Hey,
Gerry's shop is right near my house so I bought the dvds from him. This is a great set of DVDs although I was a little upset because some of teh tricks are very repetative, in other words many of the effects ar every similar. There are some amazing effects which I use all the time. I just bought them so I can't do all of the effects yet becaus ei havn't really had time. It is finals week at my school so ive been studying. I think you guys should consider picking these DVDs up. they are great for a beginner because you willl learn some amazing yet simple routines. If you are more advanced they are still a good set. You will be able to add many tricks to you repetoire.If you guys are planning on buy these DVDs buy them in order or better yet just buy the whole set. In the first volume he goes over counts that you need to know for some effects in the last 2 volumes and doesn't really go over them in detail in the other 2. A lot of the tricks on the first two are very similar, yet the ones on volume 2 are slightly more difficult. Volume 3 is by far the best in my mind. Here is a quick summary on the effects:

Volume 1

GERRY'S Red Hot Sevens-You have the four sevens and one at a time they turn over then turn back over. As teh sevens turn over the cards are blue but then you show all the cards as red at the end.

Technicolor Sevens-The four sevens pop out of the deck then you put them back into teh center of the deck and they reappear face up at the top of the deck one at a time when you rub the top card.

Shaken but not stirred-You have a deck in new deck order and then you shuffle it and give it a few cuts. you then show the four aces on the top then they turn into the sevens. You then ashow the deck still in new deck order.

Swivel Spin Pop Shot-This is one of my favorites. It is a wonderful production using several different productions including Gerry's own Blind Swivel Cut.

Sevens With a Twist-You show the four aces and then put them back on the deck you then show them as the four sevens, not of the aces.

Ribbon Change-you show the four blue sevens and then place them into the deck which is already in a ribbon spread and then you square up the deck. When you spread it again the four sevens are red.

A Lesson in Cheating-You show the sevens on the bottom cut the deck twice and they "jump" to the top. You do it again onlye they jump to the bottom. You do it another time and they are gone and they appear in your pocket. You display how you can palm cards to hide them but if someone calls you out on it you show your hands empty and of course they are in your pocket again.

Volume 2

Turn over pop-One at a time the four sevens pop into the air and land face up on the deck.

Gerry's Lucky Sevens-You show all the sevens having a blue back and one at a time the sevens turn red but when you show the seven of spades it is the only blue card and the others are red.

Seven seconds-You show the four aces put them on the bottom of the deck then when you show them again they are the four sevens.

Gerry's Luck is Turned-You show five jokers and then you place one on the table. One at a time the jokers turn over and then when they all turn over you display them as the four sevens and the joker you put down earlier is now an ace.

FAN-Tastic Sevens-Very similar to Technicolor Sevens. The four sevens pop out of the deck then you place them in the middle. They then appear one at a time at the face of the pack.

Gerry's Luckiest Seven-One at a time when you go through the sevens they all have a red back except for one card. Then the other seven turns blue, then the other, then the other. After you show one card blue it turns back to red and the other one changes. Very great trick.

Sevens:Undercover-You place the four sevns face up in the middle of the pack. You then square it up and place a coin on top. you put your hands over the top of the deck and the four sevens appear face up under the coin which hasn't moved.

Volume 3

Sevens: Unshuffled-A deck is mixed up then you one handed cut right 2 the sevens one at a time. When you spread the deck out again the cards are in new deck order.

Surprise SEVENS-You let a spectator cut the deck into four piles and you reveal that they have cut right to the sevens, one on top of each packet.

SEVENS: Corner Pocket-You display four sevens and four jokers. you place the four jokers into your pocket and then the sevens turn into the jokers only to turn back into sevens. And as for the jokers they are back in your pocket.

Sevens Switched at Berth-This is a version of the 2 card monte only the black sevens switch with the red sevens.

Big deal-You have a blue deck and a large red card. You have the spectator deal cards onto the large card and you pour them off. Whenever they would like they stop dealing cards. They can deal cards out of the middle off the top or off the bottom, it doesn't matter. When you reveal the card they stopped on it matches the large card. you say you can't do anything about the size of the card but you can change the little one red.

Drunken shuffle- This is a version of triumph only the cards face up in the middle are the four sevens.

Ambush-You place the four sevens into the middle and then you toss the deck from your left hand to your right hand then onto the table. You then have 2 cards in each hand and of course they are the four Sevens. If the spectator would like to look at the deck have them do so. the sevens you are holding are the only four sevens in the entire deck.

Bonus Routines in volume 3

Back Stage Intro-You show four cards and one is a face up seven. You show it having a blue back and then plae it on the table. You count four more cards one is face up. it too has a blue back. You place this card on the table you then have 3 cards in your hands. One more card turns face up, and of course it has a blue back. the last card turns over only you have 2 cards in your hand, but you show one card and it has a blue back. you then show the other 3 sevens and they say Gerry's Lucky Sevens, one word on each card. Of course you could substitute your name for Gerry's.

Sevens Reunited- You show that you only know where 2 of the sevens are. You ask the speactator to help you find the other 2. You deal cards onto the table and have them tell you when to stop whenever they would like. you then place one of the sevens you have face up and cover it with the pack. you do that again for the other seven. when you spread out the cards you show the cards next to the face up sevens and they are the other 2 sevens.


All in all I think these are a great set of DVD's. The effects are great but they aren't very difficult at all. I was performing some of them within minutes. I would rate these and 9/10. I gave it an 9 because some of the tricks are very similar. If you are a begginer this is a good set to pick up. It will teach you several different counts and sleights as well as some simple yet amazing routines. If you are an advanced magician I think you should pick up these dvds. It will add some great effects to your collection.

P.S. this is my first review so tell me how it is.

Some might think that 3 DVDs on card effects with Sevens is overkill, but I think Gerry's ability to make each effect his own is attributed to his creativity and charm. His teaching style is the key reason these DVDs are so easy to learn, as he explains the sleights and effects thoroughly, without being long winded like so many others. Congratulations to Gerry for a great product, and hopefully many others will benefit from it.

Trulymagic that was a very impressive review. It helped me decide NOT to get these. Just too much reptition. Not sure why he needed 3 DVD's for this.

Thanks!

This is only the first time Ive seen Gerrys' work.
Have to say he makes things so easy to learn.
His other set of DVDs will also now be on my shopping list.

I think the review is pretty good, but your emphasis on the repetition is a little too much. Unless you are referring to the constant use of the 7s then I would hardly say there is too much repetition.

There is one effect on volume one that is duplicated on volume 2. The effect on volume 2 is not identical though, it uses the same method but has a different twist.

Gerry is probably one of the best teachers in magic. His style and effects are really straight forward, this gives you the opportunity to focus on performance and entertaining.

The material on these DVDs is realistic and useful.


oliver

I know that is realy th only repitition. 2 tricks are smilar and another 2 tricks are similar that is it. These really are a great set of dvds. Gerry makes it very easy to learn. You can buy these at penguin or from his website http://www.calmagic.com I really think you guys should buy em. there are som awesome effects taught. and magicchris it was my first review I didn't really know what I was doing. there isn't too much repitition maybe I made it sound like more than it was but there isn't too much. like I said there are 2 sets of tricks that r similar but not identical.

I enjoyed dvd 1 very much before this, I never heard this guys name lol

I'm "lucky" I didn't order this!

To say that there is too much repetition because sevens are used throughout is just plain silly. That's like saying that Daryl's Encyclopaedia of Card Sleights is repetitive because he keeps using the Queen of Spades.
Gerry's effects can be done with Aces or two's or whatever you like. It's a great collection of card magic, with clean are direct effects, explained simply but clearly so that you can learn to do most of this very quickly.

It's now a valuable part of my library, and should be a part of yours, as well.

Dennis Loomis
http://www.loomismagic.com

Are you listening to them? They said there ISN'T too much repitition.

On penguin there was a post saying that gerry is a boring performer. Ill admit he isn't the most exciting and funny performer. I think jay sankey is one of teh funniest magicians ever. anywaysm Gerry is an awesome magician but to not buy this set of DVDs because you think he is boring is stupid. And redstreak forget about magicchris, we obviously aren't going to change his mind although he should rethink his decision. I think Dennis made a very good point about Daryl using the queen of spades. and yes you could do the effects on lucky sevens with

Daryl uses the queen of spades becvause it's his favorite card. Daryl's teaching sleights, not queen of spade tricks.

I thought I was slow...

Well gerrys favorite cards are the sevens. Its the same as ace tricks only with sevens. there are a few tricks that are SIMILAR but not identical. I loved these DVDs but obviously some ppl don't.

I saw these DVDs advertised on many magic store sites and wanted a review on them before making a purchase.
Thanks to the Magic Café forum with reviews on tricks,
videos, dvd's etc. I now decided to purchase these 3 volumes! I love cards, and am always looking for something new, easy to learn, that's also easy for a beginner! but not boring for intermediate or advanced card aficionados. Thanks to trulymagic's review, I'll be purchasing them.
Gerard

Gerard,
I am glad to see this review helped someone make a good decision. You will not be dissapointed with these DVDs.

I originally learned magic from Gerry's other videos. Very well rounded and informative. he's a great guy and a great magician. Check out his website. Calmagic.com

He is an awesome teacher...

Good afternoon, good evening or good morning, whatever time zone you happen to be in. A quick note and hello. I really enjoy reading all of the posts about Lucky Sevens and Complete Card Magic here on the Café. If you are enjoying these DVDs, I am very happy and if you don't like them, well I tried my best to please.
I put together a collection of what I hoped would be some very usable card magic. I've done a lot of performing over the years (mostly tablehopping magic and private parties) and this material has served me well (I do other mysteries as well, not just card magic). Everyones taste is different when it comes to the material they perform, so I hope magicians will find a good variety of card magic on these DVDs. There is certainly a lot of thinking that must go into choosing magical effects to perform for a paying audience and since the audience gives you an instant critique about your material by their reaction, you must choose carefully. So I hope you like my choices.
I always enjoy discussing the thinking that goes into magic and welcome any questions or thoughts about these DVDs, Lucky Sevens and Complete Card Magic. In the mean time. . .
Best thoughts to you,
Gerry

I'm very lucky I purchased this set of DVD's!
He has a very slow patient way of teaching! A great teacher, that's easy to follow and understand!... and the effects are fabulous!
If you don't care for sevens...you can change it to aces or anything else. In my case, I'm lucky in more ways than one! It's been my lucky number, by a strange coincidence, for many many years! My nickname is also Gerry!
The effects are awesome...which I guarantee you will use!
Most of the sleights are basic, which we all know and are real easy to learn by his wonderful way of teaching.
The camera work is first class and comes in close when necessary, in back of Gerry, for us to learn all the necessary moves of his incredible effects!!!
My opinion...don't walk... RUN to buy the set!
Gerard