This is gonna be goooood.

http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/3347

Jack is an AMAZING card man! Can't wait to see it!

Looks awesome. Jack is a genius...

I was at the shoot for this (obviously- you can see me in the DVD!) and I have to tell you, there are some KILLER pieces on this dvd. Great material, useful utility moves, and expert instruction.

There's one of the best center deal demos you'll ever see (it couldn't look more real unless you were really doing centers), a diabolical hand muck routine, a super easy and commercial transpo... and at least a dozen other great things.

Don't miss out on this set.

Ben Train

Thanks Cam, Ben, and Murrari!

I do want to add that this DVD is for Cardmen, and preferably those with a bent and predisposition to pursue and perform techniques and routines from "the Card Table", and the cardsharks that are "wont to haunt such." That's different than someone that "does card tricks." There is some practice involved, and I want you to know what to expect going in.

This DVD will NOT make you a better magician.

It will NOT make people like you more.

It will NOT make you like people more.

It will NOT make you a Star.

And it will not "Finally" provide with the "Ten routines you're finally going to do", among the thousands you already have access to.

Those things are up to you, and they always have been.

If you run into anybody selling you the things listed above, always head the other way.

I don't teach "How to Be."

I Teach "How to do."

The good news is, despite the limited number of men who practice and perform gambling related material, the opportunity for your own character development is wide open. A sampling of the men, past and present, that have succeeded with professional gambling demonstrations as entertainment proves the point: John Scarne, Martin Nash, Mickey MacDougall, Richard Turner, Darwin Ortiz, Andrew Wimhurst, David Malek, Sal Piacente, Tony Cabral, Jason England, Paul Wilson, and more. All these men present vastly different personalities and performing styles. There's room for you. (If you like to practice.) True, very few opt for this road, but I think that's what makes it a "good thing." You won't be doing something everybody else is doing, so the competition is less! (If you like to practice.) I'd say less than a hundred men in the world can do a competent gambling demonstration as entertainment. Compare that to the 40,000 that do ambitious card. (I'm not talking about somebody who performs "only card tricks, and passes that off as a "demonstration." Even laymen can sense the difference.)

That being said, rest assured there are plenty of card tricks, and even a couple that are very easy that I use all the time.

Jack

Jack, you've seen me perform? Next time say hi after the show. I'll tip the work on my Las Vegas Card Cheat routine. I show a deck and all the faces are blank. I snap my fingers and now all the faces can be seen. Lay people always say "I'd hate to play cards with you".

OK...back to the real world..

Jack, I LOVED your A-1 videos from the late 90's, so I'm looking forward to this new set you have out!

Is this exclusive to penguin or is there going to be a UK outlet ?

Zombie, so YOU"RE the guy that liked those videos?? Thank you so much. Just a warning for everybody though- I'm still pretty much the same "Mr. Personality" now as I was then. My low key presentational style that lets the context and the material speak for itself works just fine in real life, but in a long teaching session . . . not so much. (That's why they always surround me with people that CAN keep it lively- and it works. With Ben Train, Tyler Wilson, Chris Mayhew, and Zach Lambert, you'll have a great time!)

The artificial context that must be created for instructional videos- though necessary- has always been problematic for me. It's a stressful and difficult process for me. 2 or 3 days of work per every 2 hours you see. I know some that thrive in that environment - not so much for me. What infuriates me the most is that with intricate card work, if you make a mistake while shooting, you can't continue on and recover as you would do in real life. (Would confuse the viewer during the instructional portion, not to mention make for a hell of a long video!)

Anyway, I'd love to see your Las Vegas Cheat routine Zombie!

Fingers Fidge: You can't get this in the UK? Prohibitive mailing costs? Right now, it is currently with Penguin only I assume, but I also assume they will job it out at some point. Unfortunately, I don't have any say about that. Exclusivity at initial release is counter productive in the "digital age" I would think. I think you lose more sales with that approach (not to mention pirates) when you don't have suppliers in Europe and Asia. But I don't own the business, and I assume they know what they're doing. Sorry about that!

Jack

This hits all of my buttons. I'll be ordering a copy in the near future for sure. Jack, is there any way to get it from you/autographed by you?

I have the two DVDs, "An Evening with Jack Carpenter." The work on the pass is just great. And Jack's bit for the bent corner in three-card Monte is a wonderful variation on that theme. Most of all, the disks were inspiring, a bunch of excellent card guys sitting around exchanging ideas. Highly recommended. I'm sure these new DVDs will be great also.

Really looking forward to this set.

This is my next purchase.

What a great thing. Been waiting for this for a while.

The A-1 tapes, and the Evening With DVDs are great.

RevJohn

Thanks Splice. (And everyone else for the gracious comments.) I'm actually waiting for a batch to arrive, but I won't be hurt if you don't wait, and pop an order from Penguin. They're very fast, and it'll be at your doorstep in a flash. Right now, the best way to get a copy from me is at upcoming lectures and/or conventions - I'm getting a website up to facilitate future orders of past and present products, but I'm not ready yet.

And if you order from Penguin, you're paying me too! So don't worry about that! It's actually a good thing that Penguin sells as many as they can - All things being equal, they reach FAR MORE people than I could possibly reach, if I were so inclined to market this stuff myself. Not to mention that they pay all the bills! (This was produced by an outstanding outfit, Paper Crane Magic out of Columbus, and quality work doesn't come cheap. Regardless of what you think of my work, you won't be disappointed by the production values of things coming out of Paper Crane, via Penguin. )

It takes a lot of work and discipline to "self-market" your own material, and frankly, I don't want to disappoint anyone with "unreliable delivery", and let's be honest - I much prefer making a living performing and teaching the stuff in person, and sell a few DVD's in the course of that. I don't want to become a full time "retailer." (That's just a fact- if your stuff IS successful, you'll spend half your life taping envelopes and mailing stuff out. I like to imagine that I have better things to do).

That being said, I DO like making money, (it impresses the wife) so the more you buy from Penguin , the sooner the bills get paid, and the more I will make too! In fact, it would be good if everyone buys TWO sets just to be safe.

Again, thanks to all for the gracious comments- am really looking forward to hearing what you think of this latest offering.

Jack

This is next up on my list. I was studying over "Expert Portfolio" last night. His material is top notch. I use the impulse change every time I perform.

Well....I'm going to take issue with that. I've tried for YEARS to do Marlo's Estimation. Just couldn't get it down well enough to perform it.

So, I put on the first disc of your set and your doing an ace cutting routine ( Running The Aces ) and after the 3rd ace is revealed, I'm "guessing" a crimp, but I really don't know. Just at that moment Ben Train says "I have no idea what you're doing". That was it for me. I figured this set is just for me to enjoy and never do the routines. I'm OK with that because I actually think there's a lot to be learned from just watching performances.

Well.....then you tipped it. So I don't know if it's the behind the shoulder explanation, you're teaching or that it's not really all that difficult, but I can do it right off the bat ( btw everyone, there is no crimp. Just a simple, clever method that can be done with any deck ).

If the only thing I'll be able to do is that incredible ace cutting running routine, I'm very happy.

So Jack, I'm already a better Magician. I do an ace cutting routine with a breather and it doesn't look as good as Running The Aces. So, my routine is out and yours is in. I have zero loyalty to anything I perform. If something is better and I can do it, I throw my method/routine under the bus!

While Jack's routines usually aren't self working, I have found that a lot of his stuff isn't quite as hard as it looks. I mean, don't get me wrong, you have to practice. But usually the needle on "Knuckle Bust O Meter" doesn't sway into "UNLESS YOU'RE ALLAN ACKERMAN, DON'T EVEN BOTHER" territory as much as you might think. That said, I haven't seen this DVD set yet so it's tough for me to comment on difficulty level.

Zombie,

So glad you liked Running the Aces. . . and as Cameron said, most of the stuff is well within the abilities of most card handlers I think! (There are a few things that will take some serious practice, but there's plenty in which you'll be pleasantly surprised!)

And thanks for the "better magician" comment!

Jack

Mr. Carpenter,

I only know of your work from discussions with other magicians. For some odd reason that has to do with llamas and - well, I better not go there - I have none of your material. Everytime I would go to buy something of yours it was NEVER in stock anywhere. Maybe this is similar to Yogi Berra's comment that "nobody goes to that restaurant anymore because it's so busy." In other words, people are snatching up your material at a rate which has left me bereft of Jack Carpenter goodness. The llamas and I are not pleased - until now. So, it's off to Penguin and even if the international shipping is high, I am getting these.

Besides, Zombie digs Running the Aces and I respect his opinions, so, I HAVE to get it. He's a zombie you know and zombies have a special liking for llamas. It's true!

Namaste,
Vlad

These DVDS are unlike anything out there. First of all the material is first rate but the look and feel of everything on the DVD is entertaining, fast pace and presented in a light hearted that is both charming and humorous at times. Needless to say but I am a HUGE fan of this set.

Thanks so much Ted!

And Vlad,

I am so sorry about the shipping costs to Europe. I can tell you that the few times I've mailed stuff to Europe for friends that I was shocked at the expense. VAT and local taxes (depending on the country) seem to be designed to shut down commerce! (In Italy, the local delivery guys wouldn't give a set of DVD's to a friend of mine until the he paid them a "tax" that was far greater than what I spent to send it! In America, if some delivery guy showed up at your door, and said, "Hey, looks like a friend of yours sent you a present, and paid for it already, but we're not giving it to you until you give me 50 bucks," he probably wouldn't be able to walk back to his truck!)

I wish Penguin (and other distributors) had people in Europe to replicate DVDs in country, but I'll bet there's a good reason they don't.

Jack

Yesterday I had the same problems most people do. Then about midnight I put in the first disc of this set and I had new problems: I stayed up until 4:30 a.m. watching with my cards.

I really only got these on impulse and thought they would be entertaining ( there is much to be learned from watching performances and explanations, but not actually doing the material ).

I'm not a move monkey but there's material here I can do and some I can't/won't be able to. A man's gotta know his limitations;-) ).

Poor Uncle Joe is a FUNNY routine. It's 6 card repeat without the uninteresting patter that usually ruins it ( I think Michael Finney had a funny routine for stage )

It seems Uncle Joe is playing poker and show he has 5 Kings. Well, his "friends" are kind and tell him a he can't have 5 Kings, so he discards one and...yep, he still has 5 KIngs.

Jack delivers the end line perfectly and makes this a winner. And.....I can do it. No, I'm not dedicated, it uses Daryl's combo and Elmsley count and I could already do those.

Jack's punchline sold me. I do think you should change patter, etc. when learning the work of others, but I'm not going to come up with a better punchline than what Jack used, so I'm using it.

Having Ben Train,Chris Mayhew, Tyler Wilson and Zach Lambert at the table wit Jack was a great idea. They don't intrude and ask questions that anyone watching would have.

I'll write up more as I go through the set.