Price$29.95
Media TypeTrick, Online Instructions, Gimmick(s)
CategoryClose Up, Mentalism
Date AddedApr 11, 2023
FLIP OUT
Joel Dickinson
(Based on 3 reviews)
"Flip Out is the ultimate packet trick. It is innovative and will last a lifetime."
Includes props that will last a lifetime, pocket sized protector case & full HD video instructions.
Begin by placing a prediction on the table along with a cash wager; 'will you pick heads or tails'...
Your participant flips an imaginary coin in the air and they take a peek to see if it landed on heads or tails.. they are the only person to know what is has landed on!
Somehow, you are able to tell your spectator with absolute certainty if the coin landed on heads or tails. Then you reveal your prediction to show that you knew what they would flip BEFORE they made their decision.
You finish by distorting everybodies memory. When they look back at a written message it was never a question, it was a statement that influenced the entire outcome.
...And then your cash wager is opened up and it reveals exactly what they flipped again!
Comes with props that will fit in your pocket, your wallet or an envelope.
Ideal for professional & social environments, online, shows, close up and in a casual setting. It is so much fun to perform.
Zero Preparation needed and this effect does not even need to reset, it is that good!
Flip Out can be performed with a borrowed coin rather than an imaginary coin.
ZERO preparation is needed and this effect does not even need to reset, it is that good!
New methodology for the modern performer.
Reviews
(Top ▲)
Overview
A 20ish minute video, a few props, $30 bucks, one Joel Dickinson, and 1 Flip Out magic review. Is it gem or is it rubble? Stay tuned to find out.Effect
Simply put, you predict that you knew which way a flipped imaginary coin would land, heads or tails.Method
If you've been a mentalist for any reasonable length of time (and you're aware that you can't really predict the future), then my guess is that likely have in your mind at least two ways you could create said effect.If you've been a mentalist for any reasonable length of time, you now know how this effect works. More in the ad copy integrity section.
The problem with the method is that half the time you have a brilliant effect, and the other half of the time, you have an "okay" effect at best. At worst, a big flashing neon sign is pointing to the method.
Product Quality
Well . . . this is where it really starts to fall apart. You are supplied with four cards. Printed on them:- HEADS
- TAILS
- Will You Pick Heads or Tails
- This one is a "gimmicked" card with the prediction on it
The cards are made out of plastic, and seem to be coated with some sort of high-friction coating. The cards stick together and are nearly impossible to separate from each other.
Training Video
The training video is about 23 minutes, but wait . . . there's less.
The video seems to be some sort of "episode" of a newsletter or periodic something or other. Joel Dickinson spends the first 3 minutes 18 seconds welcoming us back to "another episode" and in this episode "we're going to learn two tricks."
He then takes care of some sort of "business" regarding a new hire joining the crew at his company. Then eventually we get to the Flip Out effect. He performs the effect (same performance as in the trailer).
Finally we get to the explanation. During the explanation, he never uses the above card #4. It's never seen, talked about, or even alluded to. The card is shown in the trailer (but not anywhere in the tutorial). I have no idea how to use it or what to do with it. The presentation Joel gives seems to imply that they were shown this card but that it changed from a question to a statement. This implies some sort of sw****, but there is no information about it at all, and if a sw**** is required I cannot see how it would be possible due to the high-friction nature of the cards as previously mentioned.
Other than that, the teaching is clear and solid and done well enough to definitely learn the effect.
When he's done, he goes into another effect called Money Money where a spectator is given a $10 and a $20 to hide one in each hand. Then you prove that you knew which way she would go. It uses, essentially, the same technique as Flip Out.
It has the same problem (only more amplified) as Flip Out in that 50% of the time the method is a little too not-very-well-hidden.
In the performance trailer for Flip Out Joel uses a line "I'm going to show you the difference between a guess and mind-reading" which is also used in Money Money. This line does have the potential to help with disguise the method a teeny, teeny bit. Notice I said it "has the potential to help . . ."
I don't think it's quite where it needs to be. I'll just leave this as something to think about:
In the trailer when he turns over the "heads" card and shows that there is an "x" on the back of it, and he said that he crossed it out to prove that he knew she wouldn't choose heads, ask yourself if that "feels" like that's what happened.
To me, it didn't feel like "proof" that he'd eliminated that card. I think it's partially due to the design of the "x" on the card.
Ad Copy Integrity
Things don't get any better here.Line from ad-copy:
"Flip Out is the ultimate packet trick. It is innovative and will last a lifetime."
People need to learn what "ultimate" means. This is not it. Look it up.
Line from ad-copy:
Begin by placing a prediction on the table along with a cash wager; 'will you pick heads or tails'...
I can't tell where, in the performance, it's shown that you place a prediction on the table. If the ad copy line is referring to placing the "will you pick heads or tails" card down, that's never explained in the tutorial. Rather, Joel says that he just places the "you will pick tails not heads" (for example) card down on the table but he plays it off as if it says "will you pick heads or tails."
But even in that scenario, it's not claimed to be a prediction until the effect is over. The ad copy says "begin by placing a prediction." I'm not seeing where this happens.
Line from ad-copy:
Your participant flips an imaginary coin in the air and they take a peek to see if it landed on heads or tails.. they are the only person to know what is has landed on!
Somehow, you are able to tell your spectator with absolute certainty if the coin landed on heads or tails . . .
Um . . . No. You are NOT able to "tell your spectator with absolute certainty if the coin landed on heads or tails." Sure that's what happened in the trailer, but remember our discussion earlier about percentages . . .
Line from ad-copy:
You finish by distorting everybodies [sic] memory. When they look back at a written message it was never a question, it was a statement that influenced the entire outcome.
Again, an apparent reference to the card that has the question "will you pick heads or tails" changing to the prediction. Nowhere is this even given a passing thought to in the tutorial.
Line from ad-copy:
Ideal for professional & social environments, online, shows, close up and in a casual setting
I agree with most of this, but "online?" How? Doing this on a Zoom call would definitely have to be completely restructured. What the trailer. If you did it that way on Zoom, everything would be out of frame. If it's, as Joel claims, "ideal for . . . online" then show us how to do that.
Line from ad-copy:
New methodology for the modern performer.
Not. A. Single. Thing. Is. New. I'm not going to bother crediting or doing a deep dive into the history. Frankly, Joel should have done that. No "new methodology" is at play here.
Final Thoughts
- Effect: Decent.
- Method: Hit or Miss (literally)
- Product Quality: Not Good
- Ad Copy Integrity: Even Worse
As you can see, this product has exponential decay from effect to ad copy integrity. Each thing gets worse and worse. When it comes right down to it, 50% of the time you have an unbelievably impossible effect. The other half of the time you have what appears to be a gag / maybe something magical happened moment.
On the one hand, I personally perform effects where I'm willing to risk having no effect at all. The catch is that the audience can't know an effect is (potentially) about to happen. A perfect example of when this works flawlessly is Max Maven's Tossed Out Color. You either have a miracle or you have an interesting conversation with a participant. But in either case she had no idea you were doing a trick until you prove the miracle, or she is never aware that a trick was happening because the miracle never occurred.
Whereas with Flip Out you are very clearly making it known that you are about to do a trick. Half the time, you'll kill. The other half of the time you get a "decent" effect (best case), but in that "decent" case, there are definitely clues about the method that an astute audience will assume.
Having said all that, this type of thing is a personal choice, and many performers will have no problem with this, which is why "effect" and "method" have the smallest (if any) impact on the star rating, and to be clear, even in the less-than-ideal 50% that isn't brilliant, you still do "prove" that you knew what the outcome would be. So this product took no hits to the star rating from the effect, and only a teeeeeeny hit due to the method.
But having said THAT, "Product Quality" and "Ad Copy Integrity" have an exponentially bigger impact on the star rating.
The high-friction nature of the cards, along with not even discussing the fourth card dings the product quality. The ad copy issues, is what hurt it the most, however.
Final Verdict:
2.5 Stars with a Stone Status of grubble.
