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Matching Couples Henry Evans

The Effect
The performer takes out Jacks, Queens and Kings from a normal looking deck. Showing them two by two, it's clearly shown that the picture cards are in no particular order. But with a snap of the finger, the cards now are in pairs! Setting the dozen cards aside, the magi riffles through the deck to show different faces. The deck is given a shuffle, then riffled and now the spectators calls "stop" anytime anywhere she wants. The card is shown, and it's thrown like a boomerang in a mid air -- when the performer catches it, next to the cards is its "matching card", a pair. The cards are riffled again to show that they are, this time also, not paired-up beforehand. A riffle shuffle is given, and then from the face-down deck a few more cards are taken away and placed respectively on the table. Without any funny moves or sleight-of-hand like movement, the magi starts to pick a card which is placed on top of the face-down single cards. They're turned over and they're --- in pairs. Finally, the cards are shown again to be random and then the deck is riffle shuffled. The magician counts each card from top to bottom; the spectator calls "stop" --- two cards are shown, but they're not in pairs -- the magi shrugs and says "Sorry, but the sleight of hand required to find the matching pairs is kinda killing me"

Cost
$30 from Tokyo Magic

Difficulty
Basically 1, but you MUST practice and use your imagination on how to reveal the pairs.

Review

I'm not a keen observer of all magic shows on TV which in Japan is getting "Tell how it's done and grab a cash", the concept of which I wholeheartedly loathe. Anyway, the Tokyo Magic tells me it was performed by the man Henry Evans himself on one of the shows in Japan.

The effect itself is, I think, identical to Cardiologist Deck (minus DVD). For those of you used to Sv****** Deck or Me** Te*** Deck, this would be a breeze to perform; but even for those who aren't, you'll be learning the mechanics of this amazing deck within a minute.

I've found that the way you reveal the "matching card" is essential to this trick. I saw a demo of Cardiologist Deck, took the Matching Card deck in my hand, and thought; I must learn a bit of flourish, don't I? Nothing could be more boring than just showing "Walla, the rest of the cards are in pairs!".

I'm still not sure if I like this trick the best...I still prefer the good-old Sv******. Maybe this is basically because I haven't invested the time and energy to see the potential of this gimmick yet. Nonetheless, it's a new structure I've come across and I myself am to be the "matching pair" of this trick to fully utilise it.

Overall
7/10