Insider Outlook

I recently indulged in a DVD set I have been eyeing for a while. Tony Giorgio is a legend, and he has the gambling table experience to backup his reputation. In The Ultimate Work, he shares the practical methods for table artifice that a magician can use. While the art and approaches he shares is quite specific to certain card games and circumstances, the techniques are widely applicable to much broader card effects.

I have a common complaint that DVDs are not organized properly, and often lack a sense of progression. This complaint has been voiced in plenty of my opinions before, but this is a uniquely poor packaging of exceptional knowledge. It really just feels like they sat in a studio and worked off of a quick outline and threw in more stuff whenever it was obvious they forgot something. Fortunately, the stuff got included.

The menus are a good place to start. The top menus are named Index, Index Two, Index Three, and so on. Needless to say, these are really helpful in finding something I am looking for. Inside each index, the menus list the content, but a topic is spread across a couple of indexes. They just basically put six topics per index without any thought to the broader organization of what was being taught.

In a similar manner, the presentations are somewhat low on continuity and context. Tony expertly presents his techniques and methods in a clear and easy to follow way, with lots of repetition to make it easy to follow. The material was recorded in modular pieces, so I would think it would be easy to organize the lessons in post production, but some important lessons are in an illogical place toward the end. Additionally, the material is spread across two DVDs, with no insert to list what is where.

Let’s just say that my hopes for expert material were met, but the packaging makes it hard to access. It was a little like trying to get a shiny new electronic gadget out of it’s welded nest of plastic and cardboard. With a little bit more direction, and some table demo’s of the work in action, I think this could have been much better. I was really hoping to see him at “work” in a game, but maybe that will come on a future DVD.

As everyone knows, Allan Ackerman has the technical ability to make a deck of cards perform symphonic masterpieces of magic without breaking a sweat. His recent DVD work on Erdnase has been well received and has met accolades from tough customers. While he has a considerable video legacy, his book offerings are somewhat more modest. I think he realized early on how important seeing the performances can be. I also have Las Vegas Kardma, and I was impressed with the variety and scope of skills demonstrated in that compilation.

I recently picked up this little book gem and flipped through it when it arrived. It wasn’t until I started really reading it that I started to realize how well the material is presented. The ideas are sound, the techniques are achievable with practice, and the effects are direct. He has sessioned and developed ideas with all the best, so a good number of his effects are alternate handlings and original approaches to ideas from the likes of Dingle, Marlo, Jennings and others card masters. His original ideas and utilities are well constructed and accomplish their ends cleanly and smoothly.

As always, I want to keep a variety of material at my fingertips. Simple or mystical, standing or tabled, presentational or visual, skillful or suble. I like this book because it has a sampling of them all.