|
|
William Draven Elite user Las Vegas, NV 486 Posts |
Title: The Infamous One-Handed Card Trick
Artist: Paul Rathbun Producers: Penguin Magic Link: http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/9160 Retail Price: $2.99 USD Learning Difficulty: Easy / Beginner Notes: Some Assembly Required. Instructions are a downloadable PDF. Every now and again you stumble across some brilliant little worker that belongs in someone’s personal arsenal of tricks and you think to yourself: “Man, why am I not doing this myself?” I had one of those moments when I stumbled across this little gem by Paul Rathbun, who by the way has an awesome name. Rathbun. Sounds like a Bond villain. I digress. The effect is called The Infamous One-Handed Card Trick. Sounds like something a Bond villain would name a magic trick too… Anyways the trick is all detailed in an illustrated PDF file that you can purchase in instant download format directly from penguin magic’s website. This routine comes with a bit of set up. You’re going to need to build a gimmick or two so there’s a bit of construction involved. Not hard construction, Not complicated construction, but construction none the less. A little extra time spent on setting this up on the front end will create hours of enjoyment performing this on the back end. Well worth the investment. One of the beauties of this routine is just how personal it is to the individual performer. What I mean by that is that one of the gimmicks requires you to take a pair of photographs. One of which you’ll be holding a playing card, face up, behind your back, the other with your hand empty. Now the instructions say you print wallet sized photos, which you can do from home on photo paper, but I’ve found that paying the extra money to go to Kinko’s (or your favorite office supply store) and have these pictures printed on glossy business card stock is well worth the extra cost and time. Plus, in a standard order of 500 “business cards” you’ll have more than enough product to last you quite a while. Not a bad thing as you’ll be using this everywhere you go. Also, while you’re at it… may as well print your business card or contact information on the back side. Why waste such a perfect marketing opportunity? Once you’ve done that, grab a deck of cards and a rubber band, and you’re almost ready to go. Almost because there’s another gimmick you need to build but blessedly that one sets up in about as much time as it takes super glue to dry. Once you’ve made it that far, you’re ready to go melt some minds. The effect is a simple one, but packs a punch. The entire trick is indeed, as aptly named, done one handed. A photograph of you with an empty hand is displayed, and signed by the spectator. Placed face down in their hands. A card is selected, again all of this is done with a hand behind your back (like in the photo), and magically vanishes from the deck. Upon inspection of the photograph, you are holding their selected card in the picture! From a magician’s point of view, nothing in this routine is knuckle busting. There’s practically no sleight of hand involved, as the props do most of the leg work for you. This leaves you ample room to focus on presentation. And there in lays the real magic! Presentation with this routine is everything! The reactions this thing gets is amazing. Not a magician fooler, but an audience favorite for sure. This is also a great way to get your contact information out there for potential gigs too! Perfect for strolling or table hopping. The magic happens in the spectator’s hands, the reset is instant, there are no angles to be worried about, and they get to keep the object that does the magic as a memento of their experience! This has every element of strong personal magic built into it. This is a working mans trick, and it’s one that’s going to be used by you every chance you get. The price of this routine is obscenely low. And that’s my only real complaint. Magic like this shouldn’t cost you less than a cup of coffee. The magical principles aren’t anything new, but their application is quite effective. This effect is easily worth paying $20 bucks for. I wouldn’t pay much more than that honestly, but I could easily see spending ten to twenty on this. I think Paul is selling himself short on his first release. At the end of the day I think this is a wonderful little working gem. It’s a diamond in the rough! Arm chair, weekend warrior magicians, and collectors will probably snub their nose at it. Their loss. Anyone in the trenches doing real work for real people will instantly see the power and entertainment value this offers. The added personal touch of having a picture of yourself, instead of a mass produced generic magician, really adds something extra to this routine. It makes it personal, it makes it unique, and with your added contact information on it, it makes it a valuable marketing opportunity. This is something that lives in your close-up case, and is an instant go to when working for lay audiences. And for less than a cup of coffee, why the heck not right? Can you say stocking stuffer? When I give my product scores below I am measuring them on a scale of 1 to 10. 1 Being absolute the worst score possible, and 10 being the absolute best, making a score of five average. The three points that I grade upon is Product Quality, Teaching Quality, and Overall Quality. Product Quality: 9 The price is WAY to low for this routine. The magic is solid, and is built on real working mans conditions. You’ll use this. Teaching Quality: 9 The instructions are well designed. Easy to follow, and the gimmick is easy to build. Overall Quality: 9 Love it. You will too. Do you have a product you want reviewed? Want to see if it will stand up to the Draven Seal of Approval? Contact me directly at thewilliamdraven@gmail.com to find out how your product could be on the next Draven Reviews! Don't forget to like my blog where all my reviews are posted at www.williamdraven.wordpress.com. |
The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » Ebooks, PDF's or Downloads » » Draven Reviews: The Infamous One-Handed Card Trick by Paul Rathbun (1 Likes) |
[ Top of Page ] |
All content & postings Copyright © 2001-2024 Steve Brooks. All Rights Reserved. This page was created in 0.04 seconds requiring 5 database queries. |
The views and comments expressed on The Magic Café are not necessarily those of The Magic Café, Steve Brooks, or Steve Brooks Magic. > Privacy Statement < |