This lecture's strength is in Josh's construction of his routines. All the little touches, and the thinking behind these effects, are the key takeaways here. Most of these items cannot be performed "out of the box," and the majority cannot be made yourself from everyday items. In case someone is most interested in this lecture for specific effects, I think it's useful to break down what is needed to perform the routines, as described.

1. Order From Chaos. The kicker components of the effect require two watches, a special handkerchief (fairly common prop that you may have, around $20 if you do not), and a special deck of cards that can't be made yourself (around $30). He uses a specific wine glass and describes where to get it, but any glass that fits a deck will work.

2. Multitasking. Impromptu from a borrowed, shuffled deck. No additional cost or gimmicks. This was my favorite effect on the lecture (cause I love the sneakiness), although I have a sense that it will play better for magicians than lay people because of one of the items he mentions in the interview about the psychological study he conducted about magic.

3. Out of Sight. This cannot be made up yourself. Josh has the gimmick specially made. He sells it on Vanishing Inc for $75. I could not find this in the Penguin catalog.

4. Triad Coins. This is another product demo. Gimmicks other than Josh's may be able to pull this off with a bit of handling variation. If you do coins and have gimmicks, you may have part of this in your collection but probably not the full set. While this version solves a specific limitation found in his previous version, I like the previous version better because it works with the more standard gimmicks that are machined into a variety of coins. You could not do this improved version, for example, with walking liberties or morgans. You're limited to the coins he has for sale - on Vanishing Inc or on here.

5. Signs. Pretty cool do as I do plot - similar look to Tap a Lack by Paul Cummings or The Epitome Location by Harry Lorayne - but without the math. This can be made up pretty easily, and you may have the one requirement laying around. If not, $5 here on Penguin will cover it.

6. Trojan Deck. This can be made up yourself but requires purchasing special cards (about $45 total) to perform this as explained.

7. Balance. Could be made yourself but would require sourcing the ingredients to the gimmicks and a lot of trial and error with the arts and crafts. This was just listed for sale on various dealers for $200 with all props included.

I normally come away from a Joshua Jay lecture excited about at least one routine that I will immediately workshop to see how it fits in with my repertoire of favorites, but this time I did not. I will give Multitasking a fair shake and test it for layman, but I think there are much stronger tricks to be done with cards. And since Josh explains that laymen tend to think of card tricks as all the same, it's important for the card effects you do choose to perform to be the strongest, most surprising effects possible.

The interview about the magic study was the most important part of this lecture for me.

What wonderful examples of storytelling in magic.

Joshua Jay was very quick to let people know in the lecture that he does have a variety of pieces that aren't storytelling pieces... but as Eugene Burger says, the important thing is texture.

Every single effect Joshua Jay talked about in this lecture was truly brilliant. I picked up the lecture because I wanted to learn magic, but I left feeling inspired and like that kid who first started magic. I have a lot to learn... but I'm ready to do it.

Thank you Joshua Jay for the great experience and advice.

One of the best download lectures I have purchased! Every trick is a fooler! And the interview at the end is gold! Great job and thank you Josh and Penguin!

I really enjoyed the routines which Joshua Jay displayed during his latest Penguin Magic lecture. His explanations are clear and concise, although some of the effects require building your own props or gimmicks. It would be great if
"Trojan Deck" and "Tensegrity" (balancing toothbrush, pencil, pack of cigarettes, etc) were available for sale at Penguin Magic! I did not really care for the 45 minutes sit down interview with Dan Harlan. It's nice to hear these 2 great magicians talk about our favorite hobby, but I would prefer more time dedicated to showing and explaining new routines...

His balance real story is so touching and memorable!

Joshua Jay always has great magic and makes it entertaining. He gives practical and useable explanations.

I have bought so many card tricks (and a very few non card trick) but this is the product that I am most happy about. All of the other tricks were 4 or 4.5 stars for me but this one is the only one I have rated 5 stars so far. ( I have also bought Tornado by Justin Flom that I'm very hyped about but I hadn't had time to check it out. Let's see if it deserves a 5 stars too or not!)
Just buy this one. Not only great tricks are taught but the interview was awesome and the touch a lot on psychology and how to make your performance way better!

I'm sorry to say I was let down by this purchase because the 2 main card tricks required me to gaff my cards. The trailer lead me to believe that they could be done with a straight deck. What a Humbug. The shuffleboard trick was the only one on the video that was somewhat of a value to me. And Pretty much anyone with half a brain can figure out how the trick with the toothbrush is done. Unfortunately I give this lecture a thumbs down

I was very let down when I found out all but one of the tricks required GAFF cards. The trailer led me to believe it was done with a straight deck. What a Humbug.....

I was let down when I found out all but one trick required the use of GAFF cards. Had I known that I would have went with another download. The trailer made it seem like you could do these tricks with a straight deck. What a Humbug.