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This is my version of a trick I learnt from Card College 1 ages ago.

See it here

I've used it more than anything to show the best false cuts i've learnt so far. I usually throw the top stack from one hand to the other just to make it look extra flashy but if i'd moved the camera back to show it you wouldn't be able to see the cards.

Can someone confirm for me that the second cut is actually a Blind Swivel Cut. I learnt it from one of Gerry Griffin's DVD's but I'm unsure that it's the right name.

I wanna start learning some of the Dan & Dave stuff though, they're fantastic.

Does anyone like my improvised close-up mat? It also doubles as a nifty hand towel.

This is my first file share so please tell me what you think, but be gentle.

Upload Video and Images - Putfile

Overall, it's a good start. However, there are a few things you need to work on:

Your shuffle and first series of cuts wasn't bad - nice touches and you sold it well as being fair.

Trinary cut: The first few moves were ok - just need a little more work to be more fluid. The major problem comes from the MASSIVE break you kept - which is instantly recognized by anyone watching the effect. Work on hiding the break.

Blind Swivel Cut: The main problem with this, was that the packets never really come back to each other until you finish the cut. Your movements were fluid, which made it look nice - but anyone who is watching your hands can follow the movements of each packet.

De'Vo Cut: This wasn't very convincing to me. I'm probably going to get hammered for this one, but I also don't find De'Vo's performance of this cut convincing. So that's just me.

My main problem with your handling, is the beginning of the cut has very slow and deliberate moves, and suddenly you SLAM the packets on top of each other. Why go so slow, then race through the actual cutting motions? My only advice for this is to work on the flow of the moves, making each one consistent.

I have CC, but don't quite recall everything about this effect - so I'm not sure if this is already in there - BUT - I think this needs better buildup. With the three cards already out on the table, a smart spectator will assume you have SOMEHOW set up the mates to come. I'd say work out a way to produce the first three cards in a seemingly random manner (for instance, you can have three spectators and force the first three cards), and work this routine from there. That way, it will seem more impromptu, rather than staged.

As for the effect itself - it's a great start. With a little work, it will be even more powerful.

I liked it. I think we can always find fault with each others stuff, but it fooled my lay woman other half, who is now telling me to dust down my copy of card college 1, and practice a similar routine! Those books are so good, but I tend to neglect them from time to time. Nice stuff!

Pretty good start there. I have one comment, and that's for your trinary cut. Try to open up. Get more air into your cut. Be more free. You are very tight. It should look like it's a very fancy and open cut.

Thanks for all your replies. All your criticisms were most welcome and I'll definitely take them on board.

Thanks for the compliments aswell MagicAL. It's a good confidence booster for a relative newbie (about 4-5 months). Tell your other half I love her (in a non-competetive way).

The trick in the book is done with much simpler false cuts. Namely (as the book names them) the optical false cut, the false swing cut and the triple false cut. I decided to use more interesting cuts for this just to amuse myself more than anything and get some criticisms of my cutting techniques.

Also, I would normally have the cards removed from the deck as part of the trick but with the quality of the recording you cant see the faces until it's at the front of the table so I just skipped that part of the routine for the video. Plus this isn't a trick I generally perform. I'll sometimes do it down the pub if I'm working with REAL lays because they find it really good. I find the only purpose of this trick is to show off your fancy cutting techniques, of which these are the best I've learnt so far.

I was slightly nervous about posting my first video, wondering what people would say. But thanks to your very constructive comments I certainly won't hesitate to post again next time I've got something to show you all. Thank guys.

Hi everyone, I can't login to my old account anymore because I've changed my email address as something terrible has gone awry with it. So I've just changed my name to magic_evmeister.