Magic Tricks

Because I was a teacher by profession for many years, I tend to look at instructional magic videos with a teacher's eye: how is the lesson constructed? Are the steps clear? Are difficult parts identified, and the instruction appropriate to enable a viewer to figure out the moves? I can't say this dvd checks all the boxes.

Many reviews of Okito box routines in a variety of venues say that the Colombini version of the Ken Brooke routine is "the best". That is a value judgment, but it is a good one-coin routine with several interesting phases that flow into each other. And it is not complicated. I will give the routine itself five stars, and it will go into my coin repertoire.

The dvd is not up to the quality of the routine. It is less than ten minutes long, is shot straight on without change of camera position or closeup, and Colombini does not walk the viewer through the vital "master move" slowly. The instruction level is not for a rank beginner in coin magic. Also, Colombini's hands are huge, and they almost get in the way of his demonstration of the sleight.

If you are new to the Okito box, you will need to get used to the box itself by spending some time handling it. If you are a more experienced coin/box handler, you can find more video demonstrations of the routine online. After watching a Spanish magician do an excellent silent show of the exact Ken Brooke routine half a dozen times, I had figured out ninety percent of it. Had someone shown me the details of the "master move" for this routine, I would not have purchased the dvd.