Dan and Dave are a pair of young twins that have revolutionized how we view card magic. They have some crazy skills and there are a lot of moves and flourishes on here that move monkeys will love and a lot of moves on here that are very difficult. This is a three disk set so I will go over it trick by trick disk by disk.

Disc 1: Tricks

This is a sample of Dan and Dave Buck’s card magic. It is flourishy visual and tough. You will learn a handful of new moves here as well as a ton of classic moves all put together in new creative ways. I have tried almost every trick here in real life conditions with varying results and can attest that in some instances it is possible but in more than one place you would be safer performing the classic version of the same trick rather than Dan and Dave’s version.

Tivo Transpo: The effect here isn’t great a selected card switches places with another. You learn a nice version of a classic control and a visual color change. There is no need for a table but the color change is pretty knacky.

Tivo 2.0: The effect here is the same as above but it a little harder to do. You learn a great move that could easily be applied in many scenarios, as a color change or control. It is very deceptive. For the second part you learn a variation on a classic color change with a very difficult clean up. This is angly and advanced but does not need a table.

Subway: A selected card is left outjogged in the deck. The deck is cut and 2 other cards are turned face up. As their card is pushed into the deck it jumps between the face up cards. You learn an interesting control and revelation here. This is a startling effect but the control is very difficult to do convincingly, I would substitute it with a Marlo control that is very “convincing” if you know what I mean. You don’t need a table for this.

Card Across: A card is selected and it jumps to the other hand. For this you learn a Simon Lovell move that is not very convincing and a tough visual production. The production is not easy and not explained with much depth you will have a hard time with this and the teaching doesn’t help. You don’t need a table for this, you will be able to do the Simon Lovell move with a little practice but the production will take months or years to get down.

Hand to Mouth: A card is selected and it is pushed into the deck by the spectator, it then jumps to your mouth. They show how to get into this using the same move as in card across but I use the control taught in Tivo 2.0. They touch on routining Card Across with Hand to Mouth, I actually use this as a climax to Calen Morelli’s Loaded and this would work well with most ambitious card routines. This is one of the few tricks that look better in real life than on camera, it is also one of the easiest tricks on the DVD. With very little practice you’ll be able to get out and do it.

Deja Vu: This a card is selected and placed in between the two red aces, another card is chosen and it immediately switches places with the other sandwiched cards as if we travelled back in time. I really like this trick although it has the potential to get a little muddy and unclear. You learn a slew of new sleights here. A switch, a color change and a production or two. They are not easy to do but they are doable. I have performed this in a real world environment many times with success, it is very surprising. I use a different color change to finish a couple are taught on the DVD that would fit nicely. You do need a table for this.

Twinsplit Remix: Basically a 3 is ripped into a 2 and Ace, with a toss they fuze back together. This is one that looks nice on video but I really have a hard time believing that it would be practical in the real world. I guess it is possible but man it is tough and very angle sensitive.You don’t need a table.

Bonus- Fission for Aces: This is very similar to the Twinsplit except you start with an 8, split it into 4s, split a 4 into 2s and a 2 into aces. You need a table for this and as tough as the twinsplit is this is a lot worse. You might be able to do this on video but probably not in real life.

Hofzzy Osbourne: The effect on this is beautiful, it is almost a textbook version of the Hofzinser ace problem. The aces are put aside, a card is selected, the ace matching the selections suit turns over, a card matching the value of the selection also turns over, this reversed card changes into the ace and the ace is revealed to be the selection. It sounds confusing but it is a very clear double transposition. You will need a table for this and there are a ton of sleights taught, making it very difficult. You learn a force, 2 reversals, a classic false count, and a color change. I have stumbled my way through this routine in the past but there are much better ways to accomplish a similar effect out there.

The Queens: This routine has become a signature of the Buck twins. I have been working with it for about 3 years and can’t get it down. The effect is that the queens vanish visually, one by one and return with a flourish. Every phase in this routine showcases a new difficult sleight, count or color change. You finish with a nice visual production of a four of a kind. I like this because it breaks up the monotony of pick a card tricks but it is very tough. Also it should be noted that they use a Clip Shift to finish the routine in the performance but they don’t teach the Clipshift on the DVD or even tell you where to find it. If you are interested in that move you can check out Chad Nelson’s Surfaced DVD produced by the Buck twins.

Swiss Made: This really isn’t a new trick it is a control and a new color change. You learn the discrepancy dribble control which I really like, it isn’t super tough move wise but psychologically it is a bit more challenging. You then find their card using a change where in you rotate a face up out jogged card and it visually changes into their card. There are some angle considerations here, a small clean up and it is a little knacky.

Collectors: Two selections are made and lost in the deck. With a flourish the aces are produced and low and behold they have found the selections. This has a funky set up and a couple places where you need to openly perform some shady stuff. The moves aren’t wildly difficult but memorizing the sequence will take time.

Hedbergs Peak: I perform this from time to time in the real world with varying success. It shouldn’t be too hard to do if you are comfortable with a classic pass and it is completely impromptu. Basically the top and bottom cards in the deck transpose twice.

69: This is a fun change of one four of a kind into another. If you are patient you will have this learned in a couple hours and after a few days you should be able to perform it. You will learn a flourishy false count called the Dracula count here. It is probably a bit too complex not to arouse suspicion but out of all of the magic on this disc it is probably the second best piece right behind hand to mouth. Instead of changing the 6s to 9s I change the Jacks to Kings.

Disk 2: Flourishes

There is a reason that this is on a different disk. There is a difference between cardistry and magic. The flourishes on this disk look tough but for the most part it is a matter of taking the time to memorize the sequences of moves. I do many of these flourishes daily and know that they are very doable even if they are tough. That said, I have seen even Dan and Dave struggle from time to time with these. All of the flourishes are taught silently with pop up captions on this DVD.

Carnahan Fan: This is a funky upside down fan from a new grip.

Molecule Four: 3 version of this flourish are taught, it is a simple 3 packet flourish.

Pandora: This is another signature flourish of the Buck twins. If is an elaboration of the tornado cut and regarded by many to be the most difficult sequence of cuts ever created. I don’t think that is the case in our current world of cardistry but it sufficeth to say that this is tough. For the movie Now You See Me they used this cut to show one of the characters practicing their card skills. For more information of the tornado cut check out Bone Ho’s Youtube and Vimeo channels.

Jackson Five: Is a routined set of five packet cuts similar to Chris Kenner’s Sybil cut. It all climaxes with a cut called Jay Leno. This is the multi-packet cut you may see in photos where one packet is supported by the performers chin.

Erdnase Go Round: This is a fun aerial cut where half of the deck flies up into the air only to land neatly on top of the deck.

Vertigo: This is a three packet completely false cut where one packet is hacky sacked off of the performers foot and caught.

Eko: Eko is an almost perpetual cut using 3 and 4 packets.

Mecka: This is based on the z cut and has a 2 or 3 pretty displays.

Akira: Is a super quick and simple cut using a unique finger flip that makes it look like you will drop a packet for just a second. This is probably one of the easier cuts to learn on the DVD.

Tectonic Verb: This is based on Bill Kalush’s cut. If you are interested in it, it is taught for free on Dan and Dave’s website. They have basically taken the classic cut and made it a three packet cut.

Disk 3: Everything Else

This is probably my favorite DVD of them all. If I had to choose a DVD I would have bought this one alone. There is a great breadth of knowledge here with some solid card work. There’s a lot here.

TG Deck Flip: This is a casual way to flip a deck end over end. It’s the kind of thing that is easy to do at the end or beginning of a larger flourish.

Hugh Scott Shuffle: This is a fairly simple upside down shuffle. I love performing this immediately after I do a couple in the hands shuffles. This looks a lot harder than it is.

The LePaul S Spread: I’m not a huge fan of the LePaul Spread. But here they teach you how to make a funky ‘S’ shape with it.

360 Deck Spin: This, like the deck flip, is a small spin you can perform to transition from flourish to flourish.

Under Pressure: This is one of the prettiest moves you can do with cards. Basically as you go to make a pressure fan its as if someone hits the rewind button and all of the cards cascade backwards. It is definitely knacky.

Heap Snatch: This is a very cool sloppy cutting sequence for the card table. It looks nice and haphazard but is completely false, I love it!

Blackjack Production: The set up here is fairly involved but it is an ace production with a surprise climax. You produce the aces then proceed to produce the 4 jacks as well. You would look like an extremely skilled card cheat if you performed Heap Snatch, the Blackjack production and moved into Paul Harris’s Reset. That would be a solid set.

Shuffled Aces: This is an in the hands production of the 4 aces using the Blackjack production as inspiration.

The Forte Flourish: This is a way to find a selected card in the process of tipping over a small fan of cards. This is fun but I don’t know of a place I could really use this. It really works best on a close up pad.

The Click Change: This is a one handed version of the snap change that ends clean. It is really tough but does a lot to improve the snap changes versatility.

The Jones Change: This is a one handed change, I guess they didn’t like how it was taught so they have it posted for free on their Vimeo channel.

Center Double: The name is a bit of a misnomer. This is a flourishy lift from the top of the deck that is then place in the middle and put down on the top once again. It is a bit flourishy but I don’t think that it would draw attention to the double.

Queens Transition: This is a nice way to transition from the Queens from Disk 1 to the Collectors. This is a nice touch but nothing is really taught. They basically say “Perform the mechanical reverse” If you don’t know that move then you are sunk.

Real Time: This is the four card production used on Disk 1 before Hoffzy Osborne. Basically it is a flourishy production of a four of a kind using a watch band.

Molecule Revisited: Touches on various ideas for 1 card, 4 card and arial productions all using the Molecule cut.

Finger Exercises: These are interesting and may be fun to practice when you don’t have cards but I don’t see a ton of practical application in performance. I guess it could help you get loose but I don’t see how they would help you perform better fans and double lifts. They are kinda fun to watch so they might be a good way to introduce your audience to sleight of hand.

Flourishes 101: Here they run over several classic flourishes 20 in all. Anything from fans to spreads to ace productions. All of the flourishes here are taught silently much like on Disk 2.