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The Gypsy Monte

Mark Elsdon

Card-Shark.de

(Based on 1 review)
You love the "Ultimate Monte" by Michael Skinner? Me too!

With this card set you get the possibility to perform this effect with this new "vintage feeling". Different from all the other cards of the Gypsy Deck these cards have printed indexes to make this effect possible.

You get the three gaffed cards, together with a new routine by Mark Elsdon.

Reviews

Bryce Kuhlman

Official Reviewer

Sep 21, 2008

I've always been intrigued by Michael Skinner's Ultimate Monte. I have a set of the Bicycle cards in my drawer of "card tricks to work on some day." Considering that they've been in the drawer for years, I obviously haven't been very moved to work on it.

With the Gypsy Monte set from Card-Shark, I'm now working on it every night. I think it's a matter of believability. My friend Eugene Burger does a wonderful 3-card Monte routine with regular cards. He firmly believes that the Monte should be done with regular cards and performed in the same style as one would see on the streets of New York. I mostly agree with him.

The Skinner version is less about the con game and more about magic, which is why I like it. With the beautiful Gypsy cards, I've found it much easier to develop a magical story that doesn't rely on modern conceptions of the game.

The cards, as usual, are a joy to work with. They also come with a very simple routine from Mark Elsdon. I found it to be lacking, compared to other versions of the Skinner Monte. Using the gaffed cards removes almost all of the moves, so I see no real reason for a "simpler" routine.
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