Hi everybody, welcome to my review. In this review I'm going to take you deep into Card College vol. 1 and hopefully give you the most indepth review you've ever seen for this book. But first, a little side note: I'm not going to go into the tricks(located after every chapter which utilize the sleights you just learned)in this book because I just found that none of the effect descriptions caught my interest. This is NOT to say they are bad, but none of them fit me as they are more geared for beginners. I got this book for the sleights anyway, not the tricks. Well I guess that's really it, sit back, relax, and get ready to read. Here we go....
TEACHING:
Before we start to get real indepth here, I just have to say that the teaching in this book is simply phenomenal. With detailed writings and many pictures, Giobbi actually makes it hard not to understand something. I can't even tell you how easy the teaching is to follow. The detailed pictures are perfect for the undersanding of the moves and in some cases display translucent views of the deck so that you can see where your fingers should be. Plus, after each thing you learn there's little checpoints you can refer to to make sure you didn't miss anything. The checkpoints are a fantastic addition to the book. Incredible. The writing and material in this book are perfect for the beginning card magician with no knowledge, and for the more advanced card magician needing to brush up on his skills or who needs a reference. Now let's take a look inside of the book:
CHAPTER 1: FUNDEMENTAL TECHNIQUES
There's a LOT of stuff in this chapter, here's the list...
Dealing position
The end grip
Elevated Dealing position
Squaring the deck
The all-around square up
Giving the deck a complete cut
Spreading the cards in the hands
Outjogging cards as they are spread between the hands
Dribbling cards
Dealing cards(face down and face up)
The swing cut
The Break
The little finger break and how to form it
The thumb break
The step
The riffle
The Ribbon Spread
So, as you can see, Chapter 1 truly is fundemental techniques and is perfect for the beginning card magician. It's also a great reference.
CHAPTER 2: OVERHAND SHUFFLE TECHNIQUES PART 1.
In this chapter you learn the overhand shuffle and how to use it to control top and bottom cards, the injog shuffle to control the top stock, and how to control the bottom stock. This chapter is also very beginner-esque but serves as a good reference.
CHAPTER 3: fALSE CUT TECHNIQUES PART 1.
This chapter contains:
An optical false cut from the hands
The false swing cut
The triple False cut
The slip cut from dealing position
It teaches the most basic of the false cuts that are can be the most effective sometimes because they appear so normal and are not real flashy. The false swing cut is something so simple that I never even though of it using this principle. So, so simple, yet very decptive to the layman.
CHAPTER 4: CARD CONTROLS
Features....
The overhand shuffle control
The "whoops!" control
The diagonal insertion
The peek control
The post-peek overhand shuffle control
A peek control for two/multiple cards
The one card middle pass
Once again, pretty basic stuff. The once card middle pass is just the same sleight that's taught in Crash Course 2 and Ninja 1. Those of you who know it know that it's VERY useful. The diagonal insertion was something that was very new to me and I think I'll be taking advantage of this move. Good chapter.
CHAPTER 5: FORCE TECHNIQUES PART 1.
You learn the Crisscross force, the Balducci force, the golding force, and the ten-to-twenty force. I personally don't use any of these forces because I'm already happy with the current forces in my repetoire(sp?). Nice forces for a beginner though.
CHAPTER 6: TRANSFER CUTS
In this chapter you learn how to transfer a selected card from one part of the deck to the other by utilizing the double cut, the triple cut from top to bottom, and the triple cut from bottom to top. A useful chapter, especially for a beginner.
CHAPTER 7: RIFFLE SHUFFLE TECHNIQUES
The closed riffle shuffle
Squaring after the shuffle
The open riffle shuffle
Riffle shuffle stock controls(bottom and top)
The waterfall riffle shuffle
Teaches what you need to know for the riffle shuffle shuffle variations. Very basic but alsoe very precise. As you can see from the list above, it even teaches you the correct way to square the cards which can be applied elsewhere as well.
CHAPTER 8: THE GLIDE
This chapter teaches the technique of the glide. For those of you who don't know, the glide is a technique that enables you to exchange the bottom card of the deck for the card just above it. It's a very simple technique but I don't ever use it and don't really plan on it just because I have really no need for it at the moment. It is useful though for some tricks.
CHAPTER 9: THE DOUBLE LIFT PART 1.
Teaches two basic double lifs in full detail. It's amazing how Giobbi can so finely detail the most simple of things to make sure you have a 0% chance of missing something. Flawless teaching.
CHAPTER 10: THE KEY CARD
In this chapter you learn pretty much everything you need to know about key cards. A key card is a card that leads you to the card a spectator has chosen and replaced in the deck. You're able to find the card by knowing where your spectators chosen card is in relation to your placed key card. It's a very basic technique that anyone can utilize perfectly after reading this chapter. Great teaching.
CHAPTER 11: HINDU SHUFFLE TECHNIQUES
I love the hindu shuffle(had to throw that in). This chapter teaches you the hindu shuffle(obviously), how to place a key card with hindu shuffle, glimpsing the bottom card with the hindu shuffle, the hindu shuffle force, and hindu shuffle card controls. After reading this chapter and practicing a little you'll be fully equiped with some new moves.
CHAPTER 12: FLOURISHES
There's quite a few of them here...
Turning over the top card(three variations)
The charlier cut
The swivel cut
The boomerang card
The spring riffle shuffle
Jack Merlin's riffle shuffle
The pop-up card
The wind up gag
The two-handed fan
Broad one-handed fan
Reverse one-handed fan
The ribbon spread turnover
These are great flourishes for a beginner to start off with. The spring riffle shuffle is something that I had NO idea about, it's a great flourishyshuffle that's great for advanced magicians as well. It can be tricky though and takes some practice.
CHAPTER 13: SPREAD CULL TECHNIQUES
A cull is a technique used to arrange one or more cards at a desired location in the deck. This chapter teaches you what you need to know in order to effectively use the spread cull. It also teaches you the spread cull force so if you want to, you can use relatively the same technique to force a card on to the spectator. The spread cull can definitely come in handy and this chapter is a fatastic reference for it's technique(have I mentioned that Giobbi's teaching is phenomenal?).
CHAPTER 14: USEFUL AUXILIARY SLEIGHTS
This is a great chapter that teaches you little useful sleights that you can easily use. I'm going to go a little more indepth for this one(a little). First you learn thumb counting and pinky/little finger counting. Finger counting is something that every card magician needs to know and it's taught here. Next you have the secret addition of cards, the Braue addition, the tip-over addition, and ATFUS: the "any time face up switch. All of them give you techniques for adding and/or switching cards between a packet and a deck. For me, these might of been the most useful sleights in the entire book. Next are the the single, double, and multiple push-overs which are used to secretly get a break over cards and have many other applications. Then, last but not least, the buckling of one or more cards which is used to obtain a break, false count, etc. Everything in this chapter is flawlessly taught.
CHAPTER 15: FORCE TECHNIQUES PART 2.
Finally, we arive at my, along with many others, favorite force: the classic force. I don't even know where to begin with this. This portion of the book is the highlight of Giobbi's teaching in this volume. Not only does he venture deep into the technique, handling and structure of the force, but he also covers the psychology. Wait, did I just say that he "covers" it? There's three and a half pages where Giobbi fully covers the pychological management of the spectators, the inner game of the performer, how to practice the classic force, the outs of the force, direct and indirect methods, and final notes. Simply unbelievable. Then he teaches you the riffle force that many of you already know. Once again, phenomenal teaching.
CHAPTER 16: THE TOP CHANGE
Basically it teaches you the basic top change, covers for the top change, and how to use the top change as an out for the classic force in case your spectator ever chooses the wrong card.
So there it is, the basic run-down of the contents in the book. Now for the review(that's a joke by the way). I also want to throw in that the cover art on the book is fantastic and a real eye-pleaser.
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
(continued on next page)
TEACHING:
Before we start to get real indepth here, I just have to say that the teaching in this book is simply phenomenal. With detailed writings and many pictures, Giobbi actually makes it hard not to understand something. I can't even tell you how easy the teaching is to follow. The detailed pictures are perfect for the undersanding of the moves and in some cases display translucent views of the deck so that you can see where your fingers should be. Plus, after each thing you learn there's little checpoints you can refer to to make sure you didn't miss anything. The checkpoints are a fantastic addition to the book. Incredible. The writing and material in this book are perfect for the beginning card magician with no knowledge, and for the more advanced card magician needing to brush up on his skills or who needs a reference. Now let's take a look inside of the book:
CHAPTER 1: FUNDEMENTAL TECHNIQUES
There's a LOT of stuff in this chapter, here's the list...
Dealing position
The end grip
Elevated Dealing position
Squaring the deck
The all-around square up
Giving the deck a complete cut
Spreading the cards in the hands
Outjogging cards as they are spread between the hands
Dribbling cards
Dealing cards(face down and face up)
The swing cut
The Break
The little finger break and how to form it
The thumb break
The step
The riffle
The Ribbon Spread
So, as you can see, Chapter 1 truly is fundemental techniques and is perfect for the beginning card magician. It's also a great reference.
CHAPTER 2: OVERHAND SHUFFLE TECHNIQUES PART 1.
In this chapter you learn the overhand shuffle and how to use it to control top and bottom cards, the injog shuffle to control the top stock, and how to control the bottom stock. This chapter is also very beginner-esque but serves as a good reference.
CHAPTER 3: fALSE CUT TECHNIQUES PART 1.
This chapter contains:
An optical false cut from the hands
The false swing cut
The triple False cut
The slip cut from dealing position
It teaches the most basic of the false cuts that are can be the most effective sometimes because they appear so normal and are not real flashy. The false swing cut is something so simple that I never even though of it using this principle. So, so simple, yet very decptive to the layman.
CHAPTER 4: CARD CONTROLS
Features....
The overhand shuffle control
The "whoops!" control
The diagonal insertion
The peek control
The post-peek overhand shuffle control
A peek control for two/multiple cards
The one card middle pass
Once again, pretty basic stuff. The once card middle pass is just the same sleight that's taught in Crash Course 2 and Ninja 1. Those of you who know it know that it's VERY useful. The diagonal insertion was something that was very new to me and I think I'll be taking advantage of this move. Good chapter.
CHAPTER 5: FORCE TECHNIQUES PART 1.
You learn the Crisscross force, the Balducci force, the golding force, and the ten-to-twenty force. I personally don't use any of these forces because I'm already happy with the current forces in my repetoire(sp?). Nice forces for a beginner though.
CHAPTER 6: TRANSFER CUTS
In this chapter you learn how to transfer a selected card from one part of the deck to the other by utilizing the double cut, the triple cut from top to bottom, and the triple cut from bottom to top. A useful chapter, especially for a beginner.
CHAPTER 7: RIFFLE SHUFFLE TECHNIQUES
The closed riffle shuffle
Squaring after the shuffle
The open riffle shuffle
Riffle shuffle stock controls(bottom and top)
The waterfall riffle shuffle
Teaches what you need to know for the riffle shuffle shuffle variations. Very basic but alsoe very precise. As you can see from the list above, it even teaches you the correct way to square the cards which can be applied elsewhere as well.
CHAPTER 8: THE GLIDE
This chapter teaches the technique of the glide. For those of you who don't know, the glide is a technique that enables you to exchange the bottom card of the deck for the card just above it. It's a very simple technique but I don't ever use it and don't really plan on it just because I have really no need for it at the moment. It is useful though for some tricks.
CHAPTER 9: THE DOUBLE LIFT PART 1.
Teaches two basic double lifs in full detail. It's amazing how Giobbi can so finely detail the most simple of things to make sure you have a 0% chance of missing something. Flawless teaching.
CHAPTER 10: THE KEY CARD
In this chapter you learn pretty much everything you need to know about key cards. A key card is a card that leads you to the card a spectator has chosen and replaced in the deck. You're able to find the card by knowing where your spectators chosen card is in relation to your placed key card. It's a very basic technique that anyone can utilize perfectly after reading this chapter. Great teaching.
CHAPTER 11: HINDU SHUFFLE TECHNIQUES
I love the hindu shuffle(had to throw that in). This chapter teaches you the hindu shuffle(obviously), how to place a key card with hindu shuffle, glimpsing the bottom card with the hindu shuffle, the hindu shuffle force, and hindu shuffle card controls. After reading this chapter and practicing a little you'll be fully equiped with some new moves.
CHAPTER 12: FLOURISHES
There's quite a few of them here...
Turning over the top card(three variations)
The charlier cut
The swivel cut
The boomerang card
The spring riffle shuffle
Jack Merlin's riffle shuffle
The pop-up card
The wind up gag
The two-handed fan
Broad one-handed fan
Reverse one-handed fan
The ribbon spread turnover
These are great flourishes for a beginner to start off with. The spring riffle shuffle is something that I had NO idea about, it's a great flourishyshuffle that's great for advanced magicians as well. It can be tricky though and takes some practice.
CHAPTER 13: SPREAD CULL TECHNIQUES
A cull is a technique used to arrange one or more cards at a desired location in the deck. This chapter teaches you what you need to know in order to effectively use the spread cull. It also teaches you the spread cull force so if you want to, you can use relatively the same technique to force a card on to the spectator. The spread cull can definitely come in handy and this chapter is a fatastic reference for it's technique(have I mentioned that Giobbi's teaching is phenomenal?).
CHAPTER 14: USEFUL AUXILIARY SLEIGHTS
This is a great chapter that teaches you little useful sleights that you can easily use. I'm going to go a little more indepth for this one(a little). First you learn thumb counting and pinky/little finger counting. Finger counting is something that every card magician needs to know and it's taught here. Next you have the secret addition of cards, the Braue addition, the tip-over addition, and ATFUS: the "any time face up switch. All of them give you techniques for adding and/or switching cards between a packet and a deck. For me, these might of been the most useful sleights in the entire book. Next are the the single, double, and multiple push-overs which are used to secretly get a break over cards and have many other applications. Then, last but not least, the buckling of one or more cards which is used to obtain a break, false count, etc. Everything in this chapter is flawlessly taught.
CHAPTER 15: FORCE TECHNIQUES PART 2.
Finally, we arive at my, along with many others, favorite force: the classic force. I don't even know where to begin with this. This portion of the book is the highlight of Giobbi's teaching in this volume. Not only does he venture deep into the technique, handling and structure of the force, but he also covers the psychology. Wait, did I just say that he "covers" it? There's three and a half pages where Giobbi fully covers the pychological management of the spectators, the inner game of the performer, how to practice the classic force, the outs of the force, direct and indirect methods, and final notes. Simply unbelievable. Then he teaches you the riffle force that many of you already know. Once again, phenomenal teaching.
CHAPTER 16: THE TOP CHANGE
Basically it teaches you the basic top change, covers for the top change, and how to use the top change as an out for the classic force in case your spectator ever chooses the wrong card.
So there it is, the basic run-down of the contents in the book. Now for the review(that's a joke by the way). I also want to throw in that the cover art on the book is fantastic and a real eye-pleaser.
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
(continued on next page)
