Sorry – January was a bit of a quiet month on bicycle-cards.co.uk but we’ve got lots in store for February – starting as usual with Trick(s) of the month!
This one is brand new and though we haven’t seen it in person yet, the video looks amazing! Do watch it! Two cards penetrate one another in full view. Did I mention it looks amazing? MIX includes four other effects for your magical pleasure. And apparently not too hard to do either… £23.99
OK, so not many of you are going to rush out and get this, but if you love your card magic, then this set will be a Revelation! Dai ‘The Professor’ Vernon is a legend to card magicians. 30 years after the amazing Revelations video set was released, it has been remastered on to DVD with loads of extra footage and material. This would keep you going all year. £156.99
Our finall recommendation this month isn’t new, but it is reloaded! Twisted Sisters is John Bannon’s all time classic effect, and it has been re-released in Bicycle Mandolin stock, and with newly shot DVD instructions and additional material. If you’ve never done this before then get it. And even if you have, you might get some new ideas here… Only £10.99
What better way to start the new year than with some more great magic? Happy New Year!
We’ll start our recommendations with a trick which isn’t brand new, but we’ve been playing with it recently and like it a lot. Alice’s Revenge is Bob Farmer’s variation on the B’Wave/Twisted Sisters concept but in many ways looks cleaner.
Reset is very quick and there is lots to like about the method. I’m a bit of a fan of this type of packet trick and it rocks in at only £13.50.
Our second suggestion this month is not so much a trick as a way of adding an extra level of impossibility to your existing card effects. The Wonder Sealer does just what its name suggests and enables you to ‘factory seal’ a deck of cards which you have previously set up in whatever way you wish. Refills available. £39.99
Forgive us for a slightly different kind of recommendation to end with. The Magician and the Cardsharp
(subtitled: The Search for America’s Greatest Sleight-Of-Hand Artist) is an intriguing ‘biography’ exploring the life of Dai Vernon and in particular his hunt for an elusive move ‘the centre deal’. Although the author is not a magician, he writes well on the subject and it gives a fascinating insight into the life and times of this great magician.
And if you just don’t fancy reading a book, then why not get yourself a deck of these beutiful Erdnase Limited Edition playing cards. Erdnase’s classic book was a key inspiration for Dai Vernon, and these cards pay homage to his time and elegance. £5.50 for a beautiful collectible deck.
A number of people have asked me recently about gift ideas for magicians, so below we have some suggestions. Christmas is on the way. Here are some more ideas for your wish list from Bicycle-Cards.co.uk
Our first suggestion is for a youngster just getting interested in magic and looking for their first set. This collection includes some great card magic and coin magic and would make an excellent introduction to the art. £29.99 (here’s another alternative for only £24.99 in a cool shoulder bag).
Our second suggestion is for a magic enthusiast. He probably has a box of magic stuff he never uses, and you don’t know what to buy him. Well Think by Shin Lim has only just hit the shops in the UK. It’s a stunning new card prediction effect and looks devestating. £24.99
Our final suggestion is a wonderful magic book. It is something we’ve mentioned before, but we mention it again because it would make a great Christmas present – in time for the new year. Secret Agenda is a collection of 366 daily readings to make you think more deeply about your magic. Full of wonderful tips and stimulating ideas, but the author of the famous Card College series of books. £34.99 for a year’s worth of learning!
PS – don’t forget you can have a chance of winning some classy Bicycle Cards in our Christmas Competition!
Christmas is on the way. Here are some more ideas for your wish list from Bicycle-Cards.co.uk
The badge ‘Paul Harris Presents’ is usually a guarantee for something rather special, and Ink is a really creepy effect where a prediction written on a card case visually turns into the correct card. It promises a 10 second reset and the videos look pretty good. Works with Bicycle or Mandolin back cards. £37.50.
Card to Wallet is a classic effect in magic. Any Signed Card to Any Spectators Wallet takes this to a new level by doing just what it says on the can. This is getting great reviews around the forums at the moment as a clever utility gaff. £31.99
Here’s something a bit different from Nathan Kranzo. How about, at the end of your card trick, the deck of cards turns into a stack of bank notes? That’s exactly what happens in Pimpin. And it is currently HALF PRICE at only £8.50.
Here are some more recommendations from Bicycle-Cards.co.uk
There are many monte effects out there, but Garrett Thomas’ new Stand Up Monte seems to have been getting some rave reviews as a really practical walkaround version of the classic effect. The DVD edition rocks in at £24.99 – but if you’re like me and are quite happy with printed instructions you can get it for only £12.50.
A good marked deck is a valuable tool in the magician’s armoury Here’s a clever twist using a Ted Lesley concept to provide a spectator-safe speed reader deck. This is in the new Mandolin back design. £17.99
If you’ve been in to close up magic and especially card magic for any time, you will be familiar with the name of Dai Vernon. Here is a wonderful brand new complete biography of one of magic’s biggest legends. A great read for all lovers of the art. £28.50.
Here are some more recommendations from Bicycle-Cards.co.uk
If you have been watching the excellent series ‘Penn & Teller Fool Us’ in the UK recently you may have seen Piff the Magic Dragon aka John Van der Put perform this excellent visual card magic. A signed playing card changes, quarter by quarter, into another card with the signature still intact! Wow! £29.50
Tool, by David Stone, seems to have been taking the magic world by storm – rapidly selling out every time more stocks are available. A clever gimmick that makes all kinds of visual magic possilbe – 11 routines taught on the supplied DVD. Only £28.99.
We love Wayne Dobson’s clever approach to magic that is easy to do yet powerful in impact. Dobson’s Choice is one of his latest books and is currently on special offer at half price – only £9.99.
Looking for some great magic to distract you over the summer? Here are some more recommendations from Bicycle-Cards.co.uk
Mark Elsdon is undoubtedly a clever man with a great knack for creating effective mental magic. On a previous occasion we reviewed the excellent On the Mark so this month we will highlight his effect Uncanny. We haven’t looked at it in person, but the video I saw looked very clean. A freely chosen card and number are permanently printed on a prediction in full view all the time. Great mental magic with Bicycle Cards. £20.99.
This double DVD by David Forrest – The Trickery – is not new. However we flag it up because it is currently on special offer. Dave’s magic is direct and often very visual, and there is something for every one on this double DVD. Amazing value at only £12.50
I hope you will forgive us for veering slightly off our playing card heart-land here. But I assume that most of the magicians reading this site are interested in close up magic generally and not just cards! In my experience table-hopping you do sometimes get asked for something that doesn’t involve cards, and you could do worse than considering this clever coin trick – Pressure – which has been featured by the magician of the moment, Dynamo. Quite simply two coins fuse together in a very clean way. On pre-order with more due in August – and they sell out very quickly! £24.99.
Wimbledon almost over, so it must be time for some more recommendations from Bicycle-Cards.co.uk
We have a growing library of magic books at Bicycle-Cards.co.uk headquarters, and Try the Impossible is one of our latest additions. Full to the brim of interesting card magic, from the self-working to the rather more involved. And perhaps most pleasingly it includes one of the effects that recently fooled Penn & Teller. A great book and only £25.95.
The Torn and Restored Card is a classic of close up card magic. There are some fiendishly difficult methods out there, but Mickael Chatelain’s latest take – Rewind – promises to be within the reach of most magicians and is certainly visually very impressive. It’s a lot for a single trick – but watch the video and see what you think… £62.00
We’re back to our bread and butter here with a new and unusual Bicycle Deck. We’ve just received one of these and will do a longer review as soon as time permits. But for now, check out the new Bicycle Stickman Deck. £5.49.
The summer is rolling on, so it must be time for some more recommendations from Bicycle-Cards.co.uk
Here’s a visually amazing way of opening your close-up set – producing a whole deck of Bicycle cards from a flat packed box in an envelope. Take a look at the video demo of Postcards and see how effective it is. £46.99. (Also available in Blue deck version)
Regular readers will know I am a bit of a book lover, and also have fondness for mental magic. So you can imagine that I got very excited when I saw this lovely Open Prediction Project book advertised. 51 (why not 52?!) solutions to Paul Curry’s original challenge – rocking in at just under 300 pages this will make some good holiday reading! £34.99
We had never heard of David Corsaro before, but this DVD is getting some good reviews. Practical walkaround magic. £24.50
Can’t believe it’s that time again already! Here are some more recommendations from Bicycle-Cards.co.uk
We’re always a fan of Peter Duffie’s clear writing style and eye for what will work in card magic. This collection of 80 routines and moves from some of the best card men in the US was originally released as an ebook – but somehow a lovely real book works out cheaper. Excellent value per trick at only £18.50.
This is not going to be for everyone, though if you are looking around for a present to buy your magic-loving partner, this could make a really great gift! It is a blank journal to record your magical ideas, thoughts, notes etc, but it has been bound to make it look like a replica edition of Erdnase’s classic Expert at the Card Table. We think it looks great. And it is cheaper than one of those posh notebooks you can buy in the stationers! £12.50 (if you’d rather have a copy of the actual book, there’s a lovely Erdnase pocket edition available for £9.95)
And if you’re looking for some instant gratification, Duped is a neat little effect from Cameron Francis. An ideal walkaround effect with instant reset. Four cards reveal a spectator’s chosen card in a very magical way. Only £6.99 and get it straight away!
