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Review of Infallible by Mark Elsdon:
One DVD, one trick, one deck of cards, two predictions, 26 minutes and $50 bucks. Is it gem or is it rubble? Stay tuned to find out.
Effect
Send the spectator a text message of your prediction. Then she selects any card by dealing face down and stopping at any number - there are numbers written on the back of the cards - that she wants to. Turn that card over and it's the (let's say) Four of Hearts.
Then deal through the cards face up, and she stops at any card she wants. Turn it over and the number on its back is the number used as the selection.. She plays the video and it 100% accurately and infallibly predicts what her two choices would be, the number and the card.. You can then repeat it by sending another text video and having another number and another card selected. You are right again.
Method
The method is basically a clever forcing deck that does 97% of the work for you. The deck is a very special deck that is supplied for you. You'll need to do a one-time prep on the deck that will take you about 10 minutes. Then you're set to go for any performance. The effect is basically self-working. The only other prep needed is that you'll need to film yourself making the prediction video. However, you don't even have to do it as a video. You are also supplied with two black envelopes and two prediction cards.
The bottom line is that the method is simple, nearly self-working, and darn-near foolproof.
Ad Copy Integrity
I have no issue with the ad copy. It's simple and honest. The video teaser is accurate and you really get what they say you get.
Product Quality
The DVD is short, sweet and to the point. The method is so simple that not much is required to teach it. It's well shot, will lit, but not so well mic'd. Just a few minutes into the DVD, Mark Elsdon began sounding as if he had on two microphones or something. The entire rest of the video, his voice was echoing as if there were two audio tracks for his voice. Perer Nardi (co-host), however sounded fine.
The supplied envelopes you get are simple plain black envelopes that fit a playing card inside of them. They're nice and well made. The deck of cards supplied, however, isn't the best quality. It's a special deck of cards that has a very specific property that aids in performing this effect. This property however, makes the cards not the best looking and not the best quality.
They kind of have that feel of dollar store playing cards . . . maybe a level or two above that. They're not horrible, but they're not Bicycle either. For the price of nearly $50, I felt that you could have been supplied a better deck of cards. Also, one of the gimmicked portions of the deck wasn't as sure-fire as it should be. But a slight (and I do mean slight) modification to the deck is all that's needed.
Final Thoughts
If you like the effect, then you'll be very happy with this method. It's super simple. The cards, though not super high quality, will get the job done and look good enough. The biggest issue I had was the price. But if you think you'll do this effect and don't mind parting with $50, you'll be fine.
Final Verdict:
4 Stars with a Stone Status of Gem.
11 Comments
The deck of cards is intergral to the effect.The review seems to link the type of deck with cheapness and nothing else which is unfair.I am a big fan of Mark Elsdon and i think this is a great effect and is good value.Alakazam products are nearly always tried and tested and superb value.
@Steve – Thanks for the post. I’m a bit confused at your post. Are you agreeing with my good review of 4 stars, or are you disagreeing with my good review of 4 stars?
Hi Jeff,
Sorry for not replying. No, i agree with your review of 4 stars.I just thought in the description you were implying that the card were of poor quality for reasons such as cost where in fact i never seen Protea cards any different and they are vital to the method.If you know of better quality cards of this type please let me know ASAP.
Best Wishes
Steve
@Steve – Thanks for the clarity. While you are correct, the cards are vital for the method, and that type of card is “always” poor quality, that doesn’t change the fact that the cards are poor quality. My reason for pointing it out is that as a consumer, I think you should know what you’re getting. If a poor quality card must be used for the method to work, then it may not be worth purchasing for some. For others it may not matter. But I’ve now given the information for those who need it.
A couple of questions:
— After this routine, could you use the deck for a “normal” trick? Or is it confined to this use only?
— How do we learn of the “slight modification” you mentioned? Or is it that obvious?
— Who is doing all the dealing? You or the spectator? If it’s the magician, is it too risky to let the spectator deal?
— How many times can you repeat this with different videos for the same group? Does the set-up require the videos to go in a certain order? Or can you just pick any video to start off with?
@Ed – Thanks for the questions. Watch the demo. I think it’ll answer most of your questions: https://magicreviewed.com/products/infallible-by-mark-elsdon/
As you’ll see in the demo, the cards have numbers written on the back of them, so you wouldn’t want to use this deck for other tricks, and it makes sense to the audience that you use are openly using a different deck, since this deck has been written on. But to answer your question, no, you cannot use this deck for any other tricks.
The slight modification I mentioned was simply that you have to write the numbers on the cards. It’s a one time set up and they show you on the DVD everything you need to know about that.
As seen in the demo, the magician deals, but you could have the spectator deal. It’s no more risky than having a spectator deal for “Out of This World.” If the spectator decides to turn over the cards in “Out of This World” or in this trick, then you’ve got a problem. Personally, I see no reason to have them deal.
You can only do the trick twice for the same group. As for which videos go where, you don’t have to do videos at all. It’s just two predictions and two videos. Do one and the do another; Which one is first depends on how you set up your deck.
Thaks for the info, Jeff. Personally, I hate having to switch out decks for several different tricks. In my mind, nothing screams “set up!!” to the audience more than setting aside the deck you were just using and picking up another one. To me, if you could immediately use even a packet of 15-20 cards from this deck for something else, ignoring the numbers on the backs, that would be a big plus.
@Ed – thanks for the post. I’m not a fan of switching in and out decks either. However, if you have a special deck that looks different (in this case has numbers written on the back) and there’s some justification for bringing out (openly) a new deck, I’m ok with it.
Thanks Jeff for the thorough review! I was trying to decide between getting this or Cataclysm The Armageddon Edition and it was quite helpful. Since Cataclysm is less expensive and comes with Bikes it made it a no brainer for me.
@Mark – I’m not familiar with the other effect you mentioned, but assuming it’s a similar effect and decent method, then you probably made the right choice. I will say, however, that Infallible is a solid method that works very well.
I also own Cataclysm and really like it. I think the methods are quite different as is the effect itself. But they both have a similar feel. The deck used here is a Protea Deck out of South Africa. Brian Caswell’s “The Fifth Card” uses the same deck I assume. That also was Alakazam product. Phoenix has the same typ e of decks available and Alakazam mentioned a long time ago that they would re-release The Fifth Card on Phoenix stock. The trailer for Fifth Card showed a bicycle card box which I found misleading. It’s hard to tell in Infallible but the box also looks Bicycle. If I am guessing the method right for Infallibe then the Protea cards should work fine. I would not let the spec deal as the cards really feel very flimsy (on purpose..still guessing) All in all great trick that has a very Alakazam feel to it when they worked a lot with Brian Caswell.