But a masterclass in audience management.

It turns out that the secret here is not rocket science. But the power of the effect is in Dani's capacity to create an ILLUSION of spontaneity, even chaos, with maximum hands-on spectator involvement, while maintaining all the control of the cards he needs to achieve the outcome. Indeed, it is the spectators who set up everything, with Dani's deft guidance, and it is done so casually, almost frenetically, that they don't even realize that they are setting up the outcome, though it looks and feels like they are contributing randomness and disorder. Given the sweeping performance lessons to be learned here, you get more than your money's worth.

There are few caveats for complete neophyte. First, despite the name, the performer does handle the cards a bit, and for very specific and crucial reasons--indeed, this is shown in the trailer. Dani's teaching goes over how to do so deftly and purposefully while maintaining the illusion that the spectators do all the handling.

Second, like in most of his videos Dani assumes his viewers have some basic card handling aptitude and knowledge, and he glosses over some principles that are common knowledge to almost all of us but may be foreign if this is the first trick you've ever downloaded. But don't despair--the trick is still self-contained and you can still pick up everything you need by reviewing closely where he seems to rush.

Third, the borrowed deck version requires a rather bold move and, at least to me, does not seem nearly as straightforward or baffling. The gimmicked version (which is really very simple and can be quickly reset if you need to) stands on its own.

Fourth, you really need several spectator-assistants to create the pseudo-chaos and maximize the mystery. Dani doesn't discuss an approach with just one or two spectators, and I hope someone raises this and has some ideas in the private forum.

Finally, Dani has a heavy accent and at times moves quickly. I speak Spanish and am used to Spaniards speaking English, and even I had to double back in places to clarify what he was saying. But fear not--Dani's English is excellent, despite his accent, and listening closely and reviewing will be rewarded.

Overall, Dani DaOrtiz is a master cardician and you never go wrong investing in his work. This effect is no exception. It is especially a must-have for CAAN/ACAAN fanatics.

This is fantastic and there is only 1 reason i did not give 5 stars. Let me explain.

Everything Dani does is great, and all effects are well thought out and well designed, the thinking behind it that he explains is great.

If you like the effect, buy it! you wont regret it.

Why not 5 stars? I have bought all Dani's lectures here, and they are all wonderful and so packed with info. In the lectures there is more detail and that made this make more sense to me. Also this trick is a combination of a few things he explained in the lectures.
Lecture 3 is my favorite and the trick he ends with there is the best effect I know and I perform it regularly. It's an effect where spectators randomly remove cards until 1 is left, that one card is the thought of card.
If you know this trick, you can reverse engineer this, but I still bought it just because I love everything Dani does.

So why not 5 stars? Because I think buying lecture No3 for just a little bit more is more value for money.

But this effect alone is already great and well worth it!

"Totally Hands Off" is everything but hands off. Also, it's really not "Any Card At Any Number". This doesn't happen often, but after watching the video and receiving the "props" I felt burned. The biggest "trick" is my wallet is magically lighter and I was the one that opened my wallet. Seriously, this could easily be a download lesson for half the price. It's just wrong to mislead customers in the descriptions and sell "props" or "cards" that are not needed to be supplied to most magicians to perform the trick. There is nothing "special" that you need to receive in the mail.

Bottom line, I do not recommend anyone buy "Totally Hands Off" unless you are "literally" missing a deck, but I would recommend a download at half the price.

Don't get me wrong - this is a good effect and can definitely work well in the right environment. As we know, Dani is Dani and the way he performs is unique to him and its through his performance that he is able to carefully manage the crowd and misdirect when he needs to. If you copy Dani exactly, then you'll be fine but most of us shouldn't or won't. So, you need to think carefully around your presentation and how you can ensure that the effect "works' so that it appears you are doing nothing. The download is clear although I would strongly recommend you watch it through and then again more slowly and then again with cards in hand.

Don't get me wrong, this is a,*fantastic* trick; but if you watch the first video, you'll see that the sentence, "I never touch the deck" means something very different to Dani than it does to us Earth people.

Or should I say, this is not a Any "thought of" Card at any Number. The only reason it looks a that way is because he's flying through spectators like mad with his "chaos" so it might appear to anybody BUT the spectator that names the card that it was a thought-of card. But it is not. The card not only does the card not come solely from the spectator's mind, it also is not "any card in the deck".

I'm docking this a couple points because I think it's a bit deceptive to market this that way. Why does this chap my hide? Because there are ACAANs out there that truly use a thought of card. They might have more difficult slight of hand or memorization techniques, but they exist. This is not in that league.

Otherwise, good work.

It’s true that there are no really difficult moves, but it’s not true that he doesn’t touch the deck. Also, as another review has said, although the moves are not difficult, the audience management IS difficult. You have to be a master at audience management, which Dani is and which most of us are not. Also, he does this at a table with four or five spectators sitting around. Doing it in different conditions would be even more challenging. It’s fascinating to watch him work and illuminating to hear his explanation, but I don’t expect that many will be doing the trick.

I love Dani's stuff and am happy and excited to learn his effects and adapt them to my shows. However, this one should not be the grand finale of ACAAN. Given the method, I cannot use it. I would have thought this would have been in the earlier ACAAN phases. It is powerful in the video, but his others are much more practical in walk around close up and impromptu settings. Sorry. But I will keep purchasing his items. He is incredible.

This is PRECISELY what you see in the video. The thought behind it and the technique is sheer brilliance. The proper presentation relies on Dani's [loose and chaotic] style. I will need to practice and evaluate how I can adjust to match my style. But that does not reduce my adoration for the technique/process he has developed.

Of course, it requires a bit of practice. This is primarily in order to carry out the process in a relaxed manner; so as not to throw suspicion on the operation. A little bit of mental energy is required, too; merely a bit of simple math in your head.

Okay so obviously I loved this as I gave it a 5 star rating but wanted to write up a review as seeing many people confused about certain things on forums. Firstly the difficulty. Anyone who's familiar with Dani's work will know that slight wise this is easy, no real big moves, but this isn't for beginners. It's your performance that sells this effect, you need to create this idea of chaos and be able to say at the end "I never touch the deck" and be believed. This is my go to ACAAN now, I had to change parts to suit me but this is just huge.