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I was thinking about get a ellusioniost made download but which one should i get. I was thinking of crash course 1 or 2, but people say 2 is just one trick. I know theres been reviews on this already but i didnt see what i needed. Anyways thanks.

For me peronally i would do for de'vos de'ring but thats more on the manipulation side of things rather than an actual trick. Crash course is probably the way forward although i can neither recommend or not recommend this as i don't own it....

none...

see how you get on with Royal Road to Card Magic (the book) first...thats about eight quid on average...

then, if you really are struggling after some decent practise, then maybe invest in the Paul Wilson dvds of RRtCM instead...should work out roughly the same money, and you'll learn alot more...

Agreed Abraxus I was gonna say exactly the same thing stick to royal road and you can't go far wrong.

For kicks, this week I rented "Card Tricks Made Easy" from Blockbuster Online because it has Jerry Sadowitz in it. It contains some lovely, classic self workers, but the real revelation is what a good, sensible teacher he is. There are some slight flourishes of anarchic wackiness here and there, but he's a very serious bloke when he's explaining.

I believe the man asked for a DVD... geez. They do make a DVD version of Royal Road to Card Magic (2 actually, one is said to be better than the other) Sometimes its so much easier to learn from watching and yes that book is really helpful.

I've gotten only a few DVDs, the one I took a lot from was The Ambitious Card

and if you read my reply, i did infact suggest either/or the book or dvd by Paul Wilson (the best of the two)...

double-geez! just trying to help someone out by offering them a choice, dependant on budget, and versitility of product...

you'll learn alot more from the Royal Road...

EDIT: buy every single Ellusionist dvd and download going...and wear lots of eyeliner...

Whoops! I must have mistoke RRtCM for hip new internet speak or a strange emoticon.

But then again, I have been known to make a purchase or two from Ellusionist so I must not be too bright.

ah, but im not saying "never buy any ellusionist product"...

im just suggesting some other choices that might provide better value for money...that's all...

so go roll yer eyes at a clash album

Without wanting to create a controversy, (because I have bought into the RRTCM and Complete Course thing), it is not true that the Ellusionist DVD's are all a waste of money. The ninja series is GOOD.

I would suggest you buy "How to do Street Magic" or "Ninja" to start. While not even REMOTELY as comprehensive as the aforementionned books (nor anywere near in terms of value for your $$), you will learn around 10 solid tricks and many techniques to impress your friends and colleagues in each DVD. I must confess, this is how I started. If you're going to buy 2, but Ninja and Ninja 2. "Street Magic" is a lot more basic, and you'll be performing the effects in no time after receiving the DVD.

Again, DISCLAIMER: If you REALLY want a DVD and not a book, and your first priority is learning cool tricks to show those around you, these DVD's are very good for the price. What you get for $40-$50 is by far superior to any one trick DVD - which are to be avoided like the plague... TRUST ME. In the long run, you'll probably get more out of RRTCM but it will involve much more dedication, time, reading, and patience.
Of course, if you have a bit more money to spend, get the RRTCM DVD set and you'll have the best of both worlds!

Hope this helps.

AJ, to address your thoughts on the Crash Course DVDs: I own both (actually I think CC1 was the dvd that got me back into card magic). CC1 teaches you a number of effects, and assumes you know little about card magic. Good for a beginner. I have personnally performed many, many of the effects on this dvd to good reactions from people. While I realize a lot of people don't like the E products because of a number of reasons, I feel that Brad is a pretty decent teacher and the production of the dvds is good.

CC2 focuses on the Ambitious Card routine and gives you quite a few sleights to use for that. While the focus is on the ACR, if you learn the sleights taught, you'll be set for making a number of your own effects.

These are certainly things that you can find in a book (RRTCM is a great book, absolutely) but if you're like me and learn a bit easier by being able to actually SEE a sleight performed, these dvds aren't bad. I haven't seen the RRTCM dvds, so I can't comment on those. On the other hand, be wary of copying the presentation of the effects performed on the dvds. Change 'em, tailor 'em, make 'em your own (just like you should adjust the suggested patter given in a book). It's really easy, I think, to simply be a carbon copy of someone on a dvd, especially when you want to get out there quick and get reactions like you just saw on the screen. (Ack...I'm getting off topic here...) Bottom line, I own 'em both, like 'em both, and I think you could do worse with some other products out there.

I really like Ellusionist. It's where I bought my first magic tricks, I prefer buying in UK based shops, seeing as they are way cheaper and no import duties, but Ellusionist really do a great job. Their forum is great and full of answers and Brad is just a really good teacher. I don't think you will be dissapointed in any of the dvd's. How to do street magic is a great one to start with.