Man this is so good!
First of all, Cody shows a full performance... and what a great
ambitious card routine! Cody is very entertaining as he goes from ambitious to card-to-mouth and
then finally card-to-box. And guess what... he teaches it all! This is truly a compete routine and,
I don't say this often, one I will actually perform. There's nothing extra to carry around so it's
truly perfect as a worker.
In the preview he mentions an "underground" force. That force
is actually really good... and it works on even the difficult spectator. I was happy he taught that
move... but then he kept going and taught a really solid and sneaky in-your-face to do a certain
fold that many people have trouble with. These two moves alone are worth the price of this trick.
But wait until you see the gimmick. You might laugh it's simplicity, but it's a powerful gimmick
with a lot of potential. Whenever you need a something-to-cardbox, you can use this. (And by the
way, youlll learn a couple other sleights as well... this trick provides a lot of value!)
Cody does a great job teaching. There were a couple other moves that he kind of teaches a little
too quickly. I wish he would have slowed down for them. But overall, he does a great job teaching
this whole routine and he keeps your attention with his sense humor.
Cody, you need to
tell us how you had so many coincidences in your explanation. Haha! (If you get the trick, you'll
understand)
I'm totally a new fan and I am genuinely thrilled with this trick. As you know
if you've read my reviews, you know that I usually reserve five star ratings for tricks that are
extremely visual and "magical". But this trick packs so much value and a routine that is so well
done that I have to make an exception. Five stars, Cody!
(By the way, I always try to be
honest and straightforward in my reviews, while being respectful to the magician. If you appreciate
my reviews, can you please click the "Yes" button below beside the question, "Did this review help
you?" It's not like I actually benefit in any way by your clicking it... but it would be nice to see
if my reviews are helpful or not. I hope they are. If you ever have suggestions or comments or
questions about my reviews, please feel free to leave me a constructive comment. I'm just trying to
be helpful. I love the Penguin community and hope that I can someday contribute my own product. :-)
Thanks for reading and for any (hopefully positive, but either way, at least kind) feedback!)
Hi! I really appreciated your review. I've been into magic tricks for a couple of years now, but I'm just starting to buy them. Do you have any recommendations?
I don't mean to be rude but it seems like sometimes these magicians hire people to praise their tricks,so more people buy them and this seems like one of those.Again I don't mean to be rude but I have come not to trust reviews.As ads seem more more deceptive nowadays and reviews seem to be an extension of this.
It just seems like some of your wording makes me believe this trick is not as good as the ad suggests.Why does he not show an actual performance of the trick ?This really bugs me when people do this.Perhaps you can tell me why this is so and what the trick is really like to perform.If you really are honest.Again sorry if this comment seems a bit nasty but I have come not to trust these videos and reviews now.Thanks for your review though.
Stylus8,
I guess that all depends on what kind of magic you are into. Personally I love visual stuff or things that seem truly impossible. I also love tricks that seem to work in other people's hands. Since you've been doing these for a couple years, I'm assuming you're comfortable with the basics. I really do think that this particular reviewed trick is a great one. Yes you probably have an ambitious routine (this one is great if you don't), but he also teaches a couple of valuable moves you'll use elsewhere. Plus his card-to-box is so simple but really works.
My absolute visual favorite purchases (must-haves in my opinion) that quickly come to mind also include: Roddy McGhie's Little Door, Stand Up Coin Hole by Mario Lopes, One Trix also be Mario, Soul by Mario Lopez (basically anything by Mario Lopes), The Gift by Angelo Carbone, Mint Box by Daniel Garcia, and there's so much more. (I own a lot of tricks. Haha)
I don't shy away from gimmicks but I do prefer to not use them if there's a way. Visual magic often does require a little "something extra". But I do enjoy more purist sleight of hand and mentalism as well. I recommend Salt and Shaker by Giovanni Livera is a must have for learning misdirection. I love pretty much anything by Paul Gordon (simple tricks, great teaching) or Michael Amar. French kiss by Wayne Houchin is awesome too.
Waxed by Lonnie Cherie is a great modern use of the gypsy thread concept. Torn and Restored by John Lovick are great T & Rs.
There are so many tricks I could mention. These are just the top of my head. (Yes I own them all. Yes I purchased them all with my own money. Gotta love cool box! Haha) I'm sure I will kick myself when I submit and say "oh I forgot this trick!" But it should get you started.
Very useful review
Thank you!
By the way, stylus8, bravo for purchasing your tricks instead of ripping them off of 12 year old brats off of YouTube. The magicians and creators deserve to be paid for sharing their secrets. Even if something is on YouTube, I will buy the trick if I plan to learn it or use it. It's the right thing to do.
Magicmarksman, I don't take your comments to be rude at all. :-) You have a legitimate concern and I agree that many reviews have the potential of a hidden agenda. I suppose it doesn't matter what I say in response, my reply can be accused as biased. That phrase "caveat emptor" comes to mind. ("Let the buyer beware"). Everything should be taken with a grain of salt and caution. However, I hope you'll allow me the chance to respond.
I'll come right out and say (whether you choose to believe me or not) that all my reviews are honest. I say right in there that I try to be honest and straightforward in my reviews. I really do. Now, I will say though that MY high rating might not equal YOUR high rating. We all quantify quality different and have different perspectives and standards of what is a "good trick" and what is not. I suppose it is like Yelp or any other site... to really know a reviewer, read all his other reviews on tricks you own and see if you agree with your assessment. So look around... I've done a lot of reviews. Perhaps you'll get a better feel for what I like compared to what you like. Also, you have to look at a reviewer's personality (just like in Yelp). Some are grouchy and critical. Some are happy no matter what. Honestly, I tend to be on the "nice" side because that is my personality. If something is crap, I'll say it's crap... but I still do it respectfully as if the actual magician will be reading t. I'm not Simon Cowell. I appreciate his honesty. I don't appreciate his disrespect. I personally rarely bodyslam anyone's products unless I feel they deserve it. (In fact, I'm about to give my first 1 star review ever. I'd give zero stars if they had that option.)
A little more about me... I have personally bought several HUNDRED tricks from penguin alone (and also other sites). I spend my own money (cool box is my best friend). Because I do so many reviews, once in a while, I will be given a trick to review. Yes for free. Is there bias? The potential honest answer is yes. But hopefully my honest disclosure here shows that I am honest as well when I say that I am very careful to give an UNBIASED review. I have NEVER been asked to give a positive review. Only a review. You can choose to believe me or not... but I believe I am asked to do reviews because I AM HONEST. So I stick with that policy. I never EVER give a positive review because it's free or because I want more free tricks. If you don't believe me, as customer service at Penguin. They can look me up for you. They will confirm for you that I am in the top 100 purchasers at Penguin. My own money. Not free. I would say about 97-98% (just guessing. Maybe more) of my tricks I own are ones I purchased. They were not free.
I totally agree though with you. Don't make a purchase based on one review or even a bunch of reviews from one site. I often wil google the trick name and the word reviews. Magic cafe and other sites have reviews that will help give you a more fair assessment of a trick.
Now let's talk about this trick in particular.
Is it life changing earth shattering? No. but it's a very complete trick. You get an entire routine here. When you purchase it, you also get a full length recording of the routine. It's a solid trick. I don't know why they didn't just play the whole thing in the demo. I wish they did.
Often a demo will cut out the parts where the actual "magic" happens. You can't blame them. They don't want the skilled magicians to figure it out. That's their right. I will say this: if you feel cheated when a solution is mindnumbingly simple, then don't buy this. This solution is so simple and obvious, you'll slap yourself in the forehead. Personally, when I pay for a trick and it's solution is easy, I feel like the magician DESERVES the money. Why do we feel like it's worth more money if it's complicated? I'd rather it be simple. The simplest solutions are often the best. But don't get this if you'll feel cheated from something simple.
I'll give you an example. Ambitious finger by Mario Lopes. It's done exactly the way you would think it would. I was like, it can't be as simple as what I think it is... so I bought it out of curiosity. I was right. Do i feel cheated? No. I knew what I was doing when I bought it. Besides, he taught some subtleties that I pushed this trick over the edge toward realism enough that I wondered if the solution was indeed different.
I will say this. I would buy this trick again. (Cody's) great and simple ambitious card, some new moves I didn't know before, and a very simple card to box gimmick that I WILL use. Maybe your opinion will be different. I can't guarantee that you specially will love this trick. All I can say is that I was honest in my review and I personally loved it. That's me. With my skill level, experience, personality, etc. but I'm a different person than you. So please don't buy this on my account. You may 100% disagree with my review. An opinion is like a butt hole. Everyone's got one. Haha!
But I do appreciate your question and comment and I do agree it's important to be diligent in your research before spending a lot of money on a product. I assure you (believe it or not, your choice and right) that my reviews are honest (while usually more positive in nature than other people because that's who I am) and unbiased. I will and have put out negative reviews as well. But again, my ratings are based on my own opinions. Not yours. So read everything with a grain of salt. But yes, the trick works exactly how it appears on the demo. It's a good solid trick. If you're a beginner or intermediate, you'll appreciate the amount of value this purchase brings I think. If you're an expert, you might want to bypass this trick. (I am not an expert. I'm a fresh intermediate or experienced beginner). I hope that's a decent assessment for you. Thanks again for asking and expressing your doubts. I'll be happy to answer more specific questions to help you determine if this is a purchase for you or not if you have them as long as I don't expose the trick.
By the way, Magicmarksman, in this trick, the box is NOT examinable. However, if you do this trick right (follow cody's advice), there should be little to no heat on the box at all. The handling, when done right, will creat certain assumptions in the spectator's mind, thus eliminating it as suspect. I hope this is a helpful tidbit for you.
Great review. Very informative and helpful. Thanks!
Thanks James and Matthieu!
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A Must-Have and Ambitious Trick
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