Houdini Cards Review

If you haven't already, go watch the video trailer for this effect. After watching the video trailer, I'm guessing that you're not sure what exactly the effect is. It appears that maybe they were going for a sort of reverse sandwich effect (maybe) where the cards escape from between other cards. So you've got Houdini cards escaping from between "cop" cards.

Let's investigate the usual suspects:

• Effect
• Product Quality
• Method

Effect

As you know, I don't typically let an effect impact my overall score on a review because whether or not you'll do an effect and like it is a very personal thing.

I can only tell you if the product is well made and the effect is what it claims to be. However, in this case, I will let the effect impact the final rating. One of the worst things one can say about a magic effect is that the effect is unclear. Unfortunately, that's exactly what this effect is: Unclear.

However, if you watched the video clip and felt that the effect was clear and that you would use it, then who am I to discourage you? Well I'm a reviewer who recommends or doesn't recommend products based on various criteria. One such criterion is product quality. That's where this one somewhat falls apart.

Product Quality

The DVD is less than 9 minutes long. 2 of those minutes are the performance that you just watched in the video trailer. The explanation is somewhat hurried through and only lasts 6 minutes and 18 seconds. No kidding, the vinyl wallet is beautiful. Instead of the traditional black, you get a brown faux-leather pattern that looks really nice. I'll actually be replacing one of my effects that uses a wallet with this wallet.

The 5 cards you get are actually quite beautiful as well. However, - This is a big however - they don't "work." They're made of some sort of sturdy plastic-ish material, and they stick together. Because of this, the cards actually stick together and I was completely unable to spread the cards at all. It was worse than the old Hoyle decks. So even if the effect was super clear, there's a problem with the cards, and the effect would still be not-doable.

Method

I'm sure you've guessed that the method is just a series of false displays and false turnovers as per the usual method of effects like this. Unfortunately, I was unable to do the moves at all with the cards provided.

Final Thoughts

I think part of the lack of clarity is the similarity of the appearance of the cards. If the cop cards were a different color on the face, they would have been more clearly distinguishable. However, even that may not have helped due to the aforementioned card problems.

Unfortunately, because the effect is not possible with the cards provided, it's very hard to give this a good score. Further, the lack of clarity makes it even harder to recommend. These types of effects are very bad for magic in my opinion. It really simply looked like he was just turning over and displaying a bunch of different cards in an overly convoluted way. I saw no effect, no magic, no "moment." The shining star in this effect is the vinyl wallet. Also, the cards are really good looking cards, but that's where it ends. Maybe some treatment with some fanning powder or something will help the cards work better. So if you don't mind powdering your cards, risking that the powder won't work, and you felt the effect was clear and "for you," then by all means get this. As for me and my house . . . we cannot justify it.

Final Verdict:
1 Star with a Stone Status of Rubble.

Review Update

Below in the comment section, you'll notice a comment from the creator of this effect, Astor. He mentions that the cards become less sticky if you rub them together in your hands. So I put this to the test, and he's correct. As you read the above review, you'll notice that there are three main things that gave this product such a low score: cards that didn't work, lack of clarity of effect (partly due to the lack of contrast in the cards, and partly due to the actual handling), and third, the very short and not-so-thorough teaching segment.

Well now that the cards are no longer "broken" and they actually work, there are only two "issues" with this product. As always, if YOU like the effect and the way it looks and think you would do it, all I can do is tell you the risks. In the original review above, I made it clear that even if you DID like the effect, you still should not buy it because you'd actually be unable to perform it (due to the cards not "working"). However, now that the cards are no longer an issue, I won't discourage you from buying this. If you think that the contrast is good and that the effect is clear based on the video trailer, then by all means, go for it. Just make sure you rub the cards in your hands as Astor mentioned.

You can also see a video of me putting this theory to the test, and you'll be able to see how to rub the cards. Here's a link to the video:

Updated Review of Houdini Cards

NEW Final Verdict:
2.5 Stars with a Stone Status of Grubble (little bit of gem: nice cards, nice wallet; little bit of rubble: unclear effect and minimal teaching).