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Basic Basic Card Magic
By Paul Hallas
Ebook, 32 pages, photo-illustrated author publication
Reviewed by Al Smith
Originally published in hard copy book form in 2005, and now recently as an
ebook, this is as good an introduction to the very basic basics of cardology as
I’ve seen in a while. I have no idea how I missed it back in 2005.
Experienced card folk will not be surprised at the contents. Some who aren’t
quite as experienced as they perhaps like think they are, might even yawn. All
the regulars are here: forces (regular cards and forcing packs), controls,
Elmsley Count, double and turnover, pack switch, key cards and a bit more,
including that often overlooked technique, being able to shuffle a pack of
cards. Basic, Basic, remember.
Not included, in the author’s own words are, “A false cut, a false shuffle,
other false counts etcetera, but this is beyond the scope of this lecture”.
Although the double undercut qualifies as some sort of false cut, I suppose.
And, just to satisfy the “What’s New” brigade, there are a couple of tricks in
there. Actually, there’s five or six, I confess I didn’t count.
No, it’s not “better” than The Royal Road To Card Magic or Card
College, of course it’s not. But anyone struggling with the dry tone of
Royal Road and/or the scholarly prose of Card College, might well
find this to be a bit of relief. At the price it’s well worth having on the
shelf, which is where the copy I printed now resides.
In conclusion, about all I can say, and repeat, is that at the ridiculous price
of less than a fiver, it’s too good to miss. Assuming you’re looking for Basic
Basics.
Available from www.lybrary.com
© Al Smith, June 2014