MagicShop.co.uk have some amazing DVD offers on at the moment – where you buy one DVD and get the rest of the set for free! This Darwin Ortiz set is one on the list (if you know anything about card magic you will already know what an amazing card man Ortiz is!). This set is 3 DVDs for £29.99. There are various other sets available too. Follow the link and then click on ‘DVD Deal$’ to find them!

OK – here’s something quite different for a change. A nice piece of art on your wall can really bring a bit of class to your magic den! Dai Vernon is one of the greatest modern exponents of close up and especially card magic. This is a limited edition print by Annabel De Vetten. If Dai Vernon isn’t your thing, she has done various other designs, including the legendary Cardini, Eugene Burger, and some prints from the Jill Deck. Unframed cost – £40.00

Rob Bromley/Peter Nardi’s Extractor caused quite a stir when it came out a few years ago – a brilliant device to secretly retrieve a card from a boxed deck without the need for sleight of hand. Well the new edition has been improved, comes with extra routines and also shows you how to adapt it to a different (poker sized) deck design – so you don’t have to stick to the Bicycle deck if you don’t want to. £50.00

Here at Bicycle-Cards.co.uk we’re still wondering whether these will become the new card of choice, or how the Phoenix deck will do. Any thoughts?…

If you use this voucher code: ‘goodiebag’ before 11pm today (UK time), you will receive a free goodiebag with your order. The contents of the bags are picked AT RANDOM by the warehouse and contain 1-4 magic items valued from £15-£40 retail.

(Some of the possible items include: Invisible Reality Peter Eggink, Vortex by Tom Stone, Unholy by Jay Sankey, Harmony Coins Set, Ninja Coin Set, Cataclysm by Brian Caswell, Houdini: The Movie Star (3 DVD Set),
WoW 2.0 Face Up (voucher to claim on release date), Mastermind 3Hearts (Red Bicycle), Loads of Bicycle Playing Cards, Loads of Mandolin Playing Cards, Hawk 2.0)

As you will see they are also stocking the new Bicycle Mandolin playing cards (£2.50/pack) and also the new Karnival Ryujins. They’ve also got some amazing DVD deals on. So head on over to MagicShop.co.uk ASAP!

What is Cardio? It is an e-book of 7 effects – all cards. Like me, Liam is a big John Bannon fan, and there is ’something of the Bannon’ in the way he has clearly thought carefully about the structure and impact of each effect. But what of the effects?

The Other Thing
This is a 4 King location where the cards appear in ‘impossible’ locations. It is a nice routine – and I love the way much of the work is done before the effect has even started from the point of view of the spectator. It requires a few moves, but is within reach of most card magicians.

Pop Hoff
As the name hints, this is a very visual take on the Hofzinser Ace Problem. Essentially the four aces help to find the spectator’s card – eventually fusing into it. Again, I like the routine. It does require a flat palm which may put some off – but you are getting a lot of pretty visual magic without too much hard work here.

Backhand Slap
A spectator’s card is revealed in a dramatic way, with a 4-ace kicker at the same time. For me this is not one of the stronger routines in the booklet. But it might play well for a poker-loving audience, and would follow on (in terms of set up) from Pop Hoff quite easily.

The Swing of Things
A pendulum both ‘divines’ and reveals the chosen card. I really like this. It is technically very simple and the use of the pendulum gives a very different feel to this ‘card trick’. A great little idea which will play well with laypeople.

Twisted
This is a twisting the aces routine with a strong extra double climax. What I like about this is the structuring of the effect and the way that both gives the whole ‘twisting’ routine a purpose and sucks the audience in. Again, very visual magic without too much hard work. A great routine.

Scam Royale
With a nod in the direction of John Bannon… This is a ‘collectors’ type plot with a twist. If I’m honest, I’ve never enjoyed the Collectors plot so this didn’t do much for me. The Royal Flush finish is surprising, but there is a bit of set-up for this one. Would be interesting to see what a layperson thought, but I’m never likely to show one!

Reality Burp
The plot here is all about hypnosis – two spectators see their card multiply and then swap places with the Kings in a surprising way. There are a fair few moves in this routine – though again, they would be in the reach of most (a bit more palming required here too). It is a strong effect with a nice premise and the ending is certainly a kicker.

A word on format/style.
The book is very simply and clearly produced (no flashy graphics – just well layed-out text) and well written. Each effect begins with a description which also serves to outline the suggested patter/routine. All the ’sources’ and inspiration for each effect are clearly described, and he takes the time to explain the reasons for particular actions and steps. Where there are ‘moves’ they are clearly described – but in such a way as they are easy to skip if you already know them. For me it is a model of how such booklets should be written.

In conclusion…
There is some great magic within the pages of this booklet – and even if you don’t like them all, for £10 it is not much per trick. I think the hallmark of this work is simplicity/clarity of effect – and the routines are worth studying for what you can learn about structuring a trick if nothing else. So if you are a cardman, this comes recommended.

You can pick it up direct from the author himself – which is always a bonus – at http://liammontier.webs.com/.

But I’m conflicted.
Let me come clean about a few things. I have had this nagging suspicion with some of the other Karnival decks that they might not appeal to every audience. This is probably a sign that I’m not cool enough – and I guess with any special design like this you are going to find some people who won’t like it. But the dragon design on the Ryujins seems to me a bit more classy and more widely appealing.

On the other hand, the rather tastefully designed new Joker is not going to suit some people. It is elegantly done, and in no sense explicit, but it does feature nudity. So that will put some people off. Although it must be said that most of the magic I do with cards could be done without any Jokers in the pack – so you could always remove them if you were bothered by this.

The ace of spades is very striking with intertwined dragons and the rather classy gold ink used for the back design. You also get the apparently obligatory ‘prediction’ card (‘you will choose the 5 of diamonds’) – which I feel is rather spoiled by the advertising on the back of it. Rather nicer is the 9 of hearts ’spiked’ under the sword of one of the Jokers. There’s also a barcode reveal on the tuck case if you like that kind of thing. A matching blank-faced card is also supplied which is always useful.

The Ryujins are printed on regular USPCC stock and so handle as well as you would expect them to. There does seem to be quite a lot of ‘border’ on the back design, and on my deck these are slightly unbalanced leaving a pronounced ‘one way’ effect. I am not sure if this is intentional or is just a USPCC printing problem – you see it on normal Bicycle Decks from time to time. However, I don’t think a layperson would notice.
Ed note: having checked with BBM – there is a subtle one-way effect in the actual design; the off-centre printing is a bonus!

Bottom line – this is a nice and visually striking deck which handles well. But pick your audience carefully…

BBM are still doing their pre-order deal (buy 3 or more decks and get a free Renegade chucked in) – head over to their pre-order page for more details.

This is a stonkingly good discount on a great DVD. Liam’s magic is usually very visual and within the reach of most performers and includes lots of card stuff. Recommended – and especially at about 75% off! Only £5.88

I’m going to be honest. Not many of you are going to buy this. But those who do will have years’ worth of wonderful treasure to travel through. Stewart James was an absolute legend and this comprehensive set contains an vast wealth of material – largely unpublished – including variations on his ideas by other clever magical thinkers. Pure delight. But a serious investment! £99.99

We haven’t mentioned an actual deck of Bicycle cards on our Trick of the Month for a long time. I suppose technically it isn’t a trick! But lots are possible with this rather unusual Propaganda Deck which is produced on Tally Ho stock and has a rather striking black design. £4.99

Let us know your experiences of using them. And don’t forget, if you want to get other magic equipment at the same time, check out our Cheapest Bicycle Card supplier page.