talkmagic.co.uk

The Effect

From the blurb:
Learn the Power to See Through Cards!

This marked deck is one of the most powerful performing tools available. The hidden masks enable you to find select cards and sort through the suits with super human accuracy. The instruction booklet will teach you nine effects that can only be performed with this special marked deck. Deck can also be used as traditional playing cards.

Matches the Split Spades deck.

Made by USPCC.

Poker size.


Cost

£6 from http://www.cards4magic.co.uk


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)

At its most basic 1. An incredibly easy to read marking system

Review

A nice set of cheap good quality marked cards. The markings are very easy to read, but still fairly well hidden. I can read them easily with them placed on a table and me standing. Markings are positioned so they can be seen in a spread or a fan. The deck comes with 9 effects. All very simple, but several are pretty good. I like mad memory, Luke Jermay did several varieties on this memory demonstration in his lecture, which convinced me to buy the deck.

Overall

A cheap source of a fairly good quality marked deck. As I destroy decks fairly regularly the low price is a selling point to me.

Possibly the markings are a bit too obvious, my 9-year old son spotted them within a few minutes of me dealing the cards. Adults seem to be better fooled by them though.

I do like the fact the instructions teach a number of tricks with the marked deck, the cut deeper force and some basic tricks that can be done with an unmarked deck. Also the extra prediction ace, the picture card prediction and the double-sider are nice additions.

Having watched a group of magicians spend a few minutes finding them there deceptive enough. I saw it pretty quickly, but I've used a lot of different varieties of marked decks. If you add in the explanation included in the booklet on how to spot marked cards and choose a trick that apparently doesn't need markings people don't look for them. John Scarne seeing through the deck works well using markings instead of the original method. Or else lots in Hidden in plain sight. If your doing other tricks which don't require markings first or destroy cards from the deck in previous tricks you can lower the suspicion. Plenty of ways to cover up the method not matter how obvious the markings are.