Discs 2 and 3
On the second disc, Potassy offers good explanations of his effects. They’re a tad on the brief side and he could probably offer more details in some cases, but there’s enough to learn and recreate his effects.The third disc presents and explains Potassy’s favorite close-up effects, almost all with cards, along with one stand-up card effect. I liked the various tricks here, however, I was far more impressed with the routines from Potassy’s stage act that were presented and explained on the first two discs. Many of the tricks on the third disc will already be known by card workers.
Close-up That's Too Close?
“Billfolding” is Potassy’s visual bill change that relies on no gimmicks and can be performed while surrounded. Potassy changes a borrowed one-dollar bill into a hundred dollar bill. He pretends to hand the hundred dollar bill to a spectator but snatches it out of reach into his pocket. He then reproduces the dollar bill.
In the presentation, Potassy reaches into the top of a young female spectator to pull out the bill (in the front of her low-cut top, no less). Must be nice to be charming and European to get away with this.
Card To...
There are several “find a card” routines. In “Card in Glass,” a chosen card is shuffled back into the deck and the entire deck is placed into a drinking glass. When the glass is inverted, all of the cards fall onto the table with the exception of the selected card that remains in the glass.“Card on Forehead” is like the standard routine where a chosen card ends up on the forehead of the magician, but Potassy takes a slightly different tact. A card is selected and returned to the deck. The performer and spectator both place their hands on their foreheads as the performer attempts to read the spectator’s thoughts. The performer successfully names the selected card and when he lowers his hand, the chosen card is on his forehead.
The visual “Card Through Hanky” reveals a chosen card by wrapping the deck in a handkerchief and somehow causing the selected card to penetrate the handkerchief and fall out. This is a great impromptu effect.
“Upside down Card” is a "Triumph” style effect where a card is chosen and returned and the deck is shuffled with half the deck face up while the other half is face down. At the performer’s command, the cards right themselves with the exception of the spectator’s selection. While the plot is a classic, Potassy’s method is easy and different.
Jazzy Magic
In “Classic Force,” Potassy offers a brief explanation of the powerful move. It’s not the most in-depth lesson that I’ve seen, but Potassy does cover the basics and adds some of his own insights.If you’re into counting card tricks, there’s “Prediction Combination” The performer writes a prediction that is isolated in a drinking glass. A spectator selects a card and mixes it back into the pack. A second spectator thinks of a number. The performer reveals the name of the selected card. The designated number is counted down to in the deck to find the selection. Finally, the written prediction is revealed to show that the performer had accurately predicted the card from the start.
A lesson in “jazz” magic where an outcome is not certain, in “Think a Card,” the magician spreads the cards and asks the spectator to simply “think of a card.” Though the card is never removed from the pack or even touched by the spectator, the performer is able to name it.
As the name implies, “Potassy Brainwave” relies on a variation on a well known gimmicked deck to allow a spectator to roll a die and call out a card and have the magician show that it’s the only card in a deck that’s been reversed.
My favorite of Potassy’s tricks on the third disc is “The Cards Across.” Potassy performs traditional cards across where a number of cards mysteriously pass from one packet of cards held by one spectator to another packet held by a second spectator. When the trick appears to be over, Potassy adds a second phase that takes the classic to new heights.
Smoking Magic
Potassy’s “The Card in the Cigarette” is his take on another well known effect. A chosen card is torn into pieces. he card is miraculously found to be rolled up in a borrowed cigarette which was held in a drinking glass. And, of course, the withheld piece fits the restored card.The only stand-up effect on disc three, “Ten Cards to Pocket” allows a magician to show ten cards that mysteriously disappear and reappear in the pockets of the performer’s jacket. In my opinion, this one plays far stronger than standard “six-card repeat.”
A Worthy DVD
“The World-Renowned Magic of Paul Potassy” offers a superb set of stand-up effects and good close-up card tricks. Potassy’s amazing ability to entertain with a minimum of props is impressive and worth studying. Even if you don’t perform the tricks that Potassy presents on this great three-disc set, you’ll enjoy watching a true master in action. And you’re bound to pickup some insights that can improve your own routines.
-Wayne N. Kawamoto
MSRP: (US) $99.95
Dealers can purchase from Murphy's Magic Supplies, Inc.
