, so the quality is very good. It handles well. The video is clear and well edited.
Aside from the folded product card with the link to the instructions, you get a professionally designed deck. Perfectionists may want to replace the card case with one from a regulation Bicycle pack.
The deck pretty much does all of the work for you. If you can fan, ribbon spread or spread the deck between your hands, you can perform the basic version of Unshuffled. Professionals will probably want to use their own sleights and a deck switch with Unshuffled, so that they can start and/or end clean.
The instructional video goes over tips, handlings, revelations, changes, presentational angles, a peek, vanishes, how to hide the secret, how to use the deck in walk around, Dual Reality, use with a Zarrow Shuffle (the Zarrow is demonstrated, but not explained), use of a half stack, Suit Up, Ace Reassembly, as a kicker to Cutting the Aces, Oil & Water, Triumph (this is a heavily shortened version of John Bannon's Play It Straight Triumph), and some additional ideas, which are offered for you to develop on your own.
In my opinion, Unshuffled is worth your money, if you like the un-shuffling effect. The only challenge? Choosing only one effect to do with this deck each performance (as doing repeatedly using the deck will make the method obvious).
(Top ▲)
Review of Unshuffled by Anton James:
One DVD, a "special" deck, and 60 minutes of instruction. Is it Gem or is it Rubble?
Effect
Well . . . it's exactly the same as the OCD Deck by SansMinds. An apparently shuffled deck magically goes back to new deck order.
Method
Well . . . it's exactly the same as the OCD Deck by SansMinds. It's a gimmicked deck. It's the same gimmick that SansMinds used. In the SansMinds version there were some nice subtleties added to the deck/gimmick that are not found here. However, the effect here is just as easy and self-working-y as the other.
Ad Copy Integrity
Well . . . it's exactly the same as the OCD Deck by SansMinds almost . . . In the SansMinds review, I had one minor clarification that I felt was needed. In this ad copy (Unshuffled), I have no such issue. The ad copy is 100% dead on.
Product Quality
Ah . . . our first variant. The deck is the same gimmick as OCD Deck but without the slight modifications that OCD Deck has. I personally prefer the OCD Deck over this one. However, Unshuffled is excellent and works exactly as is needed to perform this effect. Super simple, and very well made.
The big difference is the DVD. The OCD Deck DVD is only 9 minutes long. Whereas Unshuffled is a full hour, and it's an excellent hour. Though I prefer the OCD Deck, I really prefer the DVD from Unshuffled by FAR. It covers several different simple ways to handle the cards and affect the change. There are multiple effects, ideas, theories, examples, presentations, etc., etc., etc. covered on this DVD. This DVD alone makes this worth recommending.
There's a super clever handling of John Bannon's The Bannon Triumph a.k.a. Play it Straight (Triumph) that is excellent! Although, I am annoyed that he credited Michael Ammar's Easy to Master Card Miracles as the source for Bannon's effect. Terrible! If you're going to get your hands on this routine, either get it from Bannon's DVD, Bullets After Dark or get his book, Impossibilia.
I've got nothing against the Ammar series. I own them all, but let's give the creator the credit and the money.
Final Thoughts
The only thing that slightly bothers me about both of these products is that this is not original. The effect and method have been around forever, and neither DVD gives any credit/history/etc. about the gimmicks, effect, etc. I was a bit bummed by that. Also, it would appear that OCD Deck hit the market about 3 months before Unshuffled. So, giving everyone the benefit of the doubt, I'll assume that Anton James and Will Tsai (SansMinds) created this independently of each other.
All that aside, in my fantasy world, I'd have the Unshuffled DVD and the OCD Deck. So if you want to buy both, I won't be offended. However, and this is a BIG FAT however, the small minor things added to the OCD Deck that are missing from Unshuffled are so minor in comparison to what the Unshuffled DVD brings to the table. Bottom line: if I had to pick only one product to have (between the two), it would be, hands down, Unshuffled.
Final Verdict:
5 Stars with a Stone Status of Gem.
(Top ▲)
[UPDATE: March 5, 2014]
I received an email from the creator, Anton James. He confirmed my suspicions that this product is a completely independent invention from the OCD Deck. He had been working on his deck for two years before it hit the market, including a year of "working with" USPCC. It is not my policy to alter reviews once they've been posted, but please keep in mind as you read the following that Unshuffled is an entirely independent creation and in no way a copy of the OCD Deck.
— BK
I find myself ranting more and more often about people selling tricks that were published or sold previously. Sometimes the ideas are old and mostly forgotten. Many are just obscure. Some are just blatant rip-offs. But in almost all cases, there's a significant amount of time, usually decades, between the two "releases."
With Unshuffled, it's only been four months since an almost identical product hit the market: OCD Deck from Andrew Gerard and Will Tsai (produced by SansMinds).
To add insult to injury, both products are based on a very old idea. But with modern manufacturing capabilities, producing these custom gimmicked decks has apparently become very easy. And, of course, for those of you old enough to remember, Paul Gertner became famous for performing a trick titled "Unshuffled" on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson (it's published in his book Steel & Silver and also taught on his Steel & Silver DVD, Volume 3.
I usually prefer to write independent reviews rather than compare two products. But in this case, it seems impossible to do anything else. I suggest you read my review of the OCD Deck for some more insights.
The "design" of the OCD Deck has a minor difference that allows you a bit more freedom when showing the cards in sorted order. This can be a benefit if you're really focusing on that aspect in performance. But it can also be a hindrance if you need to spend more time displaying the unsorted condition.
Where Unshuffled has an advantage is in the DVD materials. The OCD Deck DVD explains the basic construction, handling, a few tips and some troubleshooting. The Unshuffled DVD comes with a lot more material. You're taught several "changes" (created by multiple people) and subtleties in handling the cards. Several interesting performance premises are suggested. Anton also teaches quite a few tricks that have very little to do with the basic effect outlined above (triumph, oil & water, etc.).
But the really interesting parts are the ideas for how to use the deck for different purposes. For instance, you can use it for a very easy peek.
In my opinion, the real gold, probably worth the price of the product, is a Dual Reality presentation. But if you decide to delve into this, skip the "live performance." He should have stopped at the Dual Reality part, but kept going to perform the "unshuffled" phase which, as Eugene Burger says, "turned a great trick into a good one."
I received an email from the creator, Anton James. He confirmed my suspicions that this product is a completely independent invention from the OCD Deck. He had been working on his deck for two years before it hit the market, including a year of "working with" USPCC. It is not my policy to alter reviews once they've been posted, but please keep in mind as you read the following that Unshuffled is an entirely independent creation and in no way a copy of the OCD Deck.
— BK
I find myself ranting more and more often about people selling tricks that were published or sold previously. Sometimes the ideas are old and mostly forgotten. Many are just obscure. Some are just blatant rip-offs. But in almost all cases, there's a significant amount of time, usually decades, between the two "releases."
With Unshuffled, it's only been four months since an almost identical product hit the market: OCD Deck from Andrew Gerard and Will Tsai (produced by SansMinds).
To add insult to injury, both products are based on a very old idea. But with modern manufacturing capabilities, producing these custom gimmicked decks has apparently become very easy. And, of course, for those of you old enough to remember, Paul Gertner became famous for performing a trick titled "Unshuffled" on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson (it's published in his book Steel & Silver and also taught on his Steel & Silver DVD, Volume 3.
I usually prefer to write independent reviews rather than compare two products. But in this case, it seems impossible to do anything else. I suggest you read my review of the OCD Deck for some more insights.
The Similarities
- The two decks are almost identical in construction. There are minor differences (more below), but they're basically the same.
- Both come with a card box that has a custom-branded "bottom" (where you typically find the UPC).
- The basic effect is the same for both. A card is selected, signed and returned. The cards are shown to be in mixed up order. The cards are placed into the box, shaken, and then dumped out to reveal that the cards are now in order, with the selected card in the correct position.
The "design" of the OCD Deck has a minor difference that allows you a bit more freedom when showing the cards in sorted order. This can be a benefit if you're really focusing on that aspect in performance. But it can also be a hindrance if you need to spend more time displaying the unsorted condition.
Where Unshuffled has an advantage is in the DVD materials. The OCD Deck DVD explains the basic construction, handling, a few tips and some troubleshooting. The Unshuffled DVD comes with a lot more material. You're taught several "changes" (created by multiple people) and subtleties in handling the cards. Several interesting performance premises are suggested. Anton also teaches quite a few tricks that have very little to do with the basic effect outlined above (triumph, oil & water, etc.).
But the really interesting parts are the ideas for how to use the deck for different purposes. For instance, you can use it for a very easy peek.
In my opinion, the real gold, probably worth the price of the product, is a Dual Reality presentation. But if you decide to delve into this, skip the "live performance." He should have stopped at the Dual Reality part, but kept going to perform the "unshuffled" phase which, as Eugene Burger says, "turned a great trick into a good one."