Hi. I have to respectfully disagree with some of my fellow magi. While the effects are sleightless,
I would not recommend it to beginners at all. This tricks in the book are a bit outdated. That
doesn't mean that the book doesn't serve a purpose. As Oz explains, Mr. Scarne is a legend and it's
good to have anything written by him on your book shelf. However, this book is a selection of tricks
that have been modified by Scarne. He has removed the sleights and replaced them with subtleties. If
you are not an experienced performer, the subtleties will not fly by your audience. It's better for
beginners to focus on skill and sleight-of-hand. There is some other material on self-working card
magic that's good for beginners, but this is not one of them. It's more of a reference book to me. I
skim through the pages and see if there are ways that I can apply some of the tricks and subtleties
into my act. Again, if you are a beginner, do not expect to get much mileage out of this book. By
all means, buy it. After all, the price is awesome. However, I advise you to focus on learning the
basics from works like Royal Road to Card Magic, Expert Card Technique, Card College, etc...
When you have a firm grasp of the basics of card magic, and experience in performing in general;
then this is something you should take a look at. You are sure to find some gems and other material
that suits you.
3 of 4 magicians found this helpful.
I had my doubts about this book, no sleight of hand? These must be stupid tricks then! Boy was I
wrong! Many of the tricks in here are good as well as some not as good, AND it teaches the Do as I
do so I think its a way better investment, especially since it's 155 tricks. Theres stuff for
everyone in this book, like 4 ace tricks, poker tricks, counting and spelling tricks, mentalism with
cards, and some math tricks. I highly recommend this book to someone whose looking for a break from
their knuckle busting sleights.
2 of 3 magicians found this helpful.
Don't be fooled by this book: sure, many of the tricks are lame or outdated. Some are weird
counting tricks, some spelling tricks (which I don't care for), but there are a surprising number of
wonderful gems throughout this book. Work through all the tricks, as I have, and you'll find
several that will work for you.
2 of 3 magicians found this helpful.
This book is perfect for the beginner and the professional. If you need a break in your act from
sweating like a pig monkey from all that sleight of hand, this tricks are perfect for you. Even if
you don't sweat and just want to learn some good tricks that are super simple to do, buy this. And
even if your want something tottaly different, buy this book!!! Some tricks are good, some are great
and some are amazing! Only about six tricks are terrible. I recomend this to anybody who works with
cards in their act.
2 of 3 magicians found this helpful.