Ryan Matney has released some great material over the past many years and has won the praise and attention of card magicians that we all love and trust. When I saw that Big Blind Media did a Matney complilation I couldn’t wait!
Each of the 12 tricks are performed by Liam Montier in studio to a BBM spectator and then he explains each trick in a clear and concise presentation. The entire video is shot in the Big Blind Media red room and consists of almost two hours of video.
I have said it before and will say it again, BBM really knows how to shoot, edit and release great magic DVD’s and this one is up there. The tricks on this project are easy to perform and with the exception of one trick that I didn’t care for, I think that they are all super!
Palbearer’s Aces is the first trick on the DVD. It is a super easy and impressive trick that requires a minimal setup and that anyone, even beginners, should be able to do on the fly. In this trick, you spread the deck face-up to show that the cards are mixed. You explain that you can track a person’s shuffle. The spectator cuts the deck and then shuffles. You predict that the first Ace that is dealt face up is the Ace of Hearts. Each card is dealt face-up until the Ace of Hearts is dealt. The rest of the cards are cut and riffle shuffled again. The performer calls the next ace that will be dealt, sat the Ace of Clubs, and it is true. Now, the performer indicates that they have a special move and asks the performer to choose the next Ace to be dealt after another cut and riffle shuffle. The next Ace predicted then appears and the performer demonstrates that he has done his “special” move by pulling the last Ace of his pocket. I love this. It is so easy and fun.
The second trick is the Maven/Bannon Triangle Conversion which was inspired first by Max Maven who in turn inspired John Bannon to put his fingerprints on the concept. Now Matney delivers his own version and it is a great addition. This trick requires a simple set-up that takes only a few seconds. After the spectator cuts and deals and makes various decisions with several piles of cards the Aces end up on the top of each three stacks that are dealt to form the shape of a triangle and the final ace ends up at the front of a fourth pile. It just seems impossible.
WHAT!!!!! Positive Fortune Observation kicks ass! This tricks starts with an idea from Karl Fulves and it is a beauty. You will need a one-way deck to perform this and trust me on this one, it is worth using this deck this for just one trick. This trick is worth the price of admission. Basically, you have the spectator cut the deck at any place and the performer does a series of cuts until one card is left. The one card sends a message and the cards that are on top of the various piles that resulted from separating the deck with an anti-faro have a four-of-a-kind on top. This is really amazing!
Amara Rises Again is yet another great and easy trick. It was inspired by the Duffie/Robertson Lie Detecktor trick. In this trick, the performer selects a card at the outset of the trick and places it in the card box or face down on the table. The spectator then deals any amount of cards and the dealt cards are used to divine if the card is red or black – what the suit and value is and of course the cards are right! That’s an ok trick, but when you add the kicker ending, it kills!
Harmony is a card trick that uses post-it notes to mark randomly selected cards from a small packet. Two spectators write their name on their own post-it notes. They each place the post-it onto a card from a small stack and at the very end, the cards are the mates of the other and they each appear in separate piles at the same number from the top. This trick was inspired by a Peter Duffie trick. This trick will require a quick set-up packet in advance. It’s a good trick and the marking of the cards add a little somethin’ to your standard pick a card routine.
Discard Dating was inspired again by Peter Duffie with his trick the Magical Mixture in which the spectator tries to match the kings and queens of each suit and they end up matching; the king of clubs ends up with the queen of clubs and so on. There is quite a bit of process and counting here, but the end result is incredible. All four mates find each other and I just don’t understand how it happens!
Synchronicity Theorem is a quick and easy trick in which two Jokers are miraculously removed from the deck after the spectator shuffles the deck. This trick is inspired by a Gordon Bean trick and requires an altered card and a quick pencil marking. Using a few classic methods the performer finds a Joker and the spectator does the same. It won’t floor anyone, but it is a great way to start a set for friends.
Long Way Home is a combination of Mark Elsdon’s But Not Here and Deddy Corbuzier’s Free Will. As a magician you may watch this trick and be underwhelmed, but to a layperson this will kill them. Basically, the spectator cuts the deck and three cards are handed out. The spectator gives one to the performer and holds one for herself. A third card has a note on it that everyone sees at the end of the trick. The performer reveals a prediction written in a special place that foretells the name of all three card and the card that is held by the spectator and the performer. This is extremely easy to perform and requires an easy one-time set up.
Dual Construct credits inspiration to Al Leech, Ray Goulet and Ed Marlo. Another great trick! Your spectator deals down any amount of cards while shuffling and mixing along the way. She makes two piles of the selected cards and ends up with one card from each pile. She then cuts the deck and the cut is marked. With the two selected cards, the spectator creates a new card by taking the suit from one and the value from the other. After that choice is made, the card at the place where the deck was cut to is the “created” card. Quick and easy set-up and incredibly easy to perform.
Vintage Mob Scene is billed as a revision to Bert Allerton’s “Community Do as I Do” and it is a great trick to do with three spectators (although you can do it with two or just one spectator too). The spectators shuffle and cut the cards during the dealing process and everyone ends up with four cards. As in “Do As I Do” the spectators follow the performers moves and deal a card down and cut the small packet until they end up with one card and when the final card is arrived at, they are all turned over and everyone’s card is an Ace. Again, super easy to do and requires a half a second to set it up. This is a crowd pleaser.
Positively Fourth Street is a story about luck in Las Vegas and uses an indifferent card that is told to be the winning Ace from the Las Vegas story. It is similar to Palbearer’s Aces, but much weaker. The first Ace that is dealt from the deck matches the Aces that is the face down Ace.
The Psychic Dyslexia Approximation is the last trick on the project and it was inspired by a Marlo concept and a Bannon trick. This can be totally impromptu and can be performed with a totally shuffled deck. One Caveat: you need to have something written on the backs of the Jokers or if you want instead on a piece of paper. I love the concept that makes the magic happen and there are so many great tricks based upon this totally fooling principal. The spectator’s selected card by an incredible fair process and it is just impossible – totally. Then the performer shows the back of the two Jokers and the number “2” is on the back of one and the number “3” is on the back of the other. The cards are counted to the 32nd position and the selected card is there!
So, if you need a synopsis, I think this is a fantastic project and for $25 you really can’t go wrong. I highly recommend this DVD.
