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i buy my gaff decks from Nums I think its about £3.75 and then theres only one gaff you need to make up.. So theres more saving

I was watching the performance of Where's My Card earlier and I'm sure I saw a ladder fall past the window behind Dave. How odd. Anyone else noticed this or am I losing my marbles?

In the parlance of Scrubs... I frickin' love this DVD.


Edit: Shall I be a little more constructive?! One of my favourite effects is the the bonus effect - I don't think you can have too many dramatic yet simple effects in reserve, and this really can sit in your pocket waiting to grab people's attention.

My own personal preference though is to change the prep slightly - instead of writing on the card and being sparing with the glue, I just write the card in the glue - as long as the light isn't way to dim, this will be clearly readable (if they can only just make it out, so much the better, it just makes people more curious!) and I think gives a better impression that the card really was just "burnt" on. Another thing I do is to have the prepped blank card face up, and 3rd down of the four blankies. I then do a very casual elmsley to show one set of faces, turn the packet over and do the flustration count to show the other side. It's not much harder than the Ascanio thingy Dave does and I think is a bit more convincing.

The bonus effect is indeed a very good one and incredibly visual. I have had good responses to this.

The three main effects I perform off this DVD are Blurred Deck, Wee Wee Mentalist and Quantum Leap. These are worth the price of the DVD alone.

The favourable reviews of this and the Strip DVD have pushed me over the edge and I have just ordered them both on the BBM BOGOF Christmas deal! Pesky Christmas CUPS!

I started to like to DVD a lot as well even though I had a bit of difficulties with Dave's accent at the beginning I have to admit that English is not my mother tongue, though...

Here's a little question concerning the card trick "The Wager" on this DVD for those who are familiar with the feat:

Dave deals the first pair of cards, the first card goes to the gambler, the second card goes to the magician. Now Dave deals the second pair of cards, the first card however is dealt to the magician, the second card to the gambler - so there's a reverse in order compared to the first deal. Dave even mentions that to order is reversed from this point on, but doesn't explain why. My wife however caught me right on that point when I performed the trick to her the first time. She told me that "wait, wait... that's not the magicians card, you have to deal it to the other side...". From that point on, I kept on dealing all the cards in the same order during all the deals, and I don't know why I should do it otherwise...

Anyone knows the reason for that reversed deal at the beginning?

I can highly recommend this DVD!

Cheers,
Magnus

Sorry Magnus, not answering your question here (hopefully you'll have worked it out by now!), just giving my own opinion on the DVD:

2wo Faced by David Forrest

The Effect: see the beginning, and various posts throughout for descriptions of the various tricks included

Cost: I bought this for from MAGICMagic.co.uk for £19.99.

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)

I would give this between a 3 and a 4, I'll explain during the review.



Review

This is a great DVD. Like pcwells beforehand, I didn't initially gel very much with Dave. I only had a very short time to watch the DVD, as I was going on holiday the next morning, and I rushed through most of the presentation bits, as I had another DVD to have a quick look at as well. Once I went back to the DVD however, I immediately appriciated Dave's laidback style and sense of humour.

I find this DVD very hard work. Let me explain why - I'm not a beginner at card magic in the true sense, I have been here before. The thing is, is that after a 7 or 8 year break from actively performing card magic, you forget everything. I figured that as I could do a few basic moves, I would be ok, and I would get this while I re-read RRTCM as something for a quick fix, while working my way through RRTCM over time.

I was immediately shocked at how quickly Dave runs through the explanations, and struggled to keep up with even the most basic parts. I ejected the DVD several times in frustration. He also used a few sleights that I hadn't even heard of. I was taken aback, and doubted my abilities.

I have been working hard (for me) on card magic for the last couple of months, I've been working my way through RRTCM, I would say I'm back up to my old standard as far up as the Glide chapter, and still a bit rusty from there up to as far as the nice trick with the hat, but I'm getting there once more, and things are gelling, and becoming easier.

Having re-watched the DVD a couple of times since, I'm following the explanations better now, and realising that I don't have to be Ricky Jay to be able to do the tricks on the DVD, but it'll be a while before I'm confident performing any of them.

I would agree that there is some very, very nice material on this, a couple of tricks I worked out straight away (50/50 for example, but I can see how it would play well), and some true classics. I think Quantum Leap is simply stunning, and I'l be using this as my current goal - to be good enough at card magic to perform this confidently.

There's a lot on here, it's very good value for money, the DVD is well shot, and the explanations are generally very good, but a general understanding of card sleights and card magic in general are required. Just because gaffs are involved, doesn't mean something is self-working, because this simply isn't the case (although there are a couple of very easy tricks on here to learn).

Overall 9/10. It gets better with age, I just wouldn't watch it as your first card magic DVD, as I made the mistake of doing. You'll need to have a good grounding in card magic to get the best out of this, but it's well worth it. The enclosed gaff cards are the icing on the cake, and the majority of these tricks are incredibily well thought out, and practical. As Dave says on the DVD, you won't be making up an entire routine out of the material on here (although its certainly strong enough), but you'll find one or two real gems to fit in with your existing lot. Nice.

I was very dissapointed with this DVD, and am glad nothing like this existed (or came to my attention!) when I was starting out in card magic as otherwise I might not have been so determined to master the sleights and skills that enable you to do magic (many of the same effects as are on this DVD) with an ordinary pack of cards. (very handy when in the pub and someone hands you cards and says "show me that trick you did the other day" etc
I'm really surprised at the amount of rave reviews. I was also a bit bored by the presentation of the effects and explanations which is really saying something as I love card tricks!
And it says "11 Kick Ass Card Routines" This was missleading to me as I feel that they are just 11 tricks - which is quite different.
The reactions from the specs were rubbish too - bring back the L&L audience!!
Maybe it'll grow on me?