Boris Wild’s Marked Deck Project by Boris Wild and Big Blind Media is a soup to nuts double DVD with Boris Wild showcasing his own marked deck. The Project has more than 4 hours of content and is a great resource for any level performer. For those of you that don’t read past the first paragraph, this is awesome!
On the first DVD, Wild explains how he created the deck and his own marking system and how anyone can create their own deck if they do not want to buy a premade marked deck. Personally, I would spring for a premade marked deck and save myself the time and aggravation of making my own. The Boris Wild Marked Deck (BWMD) used to be printed by the USPCC on rider back Bicycle cards, but they no longer do so. Instead, the BWMD is printed on Maiden backed Bicycle cards.
Wild uses his marked deck as an everyday deck. Although he does not use the markings for every routine in his repertoire, he explains that the marking system can be a safety net. Wild teaches three routines on the first DVD, two of which can be combined into one fantastic routine. In that routine, Zero Touch, Wild makes clear that he will not touch the cards at all and still be able to find a selected card. The spectator takes the cards out of the box and shuffles and cuts the cards to their heart’s content. Then, the performer cuts the cards into several piles and chooses any pile and shuffles them. At some point they will choose a card and drop it on another pile and repeat the shuffling and dropping until all the cards are back in one pile. Then the spectator shuffles they deck and cuts it again. No way anyone could know or find the glimpsed at card. The performer then holds the spectators hand as they wave it over the cards. He has the spectator remove portions of the cards based on his intuition and they are left with one card – and of course it is the selected card. Then, Wild reverses roles and has the spectator perform the trick for the magician while the spectator does not touch the cards at all. The spectator (acting as the performer) narrows the cards down to a few and then selects one and when the magician (acting as a spectator) names his card, it matches the face down card that the spectator/pretend performer isolated. It is a fantastic routine and will leave an indelible mark on your audience.
The second DVD contains five outstanding routines. Included is a superb routine in which a chosen card miraculously ends up between two jokers. Wild also teaches his version of ACAAN which requires solid fundamental card handling skills.
As we have come to expect from Big Blind Media, the production quality and camera work is excellent. The organization and structure of the more than four hours of material is also excellent.
If you have never used a BWMD before, it does take some practice and usage to get used to it so that you can execute with fluency. As you may, or may not know, the genius of the BWMD is that there is only one marking to spot and because of that you are able to find cards faster and eliminate cards very quickly.
This Boris Wild/Big Blind Media collaboration is an outstanding magic product and it is highly recommended for any card magician of all levels.