This is my first review, and in actual fact, my first purchase into magic a while ago. I will review both the DVD's separately, although many people think they are similar, i will say now that the first is much better, and contains much more content than the second, the second contains shorter but more complicated systems which while they require more practice, are much more efficient in the long term. Alas, onto the review!!!
Hmm, this is an interesting one, as card magicians there are a fair few moves in here that you are likely to already know. (False Overhand, Push-Through, Zarrow, etc), but for someone interested in card cheating who may perhaps have started in another realm of magic, such as mentalism for example, this truly is a full course in card manipulation (I shall call it manipulation, as many of the moves are applicable in magic effects, not entirely linked to cheating.) Other moves however, such as Deck Switches, false dealing, deck hopping and stacking are likely all new concepts and are skills that are well worth investing in, as they will enable you to setup decks for tricks while simply shuffling and cutting the cards, which adds that little bit more to your presentation.
Teaching & Editing //
The teaching is average for a DVD, the editing however is not so good, from first impressions it seems as if nearly everything was just done with a single shot, with a lot of bloopers, dropping of cards and voice breaking left in and just ignored, for this however, don't blame Jeff Wessmiller, who is perfectly capable of getting the techniques across, just don't expect the fit and finish of the trilogy on this DVD and you'll be fine, Hey.. who said cheating was glamourous?
On the positive side, the menus are well organized there are bookmarks and you can easily jump right back into the section you got up to last. There are a few moves which require other moves to be learned beforehand, but the majority of the moves are stand-alone techniques that can be learned independently.
Effects//
The effects range from a difficulty of 1 (Blind Overhand) to maybe even a 4 or 5 (Double Duke, Decent Bottom Deal)... out of 5.
And unlike most "courses" this DVD doesn't start with basics, instead it methodically goes through all the different categories in order, with difficulty irrelevant, however if you are learning these moves properly, then you would only do one at a time anyway... surely?
The order of the catergorys is as follows.
... and some live game-play, which is a nice feature as it allows you to see the techniques in use, and how shade(misdirection) works to your advantage and how to also link moves together.
Overall//
Although what i have said so far is negative, i in no ways do not like this product, it is a worthwhile investment, and well worthy of your time, the sheer amazement of people when they ask "Can you play cards?", and you shuffle and cut for 5 minutes, show them in exact order and reply...."no", is just priceless, however i do appreciate that the price may be a little steep, but for the novice interested in the methodology behind greats such as Richard Turner and Ricky Jay, this DVD is nigh on perfect.
Weapons of the Card Shark.
Hmm, this is an interesting one, as card magicians there are a fair few moves in here that you are likely to already know. (False Overhand, Push-Through, Zarrow, etc), but for someone interested in card cheating who may perhaps have started in another realm of magic, such as mentalism for example, this truly is a full course in card manipulation (I shall call it manipulation, as many of the moves are applicable in magic effects, not entirely linked to cheating.) Other moves however, such as Deck Switches, false dealing, deck hopping and stacking are likely all new concepts and are skills that are well worth investing in, as they will enable you to setup decks for tricks while simply shuffling and cutting the cards, which adds that little bit more to your presentation.
Teaching & Editing //
The teaching is average for a DVD, the editing however is not so good, from first impressions it seems as if nearly everything was just done with a single shot, with a lot of bloopers, dropping of cards and voice breaking left in and just ignored, for this however, don't blame Jeff Wessmiller, who is perfectly capable of getting the techniques across, just don't expect the fit and finish of the trilogy on this DVD and you'll be fine, Hey.. who said cheating was glamourous?
On the positive side, the menus are well organized there are bookmarks and you can easily jump right back into the section you got up to last. There are a few moves which require other moves to be learned beforehand, but the majority of the moves are stand-alone techniques that can be learned independently.
Effects//
The effects range from a difficulty of 1 (Blind Overhand) to maybe even a 4 or 5 (Double Duke, Decent Bottom Deal)... out of 5.
And unlike most "courses" this DVD doesn't start with basics, instead it methodically goes through all the different categories in order, with difficulty irrelevant, however if you are learning these moves properly, then you would only do one at a time anyway... surely?
The order of the catergorys is as follows.
False Shuffles
False Cuts
Stacking
Hopping the Deck
Glimpses
False Dealing
Mucking
Deck Switches
False Cuts
Stacking
Hopping the Deck
Glimpses
False Dealing
Mucking
Deck Switches
... and some live game-play, which is a nice feature as it allows you to see the techniques in use, and how shade(misdirection) works to your advantage and how to also link moves together.
Overall//
Although what i have said so far is negative, i in no ways do not like this product, it is a worthwhile investment, and well worthy of your time, the sheer amazement of people when they ask "Can you play cards?", and you shuffle and cut for 5 minutes, show them in exact order and reply...."no", is just priceless, however i do appreciate that the price may be a little steep, but for the novice interested in the methodology behind greats such as Richard Turner and Ricky Jay, this DVD is nigh on perfect.
