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Well folks - those of you that have read some of my posts may have realised that I'm a particularly sceptical person when it comes to special offers so the offer of something for nothing, made in a different post by Cajmagic set those alarm bells ringing.

Having written the previous review of the Caj Deck I was offered an updated version free of charge and with no obligation whatsoever. I of course accepted, as you do but wasn't really expecting to receive it.

How wrong was I?

This mornings post arrived and included a well packaged brand new Caj Deck with the accompanying pamphlet that contains a number of routines. I've not time just yet to post a review but just wanted to post my initial reactions and to say thanks for the deck.

Initial thoughts:

As I picked up the deck and opened it my thoughts were Damn, I wish they would do this deck with blue backs as well! I suppose that I took it for granted that the cards were read as this was the colour of the box. I was very pleasantly surprised to not a number of blue backs are now included and the majority of this updated deck are different from the first edition.

I then noted from the pamphlet that it says both red and blue backs included and a glimpse through the pages shows more routines than before with some very good quality illustrations.

There's some reading for me to do over the next few days and I'll post a full review at the weekend.

Once again, thanks for the deck.

OK - so here's the review as promised.

The Clowns & Jesters Deck of Magic Gaff Cards - Now with Red and Blue Backed Cards

An updated deck of Bicycle Gaffs from the first release (see here for the first review http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic4318.php )

What you get in this deck is:

* 10, J, Q, K, A of Diamonds printed in black (included in previous edition)
* 10, J, Q, K, A of Hearts printed in black (included in previous edition)
* The same for Spades and Clubs printed in red (as in the previous edition)

* 2 and a half of Clubs, Spades, Hearts and Diamonds
* Half of Spades (half an ace)
* Queen of clubs and ten of diamonds on face with all pips pushed into one corner towards the 10 and away from the Queen
* The zero of hearts, clubs, spades and diamonds

.... and so on but what's NEW? (well actually quite little to be honest!)

* King of Clubs with a gaff printed back to look like 2 cards
* J of Hearts & J of Clubs in the opposite corner as in Twisted Sisters with the J of Diamonds and the J of Spades on the back
* Multicoloured Joker with a multicoloured back design
* 10 assorted gaffs with blue backs (I can't be bothered to go through them one at a time).

A well printed booklet that is identical inside to the previous one (with the exception of the final 3 line paragraph).

Cost

Approx £12 to £15 from various retailers.

Difficulty
(1=easy to do, 2=No sleights, but not so easy, 3=Some sleights used,
4=Advanced sleights used, 5=Suitable for experienced magicians only)

Routines inside of the booklet are on average a 2 to perform with some basic sleights required such as a DL, P break etc.


Review

Thankfully I received this deck free for the review as being an owner of the previous edition (which I paid for), I would have thought this very poor value for money if you were buying for the new cards of which there are 13 of (unless you specifically wanted some with blue backs).

However, I will stick by what I said in my first review in that if you don't own the first edition then this is good value for money in my opinion for a gaff deck and some routines provided.

The cards are top quality and the printed booklet is also of very high quality with good photo illustrations.

What will bring this deck into it's own realm is if you have the imagination to create your own routines based around the gaffs. This being the case you could be occupied for some time.

I don't think that this deck has been a big seller which is perhaps a shame as the quality and variety is there. It will be interesting see how the the new gaff red backed deck from Ellusionist will compare when that goes on sale and what type of gaffs that will include.

Unfortunately, I'm quite certain that the Ellusionist one will sell like hot cakes simply because of the branding.

I wonder if changing the name from CAJ would make the deck more appealing to magicians?

Overall

If you own the first edition then forget this update.
If you don't own the first edition then I will still say that the value is on the good side of reasonable.

Overall I'd rate it as 8/10

For those who have a dislike for gaffs then you've most probably not read this far anyway

Interesting. There's no news on their website.

Sad to hear 'A well printed booklet that is identical inside to the previous one (with the exception of the final 3 line paragraph). ' Would have wanted new tricks for the new cards.
I own no gaffs, and like others in my place are wary of being told to 'use our imagination' to make up new tricks.

So the new Twisted Sisters style is a DF'er?

Why does one deck have both red/blue cards? I heard there were to be 2 decks...


Eagerly awaiting my other samples.

Sad to hear 'A well printed booklet that is identical inside to the previous one (with the exception of the final 3 line paragraph). ' Would have wanted new tricks for the new cards.

I do agree. It would have been nice to have a few new routines to accompany the card changes in this edition.

So the new Twisted Sisters style is a DF'er?

Yes - there are cards included that would allow you to do a Twisted Sisters routine with Kings (a sort of Twisted Brothers ) but the Jacks is a DF'er.

Why does one deck have both red/blue cards? I heard there were to be 2 decks...

Again, I agree! It would have perhaps been better to have the same FULL deck in red AND blue backs so you can take a choice.

For what you get it would have perhaps been much better to have repeated the first edition in Blue backs and a blue box. I can only suppose that the additional few blue backs have been put in to give a few different options whilst still tying you to a red backed deck is you want to fully exploit this deck.

Guess I am lucky that I prefer red cards, but well...

A suggestion for CAJ, how about an online resource for trick ideas?
Most hobbyist mages probably aren't that good at making up tricks/patter, this would also help justify the high cost of CAJ vs the penguin deck.



btw, what do you use those 'cards that look like many cards' for?

Never had a Caj deck but now I can see the possibilities of what you can do with it I may have to add one to my shopping list (C.U.P.S attack comming I feel).

Thanks for the good review.

Option wrote:Interesting. There's no news on their website.

Why does one deck have both red/blue cards? I heard there were to be 2 decks...

I am a small seller - USPlaying Card Co has a minimum order of 5,000 decks which is about a 3 year supply at $8,000-$10,000

I just cant afford to do a double run which would have been $16,000 or so

ALSO A NOTE ON TWISTED SISTERS - I hated the past cards which had the top half of a Queen of Hearts and the bottom of a Queen of Spades ie; The top Queen's head and torso didn't look like the bottom Queen's so you couldn't show the whole card (also I wanted Kings instead)

I use a full face and just change the index - so if you use your thumb to cover the index the card can be what ever you want - and hold it out so everyone can see the whole card - not just 1/2 of it.

Do you run the risk of showing a King of Hearts with a King of Diamond face and have a spectator yell HEY!!, ? - Yes - but how many people will catch that. I have never seen it happen.

5000 decks! I guess that's enough to fill up a small room.

actually have also always wondered, for small packet tricks that only use a few gaffs, how many are printed at once? Or is it always 5000 no matter how many cards there are in the set.


when will the shops start to stock the new set?

It might be slightly off topic (well, it's on the original topic, anyway), but I bought some gaff cards from NUMS and I am delighted with them. Blues and reds, a whole deck, near enough. I won't bore you with the exact contents, because, to be honest, I can't be arsed to get them all out and type it out, but there's plenty there.

Special Bicycle Assortment - Just £5.00!

Those are only Double backs, double face, blank back, blank face, double blank, which are a completely different class to custom gaffs like the CAJ deck.


I'd prefer penguin's to those, since it's the same + a few custom gaffs.

I stand corrected.

No need to stand Zack - sit down and be corrected

Just ordered my first caj deck. Not sure if it is version 1 or 2 but I am excited anyway

In a fit of CUPS, my CAJ deck arrived yeaterday and looking through it there's some nice, useful cards in there and the booklet that comes with it starts you off with some ideas.
When I've roadtested some of the cards, I'll write a review.

One thing though, with this and the red gaff deck, I can't for the life of me think of any decent uses for the Bicycle card case cover ones.

Any suggestions???????????????????

Lord Freddie wrote:In a fit of CUPS, my CAJ deck arrived yeaterday and looking through it there's some nice, useful cards in there and the booklet that comes with it starts you off with some ideas.
When I've roadtested some of the cards, I'll write a review.

One thing though, with this and the red gaff deck, I can't for the life of me think of any decent uses for the Bicycle card case cover ones.

Any suggestions???????????????????

not got the deck but couldnt you just hold it so it looks like its a pack of cards in a case then erdinase the case away?