Easy to Execute Card Trickery
J. Jack
DOUBLE DEALING TD - three cards located by spelling
SIMPLE SPELL LOCATOR - simple spelling effect
BLIND CUT - spectator cut to their selected card
Q. A. S. SANDWICH - a selected card is put on top of the deck and then it ends up between two face up jacks after apparently being pushed into the deck
INDICATOR INSERTION - apparently, the performer inserts a card into deck in the right spot to help him find a selected card while the deck is behind his back
IMPROMPTU REVOLVING ACES - do the classic Herb Zarrow effect anytime in your set....this is a spectator find the aces trick
The following standard moves are used in the tricks but are not described...references are given for all of these:
Hindu Shuffle Control
Overhand In-jog Control Shuffle
Double Lift
Double Undercut
Erdnase/Houdini change
Braue Reversal
Ribbon Spread
MONEY BACK GUARANTEE
Reviews
(Top ▲)
For 8 bucks you get a low budget production with a money back guarantee and some decent effects.
Though it's hard to discourage the purchase of an $8 product with a money back guarantee, there are a few issues that need to be pointed out.
First, it seemed as though the author picked a trick or two from a handful of authors (Bob Longe, Ron Bauer, Karl Fulves, Al Leech, U.F. Grant, Herb Zarrow and Harry Lorayne) and then attempted to "improve" them, which in some cases means "make worse" and in other case means "change to be different."
I also found it a bit odd that the author went to great lengths to describe in detail how to hold the deck in "Biddle Grip," but spend no time explaining some of the more complex card controls he used. He even went so far as providing an illustration for "Biddle Grip," whereas no other effects were given illustrations even though some of them badly need some visual assistance.
Additionally, I felt that some of the methods on a trick or two were overly convoluted just so that the trick would be impromptu, when a 2 second set up in advance would have made the effect much better. Some of the instructions were also unnecessarily complicated. For example, in one effect he says, "control the selection to the top of the deck." Then the next set of instructions is a details and complex (not complicated . . . complex) set of instructions that ends with the selection second from the bottom. Rather than the extra verbose description, it seems to me that it would have been much easier to just say, "control the selected card to second from the bottom."
I tell you all this not to nit-pick, but to give you a heads up that this is not a simple quick read, but a rather dry and confusion read more often than not, so beware.
Let's look at each effect. Refer to the ad copy for the effect. Below is my rating and comment.
Double Dealing TD (3.5 stars)
The AD copy doesn't do this justice. This is actually a pretty decent effect with a simple and clean method. It also involves coins which can lead to a good coin-to-card or card-to-coin transition. It has a little bit of a puzzle feel to it, but it has solid potential.
Simple Spell Locator(3.5 stars)
Another spelling effect that's got some decent principles worth learning. However if you've studied any of the spelling type effects (particularly the impromptu ones), you'll likely be familiar with these principles.
Blind Cut(3 stars)
Has potential, but is a little convoluted.
Q. A. S. Sandwich(4.5 stars)
This is a good solution to Karl Fulves/Al Leech effect called Paradox. It fixes a weakness in the original routine.
Indicator Insertion(2.5 stars)
This is a more complex version of Simple Spell Locator above.
Impromptu Revolving Aces(2.5 stars)
This one is long, drawn out, convoluted and has a weak ending. However, I gave a rating as "high" as 2.5 because it has much more potential as a non-impromptu effect by changing the handling slightly and doing a minor setup.
The average trick rating is 3.25. However, adding in all of the weaknesses of the product mentioned above it gets knocked down a notch. However considering that it's only 8 bucks and there's a money back guarantee. I feel good about my final decision . . .
Final Verdict:
3 Stars with a Stone Status of grubble (some rubble and some gem . . . somewhere in the middle)