Ultimate Self Working Card Tricks - Cameron Francis
$25.00
https://bigblindmedia.com/
(Due to be released on August 21)


The Hype:
The best selling Ultimate Self Working Card Trick series is the gold standard for sleight-free card tricks.....magic that slays audiences and yet requires NO moves to accomplish. The emphasis here is on providing you with KILLER tricks that you just need to concentrate of presenting.

And in this latest instalment of the smash hit series renowned pasteboard practitioner Cameron Francis is unleashing his own all time Top 10 (except there is 11!) self working card tricks. These stellar routines are plucked from Cameron's own extensive repertoire and are pure, unadulterated awesome. Ever one of the eleven routines is a beautifully constructed slab of cleverness where Cameron has substituted difficult sleight of hand with ingenious (and sneaky) methods. You'll even fool magicians with lots of this stuff!

Seven of Hearts trick - A supremely fooling "magician in trouble" effect!

Automatic Poker Triumph - A quirky poker demonstration that'll knock your spectator's brains out of their noggins!

Three Impossible Things - Mind reading, clairvoyance and a prediction all packed into one sizzling card effect!

Divided - A completely impromptu impossibly fair revelation of two selections and a full deck separation that will leave them gasping for air.

Blackjack Buffet - Poker Player's Picnic from "Royal Road" on steroids.

Counter Intuitive - A magician fooler of an effect where the spectator finds their own cardunder the most impossible of conditions,

Exhausted - The Tantalizer retooled and re-engineered for maximin efficiency and impact.

Exhausted aces - Another "Tantalizer" effect with a (you guessed it) four ace ending.

Exhausted Mates - More "tantalizing" madness, this one twisted into an amazing coincidence effect with a killer kicker ending.

Fired Up Triumph - A Triumph effect that looks ridiculously fair...and is also ridiculously easy to do.

Keep, Hide and Giveaway - A knockout triple prediction card effect based on a fantastic Jay Sankey plot.


My Take:
Cameron Francis delivers another group of killer routines that require, get this, zero skills. With the quality of this recent emphasis of killer self workers, it makes me wonder if anyone still needs to do the heavy sleights. You know the audience only cares about the outcome, not how you got there. STill, it can be a lot of fun working on something that actually requires practice but if you don't have the time or inclination, these prove you can still be an effective card

Cameron hits a number of plots in this series of eleven effects. Some of the things made me run to my bookshelf to see what the original inspiration looked like and how it was accomplished. It's obvious that he has done some extensive reading on some of the classic to be able to adapt them to his handling.

Seven of Hearts Trick - Cameron has redone Paul Gordon's "Eight of Diamonds" trick eliminating all moves giving you a real fooler.

Automatic Poker Triumph - If you are at all familiar with Bob Hummer's CATO principle, this should look familiar. This is a simple effect using only 10 cards but using them effectively. Another thing that caught my attention here is that Cameron referenced one of my favorite magic books as part of his inspiration. "Magical Mathematics" by Persi Diaconis and Ron Graham. Can't go wrong there.

Three Impossible Things - The spectator deals a number of cards down while the magician's back is turned. He then deals the next card to the table and returns the packet to the deck. Another group of cards is counted off and the next card is laid down on the table. The rest of the cards are boxed. The magician then gives the original number selected, names the first card and turns over a prediction naming the second card. Cameron uses a principle every one of us is more than familiar with but his handling camouflages it so you just might not recognize it.

Divided - A deceptive piece where the deck is legitimately shuffled and two spectators each select a card Then they are each able to find their cards through a spelling process. The deck is then shown to be separated into colors. the ending leaves you set up for Out of This World if you choose to continue.

Blackjack Buffet - Cameron's take on the Poker Player's Picnic starts exactly like the version from Royal Road. Then, after the four aces are turned over, the next card of each pile is turned over to be a King (or a Jack) making four Blackjacks. Looks very simple but your magic buddies will never be able to reconstruct this one.

Counter Intuitive - This uses a technique you are quite familiar with but it is so well hidden it is almost invisible. Easy to do and packs a punch.

Exhausted- I recently was introduced to the Tantalizer plot by Mike Powers. Very cool effect. The spectator does all the work and still ends with his card. But you have to place his card in the 22nd position and it takes a fairly drawn out process. Cameron has eliminated both weaknesses here. You are not required to put the selection in a numbered position and you use less than half a deck thus speeding up the process. I think this handling might make more magicians add the effect to their sets.

Exhausted Aces - Cameron further simplifies the Tantalizer plot and adds a killer ending. Once the spectator deals the cards into four piles leaving only her selection, the top card of each pile is turned over revealing the four aces. Crazy simple to do. This one is traveling to my next session with me.

Exhausted Mates - Cameron finishes his peaen to the classic Tantalizer plot. The spectator deals the cards until only two are left. They both match in clor and value. Then the rest are turned over revealing that every one of them is the opposite color from the remaining pair.

Fired Up Triumph - Do you love the Triumph plot but are just uncomfortable with Vernon's Stars of Magic procedure. Look no further. Cameron has simplified the routine so anyone can do it. Very nice thinking on this one and it looks so good.

Keep, Hide and Giveaway - Cameron has simplified the working of a Jay Sankey effect to make it self working.

Conclusion: As always, Big Blind has delivered a package that will add routines to your arsenal without bringing tears to your eyes. If you can turn on a DVD player, you can do everything on this disk. Good value for the money.