Review of Bicycle David Blaine Mind Reading (Marked) Deck by USPCC

Reviewed by: Bernard Sim

I just received this deck and I am pleasantly surprised by the quality and the ease of use for this deck. The marks are easily seen, i.e. is if you know where to look out for. You don’t have to decipher any special marks because there are none! Once you know where to look out for, you would instantly know that card.

That is not all. The deck comes with several routines and there are some specially printed cards included as well. The specials cards are, double back, additional ace of spades with a special prediction in small print, queen of spades holding a card.

There is also a card printed with drawings on how to do the Charlier cut. This card also contains a password to a website to learn some effects using this deck; unfortunately, the website is not working at the moment (23 Nov 2010). But don’t let that stop you from buying this deck. I am rarely this excited by a deck but this deck is really worth it.  Highly recommended!

Rating 4.5/5.

 

Review of Dupes by Gary Jones and Chris Congreave

Reviewed by: Bernard Sim

This is not the first time Gary Jones and Chris Congreave come together and produce a DVD. I’ve seen some of their work in the past and I am impressed by the quality of their work. This DVD is filled with quality and easy to do routines, all with the help of duplicates. The routines uses from a few to as many as 51 duplicates. Most of the routines in this DVD are not knuckle busting and some of the routines are almost idiot proof!

I’ll talk about some of the interesting routines in this DVD.

Nearly CAAN is a seemingly ACAAN effect but this one is way easy to do. I feel that this is a very strong routine with added subtleties which strengthen the effect further.

Kick Right Back is a short but strong routine. It is something like a sandwich effect whereby 2 selected cards are lost and then sandwiched between 2 indifferent cards. The routine ends with the cards switching places.

Joker Surprise is essentially a routine whereby the spectator manages to pick 1 card out of a pack of 51 jokers. Gary Jones and Chris Congreave each have different presentation for this routine. This is a fun and easy routine to do.

Pocket Aces is a 4 ace production, lost and then found in the spectator’s pocket. This routine requires the ability to p*** a card. It is rather strong and Gary Jones has a nice way of p****** the cards.

This DVD is packed with good card magic; it is a must for card lovers. Highly recommended. Rating 4/5.