As a fan of a lot of Paul Harris' effects, I bought this effect based upon the trailer, which shows
an astonishing, almost impossible reveal.
In actuality, the trailer omits most of the
moves that are necessary to pull this off. Quite frankly, most of the moves are quite unnatural and
lack proper motivation, and--if performed as explained in the tutorial--should be quite easy for
even a layperson to bust.
The biggest omission from the tutorial is that the whole kicker
is couched inside a fairly bland "pick a card" routine that doesn't really feel connected to the
reveal.
That said, it's not all bad. The gimmick is clever and well-constructed, and it
has the potential to be a real stunning reveal with a little work. You also get a lot of video and
printed material for this effect.
Contrary to what is suggested in the video, I do not
think this is strong enough to be performed as a stand-alone effect or as a closer by itself. Maybe
the kicker would have more impact if you ask someone to pick a word, do the pick-a-card routine,
insert some other effects in between, and then, as almost an afterthought, go back to the wallet
that's been sitting in full view throughout, and deliver the big reveal.
All in all, the
gimmick has potential if you're creative, but expect to put a little work into making it your own
before adding it to your routine.
What you see isn't exactly what you get
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