Title: The Hole Thing
Artist: Chris Mayhew
Producers: Theory11
Link: http://www.theory11.com/tricks/hole-thing-chris-mayhew.php
Retail Price: $9.95
Learning Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Notes: Some Assembly Required. Some of the sleights used will require some effort to master if they are not already learned.
Features:
• Performance & Explanation for The Hole Thing.
Advertised as the Holy Grail of sandwich effects, Theory11’s new download “Hole Thing” is a powerful visual card sandwich routine from the fertile mind of Chris Mayhew.
When I saw the preview video I thought to myself “Now here’s a powerful effect”, and after having played with it now for a couple weeks I’m pleased to say, it is! The download teaches two effects. The first, a very tongue in cheek named routine called “Glory”, and the second effect is called “Warp Hole.” So let’s take a look at both effects, and break it down.
Glory: A spectator’s card is selected and located by sandwiching it between the two jokers. What makes this more visual is that the jokers have holes drilled through their centers making the EXACT moment the card is located very visual. Then you step up the game by repeating the effect but this time with the jokers held in your hands away from the deck!
Warp Hole: This puts a new spin on the classic card warp effect! You can perform the card warp, but without having to destroy the cards by ripping them at the end to cover up the secret. The card visually and instantly turns itself over as it passes through the hole drilled into both jokers. In the end... the cards can be examined!
I liked both effects a lot, it’s not necessary to say that they pack small and due to the visual nature of them plays big. In a world of “pick a card” tricks, it’s nice to see something different like this come along that you can use to add a little variety to your act. I think that Chris does a good job explaining the routines, the inspirations, gimmick creation, and handling very well. And for the price, you can’t beat it. You get nearly a full hour of instructions for less than $10 dollars! My only complaint is with Chris’s jokes that he tells during the tutorial portion. The first couple of times it was cute, but I eventually got to the point where I wanted to yell “get on with it” at the computer screen! I guess there are worse things I could complain about… so that’s a testament to the value of this download.
The handling of both routines, in its most basic presentation is easy enough to learn. I however did appreciate Chris offering other alternative ways to handle the cards during the routines that will certainly challenge your skills, but I think the payoff is worth it. It’s nice to have options when performing an effect, and Chris gives you a few with this download.
Despite my groaning about the way Chris chose to present the educational portion of his product I think The Hole Thing is a great download, and a wonderful effect. Anyone who works with cards is sure to find something they’ll use over and over here, and Theory11 can chalk another one up on the “must have” list.
When I give my product scores below I am measuring them on a scale of 1 to 10. 1 Being absolute the worst score possible, and 10 being the absolute best, making a score of five average. The four points that I grade upon is Product Quality, Teaching Quality, Sound & Video Quality and Overall Quality.
Product Quality: 8
The value is great, the effect is visual, and at the cost of destroying a pair of jokers you can’t go wrong with this trick.
Teaching Quality: 6
Chris’s teaching style included a lot of (in my opinion) unnecessary jokes that I found distracting. Otherwise he’s thorough, and complete in his tutorial giving you lots of options to the different ways you can perform these two effects.
Video & Sound Quality: 6
I have no idea what the producer was trying to block out, but at the start of the video (and it’s also on the promo trailer) there’s this ugly square of flesh toned computer imposed image that hangs there for like thirty seconds. If it’s something in the background you don’t have permission to use in film then change the angle of your shot! Or put something in that box… just don’t leave it there as it. That’s just sloppy.
Overall Quality: 7
This product has more value in the effects that it teaches than what the overall score would imply. The score was affected by Chris’s awkward, and often rambling presentation style, and the video editing at the very start of the product. For what the effect is, I think it’s well worth the download.
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