Magic Tricks

I bought this yesterday, and as with many things I buy, it wasn't the simple magic bullet I was hoping it would be (I should know better by now). I have no doubt that it could be an amazing piece in the right hands, but as with many worthy effects, it will take time.

While from a technical point of view it's not that difficult, its still going to take (in my opinion) quite a lot of practice to get this to performance level. And given the nature of the effect, it would also be very difficult to practice this without an audience! That is, unlike a card effect (where you can easily practice the moves alone at home) this one would be difficult to practice without actually performing it for real. This creates something of a conundrum, particularly for those not so well versed in mentalism.

I'm also not entirely convinced that it features the quick and easy reset, nor that it's the most practical of things if you're hoping to do this at every table, or every second table, as the pdf and description imply you might. Not a huge setup involved, but to repeat it you will need to add another six or so business cards to a stack, in a specific order, with some cards written on and pre folded (I guess you could write what you need to in advance). You'll also need a new envelope each time if performing in the manner suggested...

And at the end of each performance you'll have an envelope and a couple of business cards you'll have to take away as trash. It wouldn't take too many performances of this before you need to visit a trash can to get rid of some things.

This is very much sold as being a perfect piece for performing at tables, as you might do in a corporate banquet setting. Again, I'm not convinced! There is the significant issue of how practical it would be for a spectator to place 5-7 objects on a table, as is required at one point in the performance. Even when food hasn't been served, in my experience table space is generally already very sparse - the table being littered with clean plates, bread rolls, glasses, cutlery, etc. Is this going to be practical in that environment? Unlikely. As with most mentalism it also relies a lot upon being clearly heard, and again, I think this would be a challenge in a large banquet setting where there is lots of ambient noise.

I also felt the pdf could have been written a little better, with some details further explained. Some comments regarding reset would have been nice, though no comments are offered.
Again, this could well be a very good effect, though I think the description is a little misleading, and paints it as perhaps being better suited to these environments that it really is. Probably not for me.