I have purchased Copycat as soon as I've read the information that came thru e-mail. I have never jumped into an effect before, but there was something in it, besides the fact that it fooled Penn & Teller, that drew me to the purchase.

The effect couldn't be cleaner, simpler, more magical and practical.

But what made me write this review is the amazing care that David Parr has put into the explanation.

He is a down-to-earth, tender, disciplined, respectful and very well educated magician. And I say this because I have seen magicians every day of my life for thirty years now, and almost none of them have these desirable characteristics.

I have purchased hundreds of effects and DVD's and lectures, and I have very seldom seen someone so pleasant to "be with" during a lesson in magic. He not only says that he has performed the effects hundreds of times, it shows in his demeanor, and his tremendous care for little details, that I believe only professional magicians, and amateurs who really put deep thinking into their magic will appreciate.

The simplest props, the simplest preparation, the immediate reset, the clean procedure, the hands on for the spectator, the lack of need to talk or explain things, and so on.

Beautiful experience, great effect, many thumbs up for David Parr and Copycat.

Thank you, David, for such a charming offer to the magic fraternity.

Explanation is a good half hour and well presented. At the end, David also provides suggestions to handle "what if" scenarios.

What is important here is that the effect does not require any advanced skills beyond a partial false shuffle. It would be usable by walkaround performers, with reset taking 30 seconds or less; however, chosen cards will always be the same. Another cool aspect - the magician can use one of the decks for other tricks (in this presentation, the red deck) and then bring out the blue deck for the Follow the Leader routine.

This is one of those effects that reminds me of Out of This World. Not the method but rather the effect - mindblowing, yet very simple to perform.

This review isn’t going to offer much that the others have not said but I feel the more five star reviews the better for this effect.

When David first presented this on Fool Us I instantly fell in love with it. I immediately began reverse engineering it and eventually I had a working method but it was lacking. My setup was way off and I knew I had to have David’s method or the trick would be lost.

Let me assure you that nothing you can find on YouTube comes close to the professionalism of this effect and we should always support the creator rather than the ripoffs.

Gavin said that, David leaves nothing out here and walks you through every detail of this beyond perfect miracle.

I do want to point out that rather than making the “gimmick” yourself just buy a short deck from Penguin. They are under six dollars and perfectly cut and corner rounded to work perfectly with this trick. Save yourself the time.

I’m closing this is as good and as simple as it gets folks. It allows you to focus on presentation and once you master the shuffle allows you to focus entirely on playing the effect.

BUY THIS! You will NOT be disappointed. If you are...... time to get another hobby. ;)

Hello Everyone,

Simply put... DON'T BUY THIS. I WANT IT ALL FOR MYSELF. LOL

OK. Just kidding. Kinda. I CAN NOT believe that David put this trick out for us. And I find it even harder to believe that it was only $19.95. This is a $200 Secret as far as I am concerned.

I was so in hammered with this trick that I spend 2 days searching antique stores until I found, AND BOUGHT, the Bell. I spent $45 for it. Over twice what I paid for the secret. I had bought a regular bell at Office Depot. Toss that idea. His bell is just way too COOL.

PROS:
1) Works 100% of the Time.
2) Easy to do AND remember.
3) No real special moves, the cards do it all.
4) Great video of David giving clear instructions.
5) Simple Reset or just have more than one deck ready
6) No Deck switch needed. Really.
7) Allows the audience member to be the star.
8) No Angle Problems. He mentions one, but if you do it right there are NO Angle problems at all.
9) About 100 more reasons that I don't have time to list.

CONS:
1) NONE

Here's Why;

Most all tricks require what I call, Lazy Eye, from your audience. In other words you have to do "That Move" and hope that nobody will catch you. In Rick Lax's "CONTACT" there are two of those "Funny" Moves. But properly performed, they will never notice them. I have performed "CPONTACT" hundreds of times since it's release and never had someone say one word. However, with "Copycat" you don't even have that problem. There are NO "FUNNY MOVES" at any time. I just wish I had thought of this trick AND Routine first.

About 10 years ago I performed a version of this effect that ends the same way. The idea of adding the "BEll" was straight up Genius. It makes the trick far more interesting than my old way ever was, and all of the attention focuses on your audience member. And that is GOLD.

As you can see, this is what it is, A Parlor Magic Show effect, NOT. I did it at a restaurant just 2 days ago. Anywhere a flat surface is, you can perform Copycat.

My hat goes off to David Parr for giving me a Penn & Tell Fool Us effect to my show that Fooled Penn and Teller. And for sharing such a fantastic effect with the world.

If you DON'T buy this trick while it's only $19.95. You have no idea what you are missing. Watch the video again. It will look exactly the same when you perform it. No funny editing on this video. It is EXACTLY what he does and you'll do it the same.

AND YOU WILL NEVER GET BUSTED.

I hope that Helped,

The Magic Doc

Although this card trick requires some preparation (you will need to purchase some office supplies to prepare the deck), it is very easy to perform and does not require any slight of hand. Furthermore, the spectator is completely involved in this routine, which makes it more effective.
No wonder David Parr fooled Penn & Teller with this one!

When you purchase anything of David Parr’s you are purchasing much more than just intructions to a very impressive effect. You get a mini masterclass in theatricality and each of his effects play very much like a play. His methods are so well thought out that they leave little for you to think through on your own. This allows you to easily have fun with your performance. This is the case with Copycat. The method is simple and direct and will really pack a dramatic punch. I can’t wait to add this gem to the repertoire!

This is an unbelievably clever and simple trick requiring a teensy, tiny bit of DIY (and I'm the worst at DIY, so if I can do it, anyone can!). The main part of the DIY can even be skipped if you already own something many magicians already have (don't wanna give away too much, but if you have the trick you'll know exactly what I mean!). Well worth the price. I've been performing it in the mirror ever since last night, and I can't wait to try it live. This is definitely in the "Why the hell didn't *I* think of that?" category. It's got the two main hallmarks of a world-class effect: it's brilliant, and it's simple.

This is my first review on Penguin. I have been a magician for almost 20 years but only a Penguin customer for about a year. This effect is so good. Yes it make take a minimal amount of arts and crafts but IT IS SO WORTH IT!!!

I have only performed this effect for friends and family as normal to practice before going out into the public to perform. Every single time I have performed this effect I have gotten "NO WAY!" This effect kills. I can't wait till next week while I am in Dallas TX at a business convention to perform this effect. You can have so much fun with this effect and the bell gets everyones attention. They all want to know what is going on so prepare to get an audience (Not a bad thing in my opinion) I plan to use this as an opening effect to get an audience to start performing for. This is AWESOME!!!! My wife of 11 years has been watching me do magic throughout our whole relationship and says this is probably one of her favorite tricks because she cannot figure it out. She is usually pretty good at figuring things out as she has been my test subject for the last 11 years and I am not always as smooth the first couple times I perform an effect.

BUY THIS EFFECT YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED. I will admit when I first got it my first thought was "Man another damn DIY trick." But I did it and am very glad I did. I will also say that I liked it so much that I can perform it with any card in the deck.

Terrific effect with an equally terrific and detailed explanation. David does an excellent job detailing the fines points that take this relatively easy effect to a place where it becomes a very, very nice little piece of theater. The use of the bell adds something to the trick that also makes it something a little more memorable and definitely more enjoyable for both the performer and the audience. I'm already on eBay looking for a beautiful antique hotel desk bell! Thank you, Mr. Parr.

Thanks to David Parr for sharing this - it's worth every penny!

The trick is good for all skill levels and has almost no slight of hand.

After watching the video, which is very well made and instructive, you'll spend about 2 minutes (at most) preparing your deck with two items you can find most anywhere in the world and it will cost you about $8. Plus once you're done - you're done! It will last a very long time.

The good news is, this isn't a complicated arts and crafts situation - the prep you need to do can be done by an elementary school kid.

This is a testament to Parr's high end thinking in conceiving the trick;- it seems tough - but it's really quite simple.

Obviously you need to buy a bell as well - if you're in a pinch and don't have one - download a free app for your phone that sounds like a bell when you touch it. I don't recommend this - but it's a way to do it if you don't have a bell.

The trick is memorable, interactive and has a seriously strong finish - don't even debate this one - buy it!