I bought the original when it was first released & I want to say this. I am Penguin Magic's very
first customer since they first opened their online store 20 years ago. I've bought hundreds of
their products since. I've only written 3 reviews. This is my 4th and for good reason.
I've
been a professional magician for over 50 years, and I've seen it all. Pretty much done it all. I've
met most of the pro's and even partied with some.
I've bought every single one of Rick
Lax's tricks from his very first balloon trick up to the present. He's my favorite creator, Paul
Harris being 2nd and Oz being 3rd. As far as getting deeply emotional reactions, this trick is the
easiest way to do it. And every single time it has never failed to garner the reactions shown in the
trailer.
I've done it in bars, restaurants, at wedding receptions, country clubs, backyard
barbecues, at a 100th B'day party, Xmas & New Year's Eve parties, in business venues and people's
homes. But the best one, and the reason this has stayed in my set all these years when others drop
out, is because of the following...
I walked past a young, scraggly, homeless man one day,
sitting on the sidewalk and begging for change. Instead of simply giving him money which wouldn't
last but a day, I wanted to empower him to elevate his life to a new level and give him the feeling
of hope for a better tomorrow.
I pulled out a $1 bill, and when he looked up I
miraculously changed it into a $20 bill and placed it into his cup. I now had his attention as I
withdrew the PPF deck. I asked him if he believed in Magic. He said yes. I asked him if he ever had
a Tarot Card reading. He said no.
I sat beside him and took out the cards. When it came
time for him to choose his Future card, I subtly guided him to choose the Wheel of Fortune card
because on the cheat sheet on the box the word Hope was written next to it, which I showed to him.
At the end, when I turned over his Wheel of Fortune card and showed him that fate had
chosen his future for him, he burst into tears, stood up, brushed off his clothing and hugged me. As
I was also moved to tears, I realized that here we were, two grown men who had just met on the
street, crying and hugging each other. I'm getting glassy-eyed just writing this. That was a day of
Magic and Hope which both of us will remember for the rest of our lives.
Put this in your
Cart and buy it now. This isn't a magic trick. It's a Lifesaver.
39 of 43 magicians found this helpful.
Rick Lax is really giving Paul Harris a run for his money as the greatest living magic trick
inventor. Over the past few years I've purchased a number of Rick's effects (at incredibly
reasonable prices!) and have yet to be disappointed. The thing I love about Rick, and Paul Harris
as well, is that they are less concerned about the method and more about the emotional connection
with the spectator. It's powerful stuff.
Any knowledgeable magician should be able to
figure out this trick's basic method by watching the trailer but it is worth the price for the
wonderful subtleties that Rick has clearly spent a long time honing, let alone the beautiful Tarot
Deck that comes with the purchase. He's thought of everything, from setup, to a clever "cheat
sheet" for the Tarot read, to a very fast reset that can be done in front of the spectators. Just
top notch.
The one caveat I would give, and this is no criticism of the effect, is that I
would make sure to only use positive interpretations when doing the Tarot reading. I've preformed
Paul Harris' "Dr. Fun", which is similar to this in that the reaction of the spectator can be
surprisingly emotional and learned early on not to go "negative"-no dead relatives, pets, etc. Keep
it all upbeat.
Just a great effect. Simple, easy, effective. Well done, Mr. Lax!
22 of 22 magicians found this helpful.
So, I really like this and actually think it fits my style. (I play the role of a mentalist/modern
shamanic healer.) Rarely do I buy a trick that I feel I can actually use as it. This one I can. That
said, it won't fit everyone's style. It just wouldn't be a good fit for most magicians. Let me put
it this way, if an invisible deck fits your style, then just stick with it, don't bother with this.
Compared to the invisible deck, this will take much longer to set up correctly (in terms of patter),
and if you don't set the mood right and instead play the role of the skeptic, trickster, showman, or
conman, then when it comes to tarot, it will all seem a pointless farce.
For those who find
that the invisible deck looks too much like a magic trick and you want an effect that is more
believable and less impossible, and if your style leans more towards the bizarre and you also do
tarot, then this might be for you. It can touch the participant more. It is really about feeling. I
see this as a good opening for someone who wants to do tarot readings. It would be out of place if
it is the only tarot thing you do.
As to the trick itself. It is devilishly clever. There are
multiple principles at work, and they are all layered together. I won't tip just what they are, but
as I watched the video I had several "Damn, that is clever" moments. I can tell that some real time
and effort went into thinking this out. This is a developed routine, not just a good idea to be used
elsewhere. There are many other tarot tricks available. The Invocation, for instance, has several,
but each of those are generally just card trick adapted to a tarot deck. This is more in that it
relates to a very common tarot reading.
The deck itself is first rate. The art is good. It looks
aged. It handles the way it needs to.
9 of 9 magicians found this helpful.
This is straightforward, not difficult, persuasive, and lots of fun. The cards are handsome and
eye-catching. First rate overall!
9 of 10 magicians found this helpful.
This is a great trick. Thanks u so much Rick!!! It is very easy to do and gets great reactions. The
video instruction is also very helpful and detailed. The only reason I kind of took away half a star
is because I am afraid that it may not last very long after the gimmick wears out. I hope penguin
sells refill decks for this. I will definitely get them.
9 of 10 magicians found this helpful.
This reminds me of Deep 3 by Bro Gilbert. In that trick, two unique jokers reveal the initials of a
spectator's "first love." That trick seems more organic, because after a deck switch, you can go on
with other card tricks with the spec none the wiser.
With PPF, you have yet another dedicated
deck, which, unless you are doing a full mentalism / haunted magic close-up act, seems a bit suspect
whipping out mid-performance: "Hey, NOW let's do a trick with a Tarot deck!" I thought the idea was
to have a deck NOT look like a trick deck. You can't repeat it for the same group, and once you're
done, well, time to set that deck aside.
The trick exploits the "novelty" of Tarot cards, and
minimalizes any actual "reading" some specs may expect when they see a Tarot. But, do you seriously
want to get into in-depth Tarot readings anyway? This is a MAGIC trick.
Along w/ Deep 3, PPF
seeks to associate a deep intimate "psychic connection" between the subject (usually a woman) and
the Magi. ("Hey Bro! Let me read your Tarot, yo?")
Does it rise above "See, I KNEW you'd pick
those cards, 'cause I wrote a Pre-Dict-Shun!"? Perhaps. It seems fresh because of the colorful
picture cards.
The cards are high quality, the teaching clear, the effect easy to perform.
For a one-off, stand-alone effect with a unique prop, it's OK.
10 of 13 magicians found this helpful.
This is not just an amazing trick, it's also an absolutely diabolical reading tool!
Rick
Lax is an AWESOME teacher! No stone is unturned in his instruction.
6 of 6 magicians found this helpful.
I hate to leave a negative review but these cards have never worked! I bought them a couple of years
ago and had to put them away unperformed. I have just tried to use them again - for Zoom - but after
playing around with them again, I have remembered why I put them away in the first place!
The
problem - on my set - is, the r**** & s***** on my cards does not work! I have a r******* s**** and
have applied it but still the cards do not do what they are supposed to!
I do normally know how
to handle cards as I am a Professional Close-Up Magician but am so disappointed in these cards!
I have gone with two stars as opposed to one as they look great and the routine is very nice,
it's just a shame that my cards seem to have been treated with something that make the handling
almost impossible!
9 of 13 magicians found this helpful.
Great magic should connect with people and this trick does that in spades. If anyone wants a piece
of magic with a unique captivating story line and makes a strong emotional connection this trick is
for you. Bravo Mr. Lax, you have another winner!!!
6 of 7 magicians found this helpful.
Iv been wanting to buy this effect ever since it came out. I had a feeling of the method but still
like how it was presented and custom cards. So I eventually got it. Cards a good quality, strong
sturdy. Nice detail to them. Ricks teaching is great as always breaks it down step by step.
Unfortunately for me the deck didn't work as described. Without revealing the method, the deck
has to be broken in, which is fine considering things and you expect that and ricks shows you what
to do. Even after I did it several times the deck was doing things I couldn't control. Things it
shouldn't do if it was constructed 100%. This is the only thing I can say without revealing the
method. Maybe I got a bad batch and unfortunately for me I would have no confidence in performing
this without flashing.
With the trick being titled as the greatest trick rock has created,
maybe they should have limited to maybe 100 people so wasn't mass produced and thing alike this
wouldn't happen.
If your thinking about buying it I would highly recommend it. It's a
brilliant effect, great video and teaching, I just got a bad batch as I said.
6 of 8 magicians found this helpful.