Magic Tricks

Mark. Dude.

This is a good one guys. When I saw the demo, I thought for sure that I knew how this was done... but my approach to this would've employed a certain type of gimmicked deck.

This, guys... this is not that.

Yes, it does say "borrowed deck" on the ad. But I kinda forgot the copy. Of course, when I saw the copy again, I had to know. I NEEDED this trick!

Truly borrowed? YES - NO SWITCH

Any hiding in another room for a minute to setup? NO - everything is done under the spectators' noses.

Beginner friendly? YES. He gives several methods. The no-sleight method actually does require a very simple, basic move. But Mr. FatFingers can do it in his sleep... just be sure to practice it a few times. The sleight method will require some basic moves that an experienced beginner will feel comfortable with if he or she has practiced it.

Well taught? YES. At first, I was concerned... Mark's experience comes right through the screen as he talks and I thought he started out a little to fast for a green beginner... but he slowed down and, by the end of the video (LIE: just a couple minutes into the video), it was much better. To be honest, there's at least one or two basic moves that I wish he would have slowed down and demonstrated so that the very new beginner would be able to learn it. He assumed that everyone knew this move. I'm not going to penalize him in this review for it because even a beginner can figure it out or go online to learn the move... but Mark, keep in mind that this one little extra 3 minutes would enable the extreme beginner to confidently try the sleight version. That said, Mark DOES provide other versions for different skill levels and scenarios.

Are you left clean? It depends. In the sleight version, no. But the presentation addresses this very well. Being dirty will NOT be an issue unless you are doing this trick to some hyper-anal jerk. Honestly, the non-sleight version is brilliant and, if you choose this route, you DO end up clean. In fact, I plan to do a hybrid of the two: the sleight method combined with the cleanup from the non-sleight method.

Would I buy this trick again? YES. No question.

Is the price right? YES. He thoroughly goes through several approaches. This trick is complete and thorough.

Are there any downsides? Not really. The only complaint I have is that, as I stated, he did gloss over a move here and there. But nothing major.

I'm impressed, Mark. It's obvious that you are a master of your craft. I really enjoyed the subtleties, the psychology, and everything about this. Excellent excellent excellent. This is a great trick for beginners and intermediates who want to learn better how a magician thinks.

4.5 stars. (I generally save 5 stars for extremely visual Salvador Dali mind-melting type of magic... four stars is usually a "perfect" score for me to give to card tricks and cool tricks that aren't visual. So the extra half star should express how much I really like this trick.) Great job, Mark! Get another tatoo on me. You deserve it. ;-)

(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!)