Perhaps you have a different video to me. I just re watched and at 56:10 the video he clearly says" Valentines Day is in February and the month of February has 28 days"

Thanks, Duster. Ordered that one as well. Any port in a storm...

I've cut some of Sudo's post so that it is EXACTLY how I do this. The one change would be I don't set wrong cards to the side, they go back in the stack after I verbalize them a couple of times.

As for the question regarding whether this video will help you memorize another deck. Well, it will help in a couple of ways: 1.) You get new peg systems for both cards (Ace Ventura versus, say, a face) and the numbers (50 states versus, for example, King Cobra). 2.) You get some fun examples of how to relate card to numbers that would be difficult if you tried doing it without a good mnemonic system already.

If you use mnemonics, it's always nice to have another pegging system anyway. Now, if you already have a good set of mnemonic systems, this won't really help all that much but, again, if you have a good mnemonic system, then you shouldn't need help on this right? That's literally the point.

I bought this even though I already knew the stack through the Memory Arts system but I thought it was really nicely done. That is even despite the blurred out images and factual inaccuracies that popped up (I'd use number of teeth for 32 for example, and just move on).

All in all, very well done and a great tool for anyone who wants to memorize the Mnemonic stack. I still have to say that the easiest stack for me to learn, by far, was the Solution by Brooks and Gairlock ( http://www.atlasmentalism.com/AtlasProductsCatalog.html ).

I'll add this small point:

When I learned my first stack (the Joyal), I wasn't so enthused at the time because I'd not worked with this tool before. But once I had it down and began exploring the possibilities, learning the other two stacks later was a breeze because I could now fully appreciate it's applications. A memorized stack is a memorized stack, but truly, Tamariz's stack is the Cadillac of memdecks. It has become such an integral part of my card work now. If you're a Mentalist who doesn't shun cards, it is an absolute necessity - in my opinion. For those of you who are learning the stack for the first time, all I can say is "stick with it." Your patience and perseverance will pay off ten-fold in the end - I promise.

After memorizing it and using it regularly, you'll wake up one day and have a good laugh while wondering why you didn't learn it sooner.

I enjoyed the John Born book on mem work

What is that called?

A follow-up. I have tried several mem deck methods and none stuck except for this one. I changed some of the specific images Mr Lax suggests to things that were more associated with certain numbers for me but otherwise it has been 2 months and his system works for me.

Does anyone know the name of the ACAAN trick Justin Flom performs in Mneumonica Trainer?

I'm not sure if Justin is performing A.A.C.A.A.N. by Asi Wind, but I know you can use Mneumonica with A.A.C.A.A.N. and achieve a very similar effect.

I just want to add my thought about this.
I am a big fan of this download from Penguin.

I have wanted to learn a stack for ages. Just never committed to it.
I have done some memory work effects, including the Amazing Memory test from Corinda’s book, so I have some working familiarity mnemonic systems.

I first tried hard, rote memorization to learn a stack. I got to card 12.

I toyed with the Harry Lorayne system of turning numbers into letter and then creating peg words. I know this has been effective for many, I just found it an extra step and didn’t commit to the memorization. (Just recently, I saw that Geoff Williams has lectured and published on this method. I am a huge fan of his work and I find he really researches and thinks about his effects. Had I known about this before the Rick Lax download, I would have given it a try. I still may buy his manuscript, but I don’t want to spend more money to learn another stack memorization technique.)

I tried the Trustman Memory Arts method. While I found the book to be lovely. It took some time to memorize the images/ number links. Most stuck in my brain, some did not. After that, I found their method to link each picture to a card to be close to impossible for me. They say they can do it, and I am sure they can. I was not able to.

Finally, I tried Rick Lax’s method. This worked for me. I really liked the fact that the numbers are based on things that I can remember. For about 45 of the cards, it really sinks into my memory. Some of the links are weaker, but I was able to overcome this.

It took me about 8 days to learn all of the cards and location. I have been testing myself on and off for about 4 weeks, and I am pretty good at naming a card or number. I will need some more practice to be proficient.
One of the things that I tried to do after using Rick Lax’s memorization method was to name every card in sequence from 1 to 52 (4 of clubs, two of hearts, 7 of diamonds, and so on.) I actually found this to be quite a mental challenge as I had to convert each number to a card, then do the same thing for the next number in sequence. (I found the same challenge when simply trying to name the preceding card or next card in any given sequence. For instance, if someone selected the card below the 4 of hearts and I then glimpsed the 4 of hearts, in my mind I am thinking a Ford’s Heart high fiving a guy. 5, next card is Six. Six is a pretty girl with a diamond ring. The selected card is the 6 of diamonds.) I am sure my skills will improve, but it is taking practice.

I have seen a number of excellent performers work and lecture on mem deck (Juan Tamariz, Simon Aaronson, Michael Close, Dennis Behr, Woody Aragon, Pit Hartling to name a few). Their knowledge of their mem-deck sequence is fantastic. They seem to able to name cards in sequence, skip cards, etc. It is a goal to which one should aspire.

Is the original pdf still available? I was disappointed that it was taken down.

Thanks for the Tip

Even better I just got email from Google for 2 off any app for this weekend!

Meant to Be

Rick Lax is an Amazing tutor! Made it easier for me

It takes me only 2 hours to commit all the cards to my memory. Quite conformably name the number with any cards.

The choice of association by Rick is quite nice. Cos I don't have to change many pictures to suit my needs.

Alex Hui
Hong Kong

I recommend this to anybody trying to learn this stack. It’s really pretty easy. Shame about some of the missteps in the beginning at launch, but otherwise a good way to learn this.

From reading the feedback in this thread, it seems I was fortunate enough to be late to this party. That being said, I highly recommend Rick's system for memorizing Mnemonica.

I learned Joyal's stack more than a decade ago, but I've wanted to add mnemonica to the arsenal for some time. I made several attempts using all of Tamariz's suggestions, but it never stuck, no matter how silly I felt in the process. After one time through Rick's video, stopping intermittently to practice what he'd covered so far, I was able to get every card by number and every number by card, even if many of them took some time to recall.

Of course, this was only a short-term memorization, but this one viewing gave me the tools to practice the stack. Using this method and occasionally referencing the booklet of illustrations for about an hour each day over the course of the week, I was able to run through the deck shuffled and mis-faced in about five minutes. A couple of weeks later, the original associations have faded from my thought process, and I go straight from a number to a card or from a card to a number, allowing me to complete the same exercise in under 90 seconds.

The system is not perfect, and I made a few adjustments to create associations that were more relevant for me. Overall, though, it helped me accomplish a goal which had been previously unattainable for me.

INCREDIBLE!!

I got bored yesterday so I started surfing Penguin as I often do. I love Rick’s stuff so I was scrolling through his effects and stumbled upon this download. I have tried 6 times over the last 30 yrs to learn a stack. I tried flash cards, brute force, the Joyal stack, Aronson book and two of the Memory Arts books. On all, I gave up after about 20 cards. So on a whim yesterday I said “today I’m going to learn the Tamariz stack.” I downloaded this video and within 3 hrs, I had all 52 cards memorized both card to number and number to card. I was shocked. I took a two hr break and then practiced for 90 min before bed. This morning I got 50 of the 52 cards correct right out of the gate! I was shocked again. It will obviously take a few weeks of daily practice to lock everything into long term memory but I cannot praise this system enough. On my 40th birthday I sat and forced myself to learn to solve a rubiks cube (took me about 8 hrs). I was so proud of myself but I knew that memorizing a deck was the holy grail. Now I’m 44, memory is starting to go, and I figured the mem deck ship had sailed. Thanks to Rick, however, I guess you can teach this old dog new tricks.

As you guys know, my reviews are always honest and a lot of times brutal. I can’t remember the last time I was this happy with a project. This gets a rare 100% from me.