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Hi guys, I purchased some time ago the Complete Card magic of Gerry Griffin DVD set.
I liked the whole set, and it is very complete. A lot of tricks were not new to me, but some of them are really fun to do.
One of my favorites is "Jacks or Better". With a strong Transposition of the selected card between the red and black jacks that are in two different packs!
I donot think that it is a good idea to buy the whole set if you are not a beginner since the stuff that I liked the most are in the volumes 4 and 5. DVD 1, 2 and 3 are kind of boring if you can already do some good card magic. DVD 6 and 7 are the basic Flourishes, Forces, technics and Forces, that most magicians know about anyway when they get to a good level.

The only problem with this DVD set, is that you will evolve, from beginner to good card magic, but you will only have seen one magician perform.
I think it is better to have alot of different stuff (Tamariz, Bilis, Mc.Bride, Ammar...etc.)
What do you guys think?

I also wanted to know, if any of you guys recommend any other of Gerry Griffins DVDs, if yes, wich ones???

thanks

Hi there BlackJack

I bought this set a while ago and writing a review for Talk Magic has been something I've been wanting to do, but just never got around to it.

Anyway, well done for making the effort. If anyone else is reading this, I'd pretty much agree with everything BlackJack has said. I liked some of the tricks on disc 3 though (21 trick outdone is a classic, and the specs have NO idea how you name their card, as you never even turn a single card over!!) My approach to this set was to watch the performances, then watch to see if I could work out how it was done - but this trick really blew me away!

I'm just finishing the Royal Road, but still have managed some from the last disc. Howver, there is a lot to keep me going in terms of mastering triple lifts and perfect elmsley's.

BlackJack - what do you think of Gerry? At first I didn't like his style at all, but I've really warmed to his cheesy dry humor! Some of his jokes are SO bad though! - Often though, whilst groaning at his jokes, you miss what his hands are up to! - very clever!

I too would be interested in seeing more of his work. Does he have any other DVDs out? Does anyone know much about him? Is he a well established performer in the states? - He certainly knows his stuff!

Thanks,

Hi "the last deck on the Left" !
I would not recommend doing the Double Lifts or Triple Lifts get ready like he does. He really doesnt have any reason to put his hand on the back and riffle the cards. I think it is well worth the effort of learning how to do the Pinky Count !!!
Gerry Griffin has a few other DVDs i think. One is "Lucky Sevens" or something like that.
If anybody knows about that
I like his handling of some of the classics thow, for example the Magnetic Finger, he adds a new touch, wich is of making the second card switch places with the first !... or Jacks Or better, compared to a Normal sandwich routine !!!

Hi BlackJack,


I agree with your comments on the double / triple lifts. At times, he quite obviously looks down at the back of the deck and lifts the corner to get a break. I've been trying the 'squaring the cards up' technique, but wondered if, after a while, it looks too suspicious. I think I remember a pinkie count from Daryl's Basic Card Technique DVD that I have. I'll have to check this evening. Just out of interest which method of DL do you use? Do you use more that one? I read in Royal Road, that using just one method is good practice, and ALWAYS turn your cards over that way - regardless of performing a DL or not.

I'm trying to learn Daryl's shift to the right, hold with left thumb, and flip over like turning a page. I don't think that the Royal Roads method of turning the card by the corner looks very convincing (perhaps it is), but to me it looks odd. As for Gerry's method, well I think turning the card over along the other axis (the long axis) looks far too strange. My folks and friends are now watching me like a hawk as I'm starting to use these methods in my tricks and they are seeing card changes at the climax of routines, so are now watching to see exactly how I manipulate the cards.

To me, the most natural way of turning a card, is Daryl's. However, I'm still not 100%, as the cards slip about and sometimes dont get picked up together on the turn face down again stage. I did take the plunge and show my folks one of the tricks from the Gerry DVD series, (where you keep cutting to the Ace of Spades, but place it on the table each time) and I managed all the triple and double lifts perfectly! I was so pleased! However, I'm just not convinced that I am able to get the break on them undetected.

Sorry for rambling on!

Better get back to work!

PS - If you were wondering about the strange name, well I'm into horror movies (or I was until I re-discovered magic - no time to sit and watch films now !! ) [Actually I think that magic found me, and I had no choice in the matter] - and there's a film by Wes Craven (of Nightmare on Elm Street fame) that was called The Last House on the Left. So it's just a poor play on that!

PPS - If any mods are reading this post, I'd just like to say thanks for all your hard work. I'm really enjoying being a member and this site (and all the members) have been a tremendous help to me getting back into magic - thanks!

At times, he quite obviously looks down at the back of the deck and lifts the corner to get a break

IMHO there's no serious reason for worry over this sort of aspect - your patter and misdirection/indirection/whatever ought to mean the specs are looking elsewhere so you can do the biz confidently. In Blackpool I went to the lectures by Jay Sankey and Shoot Ogawa and they explained some of their moves in great detail. An hour or so later they both did a close up performance using exactly those moves and the supposedly hidden coins/cards etc were clearly visible but only because we knew where to look and were watching out for it. The guy sitting next to me hadn't been to the lectures and couldn’t figure out how either routine was done - and he was a professional with over 25 years of performing under his belt. It made me feel very confident indeed! I saw Max Maven in lecture not too long ago and when he showed us the moves which we'd just seen in performance but not noticed, we were all gobsmacked. So blatant and so obvious when you know how but totally disguised and innocent otherwise. Confidence and ability is the key - so they tell me!