Great for doing in senior living, got lots of widow numbers. I am 73

I've been working this since the beginning of the year - I highly recommend it for a number of reasons:

a) You're getting away from doing a magic trick with a pack of cards, you can afford to be more casual and adlib by utilizing just one card as if it's an afterthought to your presentation.
You are free of the 52 card look.

b) It is super simple, and unlike other effects by RL that require you to be tearing and positioning pieces with a bit more thought and attention - this effect is fool proof as it's so simple to do in any situation

c) Sure, you can get a girls number with this...but getting your client's details are far more valuable if you want to keep earning the $$$ !
It's great effect to do to exchange personal info without really having to ask to do so as it's part of the effect. Genius.

d) I'm not a fan of effects that always market "REQUIRES NO SLEIGHT OF HAND", but I like this because you can ditch your cards and focus on your presentation...it is just a single card.

Great as an opener, or as an afterthought if you'd like to pass on your details and grab theirs! Well done RL !

Rick Lax has done it again. Great as a stand alone or as a routine closer. The gimmick is not the best part of this trick, it's absolutely necessary, but not the best part. The best part of this trick is the teaching that Rick Lax provides. There are many great "tricks" out there but very few great teachers of magic. Rick takes his time and teaches you the in's and out's, as well as the pyschology behind why you say and act the way that you do. Let's face it, magic tricks without an understanding of human psychology is LAME. What you learn here with Rick will serve you well on this trick and future tricks and routines. Thank you Rick and Penguin Magic for always putting out the highest quality product. Contact is fantastic and great for beginners and pros alike.

This trick is really good. Super simple and can be done with any skill level. But why limit it to just playing cards?. Once you have the the cards necessary to do this you will know what I mean. this can be adapted to anything really. So if you run out of gimmicks. You can actually just use blank business cards once you know the method and handling. If you know anything about card splitting, you could make your own card gaffs. I'm not sure why these ideas weren't thought of or shared in the download, but it's a good alternative if you can't afford to constantly buy refills. By all means you should buy this effect and support the magic. With all this said, it would be really nice if blank business cards could possibly be provided as a future option. Just have them made up the same way as the playing cards are. It would feel more organic. It would also be a good way for us magicians to get away from using playing cards all the time. Just an idea. But overall this is still a really good effect. I'll definitely have fun with it.

Contact – Rick Lax

Product description : Rick Lax is one of the most prolific magician those days, he releases a lot of products through Penguin Magic. Contact is the third and last episode of 3 tricks which involve ripping or tearing a single card, it’s also one of my first Rick Lax trick, so I don’t have any expectations. Contact is a trick in which you rip a card in half, you write your telephone number on one half, the spectator writes his number on the other one, you place their number in their hand and you clearly show you have yours. With a simple wave, your number turns into theirs and they now have YOUR number in their hands which is perfect for doing magic and picking up girls ! But is the trick good, is it worth your money ? Let’s find out !

Price and where to buy it : This is sold at $19.95 and you can find on Penguin Magic website !

What you get : You get a small ziplock bag with inside the artwork, it’s not a fancy packaging but it does the job, protecting the cards. Inside, you’ll find a small business card with the link to watch the explanations video online. One of the cool feature of the player they’re using is that you can very easily download this video and you don’t need (after the download) any internet connection. The video lasts around 20 minutes, it’s a very well produced one, no thrills or fancy editing but everything is well covered and Rick Lax is a great teacher. You’re also provided with 28 gimmicked cards, they’re printed by the USPCC so the quality of the card is fantastic, the same as the standard bicycle you’re using. I’ve seen similar gaffed cards but not exactly like Contact’s ones. So you get 28 cards and a well shot video for less than $20 ? This is a really really good deal !

Teaser : http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/8315

The pros and the cons : Here is the core of my review, let's begin with the cons, as I will usually be doing, I prefer to keep the good things for the end.

THE CONS :
– You will need to use 1 card per performance so the initial cost when you buy the trick is around 70 cents per performances. You can buy more cards if you want to on Penguin Magic, so the cost can be as low as 23 cents per performance which is a very good deal !
– The piece on which they wrote their number can’t be handed out but Rick explains in depth his psychology behind the trick and why this is not a problem.

THE PROS :
– It’s very easy to carry around, just stick a few of these in your deck and you’re ready for the night. Also, taking a card out of your deck reinforces the fact it’s a regular card.
– The back of the card is printed on Maiden design which looks a lot like the Rider back so there is no real problem here about matching your regular deck in use.
– It’s a very easy routine, Rick says it doesn’t use any sleight of hands and I must agree with him on that one ! This trick is perfect for beginner, as well as pros or amateurs since you can completely focus on your presentation.
– You can write down phone number but also signatures, drawings, anything you want ! This allows you to fit the trick the way you like in your routine.
– I really liked one part in the video which is called “Psychology” where Rick explains why he chose to put phone number instead of signatures or anything else and the reason behind that solves the problem that one of the piece can’t be handed out. It’s logical to keep it because of the way the routine is structured and I’ve never had any problem about people asking me to see that piece.
– When you think about it, 70 cents (or 23 if you buy refills which I think you will do after running out of the first 28 cards) for a very good routine is not that expensive and it leaves people with your number or your details which can be really strong for a corporate event ! (or to pick up girls, as you want !)
– They provide you with 3 to 4 different cards in the set so, for example, you get 9 eight of hearts, 9 10 of diamonds etc.. So you can do this several times the same night without having to use the same card every time !

Overall rating : This is my first Rick Lax release and I must say I’m very happy with it ! I find the routine to be strong, it connects with people, it’s easy to do, uses only one card, what do you want more ? I’m not sure whether this will stay in my repertoire but I can see a lot people using it, 3.5/4 hearts.

As for the difficulty level, there is not a single sleight of hand here, it’s not self working but really easy to do, I would say 1/5 stars.

Similar products : This was based on the French Kiss routine by Wayne Houchin but here, only card is used and I think there is less suspicion from the audience because of that.

I really like this trick! I bought it in January at a Penguin Magic Expo and have been using it ever since! Another great creation by Rick Lax!

This is another brilliant trick by Rick Lax that I think is a must buy. It is so awesome because it happens in the spectators hands. If you like those kind of tricks, this is the one for you!

First of all, I never write a review unless it's for something that I regularly use it and others should know about it! I picked this up when I was short on business cards. This filled in so well. I have been in magic 30+ years and I highly recommend "Contact".

This can be preformed anywhere and at anytime. I was able to get the early release and purchase this at Magi-fest. It has an awesome follow up with great reactions from the crowds. This is my go to trick. Highly recommended.

I did in fact purchase contact immediately after being shown the effect one time. It's a phenomenal show stopper that truly gets the best of anyone. And incredibly easy to perform which is that much better if you only want to have a couple of trucks up your sleeve. Great work Rick!!