Daniel Madison’s Mechanic DVD (Ellusionist)

CrazyInMagic · 08-12-2013, 01:48 PM

PROS OF THE SET IN GENERAL

Variety
There are quite some different sleight-of-hand and pseudo-gambling techniques to be found on this set. The variety may be well worth the price.

Concepts
Daniel teaches some nice concepts that you could build upon. If you would like to have a bunch of sleight-of-hand ideas you can spend quite some time and work on, you might like this.

Getting to know the man
If you are interested in Daniel, his character and his way of thinking, this seems to be the first audiovisual product in which you really get to know him.

CONS OF THE SET IN GENERAL

Lack of actual card cheat material
Especially for a set with exactly that as theme. A lot of the things are completely impractical at the card table in their taught states. Most of the useful material will have to be modified either by looks, angles, covers, applications or any combination of those. Even then there is a lot missing for pulling of any complete cheat at the card table or even for gambling demonstrations.

Lack of research, credits and responsibility
Daniel seems to claim almost everything while some of the ideas he claims, both sleights and theories, are clearly not original. He happens to be self-taught and could have come up with these things independently but I think Ellusionist should have assisted him in finding proper crediting. At the Madison Grip section, Daniel even says that when you adjust a grip to your own hands, you could and should call it your own, which is why he calls his grip the Madison Grip. I am sure that in the gambling world, you would actually have to call it a Modified Grip instead. It advocates theft so I would go as far as saying that on this set Daniel is being a terrible example for crediting in every possible way. In his e-books he happened to be a lot more appropriate at it.

Lack of consistency and scripting
Daniel says one thing and in the very next chapter does something that clashes completely. Also, according to what he says in the introductions of the chapters he should have taught ordinary ways of shuffling a deck, more card marking principles and more ways to switch cards. For instance he said that he would show several ways cards could be marked including a way to mark them on the sides of the decks, but he just went into the Poor Man’s Punch and never went into how the sides of a deck could be marked or any other method for that matter. When there are multiple scenarios he gives a solution for only one of them and never gets back to the other ones.

Lack of content
This adds to the lack of scripting. Daniel tends to repeat almost anything he says numerous times, especially the things that were very clear the very first time he said them. This in combination with Daniel’s slow and monotone way of talking could get really boring, but especially made me think that the actual content could have easily fit onto a single DVD. The introduction is about 12 minutes long while it could have easily fit into three.

Lack of an over-the-shoulder perspective
You get to learn everything from the front, most of the time at quite a big distance. The camera occasionally shows a close-up shot but never do you get to see it from Daniel’s perspective which sometimes is quite confusing. Anything is mostly taught verbally. I am positive that this could have been released as a CD instead.

Lack of positivity
This is probably what personally annoyed me the most. Daniel keeps ranting about this, that, about what Dai Vernon said, other gambling sources out there, the Classic Pass, the way the industry teaches gambling moves and all. He has not agreed with a single thing from another source but himself, but he still uses a lot from other sources whether he realizes it or not.

WHAT I THINK SHOULD HAVE BEEN INCLUDED

The Bottom Deal as done on Fool Us
This was actually a really deceptive deal, unlike any of the false deals to be found on this set. It is what Daniel is known for nowadays so why would he not teach it on what he calls a set featuring his life work?

A Palm Transfer or Palming with the Top Hand
There is no way shown to get into palming a card with the top hand which is required for Muck:Shun, the only thing on this set that actually happens from a palm.

Adding Palmed Cards to the Deck
Daniel teaches a few ways to cop a card but he never talks about how to correctly add copped cards back to the deck again.

Center Deal
Daniel mentions it and says it is something card cheats do, so then why isn’t it taught or even shown?

Crimp work
This is fairly important for card mechanics. What about when you are not completing the cut by yourself (which was actually mentioned by Daniel in the Covered Table Pass section but he never went into this)? How will you ever be able to nullify the cut using what is taught on this set?

Card Table-Friendly Controls
Daniel says there is no need to control any individual card if you can do complete false cuts and shuffles, but who will be setting up the deck for you during a card game? You can’t keep switching decks either. How to control a good card or hand to the position you want?

Stacking
I guess this wouldn’t be necessary when using the false deals but it would still be nice. I think it is used by card mechanics just as much as false deals, so why not?

MARKETING ERRORS

”3 hours of material”
In the trailer and Revelations episode it says that the set contains 3 hours of content. On the product page it says “Over two and a half hours” so everything points into the direction that it is close to 3 hours of material. In fact there is 2 hours and 35 minutes of material, so the statements that it is 3 hours in length are greatly exaggerated.

”Card cheat material”
Everything on the product page tells that this is a set on card cheat techniques, principles and theory. It even claims that this set “has the potential to turn you into a successful card cheat”. I beg to differ by all means.

”Reviews”
You would think that spending so much money on a product would grant you the ability to leave a review, but my reviews have not been approved. They weren’t worded all that negative in my opinion and I made it less negative each time, but still it didn’t get approved. What you will find on the Ellusionist page are testimonials, not reviews. I figured the last time a negative review has been approved on their site was back in April. Did their products get better since? Clearly not.

PRICE
It is currently sold for $59.99 but has $79.90 as initial price.

RECOMMENDED?
No. It seems only for those who either buy absolutely everything Daniel Madison or Ellusionist puts out, and even then the Daniel Madison fans will already know all of the material that is on this, or for those who want to have a collection of sleight-of-hand ideas to practice or build upon. Do not expect a collection of actual card cheat material. Those who think it is are completely deceived by the fact it was said to be.

For the same money, you could get Richard Turner’s The Cheat, Darwin Ortiz On Card Cheating or plenty of Jason England’s tutorials, all which include much more, and much more useful material. You can also spend a bit more money and get Steve Forte’s Gambling Protection Series although, as the name suggests, this does not have the intention to teach you how to exactly execute each principle.

08-12-2013, 01:48 PM	#1
CrazyInMagic Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 18	PROS OF THE SET IN GENERAL Variety There are quite some different sleight-of-hand and pseudo-gambling techniques to be found on this set. The variety may be well worth the price. Concepts Daniel teaches some nice concepts that you could build upon. If you would like to have a bunch of sleight-of-hand ideas you can spend quite some time and work on, you might like this. Getting to know the man If you are interested in Daniel, his character and his way of thinking, this seems to be the first audiovisual product in which you really get to know him. CONS OF THE SET IN GENERAL Lack of actual card cheat material Especially for a set with exactly that as theme. A lot of the things are completely impractical at the card table in their taught states. Most of the useful material will have to be modified either by looks, angles, covers, applications or any combination of those. Even then there is a lot missing for pulling of any complete cheat at the card table or even for gambling demonstrations. Lack of research, credits and responsibility Daniel seems to claim almost everything while some of the ideas he claims, both sleights and theories, are clearly not original. He happens to be self-taught and could have come up with these things independently but I think Ellusionist should have assisted him in finding proper crediting. At the Madison Grip section, Daniel even says that when you adjust a grip to your own hands, you could and should call it your own, which is why he calls his grip the Madison Grip. I am sure that in the gambling world, you would actually have to call it a Modified Grip instead. It advocates theft so I would go as far as saying that on this set Daniel is being a terrible example for crediting in every possible way. In his e-books he happened to be a lot more appropriate at it. Lack of consistency and scripting Daniel says one thing and in the very next chapter does something that clashes completely. Also, according to what he says in the introductions of the chapters he should have taught ordinary ways of shuffling a deck, more card marking principles and more ways to switch cards. For instance he said that he would show several ways cards could be marked including a way to mark them on the sides of the decks, but he just went into the Poor Man’s Punch and never went into how the sides of a deck could be marked or any other method for that matter. When there are multiple scenarios he gives a solution for only one of them and never gets back to the other ones. Lack of content This adds to the lack of scripting. Daniel tends to repeat almost anything he says numerous times, especially the things that were very clear the very first time he said them. This in combination with Daniel’s slow and monotone way of talking could get really boring, but especially made me think that the actual content could have easily fit onto a single DVD. The introduction is about 12 minutes long while it could have easily fit into three. Lack of an over-the-shoulder perspective You get to learn everything from the front, most of the time at quite a big distance. The camera occasionally shows a close-up shot but never do you get to see it from Daniel’s perspective which sometimes is quite confusing. Anything is mostly taught verbally. I am positive that this could have been released as a CD instead. Lack of positivity This is probably what personally annoyed me the most. Daniel keeps ranting about this, that, about what Dai Vernon said, other gambling sources out there, the Classic Pass, the way the industry teaches gambling moves and all. He has not agreed with a single thing from another source but himself, but he still uses a lot from other sources whether he realizes it or not. WHAT I THINK SHOULD HAVE BEEN INCLUDED The Bottom Deal as done on Fool Us This was actually a really deceptive deal, unlike any of the false deals to be found on this set. It is what Daniel is known for nowadays so why would he not teach it on what he calls a set featuring his life work? A Palm Transfer or Palming with the Top Hand There is no way shown to get into palming a card with the top hand which is required for Muck:Shun, the only thing on this set that actually happens from a palm. Adding Palmed Cards to the Deck Daniel teaches a few ways to cop a card but he never talks about how to correctly add copped cards back to the deck again. Center Deal Daniel mentions it and says it is something card cheats do, so then why isn’t it taught or even shown? Crimp work This is fairly important for card mechanics. What about when you are not completing the cut by yourself (which was actually mentioned by Daniel in the Covered Table Pass section but he never went into this)? How will you ever be able to nullify the cut using what is taught on this set? Card Table-Friendly Controls Daniel says there is no need to control any individual card if you can do complete false cuts and shuffles, but who will be setting up the deck for you during a card game? You can’t keep switching decks either. How to control a good card or hand to the position you want? Stacking I guess this wouldn’t be necessary when using the false deals but it would still be nice. I think it is used by card mechanics just as much as false deals, so why not? MARKETING ERRORS ”3 hours of material” In the trailer and Revelations episode it says that the set contains 3 hours of content. On the product page it says “Over two and a half hours” so everything points into the direction that it is close to 3 hours of material. In fact there is 2 hours and 35 minutes of material, so the statements that it is 3 hours in length are greatly exaggerated. ”Card cheat material” Everything on the product page tells that this is a set on card cheat techniques, principles and theory. It even claims that this set “has the potential to turn you into a successful card cheat”. I beg to differ by all means. ”Reviews” You would think that spending so much money on a product would grant you the ability to leave a review, but my reviews have not been approved. They weren’t worded all that negative in my opinion and I made it less negative each time, but still it didn’t get approved. What you will find on the Ellusionist page are testimonials, not reviews. I figured the last time a negative review has been approved on their site was back in April. Did their products get better since? Clearly not. PRICE It is currently sold for $59.99 but has $79.90 as initial price. RECOMMENDED? No. It seems only for those who either buy absolutely everything Daniel Madison or Ellusionist puts out, and even then the Daniel Madison fans will already know all of the material that is on this, or for those who want to have a collection of sleight-of-hand ideas to practice or build upon. Do not expect a collection of actual card cheat material. Those who think it is are completely deceived by the fact it was said to be. For the same money, you could get Richard Turner’s The Cheat, Darwin Ortiz On Card Cheating or plenty of Jason England’s tutorials, all which include much more, and much more useful material. You can also spend a bit more money and get Steve Forte’s Gambling Protection Series although, as the name suggests, this does not have the intention to teach you how to exactly execute each principle.