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Fire When Ready – John Bannon – A Review

Fire When Ready – John Bannon – A Review

Fire When Ready by John Bannon – A Review

After the bestselling smash hit releases ‘Bullets After Dark’ and ‘Bullet Party’, John Bannon is finally ready to close out his ‘Bullet’ trilogy. The third and final entry is Fire When Ready, a veritable feast of card magic delights. Fueled by Bannon’s inimitable style of easy-to-achieve, yet staggeringly powerful card magic, this is a project you NEED!

Over two packed discs and an immense 180-minute running time, Fire When Ready will arm you with some of the strongest card magic imaginable. From Bannon’s go-to opener for more than a decade ‘Line Of Sight’ to the impossibly clean think of a card ‘Proxy Shock’. The ten featured routines are audaciously constructed and require only the most basic sleight of hand, yet, they are tricks that are destined to be in your arsenal for EVER!

Proxy Shock – They think of a card. The deck is shuffled. It looks like you miss… then BOOM! They realize they were just being set up for the sucker punch.

Rock The ‘Voque – A spectator reads your mind, bit by bit, nailing the card you thought of… and you can prove it!

Mundo – All the impact of ‘Out of This World’, but in a small packet, and with a twist that will fool EVERYONE!

Cut & Run – Produce the four Aces from a deck repeatedly shuffled and cut… by your SPECTATOR! This is a killer utility!

Hybrid Holdout – Your participant shuffles and cuts. Top stock: Controlled?!?

Stealth Aces – A classic Ace Assembly, that combines easy handling with a devious construction!

Big Fat Bluff Aces – John’s hidden gem. This assembly is a showpiece, and features several astonishing kickers, and will leave EVERYONE reeling – laymen and magicians alike!

Blues Alley Jokers – Truly shocking appearance of Jokers sandwiching a selected card.

Clean Out Of Sight – Vernon’s classic gets the Bannon treatment – a spectator shuffles and thinks of a card, without you touching a thing. Then, following the spectator’s intuition, you zero in on a card they’ve genuinely thought of, and never named. BOOM!

Question Zero – A borrowed, shuffled deck. A thought of card. Zero questions, maximum bang for minimal buck!

Line Of Sight – What does John open his card sets with? Line of sight. And you will see why! John teaches all the tips that make this shocking moment of mental card magic work, with the pack in the spectators’ hands.

My Thoughts:

You have to like John Bannon. Oh.. I’m sure there’s someone, somewhere who doesn’t… but some folks don’t like Santa Clause or the Cadbury Bunny either. Regardless, John’s style and timing appeals to my inner magician and I have a preconceived admiration for his work. Perhaps that means I look for the good instead of the bad. So be it….

FIRE WHEN READY is one of a three part series John calls the ‘Bullet’ trilogy. All three have one thing in common: They are a series of fairly rapid fire effects that are extremely practical, never convoluted, and get straight to the point. These are effects that are perfect for that moment when someone wants you to ‘show them something’. You don’t want to drag them, secretly crying and screaming, through a six or seven minute monstrosity.. when you can Bannonize them with a beautifully constructed two or three minute gem that makes them beg for another…

Will I use everything taught on Fire When Ready? No… Like all DVD’s, I have my favorites. (Thank goodness there ARE favorites.) I have four I am rewatching to gather all the specifics I’ll need to add to my performance list. I have one other which I am making a permanent part of my repertoire. I can’t ask for more than that out of a twenty five dollar DVD.

Like many of John’s DVDs, I’ll say this material is on the advanced beginner level. Nothing is really complicated and every move is taught. If you are a beginner, don’t be afraid to make this purchase.. it will help you immensely.

Here’s a list of effects and a few quick thoughts…

Proxy Shock – Uses a Bob Farmer move to switch in a card. A deck is spread and a spec thinks of a card they see. You make a guess, and miss… or do you? Very smooth handling and requires a double undercut and a weave shuffle… both taught.

Rock The Voque – Mental magic effect. Equivoque. Relies on ambiguous instructions and context to reveal a spectator’s mental choice. A Touch force is used like an index. Very Sharp thinking… Another personal favorite.

Mundo – Intuition effect. Small packet version of Out of this World. Spec deals into two piles using the Ace of Spades as a key card. One move .. taught. One of my favorites..

Cut & Run – A nice four Ace assembly. Similar to a Ben Earl effect. A Three pile false cut and a few packet cuts get it done.. Uses a Frank Thompson false cut, which is very simple. Look like a pro on a poor man’s budget.

Stealth Aces – Ace assembly. A false count achieves all the magic. John Carey effect. Very streamline. You WILL do this. Another personal favorite.

Big Fat Bluff Aces – Four Ace effect disguised as an assembly. Uses an Elmsley Count and Jordan Count Exchange. Four Aces turn to four Kings, and the Aces turn up somewhere they shouldn’t.. Nice, visual effect.

Blues Alley Jokers – A Sandwich effect. Jack Carpenter effect. Uses a shift to achieve the end effect.

Clean Out Of Sight – Packet effect.. uses about half of the deck. Relies on spectator ‘intuition’ to find their selected card. Mathematical based. Out of Sight Out of Mind based. Take the time to learn this.. and you’ll have something special.

Question Zero – Regular shuffled deck effect. Spectator picks five cards and remembers highest card. Cards are placed back in deck. Magi uses multiple shift and a swing cut to move the five back to the top. Well taught and only takes a little practice.

Line of Sight – Great premise. Quick and simple. Links back to Dear Mr Fantasy in 2005. Uses a Marlo glimpse and a little finger friction move to achieve the magic. This is based on an Alain Nu premise, and is my favorite effect. Fits right in with what I’m working on.. routine wise.

Line of Sight – Other glimpses. Three other glimpses are taught..

This is over three hours of card magic on one DVD. Everything is exactly what you’d expect from Bigblindmedia. Cameras, lighting and sound are more than adequate. Camera angles are precise and well-placed.

I am recommending FIRE WHEN READY to my friends and readers. This is sort of a no-brainer…

$25.00 From Murphy’s Magic and their associates..
https://www.murphysmagic.com/Product.aspx?id=65048

Review by Rick Carruth for Murphy’s Magic and the Magic Roadshow

Sweet Simplicity – John Carey – A Review

Sweet Simplicity – John Carey – A Review

Sweet Simplicity – John Carey – A Review

Rick Carruth

John Carey and BIGBLINDMEDIA present Sweet Simplicity, a collection of mostly self-working card tricks for those of us who enjoy such indulgences.. The Ad Copy reads:

John Carey has built an international reputation for his streamlined approach to card magic. Simplicity of method and great routining equals great magic that is EASY to do BUT still utterly fooling! On Sweet Simplicity you’ll find ten self working or super easy to do card tricks that will slay any audience. Simple to perform they may be – but the effect on your audience will be KNOCKOUT!

FEATURING:

1 in 52 – Carey’s self working streamlined imaginary deck routine is a total worker.

The trick that can be explained – Carey’s spin on a Dai Vernon classic. Devious!

Technicolor Reset – Four blue backed Jokers transpose in slow motion with four red backed Jokers in an exceptionally clean manner and then immediately transpose back in a flash!

Five Oh?! – Semi automatic card magic on steroids, where you get five effects from practically nothing. Super strong and so much fun!

The Perception Shuffle – A self working false shuffle. Yes, you read that right!

Spectator Star – Make your spectator the star as they shuffle, cut and turn over the aces. Boom!

Somewhere over the rainbow – John’s rainbow deck is a thing of beauty. No sleights, just pure subtlety.

Don’t Make Me Cross – Carey’s ungaffed Brainwave effect where the card they think of is the only odd back card – so cheeky and yet SO strong!

Entrapment – A really cool, self working slow motion sandwich effect that you will love using.

One thought One Spell – A very subtle spelling effect you will want to add straight to your repertoire.

My Thoughts…

The vogue seems to be self-working card tricks. I can understand. There are many out there who do not have the time, or dexterity, to devote to endless hours of practice… yet, they want to be a part of the magic revolution.

The next-to-last time i saw the amazing Daryl was at a magic convention in the South. He spent all his dedicated time for the lecture to performing and teaching several self-working card tricks. You might expect more from such a talented magician, but Daryl understood his audience. When he finished and said..”What I performed is available in a set of lecture notes at my table just off the front of the stage.”.. I sat in my seat and watched as thirty to forty grown men unabashedly rushed, and I mean RUSHED, to the front of the stage to get their copy. They saw the performance.. they saw the power.. and they wanted it…

I often pick up self-working card magic DVD’s in hopes of finding one, and if I’m really lucky.. two effects I can file away in my repertoire. Although primarily for true beginners, I do run across that occasional unicorn.

SWEET SIMPLICITY is more than a unicorn ( an extremely rare creature ).. it is a little herd of unicorns. Honestly. I can’t disagree with anything in the ad copy. This collection WILL fool most magicians.. not to mention any lay audience.

The description of the ten effects in the ad copy will suffice. I could add a little something, but in all fairness to John I don’t want to give away too much. Here are a few of my thoughts that might add a little something to the review..

1 in 52 – Equivoque force of one of three cards.. This effect is not a magician slayer.. but gets a REALLY good reaction from a lay audience.. A keeper.

The Trick That Can Be Explained – Prediction effect with multiple outs. I would have to call this one a keeper too.

Technicolor Reset – Color Transposition. Strong packet effect. One of the only effects not self-working and could probably be sold as a stand-alone effect. You may not fool many magicians.. but they will certainly applaud your efforts. One of my two favorites..

Five Oh?! – Another Teleportation type effect. A selected card ends up sandwiched. Deck changes to all Jokers. This is a fine study of subtle moves, and is definitely a keeper.

The Perception Shuffle – Inspired by the Paradise Force Cut. Learn to perform this shuffle while looking the spectator in the eyes… and you have another keeper.

Spectator Star – A four Ace trick, as performed by a spectator. Semi-automatic working. Another effect that will slay a lay audience. May not fool most magicians, but they will certainly appreciate your effort.

Somewhere Over The Rainbow – Another four Aces trick with a kicker. Optical display would work perfectly with Daryl’s Kaleidoscope Cards or a Bicycle Rainbow deck. My other personal favorite.. Love the handling…

Don’t Make Me Cross – Ungaffed Brainwave type effect. The spectator finds the odd card in a mixed deck.

Entrapment – Self working sandwich effect. Nice series of moves to reach a performance climax. Another one the lay audience will never figure out.

One Thought One Spell – A spelling effect you’ll like, even if you’re not crazy about spelling effects..

Sweet Simplicity is available as a DVD or as an instant download, depending on where you purchase it. My copy is a DVD, and if there’s a downside, it’s that there was a lack of info for us reviewers. Short of pulling out a calculator and totaling ten performances and ten explanations, I can’t tell you the length of the DVD. Let’s just say it’s about an hour and ten minutes. Everything about the DVD was typical Bigblindmedia quality… The sound and video were very good, the music was very good.. and the helpers, aside from Liam, were very easy on the eye.. ( I only have one good one..)

Again.. I am very impressed by this collection of effects. This will be one of the best twenty five bucks you’ve spent in a long time. I really enjoy being able to make a firm recommendation of a new product, and Sweet Simplicity gets just that.. If you can’t find at least three or four keepers on this DVD, may I recommend badminton?

$25.00 From dealers who carry the Murphy’s Magic line of products
https://www.murphysmagic.com/product.aspx?id=65050

ROGUE – Easy To Do Mentalism with Cards – A Review

ROGUE – Easy To Do Mentalism with Cards – A Review

ROGUE Easy To Do Mentalism with Cards

by Steven Palmer and Bigblindmedia:

A new product by Bigblindmedia, ROGUE, uses a unique set-up to create mental miracles with cards. Here’s the Ad Copy….Product Image

On ROGUE Steven Palmer teaches you how to use a pack of cards to perform absolute miracles. With Steven’s brilliant psychological chicanery and a handful of easily achievable moves you will be armed and ready to unleash what looks like REAL mindreading powers.

Central to this project is VOID – Steven’s acclaimed ‘thought-of-card’ revelation. This is a true POWERHOUSE of a trick. It might just be the fairest ‘think a card’ you will ever do with a normal deck. ‘Void’ gives you all the power of the ‘Koran Deck’ or the ‘Mind Power Deck’ but with a (slightly tweaked) regular deck of cards!

Key points to remember:
Easy set up
A regular deck with no gaffs or duplicates – just some simple tweaks!
Quick reset – ideal for strolling performers
Suitable for ALL skill levels
Looks incredibly fair
A reliable method!!!
You’ll also learn the DEVIANT SHUFFLE – Steven’s patented false shuffle that looks ridiculously fair but keeps everything exactly where you need it. AND then you’ll master the breather crimp with Steven’s ingenious touches and extra layers which take a great tool and make it indispensable.

And that is just the start – ROGUE features another SEVEN brilliant routines!

FEATURES:
Void (Version I and II)
Thought of Monte
Heroes & Villains
Technically Missing
Memorabilia
Out of My Sight
Medley
Deadcut

My Take:

I am such a fan of mental magic.. and I call this ‘mental magic’ as opposed to ‘mentalism’ in deference to a couple of friends who are full-time mentalists. Regardless, Steven has produced a well-thought-out video, almost 2 hours and 30 minutes long, full of fresh and original thinking. It’s difficult to be truly original, but I would say ROGUE is on the right side of that debate by leaps and bounds.

First.. Steven goes to lengths to help buyers understand the physical side of his effects. I do notice the ad copy states ‘no gaffs or duplicates’. That’s a slightly grey area, as a gaffed card IS used.. but it’s not a part of the 52 card deck. It’s a Joker that’s modified to help set up VOID. Not a big deal.. but it is something you’ll need to take a few minutes to create. Another card will be, as they say, ‘tweaked’. I think it’s fair to call a card with a breather crimp ‘tweaked’. I’m not being picky here. Just letting you know that a couple of small modifications are employed to achieve big effects.

Just as with other mind reading decks, a set-up is used. The set-up is what makes the impossible… possible. Steven’s Deviant Shuffle, a false shuffle, makes everything totally fair and disarms the spectator, allowing you to work your magic.

I really like the premise behind VOID, and VOID provides the set-up for the other seven effects. There is a common thread here, and it’s not complicated to learn or remember. Most important is a brief statement that subconsciously directs the spectator in a certain direction and makes your work so much easier. I wish I could tell you more, but…

The basis of VOID allows the performer to know the exact card selected by the spectator from a stack of approximately ten to twelve cards. Several of the effects expand on this premise, but use the same basic method. VOID also allows you to work with a stacked deck that has been ‘almost’ freely shuffled before the effect begins. The only bit of subterfuge on your part is being able to release a few cards from one stack before the cards begin to interlace.. Simple stuff.

MEDLEY is probably my favorite. It’s presented as a gambling demonstration, but still has the mental magic feel, plus a rapid fire presentation that keeps the spectator off-kilter and confused… in a good way. Everyone will have their own favorite.

As for the video, it’s typical BigBlindMedia quality… filmed in what appears to be a studio of some sort, with help from Liam and a few female spectators. Lighting is fine, camera angles are fine.. and multiple cameras are used.. and aside from a slight echo, audio is good. No complaints and no reason to NOT buy the DVD for technical reasons. (The head shot on the back wall is a little disturbing.. in a cool way.)

There is nothing required of consumers beyond advanced beginner moves. If you’re reading this, chances are you are more than qualified to perform all eight of these effects. If you would like to add several strong mental magic effects to your repertoire, I recommend ROGUE.

Available from magic dealers who carry the Murphy’s Magic line of products..
$30.00 – Available instantly as a two part video download…

https://www.murphysmagic.com/product.aspx?id=63100