Full Metal Jacket
Syd Segal & JC Wagner
Shipping/Packaging – The Full Metal Jacket booklet came in a white envelope slightly larger than an 8.5 by 11 inch sheet of paper. One thing I should point out though which I thought was funny was that Syd wrote “Do Not Bend” on the package and yet when I pulled the booklet out there was a subtle but annoying and unfixable bend. This of course was not Syd’s fault; it was the United States Postal Service, not a big deal though. I ordered Full Metal Jacket on Wednesday, June 20th and it arrived here a week later on Thursday the 28th. At first I was a bit worried it was taking this long because I had emailed Syd and he said he uses First Class Mail to ship. I imagine it was slightly later than expected because Syd wrote the wrong zip code, haha; once again though I really don’t mind. For your viewing pleasure I have attached an image of the package it was shipped in. I pixilated both Syd’s and my home addresses for obvious reasons.
The Booklet – Each page of Full Metal Jacket is 8.5 by 11 inches. The paper it was printed on is actually 17 by 11 inches folded in half and stapled. The front cover is in color and has an image of a Bicycle Tactical Field deck in a proper clip on it. (See attached image to see the full cover). The rest of the booklet, including the images is in black and white. I was a little disappointed that the illustrations were not in color as shown on the website, but I guess they had to, to keep production costs down. The lack of color in the illustrations does not affect the teaching or make it unclear; it’s just that the illustrations shown on the website look so darn cool. On the inside front cover are JC Wagner’s and Syd Segal’s signatures. The first page of Full Metal Jacket has the usual title, author name, etc. that you would expect to find. It also has though the individual number of the booklet, mine is 375 of 500 (click other attached image to see signatures and booklet number). The next page is the Table of Contents which is labeled as the first page of the booklet. Going by their system there are 34 pages; the 34th being an ad page for Syd’s DVD Gaft Card Magic, JC Wagner’s, and Dan and Dave’s websites. The only complaints I have about the actual booklet are the bend, stated above (again, NOT Syd’s fault), and some faint blue ink on the front and back covers of the booklet.
The Effects – Full Metal Jacket teaches seven effects total with a bonus interview of JC Wagner by Syd Segal as well as credits and references at the back of the booklet. The effects “Final Closer” and “T(w)oo Wild Jokers” both offer two alternative handlings. All seven of the effects taught are purely card effects ranging from totally impromptu to complete deck stacks, none however require any extra gimmicks; all can be done with a normal deck of cards.
A Logical Lesson – The magician displays two packets of four cards each, one containing the four 3’s and one with the four 7’s. After showing the faces of the eight cards the magician combined the two piles. He/she then asks the spectator, “What happens when you add three and seven?” The spectator responds logically with “ten.” The magician then counts out the pile of cards to reveal a packet of ten. He/she then proceeds to remove two cards from the packet. The spectator is asked what you get when you subtract two from ten. The spectator responds with “eight” and the magician then deals out the now Ace through Eight of Clubs. The magician then states that if he removed two and there are now eight, then he must have started with ten, and he/she reveals the two cards removed previously are the Nine and Ten of Clubs.
A brilliant effect from the minds of JC Wagner and Syd Segal! A Logical Lesson is known as the signature effect of Full Metal Jacket. The effect is pretty much sleight-free and there aren’t any angle problems. There is a bit of set up which can be difficult to memorize, but it’s completely worth it for such a strong effect. You also end completely clean which is nice.
Very Fair Triumph – A card is selected by a spectator and returned to the pack. About half the deck is turned face up and is shuffled into the facedown half. The cards are shown to be legitimately face up and face down. After some magic, the cards are revealed to have straightened themselves out except for the selection reversed in the center!
This is a great Triumph routine. The effect is the exact same as most other Triumph routines, but the method is incredibly easy with almost no sleight of hand, and there isn’t even a false shuffle involved! What’s really great about this routine is that the dirty work is done before you shuffle and it takes MAYBE three seconds to do. It isn’t even a sleight either; it’s done under cover of a natural motion. After that one tiny move the rest is pretty much self working. The shuffle isn’t a false shuffle, but you do have to do it in a particular way. You also have to do the shuffle somewhat “tight” so as not to expose, but this isn’t at all difficult or unnatural. This is probably the cleanest, fairest, and easiest to do Triumph routine that exists.
Final Closer – A deck is shuffled and separated into four packets. Each of the packets is shuffled individually by the magician and the spectators. The four aces are then revealed to be on each of the four packets previously shuffled by the spectators. Each of the four aces is then freely put into the deck by the spectators, face up. The magician then spells out the names of each of the four aces which are found face up directly under the last “spelling” card. After the spelling sequence, the magician still has a small pile in his/her hand. The pile is revealed to be the four kings. The kings are placed on the piles with their corresponding aces, and after some magic, each pile is shown to have separated into the four suits.
I didn’t enjoy Final Closer as much as some of the other effects in Full Metal Jacket. The set up is extensive and can be a pain to memorize, and the effect doesn’t make much sense in my opinion. It’s the spelling sequence that seems the most odd to me. I think it’s because the four aces were just produced, then they’re put back into the deck and then the deck is dealt out again to find them. But, I’m sure you could think of some patter to make it work. Other than that quibble, the effect is pretty good. Final Closer also is almost sleight free and nobody expects the ending. The booklet also explains two alternative handling for the effect. The first one I think is from JC. It eliminates one of the very few sleights in the routine that some people might be afraid of executing, and substitutes another easier move that also has better angles. This version does however require a tiny bit of misdirection to make it foolproof. This isn’t difficult however. The other alternative handling is taught by Syd, it eliminates the move altogether. This version though does require some other work to avoid exposing.
T(w)oo Wild Jokers – A spectator cuts to a card which isn’t immediately looked at... Instead, focus is directed to a packet of three Jokers the magician removes from the card box. The selection is looked at; let’s say the King of Hearts. The first Joker changes into one of the other kings with a light stroke of the thumb. The second Joker is rubbed against the King and it too changes. The last Joker is taken from the two kings by the spectator o reveal it has changed into the third mate of their selection.
I love this effect. Very little set up and the effect is killer! It’s also pretty easy to execute. The only trouble I’ve had is with the first change, the Daryl Martinez Change; it can be a bit knacky. But other than that the effect is quite easy to perform. The last two changes aren’t as visual as they could be, but the effect is still strong if you present it correctly and build it up a little. There is really only one part in the routine where you have to watch your angles slightly, but Syd teaches how to minimize it.
Even More Four On The Floor - Isn’t that fun to say? A spectator selects a card and returns it to the deck; let’s say the Five of Diamonds. The magician proceeds to up jog four cards and strips them out of the pack. He turns one over, a red court card, and with a little magical wave, all four red court cards turn face up. The other three court cards are turned back face down with the face up card on top. The bottom red court card is also turned face up on the bottom, effectively sandwiching the two facedown cards. The packet is flipped over and with another magical gesture; all four cards turn face down. The top card is turned face up and again, all four red court cards magically turn face up. The magician then slowly shows each of the four red court cards asking if any of them are their selected card. The spectator replies with no to each one. The spectator is asked to put their foot on top of one of the four face down cards on the floor. That card is turned over to reveal their selected card!
This is a great impromptu piece of magic. Very easy to do, it hits hard, and the ending is killer! This effect, like most others in the booklet doesn’t require a tremendous amount of skill and have very lenient angles. The end reveal doesn’t work 100% but JC explains a ridiculously simple method if the first fails. Even More Four On The Floor, isn’t an unbelievably brain-splattering effect, but it’s a nice little effect that you can do on the spot with no worries.
Syd Segal & JC Wagner
Shipping/Packaging – The Full Metal Jacket booklet came in a white envelope slightly larger than an 8.5 by 11 inch sheet of paper. One thing I should point out though which I thought was funny was that Syd wrote “Do Not Bend” on the package and yet when I pulled the booklet out there was a subtle but annoying and unfixable bend. This of course was not Syd’s fault; it was the United States Postal Service, not a big deal though. I ordered Full Metal Jacket on Wednesday, June 20th and it arrived here a week later on Thursday the 28th. At first I was a bit worried it was taking this long because I had emailed Syd and he said he uses First Class Mail to ship. I imagine it was slightly later than expected because Syd wrote the wrong zip code, haha; once again though I really don’t mind. For your viewing pleasure I have attached an image of the package it was shipped in. I pixilated both Syd’s and my home addresses for obvious reasons.
The Booklet – Each page of Full Metal Jacket is 8.5 by 11 inches. The paper it was printed on is actually 17 by 11 inches folded in half and stapled. The front cover is in color and has an image of a Bicycle Tactical Field deck in a proper clip on it. (See attached image to see the full cover). The rest of the booklet, including the images is in black and white. I was a little disappointed that the illustrations were not in color as shown on the website, but I guess they had to, to keep production costs down. The lack of color in the illustrations does not affect the teaching or make it unclear; it’s just that the illustrations shown on the website look so darn cool. On the inside front cover are JC Wagner’s and Syd Segal’s signatures. The first page of Full Metal Jacket has the usual title, author name, etc. that you would expect to find. It also has though the individual number of the booklet, mine is 375 of 500 (click other attached image to see signatures and booklet number). The next page is the Table of Contents which is labeled as the first page of the booklet. Going by their system there are 34 pages; the 34th being an ad page for Syd’s DVD Gaft Card Magic, JC Wagner’s, and Dan and Dave’s websites. The only complaints I have about the actual booklet are the bend, stated above (again, NOT Syd’s fault), and some faint blue ink on the front and back covers of the booklet.
The Effects – Full Metal Jacket teaches seven effects total with a bonus interview of JC Wagner by Syd Segal as well as credits and references at the back of the booklet. The effects “Final Closer” and “T(w)oo Wild Jokers” both offer two alternative handlings. All seven of the effects taught are purely card effects ranging from totally impromptu to complete deck stacks, none however require any extra gimmicks; all can be done with a normal deck of cards.
A Logical Lesson – The magician displays two packets of four cards each, one containing the four 3’s and one with the four 7’s. After showing the faces of the eight cards the magician combined the two piles. He/she then asks the spectator, “What happens when you add three and seven?” The spectator responds logically with “ten.” The magician then counts out the pile of cards to reveal a packet of ten. He/she then proceeds to remove two cards from the packet. The spectator is asked what you get when you subtract two from ten. The spectator responds with “eight” and the magician then deals out the now Ace through Eight of Clubs. The magician then states that if he removed two and there are now eight, then he must have started with ten, and he/she reveals the two cards removed previously are the Nine and Ten of Clubs.
A brilliant effect from the minds of JC Wagner and Syd Segal! A Logical Lesson is known as the signature effect of Full Metal Jacket. The effect is pretty much sleight-free and there aren’t any angle problems. There is a bit of set up which can be difficult to memorize, but it’s completely worth it for such a strong effect. You also end completely clean which is nice.
Very Fair Triumph – A card is selected by a spectator and returned to the pack. About half the deck is turned face up and is shuffled into the facedown half. The cards are shown to be legitimately face up and face down. After some magic, the cards are revealed to have straightened themselves out except for the selection reversed in the center!
This is a great Triumph routine. The effect is the exact same as most other Triumph routines, but the method is incredibly easy with almost no sleight of hand, and there isn’t even a false shuffle involved! What’s really great about this routine is that the dirty work is done before you shuffle and it takes MAYBE three seconds to do. It isn’t even a sleight either; it’s done under cover of a natural motion. After that one tiny move the rest is pretty much self working. The shuffle isn’t a false shuffle, but you do have to do it in a particular way. You also have to do the shuffle somewhat “tight” so as not to expose, but this isn’t at all difficult or unnatural. This is probably the cleanest, fairest, and easiest to do Triumph routine that exists.
Final Closer – A deck is shuffled and separated into four packets. Each of the packets is shuffled individually by the magician and the spectators. The four aces are then revealed to be on each of the four packets previously shuffled by the spectators. Each of the four aces is then freely put into the deck by the spectators, face up. The magician then spells out the names of each of the four aces which are found face up directly under the last “spelling” card. After the spelling sequence, the magician still has a small pile in his/her hand. The pile is revealed to be the four kings. The kings are placed on the piles with their corresponding aces, and after some magic, each pile is shown to have separated into the four suits.
I didn’t enjoy Final Closer as much as some of the other effects in Full Metal Jacket. The set up is extensive and can be a pain to memorize, and the effect doesn’t make much sense in my opinion. It’s the spelling sequence that seems the most odd to me. I think it’s because the four aces were just produced, then they’re put back into the deck and then the deck is dealt out again to find them. But, I’m sure you could think of some patter to make it work. Other than that quibble, the effect is pretty good. Final Closer also is almost sleight free and nobody expects the ending. The booklet also explains two alternative handling for the effect. The first one I think is from JC. It eliminates one of the very few sleights in the routine that some people might be afraid of executing, and substitutes another easier move that also has better angles. This version does however require a tiny bit of misdirection to make it foolproof. This isn’t difficult however. The other alternative handling is taught by Syd, it eliminates the move altogether. This version though does require some other work to avoid exposing.
T(w)oo Wild Jokers – A spectator cuts to a card which isn’t immediately looked at... Instead, focus is directed to a packet of three Jokers the magician removes from the card box. The selection is looked at; let’s say the King of Hearts. The first Joker changes into one of the other kings with a light stroke of the thumb. The second Joker is rubbed against the King and it too changes. The last Joker is taken from the two kings by the spectator o reveal it has changed into the third mate of their selection.
I love this effect. Very little set up and the effect is killer! It’s also pretty easy to execute. The only trouble I’ve had is with the first change, the Daryl Martinez Change; it can be a bit knacky. But other than that the effect is quite easy to perform. The last two changes aren’t as visual as they could be, but the effect is still strong if you present it correctly and build it up a little. There is really only one part in the routine where you have to watch your angles slightly, but Syd teaches how to minimize it.
Even More Four On The Floor - Isn’t that fun to say? A spectator selects a card and returns it to the deck; let’s say the Five of Diamonds. The magician proceeds to up jog four cards and strips them out of the pack. He turns one over, a red court card, and with a little magical wave, all four red court cards turn face up. The other three court cards are turned back face down with the face up card on top. The bottom red court card is also turned face up on the bottom, effectively sandwiching the two facedown cards. The packet is flipped over and with another magical gesture; all four cards turn face down. The top card is turned face up and again, all four red court cards magically turn face up. The magician then slowly shows each of the four red court cards asking if any of them are their selected card. The spectator replies with no to each one. The spectator is asked to put their foot on top of one of the four face down cards on the floor. That card is turned over to reveal their selected card!
This is a great impromptu piece of magic. Very easy to do, it hits hard, and the ending is killer! This effect, like most others in the booklet doesn’t require a tremendous amount of skill and have very lenient angles. The end reveal doesn’t work 100% but JC explains a ridiculously simple method if the first fails. Even More Four On The Floor, isn’t an unbelievably brain-splattering effect, but it’s a nice little effect that you can do on the spot with no worries.
