Treasures Vol 3 by Alexander De Cova

I greatly admire the creativity and ingenuity of Bavarian magician Alexander de Cova. In this third of a three volume set that was originally sold on video and is being re-released on DVD, De Cova offers a series of varied moves and routines.

“Vanishing Cane” offers a good method for vanishing a standard gimmicked cane. Here, De Cova offers an innovative way to almost automatically ditch the mechanism while performing the usual handling that’s associated with the well known prop.

With a nod to David Roth, “Stand-Up Flurry” offers a one-coin routine ala Roth’s “Flurry,” various vanishes and productions that’s complete with a jumbo coin. This routine is notable mostly for its hold-out and vanish of the jumbo coin at the routine’s end. I like De Cova’s innovative method. However, in my walk-around situations, I think that this method would be rather impractical because it can get in the way.

“Seven Card Monte” is a table-based “find-the-card” routine that resembles “three card monte” in theme. As the name implies, the routine uses seven cards and features various transpositions. While this one will fool spectators, I think that the use of seven cards and the various turnovers and such are rather convoluted and indirect. I prefer a more straight-forward approach.

As the name implies, “McDonalds Aces” is De Cova handling and presentation of the classic four-ace assembly and transposition routine. This table-based routine offers the usual stunning ending, courtesy of the standard dealer items.

“Hangman Plus” is an entertaining and commercial card trick where a little stick man is drawn on a pad of paper. A spectator selects a card and signs it. To the spectator’s surprise, at the end of the trick, the stick man has jumped from the pad of paper onto the back of the signed playing card.

The astounding “Ordered Surprise” offers a strong transposition. The magician takes a joker and folds it, clips it to a clothspin and places the entire assembly in a glass where it remains in plain view. The magician shuffles and mixes the deck and has a card selected and signed. The selected card is mixed back into the deck. At the end, despite all of the mixing, the cards are spread on the table to show that they are in new deck order. And when the “joker” is taken from the glass and removed from the clothespin, it’s shown to be the spectator’s card.

This trick requires lots of false shuffles which De Cova doesn’t explain but encourages you to “use your favorite method.” The use of the clip in “Ordered Surprise” will be familiar to card workers. While I like the trick, I think that there’s a lot of heat when a key move occurs. This is why I prefer and perform Shaun McCree’s killer “Dead Letter Card,” which is similar in plot without the ordered deck and was explained on his “Mix & Mingle” DVD.

“Spring Gag” offers a short, humorous gag with a pen that’s used to write something in a routine. When the spectator finds that a pen that’s given to him won’t write, the magician opens the pen and produces a large spring.

A fantastic coin routine, in “Slot Machine,” the magician’s hands act as a Vegas slot machine that makes coins disappear. At the end, the magician hits the jackpot and produces a handful of coins. This one thoroughly fooled me as it relies on a method that I hadn’t seen in this application. This one takes lots of gimmicked coins that you make and will be dedicated to the effect.

“Ultimate Coin Penetration” offers a multi-phase routine where coins pass in and out of a zippered plastic bag. This one was called “Porous Plastic” and explained on De Cova’s later “Enigmatic” DVD volume 2.

I worked-up this routine last summer and tried it out in my restaurants. It got good reactions but there’s some handling that can use a close-up pad. Because I don’t like to carry a close-up pad in my walk-around work (or the large plastic bag), this one didn’t stay in my strolling set.

“Lethal Weapon” is De Cova’s approach to a popular gimmicked coin set with a US half dollar and a Chinese coin that allows coins to pass through the hands and change locations. This one is visual and features lots of audience interaction as some of the magic happens in the hands of spectators. I like this one because the routine is self-contained in its own folder which may be brought out when you’re ready to perform the trick.

On Treasures Vol 3, Alexander De Cova offers a varied group of routines and moves. If there’s something here that appeals to you, this DVD may be worth a look.

-Wayne N. Kawamoto

MSRP: (US) $29.95

Dealers can purchase from Murphy's Magic Supplies, Inc.