Hi Eric. I don't think I am missing the point. There is a move in Blizzard on which you can get busted in exactly the same way as if you were to do a deck switch. So why not do a deck switch and in the process a stronger and better routine ? I'm not criticising Blizzard, its a great trick but I do feel that Dean is selling the effect based on the limitations of the handling and is trying to turn a negative into a positive. In many ways he does succeed.

On a different note. If the moves on Paleface are done properley the audience should never suspect a deck switch. (Or half deck as it actually is.)

For the gimmick with Blizzard, for those having trouble with it leading to fumbling, I found cutting out the very back side of it facilitates the move. It all but eliminates any fumbling.

You may need to re-enforce the rear end of the gimmick afterwards though, to keep it from spreading open.

My questions are if Blizzard is going to be your only card trick in the set, what do you do before it, and what if anything do you do after it? Is it your opener, your closer, an in-betweener, or a stand alone effect? How do you segue in and out of it? In what settings do you perform it?

Magic Mike, the answer is YES. It can be stand alone, in the middle of your set or it can be a closer. It SHOULD NOT be COMBINED with any other card tricks. How you segue it into your routine depends on the material you have in your repertoire and how you want to present your magic. with imagination and ingenuity, almost any number of tricks can be linked together. Maybe that's somewhat of an exaggeration, but for your routine you'll want to think in terms of a theme or premise that runs across all the effects. You can also think in terms of story telling... how you use the various pieces is up to you!

Blizzard is best in a table magic setting... but you can do it strolling. In my opinion it's best to be done when you're sitting or standing at a table in a traditional close up setting. It's not very practical for strolling in my opinion.

I have seen Dean Dill perform this trick dozens and dozens of times. Often he does it as a stand alone effect. If you study and practice this effect well, it has tremendous potential. It really is amazing how much impact you can get from this very simple trick. Blizzard has become a classic and has fooled many of the worlds best magicians!

Thanks, Mediocre. And congrats on your devilish 666th posting.

Heh-heh.

I'm in agreement that after you get past that lingering uneasiness over "getting busted", Blizzard is a jaw-dropper.

A few posters mentioned a steel gaff. Is this custom made or is it commercially available? A little more heft to the gaff would be a good thing.

It's commercially available, but I can't recall where I got mine. Google something like metal card shell.

You can get the Deck shell, with DVD or book, from many places, including Ellusionist. It is made by Chazpro. I recommend the DVD, as some of the moves are not easy to visualize from the book.

I looked on Ellusionist and saw the shell, but the DVD you mentioned wasn't readily obvious. Is it a DVD dedicated to using the shell, or one of their other DVDs that just happens to cover its use?

Has anyone experienced that the missing "card box flap" on the steel shell is cause for concern?

Ellusionist used to sell a package, I think. But the DVD is very inexpensive, and has some excellent ideas in it. Don't expect a lot of glitz in the DVD. Here is a link to it at my favorite on-line store:
http://trickshopmagic.com/dvddeckshell.html

I have not used the deck shell for Blizzard, but rather only when it is covering a card case. So I can't opine on that aspect.

John

Larry:

I got the shell, book and DVD in a bundle from the popular auction site for just over $20 shipped. The seller was magicandcollectibles (it's Chuck Leach himself) but he doesn't seem to be offering the bundle at the moment. Worth watching out for though!

The production of the DVD is showing its age but there's some good stuff on it, demonstrated by Chuck.

A lot of the uses of the shell is with a deck in its box, so the missing flap of the shell isn't so much of an issue. However, compared to that move in Blizzard, the missing flap is nothing! ;-)

-Dan

Could we get back on topic?

John / Dan -

Much appreciated. Thank you!

Regards,
Larry