David Stone The Real Secrets of Magic Vol 1

First of all, David Stone is simply amazing. He has won the FISM award, and as you watch his performances you can see why. He has a smooth way of presenting magic and teaching it. If you're not familiar with FISM, it is basically the Olympics of Magic.

This DVD is really good because it shows the performances in front of people on location, instead of in a studio. He is at a restaurant, or at a party. The party may have been a studio, but it was done well to give the feel of real people viewing real performances.

I really like how the video gives tips on finding gigs, and how to make sure you will be sufficient for the gig. It gives guidelines of how many magicians should be at a gig depending on the number of guests.

David Stone is French, so there is a strong accent. Some people say it is hard to understand him, but I found no problems with it. The explanations have great music, and no words. You get to watch the sleights of hand, and he shows the exposed view - and makes sure to get the point across without using any words. This style of teaching is really good. Coupled with the music, it is like practicing with David Stone, and in a way meditating. I find practicing magic to be a form of meditation.

The video is well done, the magic effects taught on this DVD are very good. They range from the easy self working tricks, to difficult sleight of hand tricks. So even the beginner will benefit from this DVD and it can help one advance into more difficult material.

The effects on this definitely produce that "WOW" factor people are looking for. People are definitely astonished by the effects I've shown from this DVD. The DVD definitely gives real world advice from a professional and helps you feel that you can accomplish your goal of becoming a professional magician, if you so desire. I highly recommend anything from David Stone.

Masterminds Volume One by Criss Angel (Quarter Through Soda Can) (DVD)

In season 1, Criss Angel performed a trick on the street where he borrowed a quarter, and borrowed a soda can. He then had the spectator sign the quarter and apparently slam the quarter through the sealed soda can. He shook the can, and you could hear the quarter apparently on the inside of the can. Then, he opened the can, and poured out the contents. The quarter was left behind inside the can. The quarter seen through the opening has the spectator's signature.

I orginally saw this trick performed by Wayne Houchin on his website at http://www.waynehouchin.com/. I was simply amazed by his display of sleight of hand, and wanted to learn the trick for myself.

When this was going to be released by Criss Angel I couldn't wait for the secret to be available. I was all hyped up! The video measured up to all of my expectations, and the trick is easier than I thought it would be.

The DVD is put together well. There are performances, step through explanations, and tips given by both the creator of the effect and Criss Angel. The only thing I couldn't stand about the DVD is how Criss Angel came off in the video. Of course on his show he is the expert magician, and it's cool to see his personality on his show, but on this DVD it came off like he was saying, "I'm better than you," to Wayne. The fact is, Wayne created the effect - and Criss needed to know how it was done from Wayne. I think Criss should have had a bit more humility and gratitude, but - oh well.

The DVD teaches the effect very well, and if you can see yourself putting a quarter into the soda can right in front of the specatators, then you'll have fun with this one. Keep in mind that if you get this, you'll need to be prepared to perform the effect by pouring out the soda. So prepare either to do it outside (where you can pour the contents on the ground) or have a glass to pour the liquid into.

This effect definitely has "wow" factor, and is a great find. The price is worth it for sure, especially when you experience the reactions from this gem. It's a ton of fun! I would recommend this DVD for sure.

Psi Series Banachek DVDs

The Banachek Series is AWESOME!!! Seriously. I only have volumes 1 and 2 so far, but I am likely to get them all eventually.

Each volume starts out with the performance. As I watched the performance I was even starting to believe that Banachek could read minds, tell future events, and cause things to happen by the power of his mind.

The performance time is about an hour, then he goes through each effect, and each part of his routine in meticulous detail. He explains the ins and the outs, and how to pull things off in a way that are convincing. He explains how to avoid pitfalls and what NOT to do. Each effect is VERY powerful. There are a lot of DVD series that just have filler material and a few tricks that are good, but Banachek doesn't have a bunch of filler tricks.

You may not find yourself using all the material yourself, but if you're going to become a professional - or if you ARE a professional, he basically is giving you a full performance in each DVD. You could practice and have yourself a full show - hand picked and packaged up personally from Banachek himself.

These DVDs contain all the powerful material I've seen him perform, and also material I've seen other mentalists perform. This is an excellent series, and I highly recommend it. This series definitely has "wow" factor. People who you perform for will think that you may actually possess the ability to read minds, foretell future events, or that you might have special mental powers.

After performing some of the effects taught by Banachek, people ask, "What if I would have ..." I just respond, "the answer to that question is going to bug you all day, isn't it - but you really had a free choice, and could have answered any other way you'd like."

The methods are genius, and the impact is powerful.

Free Choice by Peter Duffie - Trick

I hadn't heard of this trick until I bought it. I read the description and I decided to go for it. It was less than $10, and the trick seemed pretty cool.

So this is what the trick is all about. You have 4 kings. There are also 12 blank cards. The kings are placed face down in a row, and you ask someone to deal 3 cards on top of any of the kings. Then the rest of the cards are dealt on top of the rest of the cards. Each stack is shown to have 1 king and 3 blanks. Then, from each stack of cards the king disappears and is replaced by a blank card, which ends up being in the stack the spectator chose. In the end, all of the kings end up in the same stack miraculously.

This is a great trick. There isn't a video for this available, so the instructions are all text. At first I was a bit confused by the instructions, until I actually followed the instructions with the cards in hand. Then, I saw how easy it was. After practicing the trick a few times I was ready to test this out on some family. This trick takes some practice, and depending on your skills of magic you might find it a bit difficult - but don't be discouraged. This is definitely a great effect to know and show!!

Honestly, I have a lot of fun with this one. The vanishes of the kings look good, and the cards all really appear to be blank. The only downside with this trick is it is not examinable by the spectator. This effect really has wow factor, and people have no idea how it could be done. For this reason they will want to see the cards, but you won't be able to. So when I finish each vanish, I put that stack of cards away, one stack at a time, then allow them to see the last 4 kings no problem. Since the other cards are out of sight, they are also out of mind.

Sankey's Greatest Hits

Are you looking for some really good magic? Look no further!! If you don't have Sankey's Greatest Hits, then you really should go out and buy it.

Jay Sankey is known around the globe for his incredible jaw dropping magic. His magic is simple and easy to perform. This 3 DVD collection is full of all of his greatest hits, hence the name. I have this set, and I watched the performances. I couldn't wait to learn the secrets!! Once I started learning the secrets, I practiced until I was ready. These tricks are some of the hardest hitting effects I have performed.

One of my favorite from this DVD set. Ask a spectator to choose a card. The card is shown, and placed under the spectator's hand face up. A different card is shown, then the backside of the card is burned. The card is then felt on the hand of the spectator to be warm from the heat of being burned. Then, with a magical word or gesture, the card no longer is burned... but the card that the spectator has had under their hand face up, now is burned on the backside.

I have performed the routines and effects from this DVD set, and I have to say- WOW!!! Absolutely great magic, and great reactions. I have not been unhappy with anything from Sankey, except for Airtight, but even then - I was happy with the effect and knowing the secret, I just didn't have any practical use for it.

The great thing about Sankey, is you will learn some concepts in magic from him, and see his tricks he has created with these concepts. Then, you'll find yourself using these concepts making up your own tricks. Get anything Sankey, in my opinion. I have always been happy with his videos. His greatest hits combines all the BEST stuff, but then again.. his stuff is so great you really need to get everything anyway.

Pros: Lot's of the tricks shown in here are great for table hopping, and require little or no setup

You'll see how the tricks are performed and then broken down into easy bite-sized pieces

Difficult sleights are gone over in extra detail, and even slowed down

Cons: some tricks require some practice, but what good magic doesn't require any practice

Art of Astonishment

I have to admit, that when I first received my Art of Astonishment books, I wasn't very happy with them. The wording was strange, the pictures awkward, and it was hard to follow exactly what I needed to do. I put the books down for months.

I later picked them up and found that they weren't a total waste. Not many of the tricks in there, in my opinion, are all that great. I have no idea why the price of these books is so high. Maybe I need someone to show them to me individually.

With this possibly being the case, I bought the Art of Astonishment 1 DVD. Apparently, Paul Harris was intending on doing a video for all 3 of his books, but later changed his mind. Even the tricks on the DVD aren't all that spectacular.

The tricks are really for the extreme lay person, who completely doesn't understand magic nor misrepresentation. Any spectator who has a solid head on their shoulders and is good with problem solving will be able to figure out pretty much all of the tricks. Only a few gems are contained within these books.

I would not go as far as saying that the effects are worth the cost of the book alone. Not even close. But what I will say is, that the effects ARE worth the amount of money you'll lose if you get the book, read through it, pick out the good tricks, and sell the book again on eBay.

Some of the good ones are performed by Wayne Houchin, but there are others that you'll find to be pretty nice. I've performed some of the tricks I've learned out of the book and I have not gotten caught. One of my favorites is a blackjack hand. Where you apparently give an ace to the spectator, but in the end the ace is in your hand, and they are left with a bad hand of blackjack.

There are some other nice effects, but - to anyone contemplating purchase of this series.. honestly, put that money towards something better... like David Stone's DVDs .. ANY OF THEM! For the price of all 3 Art of Astonishment books, you should be able to buy all of David Stone's DVDs. He's got some great ones.

Coin Magic in General

Alright folks, coin magic. Beginner magicians often dread it, and don't pick it up for a while. With good reason. When I first started learning magic, I was buying self working tricks. As a kid, I learned some cheap card tricks, but my best magic was made of plastic. At least I thought it was the best. It was the easiest to perform, and the device had some locking mechanism that would not allow the spectator to learn the secret of the effect.

Here is the thing with coin magic. Let's say you're at work and someone has seen you perform some really awesome stuff, but you don't have anything on you. You may have some things in your wallet, or other minor tricks... but they've seen those already. What do you do? Ask them if they have a coin. You'll be set, if you've learned some coin magic.

For a beginner learning any kind of magic at first, one might not feel that they will really get away with it. What I mean is, the secret is often so basic that some really don't think anyone will be fooled by their performance. This is one reason I didn't pick up coin magic at first. I was fooled by it, but I only really saw the magic on TV or online. I figured that if I showed the same tricks I was fooled by, then others who would see the tricks live would know what happened.

Here is my review of coin magic in general. IT IS SO WORTH LEARNING!!! I didn't realize it at first, but coin magic is not only fun but can really knock some people's socks off!

So you might see a performer take a coin, and place it in their hand. They snap their fingers and it disappears! They show both hands empty. The performer closes one hand and snaps his fingers with his other hand.. and TADA!! The coin is revealed to have reappeared.

Once you learn the trick, you might think - oh, I couldn't do that!! The sleight of hand is too hard! Some might also think that they will not get people to believe that a coin is really gone using the methods they learn.

Tips of advice - practice!! Remember what you've read, watched, heard about how psychology is related with magic. Act like what you are trying to appear happen is really happening. Those who practice in front of a mirror or with a video camera will be able to see what they look like as they perform the trick. Get the routine down, and you'll be amazed at the kind of reactions people give you for simple coin magic.

Another tip is to start learning coin magic with a video. Whether it be Jay Sankey's Revolutionary Coin Magic or Jay Noblezada's In the Beginning There Were Coins. When you watch the video of the secrets, you will see how the professional magician holds their body, moves their hands, and uses gestures to make things appear more convincing. There are other wonderful coin magic DVDs. I'll be reviewing a couple of them in other posts.

After watching the videos and learning the basic sleights of hand, pick up a coin magic book. This will review the sleights of hand, help you become familiar with the words they'll be using in describing other sleights of hand, and tricks to perform applying the sleights you have learned.

Coin magic really sets you aside as a better magician. It gives you more of a repertoire, and will give the spectator more than just card tricks. Card tricks are cool, but it is best to perform varied material. Plus, when a magician learns coin magic, they'll start to see other applications for the sleights of hand - and before you know it, you'll be creating magic with other ever-day objects. People may start to believe that you possess real magic!