Royal Road to Card Magic with Rudy Hunter (4 DVD Set)

Magic books can be hard to follow. You might really delve into a chapter to figure out what it's talking about only to find that the sleight you have learned sucks. Or maybe you aren't doing it right, but based upon the description and the picture it seems like you have it right. Books can sometimes be a bit of a let down.

FORTUNATELY!!! Someone went through all the hard work and put together a video!! YAY!! This is one book I own, and the video is MUCH better than the book. Not often is a movie better than a book, but in this case it is!! It really steps through the book, and for the most part nails everything in the book. The video gives the disclaimer that it left a few things out, but after 4 DVDs you won't notice... haha

Like a foreign language, if you put down the cards for a while, you get a bit rusty. This is a great set to brush up on skills and improve. There are some good tricks in this set. All of them are classic, and whether you're a beginner or not - this is a good addition to your library of magic videos. It suggests to practice along with reading from the book - however I didn't see that necessary.

I recommend picking up this set if you want to master card magic essentials. You really will see your familiarity with the cards, how to handle them, and ways to perform increase through practicing while watching this DVD. It's like having a college course of card magic on video. It's really good.

Flow by Dan Hauss

Wow, this is truly amazing. I really love this trick! Ok, so basically the bottle is turned upside down, and by the magician's "power" the water is kept from coming out of the bottle.

Don't get me wrong at all.. the method is truly genius! This trick is just not practical unless you perform outside. It also requires some preparation. It doesn't take long to prepare, but it can't be done with other's looking. The video gives you some ideas of how to get into the trick. I really love this video. The only downside is that I can't perform it table hopping or strolling, unless I'm outdoors - and I really don't want to pack a ton of prepared water bottles. This is a good one to show friends and family at a picnic or family event outside.

One good thing about this is that the bottle is absolutely examinable after the effect. They can take it home with no risk of being caught. The replacement "gimmick" is easy to find and easy to replace, and very cheap. This really is a genius "piece of strange" as Paul Harris might put it.

Search and Destroy by Aaron Fisher

I'm not usually disappointed by magic I find on Penguin Magic, nor Ellusionist.com. However, with this piece, wow - I was amazed it is actually for sale. I believe this was produced by Theory 11.

First off. Aaron Fisher loves to talk. He loves to hear himself talk. He also doesn't think you can come up with your own patter/jokes during a routine. Let's put it this way.... The video is about 1 1/2 hours long for about a 5 minute trick. Talk about JIBBER-JABBER!!

Let's just say the "Nowhere Pass" isn't a pass at all. It's not invisible - the spectator does it. He challenges you to find it, and bets you can't. I did - it was easy! Basically, a pass is placing the top half of the deck under the bottom half, or the bottom on the top. The "Nowhere pass" is asking the spectator to cut the cards and complete the cut. I wouldn't call that a pass. I call that a cut! Sorry to give away this important detail. I'm really hoping no one wastes their money on learning the "Nowhere pass" and being disappointed that it is just asking the spectator's to cut the cards.

I'm sure if the whole routine was shown on the demo, that any magician could figure it out. Basically, I figure that Aaron Fisher was sitting down one day, took about 5 mins and made up a cute little trick. Then, thought that he should sell it for $30 and blab about it forever on video. I seriously feel bad for the camera man who had to listen to his garbage for as long as he did.

Honestly, I've sat down and put together better tricks than this, and I'm not selling them for $30! This does not bring anything new into magic. It uses ideas already being practiced. This might be a better piece of magic if the magician actually did the pass invisibly in their own hand. This product may be worth the price if it has about 10 tricks of the same calibre on the same DVD (Hint: Ellusionist.com has the Ninja series DVDs loaded with sleights and effects for less than this).

Save your money, find something better than this. I do not suggest to get it - in fact I recommend steering clear of this! If you want to know how the trick works.. turn two cards upside-down.. one placed a few cards from the top, and the other a few cards from the bottom. Cut the deck, and you'll see exactly what I'm talking about. It's not magic I would perform for people who aren't under the influence of alcohol. If they have a working mind, they will see very clearly how this trick is done... HORRIBLE EFFECT!!

Sick by Sean Fields (Coin swallowed, comes out arm)

Sean Field's is an awesome magician, and illusion creator. I really enjoy his work. Sick is no exception. If you've seen Criss Angel perform this effect, you know how devestating the reactions can be. This really can't be performed for the faint of heart.

What I really like about this video are all the tips with blood. Not only does this video give excellent tips, but also gives a fairly good recipe for it.

I love the handling. This is a very deceptive trick. All the motions are covered by larger motions. There is no way anyone will know how this is being performed if you practice and really go through all the preparations of this trick.

The video was entertaining - Sean did jibber-jabber a bit, but it does not destract from the pure awesomeness of this effect. I fully recommend this item for anyone who likes "geek magic." Even if you won't perform it, as a magician it's still cool to know how it's done.