The Heinstein Shuffle is an absolutely amazing in-the-hands false riffle shuffle created by Karl Hein. It's my favorite false shuffle but for some reason I haven't seen many people use it. If you're looking for a good false shuffle, this is it!
VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o_8yU6xOE0
DVD: http://www.penguinmagic.com/product.php?ID=1791
DOWNLOAD: http://www.penguinmagic.com/product.php?ID=1790
I was looking for a really good false shuffle a while ago. I wanted something convincing that I could do in any situation (no table, surrounded, etc.). Most importantly, it needed to look NATURAL. Whenever I shuffle cards I almost always use an in-the-hands riffle shuffle with a bridge/waterfall/cascade. It's possibly the most convincing way to shuffle cards because it's so recognizable (in sight and sound) and so many people do it. I had a hard time finding a good way to do that shuffle as a false shuffle. For a while I used a stripout shuffle but I couldn't do it reliably. Then I found the Heinstein shuffle. I watched the few videos I could find of it over and over but I couldn't figure it out for the longest time. When I finally realized how it worked, I just knew I had to learn it. So I bought the download, and I'm so glad I did.
EFFECT:
Wow. When done right this shuffle almost perfectly mimics the look and sound of an in-the-hands riffle shuffle (with the bridge). It can be done as a 2 move or 1 move shuffle. It's probably the most convincing shuffle of it's kind that I have ever seen. I think the video speaks for itself.
DIFFICULTY:
Before buying this I heard alot of people talk about how hard it is and how much practice it takes. It made me a little worried. When I first learned it I was a little bit surprised at how easy it was to "do". It was a chellenge, but easier than expected. I was able to "do it" only a few hours after watching the video. I was expecting something harder because of what people were saying about it. Then I started practicing and I realized something: it takes alot of practice to do this well. I've been practicing on and off for a few months and I've almost got it down (I'm a bit of a perfectionist). It's difficult to do in one smooth motion without pausing in the middle. It shouldn't be too difficult for an intermediate to learn the shuffle, but it will take a hell of a lot of practice to learn to do it well. Expect a few weeks or months of practice to get it to performance level.
ANGLES:
The angles are really good. If you do it right it's surroundable when standing up. The only problem it if people can see from underneath. It's risky to do it while seated at a table or if you're standing while your audiance is seated low (like on the floor). It might not be good to do it on stage either, but I haven't tried. Overall the angles are great for walkaround or while seated (unless at a table).
TEACHING:
The teaching was pretty good. I was able to learn it the first time through. Everything is shown from multiple angles so it's very easy to follow. He goes slow and talks alot about the details. The problem is that the information is not organized well. Everything you need is spread throughout the DVD, but not always where it should be. My main complaint is that he spent alot of time teaching a version that uses a pass to get in to position (that's how he normally does it). I don't think this is the best way to do the shuffle. He even says that the only reason he does it like this is because when developing the shuffle he got used to doing part of it the way a righty would do it and the other part the way a lefty would. He only breifly mentions getting in to position with a slip cut which is obviously the better way to do it (in my opinion). Overall the teaching is definitly good enough to learn from and you should have no problem with it.
QUALITY:
This is obviously a low budget video, but I have no problem with that. The quality of the material is good so you should have no reason to complain about the average video quality, boring background, or the unimaginative editing.
THE HEINSTEIN TRIUMPH:
The Heinstein Triumph is a pretty good triumph routine. What makes it special is that it's done totally in-the-hands and the cards are restored to new deck order. The triumph that I do now is largely based on this one (except without the cards being in order, making it impromptu). It's a good trick, but nothing really new.
VALUE:
It's about $30 for the DVD and $25 for the download at Penguin. This shuffle is so useful that it's worth it, even though it's just one move and a trick. This move can be used with any stacked or memorized deck, as well as many many other tricks. It's a multitasker and you will use it all the time. This is my go to false shuffle. It's one of the best purchases I've ever made in magic.
OVERALL:
If you want to learn a good false shuffle, BUY IT NOW!!! False shuffles are extremely useful, and you can do this one anytime, anywhere. It's the best false shuffle I've ever seen.
Don't pass this one up!
VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o_8yU6xOE0
DVD: http://www.penguinmagic.com/product.php?ID=1791
DOWNLOAD: http://www.penguinmagic.com/product.php?ID=1790
I was looking for a really good false shuffle a while ago. I wanted something convincing that I could do in any situation (no table, surrounded, etc.). Most importantly, it needed to look NATURAL. Whenever I shuffle cards I almost always use an in-the-hands riffle shuffle with a bridge/waterfall/cascade. It's possibly the most convincing way to shuffle cards because it's so recognizable (in sight and sound) and so many people do it. I had a hard time finding a good way to do that shuffle as a false shuffle. For a while I used a stripout shuffle but I couldn't do it reliably. Then I found the Heinstein shuffle. I watched the few videos I could find of it over and over but I couldn't figure it out for the longest time. When I finally realized how it worked, I just knew I had to learn it. So I bought the download, and I'm so glad I did.
EFFECT:
Wow. When done right this shuffle almost perfectly mimics the look and sound of an in-the-hands riffle shuffle (with the bridge). It can be done as a 2 move or 1 move shuffle. It's probably the most convincing shuffle of it's kind that I have ever seen. I think the video speaks for itself.
DIFFICULTY:
Before buying this I heard alot of people talk about how hard it is and how much practice it takes. It made me a little worried. When I first learned it I was a little bit surprised at how easy it was to "do". It was a chellenge, but easier than expected. I was able to "do it" only a few hours after watching the video. I was expecting something harder because of what people were saying about it. Then I started practicing and I realized something: it takes alot of practice to do this well. I've been practicing on and off for a few months and I've almost got it down (I'm a bit of a perfectionist). It's difficult to do in one smooth motion without pausing in the middle. It shouldn't be too difficult for an intermediate to learn the shuffle, but it will take a hell of a lot of practice to learn to do it well. Expect a few weeks or months of practice to get it to performance level.
ANGLES:
The angles are really good. If you do it right it's surroundable when standing up. The only problem it if people can see from underneath. It's risky to do it while seated at a table or if you're standing while your audiance is seated low (like on the floor). It might not be good to do it on stage either, but I haven't tried. Overall the angles are great for walkaround or while seated (unless at a table).
TEACHING:
The teaching was pretty good. I was able to learn it the first time through. Everything is shown from multiple angles so it's very easy to follow. He goes slow and talks alot about the details. The problem is that the information is not organized well. Everything you need is spread throughout the DVD, but not always where it should be. My main complaint is that he spent alot of time teaching a version that uses a pass to get in to position (that's how he normally does it). I don't think this is the best way to do the shuffle. He even says that the only reason he does it like this is because when developing the shuffle he got used to doing part of it the way a righty would do it and the other part the way a lefty would. He only breifly mentions getting in to position with a slip cut which is obviously the better way to do it (in my opinion). Overall the teaching is definitly good enough to learn from and you should have no problem with it.
QUALITY:
This is obviously a low budget video, but I have no problem with that. The quality of the material is good so you should have no reason to complain about the average video quality, boring background, or the unimaginative editing.
THE HEINSTEIN TRIUMPH:
The Heinstein Triumph is a pretty good triumph routine. What makes it special is that it's done totally in-the-hands and the cards are restored to new deck order. The triumph that I do now is largely based on this one (except without the cards being in order, making it impromptu). It's a good trick, but nothing really new.
VALUE:
It's about $30 for the DVD and $25 for the download at Penguin. This shuffle is so useful that it's worth it, even though it's just one move and a trick. This move can be used with any stacked or memorized deck, as well as many many other tricks. It's a multitasker and you will use it all the time. This is my go to false shuffle. It's one of the best purchases I've ever made in magic.
OVERALL:
If you want to learn a good false shuffle, BUY IT NOW!!! False shuffles are extremely useful, and you can do this one anytime, anywhere. It's the best false shuffle I've ever seen.
Don't pass this one up!
