Unbound - Darryl Davis
$24.95 (DVD or download)
https://murphysmagic.com/product.aspx?id=55413

The Hype:
The classic Invisible Deck is hailed by many to be one of the best card tricks in the world. Darryl Davis, reinvented this timeless classic to require nothing more than a standard deck of cards, even borrowed, if you wish. Toss your gimmicked Invisible Decks to the side, because Darryl strips away all the gimmickery and teaches you how to easily perform this legendary effect with nothing but the trusty deck in your pocket.

Can't perform Invisible Deck with a borrowed deck? Now you can. Strip off the weight of all those gimmicks and perform Invisible Deck like never before, raw and clean.

Darryl easily and slowly walks you through every nuance of Unbound, making it easy to perform and diabolically effective. Prologue, commentary and bonus original effect taught by Alan Ackerman
Completely gimmickless
Totally impromptu
Easy to learn & perform
Easy setup
Use borrowed deck
Over an hour of detailed instruction
Alan Ackerman bonus effect & interview

My Take:
Pretty much every one of you has owned an Invisible deck so it seems pretty old hat at this point. So much that when we watched the first David Blaine special and he used one we all said. "Oh no, you've got to be kidding me." But then you saw the policeman's reaction. What David knew (and we have forgotten) is that just because a trick is old and tired to us, if you haven't seen it before, it is a miracle.

If you go to Youtube, you will find numerous videos on not only how to handle the deck, but how to make one yourself. All the way from roughing fluid to roughing stick to Science Friction. You are only limited by how creative you can be.

The Other Brothers have been bringing out some incredibly creative projects over the last few years but this one is a Brother without the Other. Darryl Davis gets to show off his chops to great advantage. The DVD cover says over an hour of instruction. However, the DVD is over two hours long. Most of the second hour is taken up with a session with Alan Ackerman (worth the cost of admission by itself). The cover also says Easy to Learn and Perform. I would have to disagree with that. This is more towards advanced handling. Darryl himself says that it will take some real work to perfect this trick.

The crux of the whole project is a move from Alex Elmsley called the Brain Weave. (Collected Works of Alex Elmsley, Volume II, page 338,) If you have ever used the Ribbon Spread Hold Out, you will have an idea what is happening here. The nice thing about this move is that multiple cards can be concealed. This is the move that will create the difficulty for a lot of you. It just is not that easy to do. However, if you take the time and work to learn it, it is a masterpiece. On the second half of the DVD, Alan Ackerman demonstrates and explains his version (inspired by the Elmelsy version and becoming the inspiration for this project itself. He admits that Darryl's version actually improves on his. If you watch the way he sets up, you will notice that he does not use the Brain Weave and you might find his method a little more accessible.)

There are several methods and effects taught, some impromptu and some requiring a set up. His Equivoque version also requires a set up. He has a section on Experimental, which are things in the development stage. He encourages you to create your own and send them to him. allows you to upjog the selected card without looking at the faces. A perfect Faro is required but only on a portion of the deck

One idea that impressed me was his method of having the deck set up ready to go as it comes out of the box. Positioning of the cards should make this impossible but Darryl gives you his solution. This allows you to ask for a card, pull out the box and remove the deck ready for the revelation.

This is a beautiful routine so if you take the necessary time and work, you will have a miracle in your hands. One great thing is that the Impromptu version can be done with a borrowed shuffled deck. That alone should make you a legend.