by Demitri » Dec 30th, '07, 10:55
Nice work so far! Your ace production was nice (I have a special love for the VST), direct and to the point. No fuss - it was a good introduction to the overall routine.
Your handling for Daley's Last Trick was VERY smooth. Exceptional work.
Like Beardy, I don't think the Oil and Water section works. To be really effective, I think more than 4 cards need to be used. Your handling for it wasn't the most effective way to perform this - but given the number of cards you're using, it's the best method. Overall, I think you should remove this from the routine. It's not strong enough to stand between the segments you're building.
The Sandwich routine - This is where you start to run into trouble. One - you eliminate the red aces. This may be a personal preference issue, but I feel that more can be done with the 4 aces, rather than trimming down to 2.
As Beard said, there are moments where there is no "point" to the sandwich routine. You place the ace on top of the deck and then do a weird "rubbing" move. Put yourself in the spectator's shoes. Why did you have to do that? It's a move made to look like a non-move. As Beard suggested, the traditional sandwich routine would have fit this VERY well.
I have on suggestion for you, for a possible replacement to this particular sandwich routine. Check out Peter Duffie's England Close Up ebook. Aside from being packed with a huge amount of tricks, it has one of my all-time favorite sandwich routines, from the brilliant mind of David Britland. The effect is called Progressive Jacks. Given that none of the ads really go into detail on the nature of the effect, I won't go into it here. It's a brilliant effect - so if you want to know more, pm me about it.
You have the start of a strong routine here. Your handling is very good thus far, so really you just need to work on your sandwich routine and refine your patter. Once you have those, you'll have a great routine on your hands. Excellent work!