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Holy COW Review

One DVD, six routines, 3 "moves", $35 bucks and one Holy COW Review. Is it gem or is it rubble? Stay tuned to find out.

Holy COW Review: Effect

You get several effects that are all within the "standard plot" category — namely, wild coin (i.e., spellbound), coins across/3 fly, one coin flurry, vanishes/reproductions and coins through glass.

Holy COW Review: Method

Though the plots are familiar, many of the methods are not. The methods range from kind of difficult to really difficult. Also, you'll need some seriously tacky skin. I played around with one of the main moves taught on the DVD, and I couldn't even begin to do it. However, a little Octopalm and 5 minutes later, I was able to do the move with ease.

The effects use no gimmicks, just pure sleight of hand. This stuff will take some serious practice. It can, however, be done totally naked you freak. However, there are some pretty serious angles for almost all of the material. The audience cannot be to your sides. They must be in front of you. It's definitely more for a small relatively close up audience that is at a very specifically controlled point of view.

I think that all of the material is doable — I'll never put in the work to find out for sure — but you're gonna have to put in some serious time to master most of this. There is one super, super, super clever move that is relatively easy to do, and it's a great utility move for showing and hiding a coin. However, it depends largely on the size of the coin and your hand. My hand is actually too big to pull off this effect. They don't make coins big enough for my hand to be able to do this. Watch the review video, above, and I'll show you what I mean.

Are the methods legit? Yes. Are they doable? Yes. But think of it this way. Watch Jeff McBride's coin and/or card manipulation act and ask yourself the same questions. Are his (Jeff's) methods legit? Yes. Are they doable? Yes. People can do them, but not everyone can. The only way to know for sure is to put in the work and find out. Last question, are they practical? Well, is Jeff's stuff practical (assuming you've mastered the technique)? They are for him. He does them all the time. I'd say the same is true for Tsao's stuff. It's practical (assuming you've mastered the technique) if you have the right venue.

Some of the stuff can be mastered relatively quickly as you'll see in the review video. However, some of it will take some serious dedication. I think the coins in glass can be mastered relatively quickly, and the basic vanish move that makes a lot of the effects work is pretty easy. However, combining the vanish move with the other stuff is pretty hard core, but doable.

Holy COW Review: Ad Copy Integrity

The ad trailer is legitimate, believe it or not with one possible exception. There is one move where he snaps his fingers and the coin just instantly vanishes from his open palm. I know the method, and it's extremely hard, takes incredible coordination and speed. No matter how many times I attempted it, it never looked as clear as when he does it. However, in trailer when he performs it, it very much looks like a frame or two or a few were cut out of the video, but I can't prove it, and everything else is legitimate, so I'm going to give the benefit of the doubt here.

As for the written ad copy, it's legitimate, however, keep in mind a couple of things about the three "praises" received in the ad copy. Two of them (Hondo and Nie Te) are from people involved in the production of the DVD. The other one was from Ponta The Smith . . . another crazy good unbelievable coin manipulator. So . . . perspective.

The ad copy also claims that the stuff on this DVD is easier than the stuff on his first DVD. I haven't seen the first, so I can't prove it, but I will say this, the basic technique that makes a lot of this stuff work is actually pretty easy (if you have Octopalm — or glue as suggested in the video). It's everything else that will kick your arse. The only exception to that may be the coins in glass routine as previously mentioned.

The only other thing worth mentioning is that the bonus trick is actually an Easter egg. The ad copy doesn't mention that, but the back of the DVD does. To access it, go to the last menu page. Highlight "conclusion" as if you are going to select it, but instead, click on the right arrow button as if there is an item on the menu to the right. On computers, the right arrow key will work. Then click the play button or the go button or whatever is on your remote. For computers, hit the space bar.

After doing that, the bonus item appears on the menu.

Holy COW Review: Product Quality

The DVD is relatively well produced as far as lighting and menu structure goes. It even has that oh so coveted "Paly All" button (no, I did not mistype that). The teaching was pretty good, but it's silent with subtitles. As I usually point out with this type of video, I can complain about the fact that I have to read while trying to also keep an eye on the technical stuff going on inches away, or I can be appreciative of the fact that someone who doesn't speak my language took the time to give me subtitles. Also, this one lets you turn off the subtitles and may be learn-able without them. You get the choice of English, none and what I'm guessing is Chinese and Japanese, but I can't tell because they're written in Chinese(?) and Japanese(?) characters.

Putting aside the vertical volley of your eyes' attention, they do a pretty good job of teaching the material. For most effects, they would show the front (audience) view of one piece of the effect, then cut to the over-the-shoulder view and back to the front (thank you Metallica) and to the rear and front and rear, etc. On the front shots they use color and the rear, black and white. This helps keep things clear.

The only issue I had with the DVD is a moment where they clearly cheated. There's a particular move that is done, where on the front on view, he was NOT doing that move. I'll show you this in the review video as well.

Overall, the DVD was solid . . . you may, however, want to turn down the audio. They constantly blast what can only be described as Hollywood Christmas Hero music. After a while, it just got old.

Holy COW Review: Final Thoughts

If you are a coin guy and have the time to learn this stuff (and don't mind the angles), I think you'll be happy with your purchase. Also, the basic vanish and reappearance is pretty easy to do. Plus the special move to hide a coin is also very clever and super easy . . . easy enough even for a beginner. That move is used for the coins in glass routine. So even if you never take the time to master the crazy hard stuff, you'll still, likely, have something useful . . . if you're a coin worker.

If you've been following my reviews for more than 3.14 minutes, you know two things about me. One, I don't like coin tricks and two, what kind of tricks I like is relevant to my final review rating/status.

Final Verdict:
4 Stars with a Stone Status of gem.

Available at your Favorite Magic Dealer. Dealer's see Murphy's Magic for details.