This trick is fantastic and worth checking out. The back of a deck of cards is shown to be blank and in an instant, with the flick of the wrist or a pass over the box, black sharpie writing appears on the box. The writing can either reveal a prediction, a chosen card or it can be the end to a mentalism routine.

I believe that Off Set will be most commonly used to reveal a chosen card, but there are so many possibilities that you are only limited by your imagination. Basically, anything you want to appear on the back of a normal box of cards, will. The DVD, which has an English translation dubbed over the original French instruction is very detailed and easy to follow. It teaches two types of revelations; the instant appearance or a slow rising appearance. The effect, in both variations, is very easy to perform. This trick looks great and your spectators will be baffled. In certain routines you can place the box in the spectator's hands, but you will not want to allow them to hold the box after the reveal.

The promotional video accurately depicts how the effect appears to a spectator, but one may mistakenly believe that you can do different ink revelations without a reset. You cannot not change the outcome without some advance prep and about 5 seconds of privacy in between tricks. There are no angles to worry about and this trick can be performed completely surrounded.

This is the type of trick that you wish that no one else would know about or purchase because the effect is so good and simple. This gimmick is very clever and anyone that buys this trick will be very happy -- and their audiences will be impressed.

OFF SET By Sebastien Calbry Review

RATING: 5 of 5 STARS

REVIEW

This is a tremendous utility device! The best part about it is it goes into your regular deck without disturbing any of your cards. You can just have it ready to go in your deck, do any card effects and then at any moment, you can go into an effect using this utility device. And, you can then go into any card effect after using the device.

If your card box is not already set up for some effect, this is perfect.

USABILITY

This is suited for close-up, parlor, and stage. It is very easy to use, and is great for amateur and pros. It resets instantly. It can also be modified very easily. In other words, you could use it for one revelation and within just a few seconds, you could set it for a different revelation. Best of all, you can set this gimmick in your regular deck box without affecting the cards.

BONUS

There are so many routines possible with this device. For those of you who purchase this, I would like to use this bonus section to describe some refinements for it’s use.

One clever use for this device is to use it as a tool of opportunity. A good magician is always ready for the opportunity for a true miracle. If you lay a card on the table and ask someone to name any card out loud, and they happen to name the card you put on the table, that is a miracle. Many magicians carry a Queen of Hearts in one pocket and the Ace of Spades in another for that very opportunity. You could use this device for that sort of opportunity. Magician Michael Baker did his own informal study to determine the cards are named most frequently. He would put two of these on top, two on the bottom, and one turned face up in the middle of the deck. An additional card could be the Off Set gimmick. What were his most commonly named cards you ask? For women, 2, 3, and Queen of hearts. For men, Ace of spades, and some middle clubs, like a three, five, or seven. You ask someone to name any card that is not obvious, like a King or Ace. If they hit one of your cards, you have a miracle. If they don’t, you simply say “Let’s see if your card is in here.” Locate their card, hold a pinkie break above it, do a riffle force and ask them to try to stop you at their card, and do an ambitious card routine with their favorite card.

Another clever use for this device is in combination with any peek device. As many of you might know, I particularly like the Spypad by Mark Elsdon. You could have the Off Set gimmick palmed, ask them to think of a card and write it down (recorded on the pad for later proof for all). Have them give the card a name and write that down as well. You then read their mind and write down on the pad, but also write on the Off Set gimmick. The gimmick can be added to the deck during performance in a moment of misdirection. In this example, a perfect misdirection would be for them to find and remove their thought of card from the deck and to write the name on the card.

You then draw an indifferent card on the box and show it. They will be happy to say it is not their card. You say this is a drawing of the entire deck and this card is just the bottom card. You are going to have their named card rise from the deck. You then ask them their card and the name they gave it and you have that card rise from the deck.

This is a routine that allows you to play with the audience and get entertainment beyond the magic. Whenever you present an unusual premise, like asking them to name their card (Ex: “Fred”), you have a sure fire source of comedy. You can talk about why they chose "Fred", what is it about that card that makes it look like a “Fred”?, Did they think of a real person named “Fred”, Just who is this “Fred”, anyway?, Why is the real “Fred” like a six of clubs?, etc. Have fun with it.

Happy magic trails to you.