Card Manipulation 101 by Dan Sperry

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So when this 1-on-1 series was released, I was quite excited. Not only did I recently see Dan's act live (and have become a fan of his work) but I have wanted to get into card manipulation for quite some time. For the past year, I have thought of getting McBride's DVD's on the subject - but just could not afford to put that much money into something when I had to buy other props and pieces that I currently use. Enter this new 1-on-1 series.

I don't think I even need to touch on production quality as I think we all fully know the kind of videos theory11 produces.

In Volume One you learn the Back Palm, Back Palm Production, Roy Benson's Strictly Underhanded Production, Thumb Fan, Diminishing Fan, One Handed Fan, Continuous Fan Production, and Packet Vanish. There is also a large section on the cards and items you will need for manipulation, as well as some hand exercises.

Dan is a very good teacher and explains everything as if he was just sitting there with you saying, "Dude, this is a back palm." If you have never seen Dan's work before he has been described as "infamously mercurial" and that shines through this trilogy in many hilarious ways.

All in all, I knew most of the material covered in this 1-on-1 (mostly self-taught) but wanted to see the in's and out's of these moves as well as Dan's thoughts on them. I was most certainly not disappointed. In addition to the moves and techniques Dan also talks a bit about framing and how and where to perform card manipulation.

If you want to get into card manipulation I really think that this is a great and inexpensive way to start. If nothing else it can definitely spark your interest and perhaps give you the nudge to purchase more expensive resources.