As the title implies, all of the effects and flourishes involve playing cards, along with lots of good, old sleight-of-hand. In Collectors Kicking Back, three selected cards mysteriously end-up, interlaced among a stack of aces, and the routine offers a visual kicker at the end.
The Rebellious Teenager offers a multi-phase routine where a selected card continually turns over in the deck. And at the end, all of the cards turnover, following the lead of the selected card. Gibson’s routine builds, much as a first rate Ambitious card routine does, and the routine has a good rhythm and a solid conclusion. The published theme and presentation work well by playing off of Gibson's youth, but the effect can be easily adapted to any card worker’s repertoire.
The Captain Crunch Cut is a spectacular, one-handed, three section cut that leaves the entire order of the deck intact. The cut is visual with its one-handed split of the top two-thirds of the deck and the spin of the top third through the fingers. I constantly worked on this cut for several days to learn and execute it. I can perform it, but only at half the speed that Gibson can. But I’ll continue to work on it.
Trick Number Three is a short, visual effect where four cards quickly turn into four different cards. Instantaneous Card Production offers a dazzling production of four cards, say four aces, from the deck. This one is not difficult to learn and perform.
My favorite effect is N.F.G. Here, a spectator calls out a card and the magician pulls out another set of cards, say the kings. The kings turn over, one at a time in various ways, and at the end, the four kings turn into the thought of card and its three brethren of different suits. This trick requires no preparation or gimmicks, offers visual changes and leaves you completely clean.
With only four effects and two flourishes, some may feel that the DVD could offer more material. And, in fact, two of the effects, Trick Number Three and N.F.G., offer similar plots where four cards transform into others, but rely on different methods. On the other hand, the effects are strong and most viewers will probably find at least one keeper. I know that I’m working to add Captain Crunch Cut and N.F.G. to my sets.
