THE TRICK: http://www.penguinmagic.com/product.php?ID=606

THE NUTSHELL: As the greatest novelty to hit the market in years, the Xpert holds its own against classic utility devices like the thumb tip, invisible thread, and flash paper.

THE REVIEW: I must admit, when I first saw this online, I disregarded it. I never buy New Arrivals upon their arrival. I usually wait it out until all the hype is over and all that is left is the truth about it. Usually this process takes a couple of weeks. After that, the shop keeps it on a low profile, as to hide the bad reviews that have contradicted their original praise. So, anyway, I waited. I waited and I waited and the hype did not end. It was just reinforced by more and more great reviews. I finally accepted that this was one of those few New Arrivals that had hit the jackpot big.
I had no idea what to expect after I ordered it. The reviews were vague, and the description covered only the effects, which seemingly had nothing in common. I was overcome with curiosity. What was this Xpert? Cards, coins, mentalism, pens, fire, what?!

When I recieved it in the mail, all I could say was, “Ohhhhhhhhhhh.” The truth about the Xpert is this: it offers you as many effects as you can possibly think of! If you have a shred of creativity, experimenting with the Xpert will pack your head with ideas. You can perform amazing card tricks, coin tricks, mentalism tricks. You can borrow the objects that you use. It is ideal for the street, as it goes right in your pocket and seems nowhere out of the ordinary. This is currently among the best walk-around effects I own, and now that I own it, I can’t imagine doing a routine without it. The manual comes with all sorts of routines, in addition to a private section of Neil Tobin’s website with even more material. The Penguin’s Only section is full of other people’s ideas, and you’ll find yourself coming up with possibilities left and right. You can even use this gimmick to improve your other magic, like the Raven.

My full admiration goes out to Neil Tobin on his genius behind this effect. I think I’d call it the most original trick I own! This is a secret that must never be exposed. If your guessing how this is done based on the description or any of the reviews, stop now, because this is not something that is easy to figure out! Just read the effects. If you like them, it is worth all twenty dollars of your money. By the way, I’m going to borrow a phrase from Mugician from a post he made in the Penguin’s Only Section: “I like how the method is so removed from the effect.” That is perfectly worded and is the reason why you’ll never figure out how it’s done until you buy it.

What you should know when you buy this is this: you are probably going to be doubtful of its professional. Don’t play around with it for fifteen minutes and then bury into your unused arsenal. I’d been given this warning through many reviews, so I ordered it expecting the worst and hoping for the best. When I opened it, I was immediately satisfied. But if you do get your hopes up to high, you will be disappointed initially. Keep with it, and you will find that this is as good as it gets. To quote the very well-spoken creator, Neil Tobin: “Your audience will not care what it looked like to you when you opened it up. All they will want to know is what deity granted you the ability to mentally teleport borrowed, marked coins into their pocket; bend them in their hands; predict cards in an impossible fashion; and so on.” I discourage you from writing a review of it before you’ve had it at least a week.

The reason I probably like this effect most is for its simplicity and practicality. This really is an anywhere-anytime utility device. It’s just not worth it not to carry it around. (Excuse the double negative, but in this case it was the best way of putting it. It’s perfect for school, street, and any sort of closeup magic. I’m sure you could even find someway to put it on stage.

Few tricks go without their share of cons, so let me go over the Xpert’s down-points in a quick and insignificant paragraph that should not sway your thoughts about buying the trick. The first and last problem is this: It does not work for Bicycle, Bee, or several other decks of cards. Unfortunately I have to leave this without any further explanation, to protect the secret. Enjoy the curiosity as much as you can. The good news is, Neil Tobin is hard at work fixing this problem, and should be able to tell us all sometime in spring. I’m counting the minutes. I wouldn’t worry to much about this. There are decks out there with which the Xpert works, and I think it will more be the magician, not the spectator, complaining. I use a pack of Baseball Playing cards, with the MLB logo on the back. They work perfect, and honestly, who would accuse you of using gimmicked Major League Baseball cards?

Invest in this if you are a closeup performer. That's all I really need to say. There’s nothing counting against it. By the way, my greatest apologies for those of you who have been confused and frustratingly intrigued by this review. The cure to this nagging curiosity, that I myself gave into: Buy the trick. I give it a 9.

Thanks for the great review I'm going to get it now.

MagicTrainor excellent review, you nailed it! There is so-o-o-o much you can do with this clever item.

I've bought the Xpert and wish its creator, who's an active meber of the Café, would expedite putting out a (hopefully very thick!) book/ebook of effects using it!
I believe the term "elegant simplicity" can aptly be applied to the Xpert, too.

I like the thought of a FREE Ebook. Love the tool just not use to it yet.

Actually I think Neil decided to do a DVD instead. Should be forthcoming soon.

Mark

Magictrainor

Great review! Especially this part:

"I use a pack of Baseball Playing cards, with the MLB logo on the back. They work perfect, and honestly, who would accuse you of using gimmicked Major League Baseball cards?"

Excellent idea!

The problem with the gimmick is they are not commom in Europe.

Regards
Cornelius

Hi,
I'm a french magician, and I've just bought the Xpert.
There is no problem with euro currency you can buy it and if you want you can order some ungimmicked from neil site (www.necromancerevents.com).
But you can do the Xpert coin bending (bonus routine) as soon as you receive the Xpert.
Great stuff, a must have..
Laurent

My suggestion to you is to do some effects with a regular one, making sure that the spectator handles it. They must be aware of what it is. Then, do a subtle switch.

I´m also hoping that Neil will put out the long awaited DVD or booklet.

Regards,

José.

See more reviews here

http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......orum=109