Okay fellas, I'm going to invent a quick subjective "awesomeness of the effect" rating chart of 1-10.
Anything below a 5 is not a good investment. A "10" would be a magic effect worth mortgaging the house...or at least pawning your car title for :).

Billoon is, in the eyes of this novice (who has thousands of dollars worth of magic much of which is beyond my ability to learn or perform well due to time constraints and a snail's pace learning curve at times), a great bargain. The effect isn't draw dropping but it is eye-brow raising. I gave it 5 stars because of the value received for the money spent. Billoon is a Solid 7.

Experienced magicians probably already know the effect like the back of their hand but I had never seen this before until Matt demonstrated it in the Penguin trailer. After seeing the effect it only took me .00017 seconds (Data of Star Trek's processing speed) to conclude that this was definitely worth _ dollars to learn.

I just watched the download and am very happy to have learned something neat and new that is very performable: even I can do it. Matt is as good a teacher as Loki or Oz and was fun to watch.

To watch a great magician spend 20 minutes teaching a good effect is worth the money and then some.

Billoon is an easy, powerful effect. I am a pretty advanced magician so I got the sleight of hand/ handling down in minutes, but to a beginner it might take a little practice. That said for the practice that needs to be put in the reactions are worth it!!!

I love the Bold magic approach. Being in the Cool Box made it an even better deal.
Some observations:
* Practice the work with the bill related in a variety of conditions and spend the time developing crowd management.Dropping it is Bad.
* Great Bar trick. Check with management on a balloon popping every 10 minutes for restaurant work :-)
* You will definitely need to get Opaque balloons as mentioned in the instructions. You will find these at a party shop. Regular balloons will not work.
* You want DARK blue or Black in color.
* When creating the effect I am a bit more aggressive in my prep, resulting in a small end product. It still does what it needs to do and is harder to detect. (This will make more sense when you see the video.)
* Do NOT hold the balloon on your leg and have someone stab at it, no matter how cute she is. ~hrm

The tips and insights are good too. I liked Melt, I like this. Good teaching and presentation by Matt.

This when I bought this trick in a sense I was a little hesitant because I am not too into balloon tricks. However, the trick it's self is very clever and recommendable. I think there is a better application instead of using a dollar bill but, with the same method. I instead have someone sign a card, get it lost in the deck, pull a card out but it is not their card, then with that card i fold it up, melt it through the balloon, pop it and out comes the signed card. The bill (original version) is very good but i think that taking the same method and using cards instead has got me a better reaction. Over all very it is a very nice trick and this is coming from someone who is not totally into balloon tricks.

I have Miracles While you wait and have loved this effect for years. I met Matt Johnson at Magic Live and he showed me three tricks in about 5 min and was very entertaining. I bought his handling of billoon and really enjoy the additions he made to the routine and think that they change the overall dynamic of the effect in a positive way.

Simple. Effective. Clever.

Best
Anton

I do magic from time to time at my friends restaurant (The Old Hangar) here in Japan. I was doing ok with card magic but wanted something more visual. I have performed this magic five times now and the reactions were priceless. I highly recommend this to anyone wanting to entertain without just using cards.

Very clever idea. Finding the right Billoon was not easy. So far Walmart seems to be the best. There is another balloon penetration out there with the same idea. Not sure who's. Easy to do and prepare. Can be done surrounded. Easy to carry in your pocket. Well worth the price and best of all it is a download that you get right after your pay for it.

If you'researching a baloon trick for a party or for walk-around this is for you! Super easy and super practical!

I was initially introduced to Matt Johnson in the awesome download "melt" available here on penguin. In Melt, Matt succeeded at being a great teacher( teaching an already awesome effect) and proved to be an extremely personable guy. In his explanation of Billoon, nothing had changed. He goes over all the workings to the beautifily simplistic effect. Focousing not only on the mechanics, but the psychology of the rouine too. I remember learning the original Billoon on a VHS by mark keenest years ago and thinking it was good, but just not for me. We'll Matt reformatted te routine, and I've found now that it fits perfectly into my walk around set.

Downloaded this late last night. I already knew the mechanics to create the illusion as I have two other 'item' through balloon effects. They both have a similar principle.

I wouldn't say this is for beginners as it will take a little work for the 'bill' part of the routine to get comfortable with getting the bill 'through' the balloon, but the illusion is perfect and you are left clean....I like clean. I'm actually a professional Balloon Twister of many years so always looking for great 'balloon tricks/illusion' I can add to my repertoire to sometimes break the monotony of long lines.

It's nice to stop every once in awhile and Entertain the crowd waiting with a Cool Balloon Trick.

If you like balloons at all and like Money Magic, this is a perfect fit. Matt is an awesome teacher. I also downloaded his Melt last night and will do a review on it.

I will add this to my repertoire once I put in the practice to give it the time it deserves. Highly recommended. Mind you, it is a little tough with our new Canadian Plastic bills, so it's best to try and get a 'paper' bill or carry one and pass it out for examination. Mind you if you use your own, you can't have it signed. Great little illusion.