Before I begin, I must say that I've spent half an hour searching for a review on this product. It's obvious that my search was unsuccessful, that is why I'm posting this review.
Jay Sankey's No Card Tricks! (DVD + Matchbooks) - 10 Drop Dead Routines! Featuring Jay's killer, two matchbook transposition "Quest for Fire!" along with NINE other brand new effects with rope, coins, bills, matches and even silly putty!
The Effects
* Quest For Fire - A red and white matchbook change places three times, the last time in the spectator's own hands! Lethal, and so darn easy!
* P.O.S.H. - A marked coin mysteriously travels from the magician's fist to his pocket. Not once, but twice! The innovative handling is guaranteed to make you smile!
* $ 0 Bill Switch - Featured in Jay's walkaround work for over a decade, you know this borrowed & signed bills effect is gonna seriously rock the house!
* The Poke Vanish - The best wooden match vanish on the planet. It not only looks amazing, but it feels amazing too.
* Hot Knot - Jay's been polishing this "insanely direct" routine for years! Perfect for both kid shows and adult performances.
* The Drop Switch - Created as a superior alternative to the ultra-commercial BoBo switch, this "moveless" & utterly undetectable switch is for serious coin workers only.
* Gimme Five - Produce five wooden matches, one-at-a-time, from your obviously bare hands. You will not believe the set-up. Crazy, man.
* The Hypnovanish - The Holy Grail of coin moves. A total vanish of a borrowed coin (both hands shown both sides) followed by an immediate reappearance! And yes, you can do it in the nude. Weirdo!
* In VitroThe impression of a spectator's key moves from one blob of silly putty to another (thanks to a very commercial handling!) Perfect for Walkaround
* Strange & Stranger - A miracle inside miracle. Almost too powerful an effect. An application of the $ 0 Bill Switch that truly takes it to "the next level."
Approx. Running Time: 65 Minutes
Cost $ 26.25 (cut down from $30)
Order from: Penguin Magic at http://www.penguinmagic.com/product.php?ID=684
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)
1 -2. It can suit well for beginners of the craft.
Review
So we have 10 tricks with no use of cards. The tricks consists of trick matches, money bills, coins, matches, a rope, and a silly putty. They are not all impromptu though, most of them require proper setup before the performance. The tricks you can perform instantly from borrowed items are coins (POSH, Drop Switch, HypnoVanish). However, if you want to completely focus on that, it is better to get another product (like Sankey's Revolutionary Coin Magic as an example). The problem that I have with this DVD is that most of the effects that has a punch are mostly available on Sankey's other products or other instructional DVDs. While the rest doesn't really inspire me to perform it even once. Let me give you a rundown:
Quest for Fire: This is a fine trick but requires setup. No problem since the gimmick matches comes along with it. This is featured as Jay's killer routine, and I'd say it's one of the tricks that I am willing to do.
POSH - a coin trick that can be done instantly. The effect is quite good but since I have done some better effects made by Jay himself and by other magicians...I won't really consider this on my list.
$0 Bill Switch - A great trick but then uses Jay's well known hundred dollar switch. However, it would disappoint you if you are aware that Jay also has a cooler product out there that teaches more than 30 tricks for this bill switch for a much cheaper price. Sad
Strange & Stranger - Another bill switch but gives more punch. For those who are unaware of this, then it would surely keep your hopes up.
Poke Vanish and Gimme Five - match tricks. I dunno, I really don't do match tricks. People don't really give much deal to it anyway. I would like to mention that the poke vanish can be done impromptu but Gimme Five requires an insane setup...it's in a positive note
Hot Knot - a common knot out of the rope and back trick. It's a nice addition since rope tricks are not that common in the internet nowadays.
Drop Switch - upon seeing the drop switch, you would know how it can be done. A good move nevertheless.
Hypnovanish - I was quite surprised with this trick. You can really do this in a nude...but there's a catch to it. You cannot really perform this coin vanish without going through the "Hypnotize" routine or doing something to that effect. Something for the laughs but a cool Sankey trick.
Holy Grail? Umm...no.
In Vitro - an innovative effect to a silly putty. I dunno if I will ever use this. To be fair, the trick is good but requires a small putty and a small container. Something that he can add to his 22 blows in the head...wait, I'll make that 23 now. But I doubt if I would even attempt to do this, plain zzzzzzz.
Overall
I have some of Jay's other products and I have to admit that this is not his best. Out of ten, I will just consider to do half of the effects given here. Please note that if you are new to magic, this would give you an edge and this would deserve a better rating. If you happen to know and have some of Jay's other DVDs, you might receive a little impression of redundancy here...although not to the full effect.
Yes, this would give you tricks that doesn't require cards but the downside to this is...there are so many other products out there that I could better recommend.
As for Jay's instructions, it's still classic Sankey along with his impeccable sense of humor. Nothing really lacking there. It's just the tricks presented dude. It's just that.
Final Rating: 7/10
