The DVD is well produced. It has a classical music sound track which I like (I can imagine some people might not). The teaching is a tad dry but very good. Ray occasionally flashes but overall he seems to be a very capable Cups and Balls performer.

Being a noob to the Balls and Cups, I didn't understand the organization of the material at first. Once I got midway through the 2nd DVD it all became clear and I got excited about the possibilities. You really are given the building blocks to creating your own routine. The building blocks are roughly presented as a series of beginnings, middles, and endings.

There are a few things that are on this DVD that I gather may not be on the Ammar DVD. These are:

The Eddy Ray Advanced Stack Move - loading two balls into the same nested cup.
The Eddy Ray Cheat Move - a better version of the Click Move - this is one of the best moves on the DVD.
Francis Carlyle's Proposition Bet - not really a trick - more of an optical illusion
Four wand spins
Wand Appearance with a silk
Wand Disappearance with a silk
Eddy Ray Wand vanish
Roy Benson Bowl Routine

The Roy Benson Bowl Routine is a bonus. Basically a single cup (bowl) routine with sponge balls. His final load is a deck of cards so it is a really great transition routine.

My only complaint was that I wish Ray provided a little more instruction on misdirection, acting, patter and presentation. I give this DVD set a 4/5 rating. He lost a point for some lazy editing on the second disk and a dry presentation.

I didn't like this. don't get me wrong, this is a good resource to learn the cups and balls from. It's just that it is far from the best. This is all good usable material, but if you really want to learn the cups and balls then get Michael Ammar's DVDs, also available from Penguin. Eddy ray's dvds are just a rehash of the basics. Who knows maybe Eddy learned from Ammar too.

I don't really like Eddy Ray but that is my personal opinion. Everything on this DVD is excellent and everyone with Cups & Balls should own it. Learn how to do all essential moves, sleights and loads to fascinate your audience!

I own both this set and the Michael Ammar set. You will probably see these compared rather a lot. Whether by chance or design they teach almost the same material in almost the same order. This means they will be compared, and in a comparison, this set (in my book) comes up short.

I don't know whether this similarity was intentional or not. If it was, I feel it was a bad choice, both ethically and strategically.

I believe Ray has a lot of talent, though, and feel that, had his video not been so close to Ammar's more people would make the choice I made...to own both.

On with the comparison:

Both are sold here at Penguin.

Both will teach you *more* than enough moves to get a C&B routine up and running.

Each has some material the other does not. Ammar's extra material is, to my way of thinking, much better than Ray's extra material. You may disagree. Ammar has an additional opening sequence, an additional closing sequence, and a lot of philosophy and history.

This one has a lower price (always important), it has a Benson Bowl routine, and it has a visual demonstration of the Carlysle proposition bet with a Paul Fox Style cup and a Lacrosse ball. I may be missing something else, but that's what comes to mind.

If I could only have one set, it would be the Ammar set. If it was out of stock, I'd get this without regrets. My true preference is to have both.

In sum, nothing wrong with this product...it's just that there is something better which was around first.

This is a solid resource. Make no mistake, it covers a ridiculous amount of content. It's begins simply and moves methodically to more advanced material. It covers everything you need to know about Cups & Balls (and even magic wands! Which was a weird inclusion). My suggestion would be to get a resource like this and then invest in Table Hopping Cups and Balls. Buy now if you are interested in more than just cards and sponge balls :)

Really good material !!!
From the basics up to advanced level
Someone can say that DVD's Ammar are better, I do not say that is true or not.
I personally say that with the DVD of Eddy a Magician can start and go very high.
I saw in 1989 in Turin (Italy) the Ammar's conference routine ( when he and me had hair.... ) on the cups and balls. So I know what I say.

This 2 DVD set is a great reference on the cups and balls. It has a great covering of sleights and really teaches you all the moves you may need (including the benson bowl routine). However, compared to Ammar's 2 DVD set, it is missing routine samples and it is not as entertaining (I still haven't find a DVD where Eddy is not a bit boring)

this is a very good deal that all the thing you get come together.instead of paying for each item get them all together.

This is a great instruction DVD on cups and balls. I would go as far to say that it is a must have for those starting out learning this ancient trick. There's a ton of information in this DVD that can give the beginner a great head start in their learning. My only problem with this DVD and why I'm not giving it 5 stars is that Ray's presentation is too DRY! I understand that this is not a toy but a learning tool, but it's always better when an instructor presents the material in a more animated manner.

This is a must have for someone just getting into cups and balls. You will learn more than enough moves to come up with a great routine. I've been doing cups and balls for several years, and still learned a few moves that I will add to my routine. The teaching is great, probably too much detail if you know anything about cups and balls. Add to cart, and you won't be disappointed.