I posted this in another topic but I think that it should
really have it's own heading:

I was just told that Lew Brooks' DVD "Stack Attack" is
about to be released. It is most of his book (by the
same title) on DVD. You will see how Lew performs his
effects from the book. Performance and full explanations
as I understand it. I am looking forward to it. I have
seen Lew perform several of these effects for "real people"
(and Magi) and he gets great responses. I have added a
couple of his ideas to my repertoire (sp?).
I will give a full review when (and if) I can obtain a copy.
Hope y'all had a good Holiday season & have a good 2006.
Tony V

Hi Tony. We (Murphy's) just got these in from the duplicator so they will be going out this week and thus available from your favorite shop/dealer. I have not been fortunate enough to see Lew but have heard great things about his work so I am looking forward to this. It was produced by Bob Kohler. Bob is selective in his compliments but spoke very highly of Lew and his work. Should be great.

Tim Trono

I saw Lew do some of his stuff last summer at LVMI. He's very entertaining and the tricks are good! Also, because they rely on small stacks of cards (thus the name "Stack Attack") there's not that much sleight of hand, so it puts them in the reach of a lot of people.

Jeff

STACK ATTACK the DVD Review:

Last week I received my copy of STACK ATTACK the DVD by
L.R.(Lew)Brooks. The DVD is produced by Bob Kohler and
is available from his website. I obtained my copy from
Bob himself. I said that I would give a review after
watching it.

As I mentioned previously, I have personally seen Lew
perform some of the routines included on the disk.
The DVD is just under 2 hrs in length. It contains
seven fully performed routines plus one that is given
as an explanation as to the working only and it is
suggested that you invent your own routine using the
"secret" taught.

Please note: all of the routines on this DVD employ the
use of a group of stacked cards. As few as 4 and as
many as 52. Please do not let this deter you from
using some of these effects. The end result(s) are
well worth it. NO actual sleight-of-hand is employed.
Lew even warns that if you are looking for any new
"moves" or "sleights" you better go elsewhere.

In the Introduction Lew spells out his theory about the
use of stacked-decks and the lack of need for sleight-
of-hand in order for an effect to be entertaining.

The routines are listed below with a brief description.

1) Order Out of Chaos - This is a fascinating routine
wherein one of the suits is removed from a shuffled deck
and then further shuffled to insure their randomness or
"chaotic state". The cards are again "mixed" and cut
but are then shown to have somehow "un-mixed" themselves
and are now in perfect order. Baffling.

2) Bughouse Poker - This is an entertaining story about
the time that Lew performed for the patients at a local
mental hospital and the Poker tournament that he was
persuaded to enter there. Although the handling of the
cards is quite extensive and very unusual, Lew manages to
of course win by somehow getting a Royal Flush in a very
visual manner.

3) A Hand of Blackjack - Lew relates a story of the time
that he was the butt of a silly con game and how he was
taken for the price of a lunch by his opponent.

4) Poetry Poker - Subtitled "A Love Story With Cards".
This story is about Lew in his (much) younger days and
how he managed to meet his future wife over a game of
(strip) POker. The ladies seem to just love this one.

5) High-Card Poker - Because one of Lew's friends was
constantly complaining about not getting any high cards
in one of their games one evening, Lew invents a game
that is only played with the 20 high cards of the deck.
Thereby silencing his friend.

6) The Kangaroo Kid - Another whimsical routine with some
very entertaining patter. Lew manages to play a couple
of hands of Poker and manages to "one-up" an Australian
Outback Poker Champion.

7) The 4 Second Stack - Lew relates how he once saw John
Scarne perform a demonstration of lightning fast overhand-
shuffle stacking. He then demonstrates how he has been
able to "almost" duplicate that feat.

8) Red-Black Location - There is no performed routine here.
The theory (secret) of the location is taught and you are
encouraged to build your own routine around it. This
location can be used as a pseudo menory stunt, or mental
effect, or just a find-a-card type effect.

All of the routines are performed in seaqunce first with
the second part of the DVD being the explanations.

Lew's very novel and innovative "False-False-Shuffle" is
fully rexplained and taught. This is a technique that is
NOT an actual false-shuffle nor is it an actual shuffle.
However it DOES mix the cards and YET you are still able
to use your pre-arranged stack when you need it. He also
teaches a very easy false-cut that retains the entire deck
but is still visually deceptive.

Included with the DVD is a "cheat sheet" that has the stacks
printed out so that you do not have to constantly replay and
stop the video to get the sequences. There are however, a
couple of minor errors or discrepancies here. They are
minor and you should be able to compensate with a little
thought. The stack sequences as shown on the video ARE
accurate.

Lew performs these routines for one of his students in an
intimate setting. He and the spectator/student are seated
at a card table.

The lighting is good and everything is clear and close-ups
are sometimes provided to make things clearer. The audio
is good but there is a small difference in volume between
some of the segments. You might have to adjust your volume
sometimes.

Lew is an "intimate" type close-up worker and his specialty
is performing seated for small groups. Some of the routines
can be (and have been) performed standing and for larger
audiences - that is not their main strength however.

You WILL need the ability to patter well to use these. These
are not designed for a silent act. Lew's patter can easily
be adapted to your own persona with a little thought.

In all fairness (and as may have been surmised), I do know
Lew personally and he is a friend of mine as is Bob Kohler.
That having been said, I do feel that this review is accurate
(although possibly a little biased) and will give you a good
idea as to the content of the video.

Please do a search for STACK ATTACK here in this site to read
some of the reviews that Lew's book received. The routines
are taken directly from the book. With the video you can see
how they should look when being performed.

Please give me any comments, feedback, or questions. Sorry
for the LONG post but I wanted to be thourough.

Tony V. in Las Vegas

I posted my review of the Stack Attack DVD over on Grey Matters.

I am a good friend of Lew Brooks. So of course I am going to recommend his DVD. However, I wish to give you two reasons WHY so that you may make an informed decision about buying it yourself. First and foremost it contains an interesting "false" shuffle. The false is in quote marks because it is acutally a genuine shuffle, yet the result is that the cards stay in their original order. With the recent trend of using memorized decks, I'm surprised this hasn't gotten more attention. In short, if you use a memorized deck, or frequently stack decks, you will probably find this useful.

Also, Lew Brooks is a master storyteller and a wonderful performer. Others who have posted have attested to this. His tricks are a reflection of his personality. Of course, one can say this about any magician, but it is particularly true with Lew. The success of his effects hinges on the perfomer's ability to present the stories in an exciting fashion. To see Lew do this is not just entertaining, but informative. One can not only learn how to perform Lew's effects, but how to perform any effect.

There are many other reasons to buy this DVD. However, the false shuffle taught, and the chance to see a master's work stand out more than any.

Thank you for your time.

Matt Kamm

The innovative "False-False-Shuffle" and the very easy false-cut that retains the entire deck order are worth the price of the DVD.

The routines I will probably use are Order out of Chaos, and A Hand of Blackjack.
For stack deck work this is a great DVD.