Magic Review - Secrets of a Puerto Rican Gambler

Title: Secrets of a Puerto Rican Gambler

Format: Book

Creator: Daryl

Cost: $30.00

Skill Level: Intermediate to Advanced

Run Time: N/A

Page Count: 171

www.vanishingincmagic.com/

Magician’s Choice Rating: 5

With the recent passing of Daryl, I feared that if I do not study his work soon, I will miss out on the opportunity. I quickly purchased a copy of Secrets of a Puerto Rican Gambler from Vanishing Inc. This hard-bound book is very high quality, with great binding, and excellent paper quality. The original was published in 1980, but this version was released in January of 2016. It also has one additional effect at the end that is only in the updated edition. This edition also contains many photos that were not in the original printing. The book is 171 pages long, and will run you $30 from www.vanishingincmagic.com. There is far more than $30 value in this excellent book so don’t miss out.

The introduction had me hooked! By the time I finished reading the 6-page intro by Stephen Minch I felt connected to this material, and I was ready to dive in. Overall, I found the book to be well written, with clear detailed descriptions and instructions, and it oozes the persona of the magician it portrays. Not only was it fun to learn the magic in this book, but it was fun to read it.

There are 11 items in this book and each deserves your study. Not because the effects are hard to execute, but because the timing, positioning, and misdirection have all been detailed and shared, and these are the real secrets of this modern classic. The effects are incredible, but it is the time and effort spent on the finer details that stand out to me, that make all the wonderfully fun material in this book worth the money, time, and effort.

The material here is intermediate to advanced, but don’t let that get you down. The descriptions of moves are very clear, and the photographs are a big help.

Don’t hesitate, go buy it!

Contents:

The Boomerang Card of Mystery – A card is sent sailing into the air, only to return and land between 2 selections. The Chicago Conspiracy – A card attracts 2 selections, bringing them together from different places in the deck. Quick Silver – A coin helps find 2 selections. Holding On – Daryl’s take on Alex Elmsley's "Between Your Palms". The Puerto Rican Triumph – The triumph routine, with a beautiful proving display. The Mysterious Cross of India - A Coins Across that uses simple methods to astound the audience. In the Pinch - You catch the selection as a spectator dribbles the cards to the table! Just Tweezing - A variation on In the Pinch Conditional Assembly - Classic Ace Assembly Twisted Aces Redivivus - Twisting the Aces with an ending that stays true to the classic handling. Double Dazzling Triumph - This Triumph is new with the latest edition of the book.