Like Jreremy is a fantastic artist and the principle he uses for Think Stop is an old, underused process that allows you to instantly know the card that the spectator randomly stops at. It’s powerful and easy to do. It’s also super versatile and can be applied to counteless tricks.

Since you instantly know the card they stopped at, you can choose to reveal it any way you wish.

There’s no memorized stack. After the spectator chooses their card, they can shuffle the deck to their heart’s content.

I gave the video 4 stars because I think Luke could have demonstrated more applications of the principle. The video is very short and the audio is not very good.

But again, the principle is very good and the Think Stop application is also good.

Luke presents the “bare bone” performance of this to camera. He explains it well and is a good tool for beginner card magicians.

However while he does show and explains the basic concepts, he could have delved much further by giving further effects and details, which is why I’ve knocked a star off this review.

For the beginner or for any one that has not come across this method before, I highly recommend that people buy it.

As Luke says in the explanation, this is an old principle that many have forgotten. For a few bucks you can remember it.

When choosing a mentalism effect, especially with playing cards, I always ask myself if I could really read minds is this something I would do? This is one of the few instances that answer is yes. The premise is simple, you can explain it in one sentence. You are left completely clean, and you nail it every time. You can learn it in a single pass of the less than 10 minute video and perform it immediately.

And best of all this is just one way to use the method. If you need a card really and truly randomly selected but instantly know which it is grab this.

That’s what Luke says in the promo and he is not kidding. Luke will teach you the basic principle that you can add to many effects and card locations you would like to do. You can even used a borrowed deck - have the spectator shuffle the cards and then find their selection - really, that easy. Please know that if you use a borrowed deck, you will have to do a little private/subtle something before you do the trick, much better if you use your own deck. When you hear that you can use a borrowed deck, you immediately know that there are no gimmicks to buy, use or make, don’t you love this already? It’s fun and easy and you will learn this very quickly. Use is as just a card trick or a mental effect, this is so versatile that once you know the secret, you can dress it up in a multitude of ways. You will certainly enjoy performing this effect soon after you watch the tutorial.

This is a short video, but it's incredible. In seven minutes, Luke teaches a method that can be used to fry your audience. This probably isn't for beginners of card magic, there are a few moves you should know in order to make this very convincing. However, if you can do this particular move, the rest of the trick is pretty simple. He teaches a very easy method that anybody can do with little practice, and also gives tips on how to make it even more convincing with a bit of work. I will be playing around with this.

oh look , a new principle....
i do a 13 card st**k at the top of the pack.
right on, that's what i call innovative, ground breaking principles.
the nerve to sell that as a "trick".
here, spare yourself 5 bucks and learn a st**ck, any st**k.

I own the DVD "Jermay's Mind" which is fantastic, and so perhaps I'm judging this little video too harshly in comparison.

The video is just under 8 minutes and is a very quick run through of the method. As I watched it, I thought to myself, "Oh, yes, I think I've seen something like this before..." and you might think so, too, even if you've never quite performed it.

Others have noted this effect is more like a tool, and I agree. Which is a little disappointing, as the video could have been so much more. There are no performances in front of an audience so that we can appreciate Luke Jermay's presentation. There's no hint of what to do if your spectator doesn't call "stop" when you want him to. (Your audience control will be key here.) There's a suggestion made that you can use this method in so very many different ways, but the only presentation taught is the one you see in the demo video. For beginners who don't know any f***** s******* you won't learn any from this video. (Too bad, Luke Jermay is very good at the one he is using!) It is suggested that you might want to use different st****, including (obviously) the SS, but if you don't know any of these, you're on your own.

(To be fair, I've seen other Penguin instructional videos, and whenever the video stops to teach me a f**** s******, I sometimes roll my eyes and think, "get on with it!" But I always appreciate it being there for any newbies — which once upon a time, we all were.)


The video comes across as "we had a couple of minutes to kill, let's film this real quick." To his credit, Luke Jermay is a great teacher and so no worries on that front. It's just that with a little extra care and effort, this could have been a really fantastic intro and exploration of this technique.

Spectator can completely make this fail if they select a card too far down.

This is less a trick than a tool, but I'm OK with that. It's a clever utility piece that can be built on. There's no gimmick and no special handling needed. It can't be repeated immediately (you need to do some reset), but that's not a bad thing.

The biggest issue is the audio. Luke is pretty soft-spoken and the sound quality isn't so great. I had to listen to it with the volume all the way up.

This is super easy to do. The only reason i'm giving it 4 instead of 5 is there is a very minor issue with when te spectator says stop. I've been performing for 30+ years so it's not an issue for me, but beginners might have some what if questions.