Review of Ultimate Impromptu Card Magic by Cameron Francis

“Ultimate Impromptu Card Magic” by Cameron Francis promises to teach you “powerful, impromptu” card magic. These effects require no setups or extra props and you can use any deck of cards. Overall, while I like the effects - I find them good ones that fulfill the basic premise - I have some thoughts on this that I’ll discuss later after describing them. Most of these effects aren’t those that pros will probably use in strolling gigs as there’s often the need for a table and the effects sometimes require dealing and such. Another consideration, and I don’t know if this was intentional, but Francis has placed a strong emphasis on four of a kind routines in the collection.

With Ace Thang, two jokers are removed from the deck and placed into the card box, and then you remove the four aces from the deck. The four aces are placed in different parts of the deck and you magically find the four aces: one is brought to the top of the deck, the second is reversed in the deck, the third is found in the box between the two jokers, and the fourth is a card that was shown earlier and has apparently changed into the ace. This one is good, and the routine transitions into the next effect, “Sly Cheese.”

Sly Cheese continues the use of the four aces which are used to find a freely selected card. But in the end, this one turns out to be a transposition between the four aces and the selected card.

If you prefer a different handling, A.N. Other Thang is not another stand alone effect, but a variation on “Ace Thang.” It’s nice to have a second variation so you may compare and choose the approach that works best for you.

Another effect with four of a kind, with Interchangeling, you remove the four jacks from the deck and place three of them into different pockets of your jacket and pants. A spectator freely selects a card which is lost in the deck. The fourth jack visually changes into the selected card. And the remaining cards in the pockets are found to make up the four of a kind for the selected card. This one is strong. You’ll need four pockets to perform this one - a sweatshirt, jacket or sports jacket will work. This one employs a great force by Gary Oullett that Francis teaches you. It’s not only a great force, but it can be used as a backup for a classic force that has gone bad (in certain situations).

With another creative title, Hofwich, you have a card selected and mixed back into the deck and then say that you’ll use the jokers to find the selected card. After bringing out the four aces, the jokers are mixed with the aces and a single card is found between the aces. It should be the fourth ace, but it turns out to be the spectator’s card and the fourth ace is found on top of the deck.

Zombieland is named after a great movie. You bring out four jacks to represent “zombies” that are laid onto the table. The ace of spades is brought out and it represents a “mad scientist.” The spectator selects three cards that are laid on the table face down. The three cards are touched by the jack and turn into a “zombies.” And with a touch from the ace of spades, the “mad scientist,” the three random cards turn into the other three aces.

Instinct is a card sandwich effect that’s combined with a transposition. You bring out the two jacks and the spectator freely selects two cards, which are mixed back into the deck. The first card is found between the two jacks. The spectator freely cuts the cards and locates the other jacks. In the end, the first card that was laid aside turns out to be the second card.

Killer Trifecta offers a multiple card control and production with three cards. Three cards are selected and placed into the deck. The first production involves a “wrong” card that turns into the first card. The second card is found in the pocket. And the third card is the only one that’s left after the deck vanishes from your hands. This one is nice - my favorite effect from the DVD. While I already have a multiple card control and production that I can perform, I particularly like the ending.

If Elevation brings to mind an ambitious card routine, you’re right. You bring out two jacks and set them aside. Two cards are freely selected from the deck and mixed back in. The two jacks find the first selected card by sandwiching it. The next segment is a three card ambitious-card style segment. And at the end, the two cards transpose. This is another nice effect.

As the name implies, Wilder was inspired by classic “wild card.” Here a joker, because of its ability to act as any other card, can seemingly turn into any card. A borrowed deck is shown to apparently have four jokers, which are removed (not shown) and set aside face down on the table. A card is freely chosen and replaced into the deck. In the next segment, the four jokers each seem to turn into the spectators selected card. And at the end, the jokers turn into a four of a kind. This one has a nice segment based on a Jay Sankey method that makes it look as if a joker is turning into four other cards. It’s an excellent effect.

In Uppers, you bring out the four kings, which you lay onto the table face down. Two cards are freely selected and these are mixed back into the deck. The kings are brought back into the deck in four different places but are found on top of the deck. And despite being placed into a spectator’s hands, the kings are again found on top of the deck. In the end, the spectator discovers that the two selected cards are in his hands. This one is based on Ed Marlo’s Elevator plot.

The P***ing Contest features a story that involves a game of one-upsmanship between three magicians. You demonstrate as you recite the plot. The first magician shuffles the deck and cuts it into three piles. The top cards from each pile are set aside and the jokers are brought in. The first magician takes a card and with the three jokers, makes it turn over as he counts the packet of cards in the classic “twisting” style. The second magician makes each card in a packet of three, two jokers and a selected card, appear to be the same card. And the last magician makes all of the cards left by the other magicians turn into a four of a kind.

In an apparent “intuition test” that’s called Getting Even, you remove a series of cards and a red card is given to one spectator and a black card to another spectator. The magician gives each spectator a mixture of red and black cards. Each spectator deals his or her cards face down and decides whether the card is red or black to match their own card. In an out of this world” style moment, the spectators are shown at the end to have made the right choices and only dealt like colored cards. It’s a solid method that allows for a powerful “out of this world” style effect that’s impromptu and doesn’t require the entire deck.