I was intrigued by this trick because it looks so clean.I had some questions about the video.
Mickael Chatelein is a French magician and I speak French so I contacted him to know more about
the video used for the promotion of this trick. Mr Chatelein is not a friend of mine and I do not
know him apart from the web .
I had access to the explanation of this trick and I can say
that it is very clever .
I will not expose the method obviously but try to help to make a better
decision as I did.
It will not stop speculation for sure but only clarify some questions arising
from the add and the video.
Mr Chatelain shows 2 variations to present the routine . You
can pick the variation that suits you considering some very easy audience management involved in the
process.
The blank deck is normal and the deck in fact could have been a normal deck .The blank
deck is used for the kicker and very justified in the context of the trick.
The money bill is
also normal.You do not have to use the bill prediction as a kicker if you think it is overdoing.
In fact you get a clever gimmick which is a well known principle in magic applied
diabolically to get the result you see in the video.
There is NO best case scenario involved
whatsoever.
The video is not cut and I confirm that it is not a video montage.The spectator
could really have said stop further down. There is some audience management involved though to get
the prediction right.But so easy to manage.You can not miss the target.
This is not a force in
the classic way but a prediction you will match every time .
You can change the prediction card
if you want for the next performance if you do table magic .You must change the prediction card
obviously unseen.Very quick reset .
So I bought it right away and I will use this one for
sure.
Hope it helps some of you to make a better decision about this trick.
3 of 3 magicians found this helpful.
I was hesitant on buying this because I didn’t want any math to have to deal with or anything
difficult. I’m glad I bought this. It is a wonderful effect and super easy!.
I hope people
will review more effect ! It helps support magic and it’s creators
1 of 1 magicians found this helpful.
really good and hard hitting....as stated in another review his english is hard to understand - you
likely will have to watch it couple times.....it would be a five star but you have to provide your
own card...not a big deal but for the price i shouldnt have to search my stash or ruin another deck
1 of 1 magicians found this helpful.
Most of the time these gaffed tricks end up in the bottom drawer, but not today.
First is
the gaff worth $40. The secret alone is worth that. It really is. That is really what I paid for
gaff or not. The gaff is well made and its not something the average person is going to be able to
fabricate from the contents of the utility drawer or even after a visit the the craft store.
Its a professional gaff and its well made. I consider myself well stocked in the arts and crafts
department, and I am not entirely sure I could make one. And if I can its only because I invested a
lot more than the price of the gaff for the stock I have that may work.
I am thinking
there was some custom sourcing done to construct it. So yes the gaff is worth $40.
I'll
order another copy verses attempting to make one myself, but I don't think that is necessary. This
thing will last the remainder of my lifetime.
Is it what you see is what you get, or was
some frame cutting done on the camera angles to make it look as good as it does on the promotional
video.
It is exactly as shown. There is a minor extremely minor angle issue, but nothing
anyone will notice if performed properly.
Are the instructions easy to follow and are there
any complex or hidden moves. The instructions are not hard to follow, but can be a little tedious
since English is not Mickael Chatelain's first language, and he apologizes in advance, and at times
changes course to compensate for something misstated. All in all he is very informative and
provides multiple methods of performing the illusion.
I Really did not have any use for
another blank deck routine in my arsenal. And my Alpha Deck, darn!
I am going to have fun
with this!
1 of 1 magicians found this helpful.
I received this a few days ago -well worth the price! It is a genuine fooler, it is not difficult,
it allows you to perform, the gimmicks are well made, and the structure is well thought out.
I used it on an online talk show this morning to promote a virtual show I'm doing Saturday - and
it left the talk show host speechless.
It's that good.
1 of 2 magicians found this helpful.
Great trick. After performing it a few times, I've adjusted two things.
The double
prediction makes little sense. If I predict with a card, why do I make a second, identical
prediction with the bill? And yet the card prediction is necessary, because it provides time
misdirection. (I.e., it would make no sense to mark the selection with the bill and then immediately
remove the portion of the deck above the bill. "What is that all about?")
So I put the
prediction card in my pocket and produce it only after the card has been selected. It's a weak
prediction. ("How many cards did he have in that pocket?") Perhaps sensing audience dissatisfaction,
I show the prediction on the bill. That prediction has real punch, a punch somehow enhanced by the
previous lame one. Two predictions now make sense. It's a sort of "magician in trouble" reveal.
As someone else mentioned, there is a slight angle problem. It may be slight, but it was noticed
the first time I performed it. (We were all seated at a table and the participating spectator took
her time before calling stop. Both of these things enhance the problem.) Now, if all are seated, as
I'm moving the bill and cards to the side, I rotate them about 90 decrees and, still touching only
the bill, I raise the near end of it slightly so that the deck bevels slightly toward the
spectators. This does away with 95% of the angle problem, and it looks natural enough -- it's
natural that if you handle bill and cards in this fashion, the cards are not going to arrive on the
table all squared up.
1 of 2 magicians found this helpful.
This is not a good trick. Here is why: The effect is nothing more than a prediction of a card. There
are absolutely endless ways to make this happen (an extremely simple version great for laymen would
be some form of Gemini twins). So this trick takes a very common effect with many sure-fire ways to
do it that are even cleaner, and adds a somewhat convoluted method to make it happen. Now -- here's
the kicker. In the demo, the gimmick is not even used! There is one ending which is completely clean
and the gimmick doesn't even come into play. That is the ending included in the demo! On top of
that, there are some angle issues (there's a reason why it's oddly filmed from the top). The problem
can be obviated with some audience management in terms of where spectator says stop. But otherwise,
if spectators are seated, rather than standing above the cards, you will have an issue.
The
reason this trick caused excitement (even promoted with the tagline-- "can you figure it out") is
that, as noted above, what is demonstrated is the best case scenario which does not even use the
gimmick. So, obviously you can't figure out the gimmick if the gimmick isn't used. If you end up
buying the trick, it's not a total waste of money as the gimmick you receive is very will made and
can have lots of different uses with some creativity (though it's a bit expensive for what you get).
Bottom line, terrible method for a common effect that can be done so many better ways, and very
misleading trailer. M. Chatelain has some terrific effects but this is not one of them.
The worst case scenario is people waiting a long time to stop. Most of the time though it seems that
if I draw out the presentation until the moment I tell them to say stop they are more impatient and
likely to stop sooner than later. Basically I get a desire in them to stop sooner than later but I
need to be sure that I've put enough cards down for my method to work. If they wait too long, it
creates a possible angle problem when lifting up the upper portion, as well as a discrepancy that
maybe visible but can be easily taken care of with time misdirection. A little time is direction and
they forget how many cards are where. Especially if you were talking the entire time you were
dealing the cards down. So it's not perfect but if you get it down right you won't need the Gimmicks
at all...
It's simply a 3 phase "wammer" effect. The audience doesn't see this one coming and is blown away.
I've shown this so many times and the responses are GREAT! It's simple and easy to do! You look like
a pro and it will take you literally 10 min to learn it. A winner hands down. No sleight of hand
needed.
This effect is amazing performing it live. The outcome will always work! The trailer is 100%
accurate with what you see! And you can decide what card you want revealed every time you perform
it! It absolutely blows everyone away. And you can literally hand blank cards out to be examined!
Never have I had the gimmick noticed. If you want a powerful EASY TO DO no sleight of hand card
effect (with a little money wager to entice the spectator) if you 'fail' this is it. The cards do
the work for you.
Today, when you order "DEAL OR NOT DEAL Red (Gimmick and Online Instructions) by Mickael Chatelain", you'll instantly be emailed a Penguin Magic gift certificate. You can spend it on anything you like at Penguin, just like cash. Just complete your order as normal, and within seconds you'll get an email with your gift certificate.
$5 FLAT-RATE SHIPPING TO UNITED STATES. FREE SHIPPING ON ORDERS OVER $100.
+click to enlarge
DEAL or NOT DEAL by Mickael Chatelain
Report this review
really good
Report this review
angles, misleading trailer
Report this review
