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The Effect

A spec picks any card at random, the card is shuffled back into the deck and in moments the spec's card 'rises' from the middle of the deck.

Advertising puff

By ellusionist
An untouched card rises from the deck.
Shuffle a pack of cards and then have someone pick any card they want. They throw the card back in and it is buried in the pack. Put the cards back in the card case and have someone hang onto it.
With you standing several feet away their chosen card levitates up out of the deck slowly, eerily. No external threads, wires or magnets - all self-contained and easy to master.
•Extreme craftsmanship
•Comes with everything you need
•Virtually self-working
•Easily one of the most powerful effects you'll own.

The Ellusionist website claims: You can have three people pick cards and make all three chosen cards rise out of the pack one after the other.

Unless I'm being dumb (and Mrs Heckler didn't raise no fools) this particular piece of puffery seems a little exagerated.

Cost

£15 from Magic Nevin

The package contains a Bicycle Ghost deck (essentially a standard deck in white) with the gimmick and basic instructions.

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)

I'd give it a two, it's essentially self working but requires some (albeit basic) card skill to move the spec's card into position.

Review

Not a huge fan of gaffed decks but I thought for the price I'd give it a punt. I've performed Pinkie Does It which is an ungaffed version of this trick but I thought being able to repeat it with the card appearing from the middle of the deck rather than the top might be novel.

The gimmick is actually very well made and allows a natural looking shuffle to be performed to place the spec's card into position and so long as you don't tell the spec what the reveal will be it is a 'wow' moment. The nature of the gimmick is such that the rise will happen even if the pack is covered up. It's entirely possible to use a card signed by the spec and hand it over afterwards as a souvenir, though obviously the pack can't be handed out for inspection.

The two big downsides here are the pack is a vanity one (the 'white' ghost pack) rather than the standard red or blue bicycle deck so that may not be to your taste (although I believe Ellusionist do a standard one? )and the other is the speed of the reveal is very quick but with practice can be controlled, although this is when the deck is in your hand, by the time you put a glass over it for example, the card will have revealed which is a little hokey.

It is as advertised, self working, the gimmick is robust and the reset is instant so a nice little trick.

Overall

I liked it more than I thought I would (guilty pleasure really) and having read reviews of the some of the other gaffed rising cards on the market this appears to be one of the best ones.

For fifteen notes you get something that has the wow factor, even a jaded gaming teen who thinks magic is 'meh!' managed a 'No way!' which ticks the box for me.

8/10*

*It loses a point for having been 'exposed' by a certain masked gentleman which may elicit a 'I know how that's done' from the specs, if you follow up with Pinkie Does It though with a matching white Ghost deck that you hand out afterwards that should silence the nay sayers.

I have a regular red bicycle version of this deck. You're right, it's self working, however, when i do this i prefer to do this trick in a bar, and when the spec places the card back i ask the bartender for a wine glass, then i shake the wine glass gently, holding it from the bottom, and when the card rises i grab it quickly before the spec can, and let them wave their hands over the glass, (with the rest of the deck still inside it) and around it so they can see there is no wires. it's a powerful illusion.

This is true, but i think the trick is more convincing using a traditional bicycle deck, rather than a ghost deck, because more people see the red and blue decks, if you use a ghost deck, many people will be suspecting that it is, infact, a trick deck.

just my personal opinion.

I did have one at some point, but after a while the gimmick became stiff and the edges began to show their age which is the problem with any card gimmick. I prefer the original version which used a small spike instead of the built in pad that's used now (hope that exposes nothing), just gave more reliability in my opinion.

Theory 11 have another impromptu version of the rising card, though I cannot remember the name of it right now, but look it up and you will find it easily enough, or failing that I personally make use of IT for a even more hands off approach which ends clean.

I just think that the Ellusionist version is a little expensive for what it is, just because it comes in Ghost's.

Chris Tennant