This is a wonderfully visual effect which should make the spectator’s eyes pop out! It is pretty easy to do – though as with most effects there is a bit of a ‘knack’ to doing it which will require some practise to get it perfect. If that puts you off then why are you interested in magic!

The props you receive are well made, and as ever nicely presented. The DVD clearly explains the how and also offers a variety of ideas and variations. The ‘gimmick’ can be replaced with either a red or a blue backed Bicycle deck and there is talk of an iphone version.

My main concern with this would be the durability of the gimmick. Without giving too much away, I can see the potential for wear and tear or breakage with a lot of use. However, the DVD contains full details of how to repair your gimmick, which though a bit fiddly is not impossible.

It is hard to think of a more visual opener to a card routine, and the deck produced could be any kind of Bicycle Card deck – so you could produce an ID for example and go straight into that routine. Reset is fairly straightforward, though I don’t think you could really do it as you were strolling around.

You could argue that there are some angle issues, but given the size of the props (the pad is A5 sized) and the presentation, you are largely covered.

In fact my only real criticism is a small glitch on the DVD which means if you start with the ‘Introduction’ section, it jumps straight to the explanation and skips the performance. But I’m sure this will be corrected on later imprints.

All in all an excellent effect. You can get it from your favourite dealer, but if you go straight to MagicTao and mention ‘Bicycle-Cards.co.uk’ he will throw in a free deck of Bicycle Cards and another free trick too!