Ultimate Workers Volume 1 with Michael Close
http://www.penguinmagic.com/specialorderproduct.php?ID=4330
First off let me say that this has a lot of really great tricks. Ill go into more detail later but you need to know how to use a memorized deck (Michael does NOT teach the stack for a memorized deck) and 1-2 effects require origami knowledge
Some effects I don’t remember what they are because I'm going off of memory because I don’t have the dvd with me so ill leave those blank or write that I don’t remember them, ill fill in the information later
Here's 2 links to learn the Faro Shuffle and Memorized Deck
Faro Shuffle CD- http://www.penguinmagic.com/specialorderproduct.php?ID=4975
Memorized Deck- http://www.penguinmagic.com/specialorderproduct.php?ID=7537
NOW WITH THE BASICS
Teaching 9/10
Appearance 10/10
Difficulty or tricks 6/10 (one being the easiest 10 being the hardest)
TRICK REVIEWS
Invisible Deck
Any card is named and it is reversed in the deck
Great trick, visual and the deck can be kept by the spectator
NO GIMMICK
Requires a memorized deck stack and one other move
Pretty easy, Michael explains the moves
Smiling Mule
Don’t remember this one so cant say anything (ill update this review later with information)
The Ooh-Ah Bird
GREAT Kids trick as well for adults+
You show a piece of paper and fold it into a bird while explaining some information about the bird. While your talking you tell your helper to cut the deck and you mark where she cuts. Then after you show the bird, it lays an egg (very funny) and inside the egg is a small card, which matches the card the helper cut to.
The hardest is making the bird. He goes into detail about how to make the bird. (This is one effect with Origami) All you need is brightly colored paper to make the bird more appealing and your set. Requires buying a miniature deck and small plastic egg.
The Pothole Trick
GREAT way to hand out your business card
The best moving hole trick out there, this effect is worth the dvd.
You show your business card and on the back is a sketch of where you live. You punch a whole in it and then grab another one of your business cards and ask questions to the spectator on where they live as you sketch a drawing of their house.
You are seen to cover the "pothole" and not only move it down the street on the card, but in front of a different house around the corner on the business card. (Each house is initialed to prove they are different on the card. May have one letter to identify it) then, you are seen to remove the hole off of your business card and onto the other business card with the spectators house on it.
Then they can keep it as a souvenir.
This was hard to explain so click on the link above and that gives a better description of the trick.
I love this effect. BUT this requires a special type of hole puncher that you can buy and then gaff it up (takes about 2 minutes but do it once and your set.)
CONS
The first business card with your house on it can NOT be examined.
Both cards need to be "gaffed" but do it once with the one with your house and your set, then just repeat it with other business cards and your set
This was hard to explain so ask questions if you don’t understand
Dr. Strangetrick
A card warp integrated with money
You show a card, wrap in it a 2 dollar bill, push it through to the other side and it inverts it self, repeat again, then you rip it in half and then if you want you can restore it
This is a great trick but he only teaches the folds and such with a 2-dollar bill. To restore the card you need to make a gimmicked 2-dollar bill and then switch it out for the other one. EVERYTHING can be examined after you rip the card, the bill and everything.
The Judah Shoelace Routine
This is a packs small plays big trick.
You show a straw in the wrapper, you take the straw out of the wrapper ask the spectator to hold both in-between the first and second finger to squeeze it. You show a shoelace that could be borrowed but it’s a solid shoelace. You move the wrapper out of the way and tie up the straw, and then you place the wrapper on top and ask the spectator to hold the other side. You then tie the wrapper, and then wrap the shoelace around the straw and wrapper TWICE. You tell the spectator to hold tight and you give the shoelace a sharp tug on both sides and the shoelace goes THROUGH the straw and breaks the wrapper. The straw is unharmed but the wrapper is ripped in half.
I LOVE THIS TRICK. EVERYTHING CAN BE BORROWED AND EXAMINED CLOSELY. After is legitimate, no switches or anything. And everything can be examined after.
A Trick for O'Brian
Don’t remember this one, will fill in later
The Imagination Tester
This is heavy Origami. This is hard and he doesn’t show you how to make it but if you buy an origami book that teaches what Michael tells you then you’ll be fine
You show a paper stake through a frame, when you unfold it, its not solid or in the paper at all. You place it into the spectators hand and ask them to repeat this is real over and over again, nothing happens, you do it again and the stake comes out of the frame and isn’t part of the frame at all, everything can be examined.
This is a pretty good trick, will get reactions BUT you need to know how to make the origami piece
Tut Tut
VERY GREAT BUT very hard
A spectator selects a card and returns it to the deck, you shuffle the cards (pharaoh shuffle) and then you spread out the cards and turn the aces over wherever they may lie. After 3 pharaoh shuffles, the aces surround the selected card.
This requires a stack for a memorized deck and you need to be able to perform (I think) 5 PERFECT pharroah shuffles. It’s going to take some practice but it’s worth it
Myopia
Very good but requires a memorized deck.
The spectator tell you when to stop when riffling the cards between the hands and you ask the spectators to remember the cards you show them, the card the spec stopped you at and the next card.
You guess the cards after asking 1 question
VERY HARD, not only requires you to know your memorized deck but you need to be good at estimating how many cards you have in your hand.
The Birthday Book
Very easy, once again, needs a memorized deck
A spectator selects a playing card. A date book is shown; next to each date is a playing card. The card written next to the spectator's birthday is shown. He has selected the exact same card
EXTRA
There is also a section where he goes over the tricks called "superpractice" which goes through the mechanics of each trick.
Also in the DVD, he is joined by Michael Ammar and a guy (don’t know the name) and they interview him on the tricks and also Michael gives VERY GOOD information on landing a restraunt job and other things like that.
OVERALL I give this DVD a 10/10
http://www.penguinmagic.com/specialorderproduct.php?ID=4330
First off let me say that this has a lot of really great tricks. Ill go into more detail later but you need to know how to use a memorized deck (Michael does NOT teach the stack for a memorized deck) and 1-2 effects require origami knowledge
Some effects I don’t remember what they are because I'm going off of memory because I don’t have the dvd with me so ill leave those blank or write that I don’t remember them, ill fill in the information later
Here's 2 links to learn the Faro Shuffle and Memorized Deck
Faro Shuffle CD- http://www.penguinmagic.com/specialorderproduct.php?ID=4975
Memorized Deck- http://www.penguinmagic.com/specialorderproduct.php?ID=7537
NOW WITH THE BASICS
Teaching 9/10
Appearance 10/10
Difficulty or tricks 6/10 (one being the easiest 10 being the hardest)
TRICK REVIEWS
Invisible Deck
Any card is named and it is reversed in the deck
Great trick, visual and the deck can be kept by the spectator
NO GIMMICK
Requires a memorized deck stack and one other move
Pretty easy, Michael explains the moves
Smiling Mule
Don’t remember this one so cant say anything (ill update this review later with information)
The Ooh-Ah Bird
GREAT Kids trick as well for adults+
You show a piece of paper and fold it into a bird while explaining some information about the bird. While your talking you tell your helper to cut the deck and you mark where she cuts. Then after you show the bird, it lays an egg (very funny) and inside the egg is a small card, which matches the card the helper cut to.
The hardest is making the bird. He goes into detail about how to make the bird. (This is one effect with Origami) All you need is brightly colored paper to make the bird more appealing and your set. Requires buying a miniature deck and small plastic egg.
The Pothole Trick
GREAT way to hand out your business card
The best moving hole trick out there, this effect is worth the dvd.
You show your business card and on the back is a sketch of where you live. You punch a whole in it and then grab another one of your business cards and ask questions to the spectator on where they live as you sketch a drawing of their house.
You are seen to cover the "pothole" and not only move it down the street on the card, but in front of a different house around the corner on the business card. (Each house is initialed to prove they are different on the card. May have one letter to identify it) then, you are seen to remove the hole off of your business card and onto the other business card with the spectators house on it.
Then they can keep it as a souvenir.
This was hard to explain so click on the link above and that gives a better description of the trick.
I love this effect. BUT this requires a special type of hole puncher that you can buy and then gaff it up (takes about 2 minutes but do it once and your set.)
CONS
The first business card with your house on it can NOT be examined.
Both cards need to be "gaffed" but do it once with the one with your house and your set, then just repeat it with other business cards and your set
This was hard to explain so ask questions if you don’t understand
Dr. Strangetrick
A card warp integrated with money
You show a card, wrap in it a 2 dollar bill, push it through to the other side and it inverts it self, repeat again, then you rip it in half and then if you want you can restore it
This is a great trick but he only teaches the folds and such with a 2-dollar bill. To restore the card you need to make a gimmicked 2-dollar bill and then switch it out for the other one. EVERYTHING can be examined after you rip the card, the bill and everything.
The Judah Shoelace Routine
This is a packs small plays big trick.
You show a straw in the wrapper, you take the straw out of the wrapper ask the spectator to hold both in-between the first and second finger to squeeze it. You show a shoelace that could be borrowed but it’s a solid shoelace. You move the wrapper out of the way and tie up the straw, and then you place the wrapper on top and ask the spectator to hold the other side. You then tie the wrapper, and then wrap the shoelace around the straw and wrapper TWICE. You tell the spectator to hold tight and you give the shoelace a sharp tug on both sides and the shoelace goes THROUGH the straw and breaks the wrapper. The straw is unharmed but the wrapper is ripped in half.
I LOVE THIS TRICK. EVERYTHING CAN BE BORROWED AND EXAMINED CLOSELY. After is legitimate, no switches or anything. And everything can be examined after.
A Trick for O'Brian
Don’t remember this one, will fill in later
The Imagination Tester
This is heavy Origami. This is hard and he doesn’t show you how to make it but if you buy an origami book that teaches what Michael tells you then you’ll be fine
You show a paper stake through a frame, when you unfold it, its not solid or in the paper at all. You place it into the spectators hand and ask them to repeat this is real over and over again, nothing happens, you do it again and the stake comes out of the frame and isn’t part of the frame at all, everything can be examined.
This is a pretty good trick, will get reactions BUT you need to know how to make the origami piece
Tut Tut
VERY GREAT BUT very hard
A spectator selects a card and returns it to the deck, you shuffle the cards (pharaoh shuffle) and then you spread out the cards and turn the aces over wherever they may lie. After 3 pharaoh shuffles, the aces surround the selected card.
This requires a stack for a memorized deck and you need to be able to perform (I think) 5 PERFECT pharroah shuffles. It’s going to take some practice but it’s worth it
Myopia
Very good but requires a memorized deck.
The spectator tell you when to stop when riffling the cards between the hands and you ask the spectators to remember the cards you show them, the card the spec stopped you at and the next card.
You guess the cards after asking 1 question
VERY HARD, not only requires you to know your memorized deck but you need to be good at estimating how many cards you have in your hand.
The Birthday Book
Very easy, once again, needs a memorized deck
A spectator selects a playing card. A date book is shown; next to each date is a playing card. The card written next to the spectator's birthday is shown. He has selected the exact same card
EXTRA
There is also a section where he goes over the tricks called "superpractice" which goes through the mechanics of each trick.
Also in the DVD, he is joined by Michael Ammar and a guy (don’t know the name) and they interview him on the tricks and also Michael gives VERY GOOD information on landing a restraunt job and other things like that.
OVERALL I give this DVD a 10/10