[vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”Reviewer: Ning”][vc_column_text]EFFECT:
Hand a deck of cards to someone and ask them to think of Any Card (no force). You explain that you previously turned over the 4 aces in the deck because you’re sure that they are thinking of an Ace. They say no, they’re thinking of the 3 of Hearts! You explain that there’s another important reason why you turned over the Aces, they’re marked. You slowly turn over the Aces revealing a word printed on each card…The Three Of Hearts! Their freely thought-of card!
A little animation I created for this awesome effect 😉
REVIEW
Richard Sander’s Any Card is a gimmicked single deck trick, similar to classic audience pleasers like the Invisible Deck and Brainwave Deck, where any card (but the Jokers) can be chosen by your spectator and you cleanly and very fairly reveal your prediction.
IMHO, Any Card is stronger in effect because their predicted card is handwritten in bold marker on the backs of the four aces. The rest of the deck is blue backed while the four aces are red backed, which makes the black lettering really pop.
Obviously, the deck can’t be handed out like the four aces for the very same reasons why you wouldn’t when performing the classic Brainwave or Invisible Deck. You’d use the same audience management for that as well. There’s no reason to run when you’re not being chased, you can can easily do a deck switch when the heat is on the four aces during the reveal.
Any Card is perfectly suited to be performed in a walk around setting, and will also work brilliantly for table hopping if you work at restaurants. You can entertain folks with your favourite effects using a regular deck prior, followed by a coin routine to break it up, before closing with this solid piece of magic.
Richard Sanders provides great video instructions online, which I actually prefer since hosting it on Vimeo allows the creator to add more videos accordingly (he uploaded new performance videos after the official product launch). This to me, is a nice touch as it allows organic growth so to speak, in comparison to the standard DVD which also takes up space. You can also check out the entire collection of videos on your mobile device, like I did 🙂
As always with all his offerings, Richard Sanders gives clear instructions on different ways to present the effect, as well as, solid pointers regarding the system set-up. You’ll need to prep the deck yourself, so be prepared to set aside at least half an hour to sit down with a good marker and pencil. I did all this while multi-tasking, so if I can enjoy stuff on Netflix while prepping my Any Card deck, I don’t see why you can’t 😉 There’s nothing else you need besides a pencil and marker, which I’m sure most of us magicians have a standard black Sharpie or favourite instant dry marker in your craft drawer.
If you’re wondering about reset time, be rest assured that it takes mere seconds to get everything in place so it’s good to go for your next set. This makes it ideal for real life performances (this is not one of those effects that only works for YouTube because of angles) and extremely practical for us close up workers, especially when you’ve large groups to entertain at weddings or corporate events.
One thing I love and appreciate is that since Any Card isn’t dependent on English, you can easily customise the language to what suits your client; great if you’re engaged to entertain a certain group of overseas audience or hired to perform for VIPs in another country. Richard Sanders takes time in his videos (thus far there’s about 20 clips) to explain how you can incorporate the revelation on the backs of those four aces into French, Spanish, etc.
Because there are so many streaming videos to watch, don’t be surprised if the Vimeo online system logs you out and you’re required to input the password again. This happened to me one time, and for a moment I was wondering why I couldn’t get to the next video(s), so just a heads up on this small point.
To conclude, Any Card comes highly recommended for so many obvious reasons: it’s direct, hard hitting, strong magic. Totally self-working, easy to learn, and plays extremely well for the lay audience I’ve performed to. The gimmicked deck should last you for a long time, with adequate care (like keeping it in one of those metal protectors for instance), and because Richard Sanders is a clever thinker who considered all aspects, the aces are ungimmicked so you can easily replace them when they get grubby with use.
Any Card is another great product from the creative mind of Richard Sanders that is well worth the investment. I give it a full ten stars!
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