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I received some good advice elsewhere on this site when I got my Stealth Wallet.

The wallet isn't the thing. The presentation and the effect is the thing. When I first used the wallet it was around a dinner table, my wife was sitting next to me and I did Hollywood or Bust. She didn't even notice that the wallet I got the card out of was not my regular wallet. You just open it up, take out a card have the card written on and offer the wallet up for the card to be put back.

It is what you are saying whilst you are doing that that people should be concentrating on. Until you have used one of these it is difficult to see how it is going to look natural. But its just a wallet. If you start doing tricks with a pack of cards or even coins people are always going to be curious about the props. Nobody is going to expect you to hand out your wallet for examination.

I haven't gone up to the Assassin yet, my wife may not spot a different wallet but she can smell money going out of our account a mile off! However, I am completely sold on my Stealth wallet and it is already a favourite prop with me.

That was not much help really was it? Confused

No lol but it did make me laugh and was a bit of help.

Greetings All

I received my wallet on Friday and Wow this is such a fantastic item if you are thinking about ordering one I would advise you buy one ASAP as you will not regret it.

I love the fact that you can use it as an everyday wallet I know it sounds like a simple thing but try fitting 7 credit cards, cash and all that other wallet junk in any other magic wallet.

It is so versatile and you can perform lots of routines without using the same out twice.

The other thing I like is that as long as I have my wallet I am set to go and I know longer have to worry about making sure I have a couple of tricks on me.

Highest Regards

Dean

Can I ask what the difference is between the Stealth Assasin for £99 from alakazam and the Stealth Wallet by Peter Nardi from Emagictricks for £24.99??

I don't have one of these but those who do own one say that Stealth Assassin incorporates all the features of Stealth Wallet - and then adds a whole lot more.

I'm just concerned that it's not worth £75 extra. If so then I stand corrected but all the effects Alakazam say can be achieved with the Assassin they also claim can be equally achieved with the Stealth, so I'm a little confused.

It should be the other way round. Assassin will do all the things Stealth can do but it does several which Stealth can't do. Whether the price of just under £100 is OK or not will depend on whether you'll be using it regularly or in performance or even to earn a crust professionally. The DVD which accompanies Assassin is reckoned to be a worthwile purchase in it's own right so it's not just the wallet cost which is significant. And in case you're wondering why I don't have one, I just reckoned I wouldn't really use it to the full at the moment so will stick with my rather tatty and bashed-about Stealth!

That was my point though, they list nothing more on the Assassin description than on the Stealth. Therefore to me at least showing them to be an identical product with no extra benefits other than the Assassin other than the Assassin having the DVDs. I just wondered what the extra effects were.

Ah, I see what you mean! Why not e-mail or phone Peter Nardi at Alakazam and ask him to run through the additonal features? He's a resonable bloke and I'm sure he'd be happy to help with any queries.

That was my point though, they list nothing more on the Assassin description than on the Stealth. Therefore to me at least showing them to be an identical product with no extra benefits other than the Assassin other than the Assassin having the DVDs. I just wondered what the extra effects were

There aren't extra effects, there are extra utilities that mean 100's of extra effects are possible.

Simply put the stealth wallet is a normally looking wallet that offers a method for peeking.

The Stealth Assassin Wallet has two methods for peeking, a nice index system, a buit in out to lunch feature and a method for loading information into the wallet. All in all the SAW is by far the more versatile wallet.

If all you need to do is peek, the the Stelth is a great wallet. I used mine for many years. If you want tools to do a lot more the the SAW is worth the money - in my opinion.

I have been road testing this utility lately to wonderful audience reaction. I did a performance last night for an after dinner gig at a restaurant. In the first set I introduced a few mentalist effects and then raised the bar in the second set with a few things using the Assasin (a nice short list trick using six cool countries that I have been to, and a Rhine symbol design duplicate effect), and then got into a discussion with one table after the show about research in parapsychology. So, I did Hollywood or Bust (they chose Kevin Spacey) and they were just floored (I had also just stopped one the guest's watch, as well).

I cannot say enough about how clever the SAW is! It is so flexible to suit so many surroundings. I have a new's year gig and my plan is to carry the wallet and a deck of bikes (and maybe a few sets of Cairo Cards).

The price is right: 2 DVDs with loads of ideas, plus access to a forum. I held back for some time and then sprung for it, and I think it is worth every penny!

I just got mine today and am rather stunned by the awesome quality and also how incredibly easy it is to use. The DVDs are hugely entertaining too. It isn't expensive if you happen to need a new wallet - leather wallets aren't too cheap if they're decent quality.

As for the argument of suspicion, although a person could get suspicious about a wallet, they could get suspicious about billet peeks and centre tears too. At least this way you don't have to touch the business card at all - just open the wallet and point to where you want them to put it. Whether you seem more natural/convincing with a wallet or a billet is just a matter of personal style really. It's great that we have these options to choose from.

Why oh why did I read this thread?

I have C.U.P.S bad enough as it is, and since I have been reading up and getting to mentalism recently I think I realy want this prop. I have a switch wallet that I use for some prediction effects and I also use that as an everyday wallet, my question is:

Can it be used as a switch wallet also?

Lieghton... C.U.P.S. is exactly why I stress to folks that THEY DON'T NEED THIS KIND OF JUNK... just learn how to actually do mentalism i.e. billet work.

I have two dear friends that produce peek wallets and I've told them both the same thing; they're great magic tricks but not true to mentalism in that you need to make excuses when using them and too, it's simply not logical to place something that belongs to someone else (their thought) back into MY wallet or card case... that's one of the least logical courses of action going and it creates a subconscious supposition that you (the performer) are somehow cheating.

Admittedly, there are those that don't mind if folks think they cheat, they even encourage such lines of thought due to their own magician's guilt issues which surface around the "being too perfect" circumstance the die-hard Mentalist strives to know and achieve... I don't want you to be able to reconstruct what I've done and find an explanation. If you can I'm not doing my job right.

When we cultivate excuses for justifying our inner-pack-rat (C.U.P.S.) we loose our ability or "inspiration" as it were, to move in that cleaner, more impossible course of direction in which we remove the possiblility of "the trick" from the audience's mind.

Everytime we introduce some kind of device... even an aligator clip on a bend coat hanger for holding a billet... the spectator is given reason to suspect that we are up to something. Whenever we use our own items such as a wallet, card case...even envelopes... we leave the audience an "out" even when such items are 100% innocent. It is therefore our challenge to not depend on such trappings and use them minimally and when we use them, try to create a sense of distance between us and them... my use of a gaffed wallet or this sort typically means I've found the wallet in someone's pocket or literally borrow it from someone that's been stooged prior to the show's start... (there are many of ways of doing this, reverse pick-pocket skills being at the top of my list...)

I put this out only as encouragement to folks when it comes to not being dependent on nifty devices and learn more about how you can use what you already have or what is a proven essential over "technology".

Leighton:

The billet reviews here show the powerful alternatives to wallets, but I am afraid CUPS will still set in...The Master Billet Course is $125 and Acidus Globus is $180. Acidus will let you do most everything a wallet can do, but I am not sure about billet indexes, which are also a feature of billet work (see Corinda on how to make your own). The SAW provides a pretty nifty one that is already made up and the instructional DVDs give a whole host of ideas on how to use it.

I feel the same way as Craig does about gimmicked coins and cards, so I see where he is coming from. I like start clean and end clean effects that use ordinary objects. Quality billet work should obviate the need for a wallet, but a wallet like SAW looks very ordinary and you may find that you like it.