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Details

The Trojan Horse

HImmel, Steven

Murphy's Magic Supplies, Inc.

(Based on 1 review)
The Trojan Horse is a genius utility playing card gimmick that will allow you to:
Transpose a selection, card, bill or billet.
Change the face or back of a selected card.
Perform quick, easy and powerful mentalism routines. Produce currency or small objects.
Place a selection, very fairly, in between the two jokers and with no funny moves the card vanishes, only to reappear anywhere you want.

The Cargo:
1) Horse of a Different Color (color changing back)
A red card is selected and placed between the jokers. In an instant with no moves, the selection vanishes and reappears face up in the deck. It is placed once more in between the jokers and with a wave of the hand, the back changes color.

2) A Horse with No Name (Mystery Card)
An unknown card is place between the two jokers. A card is chosen and signed then lost in the deck. The jokers are picked up and the card between them is shown to be the signed selection.

3) Wells Fargo (Card to Coin Production)
A blank card is shown front and back. The spectator draws a picture of a coin, like a quarter or half dollar, on the blank card. The Jokers are introduced as money makers. The card with the drawing on it is placed in between the jokers, and with a magical wave, a coin slides out from the jokers and the card with the drawing has vanished.

4) Horse Whisperer (Thought of Card Sandwich)
The spectator peeks at a card. The deck is shuffled and the jokers are removed. The jokers are waved over the deck and a card is seen to appear in between them. It is the peeked at card.

With something as simple as one gimmick you'll have an infinite number of tricks at the ready. Saddle up and prepare for the Trojan Horse.

Reviews

Doc Johnson

Official Reviewer

Sep 20, 2015

PROS

A very clever gimmick allows many routines where cards and other small flat objects vanish and appear from between two Jokers.

The effect comes with a gimmick, very well made. He also teaches how to make your own replacement gimmicks. The instruction is very thorough.

He teaches some awesome routines!:

Horse of a Different Color: This is an awesome routine where a selected card disappears between the jokers and appears again face up in the middle of the deck. The card is placed in between the jokers again, and it changes colors from a red back card to a green back card. Awesome routine!
He teaches a very simple swing-cut force where the bottom card is easily forced.

A Horse with No Name: A great routine with a signed card that appears from inside the Jokers. This could be an ending to an ambitious card routine. In this routine, he teaches a great convincing control move and a gamblers cop move.

Wells Fargo: This is a very fun card to coin production. The participant draws a circle and a sign of money in the circle. The card goes in between the jokers and out pops a coin and the card is gone.

Horse Whisperer: A very nice routine where two cards appear face down in a face up deck. They are the jokers. They are removed, given a shake, and the selected card appears in between them. In this routine, he teaches a great dribble control.

Toward the end of the DVD, he talks about how to end clean with un-gimmicked cards.

These routines involve some sleights of hand, some easy, some which will require a bit more practice. I think they are all very doable for most magicians who put in a bit of practice. Most of the moves are not particularly difficult, and you can do some amazing things with some easy moves.

Most of the routines are very angle proof, but in the DVD, he talks about some routines that have angle issues. Some of the routines are completely angle proof.

I would think these routines are well suited to close-up or parlor.

CONS
Wow! This is tough. I really can’t think of any concerns with this DVD. It is an excellent gimmick, he teaches how to make a replacement gimmick, the routines are awesome, and well taught!

VERDICT

Great DVD, great gimmick, great routines, and great instruction! So, in summary, great, great, great, great!


Suggestions

In the awesome Horse of a Different Color routine, you could have the green back card turn back into the selection card so your deck ends clean. Have the selection come out face up, and place the it face up on top of the spread cards and ask someone to shuffle the cards. Of course, they are going to check the back of the card. As they are doing this, you do the cleanup he talks about toward the end of the DVD to end with two un-gimmicked Jokers. You then drop the Jokers on the table and ask them as an after thought to shuffle the Jokers into the deck. You could say: “Wait, we are going to need these. Could you shuffle them into the deck. I want to show you a classic”. You can then do any effect using two jokers. For example, you could do a version of Dr Daley’s Last Trick including the two Jokers. If you are not familiar with this, check out “World’s Greatest Magic Dr. Daley’s Last Trick” and you will find an excellent DVD with several versions. My version uses four regular cards, including the two Jokers, no gimmick cards. It involves a fun challenge with a participant where they get every answer correct to my more and more difficult questions. Each time, I up the ante with their possibility of winning millions of “magical dollars” until they get the last question for "One hundred million magical dollars" wrong with the revelation of the two Jokers. I then hand them a "One hundred million magical dollars" souvenir bill to keep.
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