Magic Tricks

Alexander Marsh is a great teacher and I can just tell if you give him a stack of billets, some pens, and some envelopes, he could do three hours of walk around no problem and entertain everybody.

However, it is important to know what you're getting into.

I purchased this download during the holiday season so I had the privilege of getting it half off. In my opinion, based on my knowledge of billets before purchasing the download, knowing what I know now $45 may have been a stretch. This is not because the information isn't that valuable. This truly is a masterclass. It's just important to know that if you are already familiar with billet work, half of the masterclass won't be applicable.

About seven of the videos go over the details of switches like the Al Baker switch, Annemann switch, and using envelopes for switches. I skimmed through these because I was already familiar with these methods.

These are the highlights of the masterclass if you are even the most seasoned billet worker:

1.) The Discussions: Lewis Le Val sits down with Marsh and they have multiple discussions about routine and presentation ideas.

2.) The Marsh Peek and 4DT: According to Marsh, this is his own peek that he uses often. I can confirm that he uses it often because I've seen him use it in multiple televised performances seen on his YouTube page. It's a fantastic peek to use if you are using an envelope for your routine. I will admit that the handling for this peek is very similar to a billet peek seen in Richard Osterlind's 2nd Penguin Live Lecture. The best part of learning this peek is its application with 4DT. I've performed Bob Cassidy's 4DT and it is a killer. The only criticism is it does take a somewhat extensive set up. The Marsh Peek allows you to perform 4DT with just three billets and three regular envelopes, that's it. Marsh's 4DT is not as deceptive as Cassidy's 4DT because in Cassidy's routine the spectator can slide their folded billet into the envelope themselves. In Marsh's 4DT you have be holding onto the billet and place it inside the envelope yourself for the first billet. The next two spectators can slide the billets into their envelopes themselves. I still think it's deceptive and I've added three envelopes to my Maverick EDC Carrier to do just this.

3.) Q&A: This part of the download was a goldmine for me. His use of the Q&A has inspired me to structure future potential stage shows around his ideas. He goes through the design of the cards he uses to get the most information possible. He then goes through a few effects utilizing these Q&A cards that sit in a clear bowl. One is very similar to Christopher Carter's 3 billet routine shown in his Penguin Live Lecture, but his way of marking the billets is wonderful and clever. He then goes on to explain audience reading, extra bonuses, and has a discussion with Le Val about how he uses Q&A with a slightly different style. He gives many tips on how you can expand the Q&A over the course of a show. I won't go into detail, but it will allow you to pick volunteers in a way true mentalists would and it can inspire routines.


As a whole, I feel that these three parts of the download was worth a $20 download. Do I think it's worth a $45 download since I already was familiar with about half the information?

I still think so.

If you want to dive into mentalism for the first time and you're brand new to billet work this is a MUST HAVE and would be ranked 10 out of 5 stars.

If you are a seasoned billet worker but are looking for some more ideas, you should definitely still find some nuggets of information.

I am unfamiliar with the timeline of this release and the release of the official 1914 Billets, but the biggest criticism I have is that Marsh doesn't ever use the 1914 Billets in this download. He uses his own that are a bigger size. If the download was released before the billets then this criticism is invalid, but if they were out it would have been nice to see him use the ones that the 1914 recommends using.