This is the first effect I've ordered from Penguin Magic that is Truly a disappointment. Because the trick is from Mark Elsdon, I never even looked at the number of reviews it had received. One of the reason I order so much from Penguin is because of the reviews and the fact that all the rating stars are posted.

In the nutshell:
Cards received are not prepared properly
After numerous attempts, I found that the deck could not be mixed with an overhand shuffle.
For a trick that doesn't work, the price is outrageous


To be honest, even had I noticed that it only had one review, I'd probably still order it ... because it was from Mr. Elsdon. I would never consider posting such a negative review without putting an excessive amount of time into getting the trick to do what is supposed to do.

My assumption is that the "prepared" cards are not made properly. I want to be clear in that there are no gaff cards per sey, but six of the cards are prepared, which are provided to you. I even tried two different sets of cards and the result is the same ... the trick just doesn't work as shown in the video.

I now know why there might only be 2 reviews (including mine) for a trick that seems like it would be strong enough to be a closer. The risk factor for failure is huge and not worth taking the chance on it not working.

Most notable is the outrageous price. I have no problem paying for a trick that appears to be as strong as this. I understand the process involved with creating such a strong effect... but that's only if it works. This one does not!

I am going to play with improving the prepared cards and if I had success, I was going to share my thoughts in the discussion section of purchased tricks, on the Penguin website, but, I guess, that since there is no dvd provided, the trick is not listed in the My Penguin section on the website.

Too Expensive for beginners, No Instructions Video, you have to read his book. It's an easy trick, it's very straight forward trick. I Performed this to my wife and TeenSon, they wasn't impressed. It took couples cuts to get to the gimmick card! Sorry, not for me. Can't perform this trick for close up!

So good! Audience management is key. Bob King is where I learned this from back in 1993 from a $10 booklet. Well worth the $30. Taken a breather now.

The Trick That Can Be Explained is a very nice trick. It was performed at a Ring meeting and floored me. I had to get one. After the Trick was performed, another member used that deck for several card tricks and the set up didn't adversely affect the tricks he did. So, you can use the deck for other tricks after doing TTTCBE. I like that it came with written instructions, more tricks should.

The reactions from my audiences to this trick have been outstanding. I buy a lot of magic and a small percentage gets a place in my playlists. This is now in my playlists for strolling and standup.