Magic Tricks

Roddy McGhie has done it again, created a card trick that's not really a card trick. Like "Little Door" or "Xerox," this uses playing cards, but that's not what the effect is about. While it uses an unassuming deck of Bikes, the trick quickly progresses to something the spectator hasn't seen before.

The specialty cards are beautiful and unique, as is the whole premise. The reset is nothing, and the presentation has "walkaround" written all over it. And best of all, the choice is truly free, so you can indeed perform it at multiple tables with different results.

My only word of caution is the deck is very unexaminable and there is no easy way to clean this up. I didn't deduct a star because I think examinability is overrated. (When was the last time you saw David Copperfield say, "I'm now going to bring my show to a grinding halt so the audience can randomly examine my props"?)

And finally, a new (at least new to me) Penguin feature is that the instructional download is added to your "MyPenguinMagic" page the moment you hit the order button. While I'm used to waiting several days for Penguin products to make their way from California to Virginia with the free shipping option, I love being able to get a head-start and my curiosity satisfied with the instant gratification of the video.