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.

Prohibition - Magic - Cap through Bottle

Prohibition - Watch the video of the effect here!

As I have said before about this trick, this is the best cap through bottle trick I've seen. The method is so clean and easy. Whenever I've performed this trick, people are amazed and have no idea how it is done.

The video is easy to follow and goes through all the ins-and-outs that you need to know for each bottle type. It gives tips on performances, and even shows performances. Each move is broken down to be very simple. After watching the video I was performing within 15 mins of practice.

Cool points about the trick:

The magic is very visual. The cap actually appears to be slammed through the bottom of the trick

The sounds of the effect go in line with what you see. As the cap slides out of the bottle and is smacked on the bottom - the sounds match how it would actually sound, and the visuals along with the sound make the effect very convincing.

People actually believe that a way has been found for an object to penetrate the glass, but then also know that glass will not allow a solid to pass through it. So it leaves people astonished. I highly recommend this trick!

Loops by Yigal Mesika - Levitate anything!

Most of the magic I buy, I am usually pretty happy with. This particular product was a let down, every step of the way.

First, I opened up the package to see the loops. They were a bit thicker than I imagined. I have used invisible thread before, but these loops were quite easy to see, I thought.

Then, I tried practicing some tricks from the book I purchased along with it. The loops broke! I went through like 2-3 loops just on one trick, and I hadn't hardly done anything at all to break them!

Now, I only had a couple of loops left, so I decided to try a trick I had practiced out on someone. I showed a trick, but the spectator saw the thread just as easily as I had suspected. All the literature says that no one will look for it, since they don't know it is there... but come on - if someone is levitating an object, most people are going to try and notice anything holding it up.

The loops are not invisible, and were quite a disappointment. The dark color showed up easily against the cards I used. Loops are a waste of money. You might find more success with them than I did, but I've seen other's comments in forums about the loops, and a lot of people don't like them. I prefer invisible thread, but - all in all, I'd rather learn some sleight of hand instead.

Encyclopedia of Coin Sleights - Dr. Michael Rubinstein

Coin magic is so awesome, and is a classic to magic. There are a lot of applications to coin magic. Street magic, table hopping, and even stage. Even if you just want to show some buddies at work a trick, coin magic is perfect for that kind of situation also.

To begin with coin magic, you might have learned a few tricks, or bought some basic coin tricks. The Encyclopedia of Coin Sleights volumes are simply incredible. They cover everything that you need to know. As you begin with coin magic, you learn various sleights of hand. The 1st volume is a good review for some things you might have learned elsewhere, but also goes into more things that you probably don't know. Within the first 25 minutes of the DVD, I had already learned some really awesome vanishes, and started to put some things together on my own to create my own trick. Essentially, one thing you can do - even just from the first 25 mins of the first volume, is to show a coin in your hand - Close it, wave your other hand over it, and show your hand empty. The applications of making a coin come out of your hand are ENDLESS!! For instance, I decided that this could be an excellent way of performing the "Coin to pocket" trick, or you could also have the coin appear in any other place you dream of!

The DVDs cover everything from clips to palms, from steals to retentions.. and before you know it - you'll see yourself in the mirror as a professional magician, and just think to yourself, "wow" - You might even gasp out loud! Honestly, there are a lot more sleights in these than you might even be able to imagine that you can perform with coins. I really was awakened by what can be done with coins.

The DVD set is from the 80s, so it is a bit old - but the material is still as strong as ever. The man's voice is pretty boring. There is some tasteful classical music playing in the background. These DVDs are a great resource for any magician who is serious about coin magic. Even though the explanations sound dull, learning the sleights and seeing the application is exciting. This is definitely better than Penguin Magic's "In the Beginning There Were Coins" DVD in some ways. Definitely more sleights covered in the Encyclopedia and there is a lot more time spent on the sleights, so you are sure to be an expert with each sleight after practice.

There aren't a lot of "tricks" or "routines" covered, but you'll see how the sleights work, and you'll have more freedom as you perform. You'll find yourself feeling more confident as people as you to show a magic trick - because you can even make one up on the spot. I would recommend these DVDs.