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Details

Toosh

Haynes, Steve

Steve Haynes

(Based on 1 review)
The performer draws a couple doodles on two business cards (say an x and a smiley face) and has a spectator sign both. While they are sitting, the performer very clearly and openly shows both signed cards (really only two cards!) and then openly shows the signed smiley face and places it in the spectators and places the x signed card in his pocket.

The performers hands are completely empty as he snaps his finger,then has the spectator turn the card their holding face up which they find is now their signed x card which without a doubt, they saw you place in your pocket! With no hesitation, the performer ask the spectator to stand up and they find they are now sitting on their signed smiley face, that without a doubt was clearly in their hands just moments ago!

Toosh is a test conditions, point blank blow to the spectators mind and because of how open and fair everything is, the spectator can clearly remember every detail with not one single questionable moment!

The Toosh gimmick allows you to perform the most impossible signed card to impossible location, changes and transpositions, in the most open and fair way possible!

Toosh does not use conventional methods, such as double lifts, holding more cards than it appears, false signatures and such, but uses a self contained multi-functional gimmick (some quick and easy assembly required) that will last a very long time and can be used with playing cards as well.

Drawings Limited only by your imagination!
  • INSTANT RESET!
  • SUPER EASY!
  • ANYWHERE!
    (make the genuine signed cards appear almost anywhere!).
  • Several applications are covered and you will see how easy, practical and powerful Toosh really is!


Here is some of what you will learn on this DVD.
  • Toosh (signed card under a seated spectator!)
  • TIC-TAC-DOUGH (two signed business cards and a dollar bill come together for a multi-phase routine, including
    penetrations, transpositions, appearances and a signed card to impossible location!
  • RED/BLACK ACE TRANSPO (both cards can be signed and only uses two cards!)
  • ROYAL PREDICTION (predict in advance one out of twenty royal flush cards that will be named!).
    Gimmicks and a wallet for your business or playing cards are included (some very quick and easy assembly required).


Running Time Approximately: 1hr 20min

(Gimmick and DVD)

Reviews

Jeff Stone

Official Reviewer

Sep 14, 2011

I've gotta say . . . what better name for a magician who makes business cards appear under the spectator's nether-regions than Haynes. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's consider a few components: DVD quality, gimmick quality, effect quality and instructional quality.

DVD Quality:
The menu navigation was excellent - finally. So many DVDs these days have issues in this department. The sound was mostly pretty solid, but the lighting (even in the studio portions of the video) was relatively poor quality. In a few cases it did make parts of the performance and/or explanation harder to follow. All in all, however, the DVD quality was solid.

Gimmick Quality:
Solid. Not much to say here. You get those "special-somethings" that makes the trick work, plus the one thing that no magician can have too many of . . . that's right folks, a vinyl wallet.

Effect Quality:
Many effects are possible with this gimmick/system. In my opinion, the title effect, Toosh is probably the worst (though still a good routine) routine on the DVD. Generally speaking, this "system" gives you the ability to show a spectator her signed business card, yet the very object she appears to be looking at is, in reality, already loaded in some "impossible" location (e.g. under her tushie). The "impossible location" is somewhat limited . . . you have to load it during performance, so there are some limitations. However, the effects possible are still very magical. You can do some seriously amazing transpositions and some very magical appearances and vanishes of drawings on a business card.

Instructional Quality:
I think Mr. Haynes is a nice guy, and a smart guy, but not the best teacher in the world . . . not the worst either, however. Many of the moments were kind of brushed over, yet in other places, the explanation dragged on where some serious cutting and editing could have made things much better. Additionally, Haynes's performances were extremely, extremely dry and sometimes painful to watch. We were then treated (?) to multiple performances of the same effect before learning the method. While I appreciate multiple performances to maybe demonstrate various venues or maybe a studio performance to give a better view of the performance than the live performance on "the streets," in this case, it was more annoying than helpful.

We all have our imperfections in performance. I certainly have mine, so I'm not intending to attack, but rather coach Mr. Haynes. Were I his coach, there would be several things that I would want to work with on his performance. What those things are, for the sake of this discussion, are irrelevant. I only mention them because you may watch his performance and be turned off, and thus miss out on a good effect. So in this case, don't get this DVD for performance ideas. Get it for trick/effect ideas. Bring your personality. Of course that's good advice anyway, but it's really important in this project. You need to realize that you are merely purchasing a tool that allows you to do many things.

Miscellaneous Notes:
Let me wrap up by saying that the one major complaint I had is that in some of the live performances, Haynes got some "kick back" and some minor challenges and "weirdness" from the spectators. His response was to completely ignore the spectator . . . not a good move in my opinion. Again, I'm quite aware that this is not a DVD to "show off" Haynes's ability as a performer. It's a DVD to teach you about a concept/gimmick/system/whatever-you-want-to-call-it. And on that metric, it delivers solidly. I only mention Haynes's performance mishaps as a word of caution to newbies to help prevent them from picking up any bad habits. So please . . . if you get this DVD - I think you should - please do not focus on Haynes's performance; focus on the effects possible with this clever system.

One last complaint, the handling for some of the effects is a bit fidgety and even very confusing at times. Pay close attention, however because Haynes offers a couple of alternate handling methods merely in passing. These methods are far superior to the method he prefers. So use the alternate-quickly-shown-in-passing handling rather than the "main" handling.

Finally, for only $30.00 this is definitely worth the price. You get clever gimmicks, a pretty decent instructional DVD, and a darn clever "concept" that allows you to a ton of great magic. Final Verdict: 4 Stars with a Stone Status of Gem.

P.S. Mr. Haynes - There is only one "I" in Explanation. :)
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