Magic Tricks

I don't review many things, and it's especially weird to review a download I haven't purchased yet, but... this effect has appeared in a few of Bannon's books/reprints (previously titled "Play It Straight Triumph") and also his DVD Bullets After Dark. And yet I'm tempted to buy it again, just to see if there are any new touches presented here. It's one of the first few effects I ever learned, and the only one that I still constantly return to; I dare say it's easily the best Triumph routine of the dozen or so I've seen or learned.

It's so easy that I was doing it before I could even shuffle cards gracefully, and the presentation even loans itself to a bit of clumsiness with the right patter. ("I'm not very good with cards, and I learned there are a few ways to shuffle... here's one... here's another way...") But the revelation, which can be presented as an out-of-nowhere kicker after a joke or seeming mistake, has never failed to shock and delight.

The only negatives are a small setup (in an otherwise normal deck)... and the possibility that you will be too spoiled to appreciate any card tricks you learn after this one. (Well, to be fair: without a table, you might not get much out of the revelation, which will by far look best spread wide in front of you.) You might consider it a negative that the effect is available in other collections that are well worth owning; but if you are going to study Bannon (and you should, if you like cards), this is a great place to start.