First Hand/Rizer Double Astonishments by Justin Miller, Eric Ross and Paul Harris Presents

What is better than double the magic? (I don’t know, maybe triple?).  Well, Paul Harris Presents thought of a very smart way to sell old best sellers… sell them together in a package for the price of one.  Very cool, very clever.

The two tricks in this Double Astonishments! Package are Rizer and First Hand. They come in a nicely packaged cardboard box with the necessary materials for gimmick construction and a password protected downloadable link for the instructional video.

The first trick, Rizer, by Eric Ross and B. Smith. is so incredibly visual and so damn cool, that I wish it would work for me. More on that to come.  The basic effect consists of the performer drawing a card on his arm to predict a card that the spectator has chosen.  The drawing of the card appears to be wrong, but when the performer explains that it is the deck of cards that he drew on his arm and the spectator is just looking at the card on the face of the deck.  The performer shakes the skin on his arm and you can see the card the spectator chose slowly rise from the “deck” and is visibly printed on the performer’s arm.

The method is not for everyone. Some people may not like what they need to do to their arm and they will take a pass.  Anyone that is repelled from geek magic should stay away – although this does not squarely fit in the geek magic category.  I cannot perform this trick.  The plasticity and softness of your skin is the key here.  My skin is very tight and I could not make this work.  For people that have more malleable skin, this trick is awesome.  Sadly, I cannot give this trick a rating because I could not make it work.  You will be able to reset this trick with a few minutes of privacy, but you cannot perform it in front of the same spectators a second time.  With this trick you get the instructional download and something you will need to take the show on the road.  There is a missing ingredient which you may have if you make a lot of card gimmicks.  It is standard arts and crafts material that costs a couple of bucks.

The trick comes with a 42 minute instructional video that is very poorly produced. It consists of Smith and Ross sitting in a very poorly lit room with nasty shadows.

The second trick, First Hand is a Justin Miller creation. With First Hand, you take a stack on dollars bills, tap them with your closed wallet and they instantly turn into a stack of hundred dollar bills.  This trick comes with the arts-and-crafts materials you need to make the gimmick (probably about 4 gimmicks) and an hour and forty one minute instructional video that is taught and performed by Miller.  When originally marketed, the trick was called Freedom Change.  Because the instructional video is the original product video (as is the video for Rizer) Miller refers to the product as Freedom Change.

This is a very nice trick that works with your black leather wallet. You cannot do this trick with a wallet that is not black and smooth. Your wallet cannot have a design on it.  Also, based upon the material that the gimmick is made out of, which you make, I would perform this trick in lower light situations.  This is a great trick for walk-around, restaurants and bars – definitely in bars!

Miller teaches several different routines and this is a very strong product. The instructional video teaches you how to the make the gimmick, which is easy.  Gimmick construction takes just a few minutes.  The production quality of the video is poor compared to today’s standards.

When performing this trick, you will be holding something that is a bit dirty, but with proper execution, no one will ask to see the thing that is dirty. That is because the effect is so eye-popping that the spectators are amazed.  I am concerned about some flashing that I think is likely to happen, but you are relying upon the spectators being so stunned that they will not notice anything.

The reset is quick and there are no real angles to speak of despite the fact that there is the need for some audience management so you can allow them to hold the bills that are about to change. After the trick, your spectator can examine the bills that morphed and remain in their hand.

Check out the promotional videos on line because what you see is what you get. If you like it, dive in and get this two-for-one deal!

This great deal can be purchased from any Murphy’s Magic dealer.