New iPhone Magic App - "101 Deck"

[James Mattox]

Hey Everyone. I've put together a magic app that I'd like to tell you about.

The effect: The magician hands a deck of cards to the spectator, invites them to cut the deck, then instructs them to deal the cards down on the table face up. The spectator can stop anytime and even change their mind if they wish. Once the spectator is happy with their selection, the magician points to his iPhone on the table, picks it up, and turns it on. Thats funny that you stopped on that card, because earlier tonight I took a photo... The magician then clearly opens the iPhones photo album and scrolls to the last photo added to the album. The magician taps on the thumbnail, and the enlarged photo shows the magician holding up the chosen card.

This app can be used to reveal any kind of prediction that you can take a photo of. Cards, ESP cards, items, or places (you get five "outs") The app is not entirely self working, you do need some skill with a deck of cards or whatever you choose to use, and thus I would not recommend this app for beginner magicians.

The best thing about this app is that the spectator will never know that an app was used. A lot of magic apps out there are just that, apps, and in the spectators eyes are not as amazing because anyone can go buy an app and do a lot of those tricks. But the 101 Deck app is hidden, and you end clean. At the end of the trick, the photo the spectator is viewing is a real photo in your real photo library, so this means that the spectator can handle the device. You can perform the trick surrounded with the phone face up, and in view, the entire time. No suspicious tapping or hiding of the screen.

At $9.99 I realize that this app is more expensive than most, however I believe that most of the good magic apps out there are way underpriced, plus you'd easily spend 10 bucks at your local magic shop for a good trick. I'd be more than happy to answer any questions about what you can/can't do with the app (james@howdyoudothat.com) . Any feedback or comments are welcome, I hope you enjoy it!

James Mattox

Link to more info and itunes here: 101 Deck iPhone Magic App

A demo video can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4g2K4M5pnKY
[video:youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4g2K4M5pnKY[/video]

[James Mattox]

If anyone is willing to try this app out and write a short review here, I have three coupon codes for a free copy.

Shoot me a PM if interested. Thanks

[gberard]

I took James up on his offer and he sent me a code for a free copy. I think that this is a great iPhone app. The beauty of it is, that unlike many of the other iPhone apps, this one does not look like an app. I think that it also works best for people who have some familiarity with the iPhone. They can really appreciate how impossible it appears.

I tried this out both at a magic club meeting on a fellow magician and on a non-magician friend. They were both very impressed and did not know how it could be possible to have a photo of the card that they had selected on my iPhone. Granted, you could force a card and have a picture of you holding that card. That's okay but not great. What is so great about this effect is that you can lay out five cards or objects and have them choose one. They can change their mind as often as they like and still you end up in a photo with their object.

This is a very good five-way-out for mentalists. The instructions recommend using a 101 Deck but I prefer to use a regular deck. The presentation that I am currently leaning toward is to cull the five cards to the top and faro shuffle to out them in an every other card order. I then cut and hold a break. Riffle force to the break and deal out two poker hands with the spectator getting the appropriate five cards (which five these are is entirely up to you and you can change them any time you wish). I then have them lay out the cards as if they were playing five card stud and I can then reveal a picture of myself holding their hole card.

Using the same setup you could also add afew extra cards on top of the stack and after riffle forcing to the stack hand the half of the deck to the spectator and have them start slowly dealing cards to the table one at a time stopoing when they wish. Wait until they have dealt past the few cards you added to the stack before asking them to stop. You stand a very good chance that when they stop you can contrive to show one of your force cards and reveal the photo.

You could also present this at a dinner table by laying out five items that are found at any table (spoon, glass, plate, napkin,
salt) and let someone choose one only to reveal your picture with the item. If you're daring you could just ask someone to pick any item on the table and jazz if they don't pick one of the five. By being a little bit sneaky you can actually have ten choices possible but the handling is not quite as open.

I can think of lots of ways to use this app. It is very flexible and I think that anyone who buys it will find a way to add their own touch.

All in all I feel that this is a great app for a magician to have on their iPhone and all the more so because it really doesn't look like an app.

The price is a bit high but with all the $20 one trick DVDs and downloads out there that turn out to be not so great this is a good deal for just under $10 and I am confident that it is something that you will use.

I have no affiliation with James Mattox other than responding to his request to try out the app for free and write a review. If someone had shown this effect to me I would have put down the money to buy it.

[Mark Collier]

Does the phone have to be jailbroken?

[mrgoat]

I'll review it if you want.

send code to [censored] AT damianjennings DOT com

[James Mattox]

No jailbreak required

[Bill Duncan]

As an owner of one of James' previous apps (which is now off the market) I received a copy of 101 Deck for free. It has become my favorite iPhone magic app. Because the reveal is a photo that you take yourself, it's very open to customization.

Since we're sharing ideas for the app here's how I presented it this evening over coffee at Starbucks:

Place your phone on the table and explain about the photo you took earlier in the day.

Spread the pack and ask a person to be sure they get a free choice as they touch a card. When the do so say that you want them to be sure so they can also have the one next to their card, and above it too, and what the heck... have a couple more. Table the pack.

Tell the spectator to either take one card at random or look at them and choose one. Their choice... just make sure that they don't show it to you.

Ask your helper to discard the others. Since you see the cards they decide not to pick you know the identify of the selection and can proceed to reveal the photo before they show you which card they chose.

Oh, and since it's a five way out, you can set the second set of choices to Rhine's five symbols and have something to do without even using a pack of cards.

A wonderful app.

[mrgoat]

http://itunes.apple.com/app/101-deck/id393909927?mt=8

So, two "reviews" from people that got it free and not a single review or comment on the iTunes store?

Seems a little, er, suspicious...

[Travis]

Are the coupons all spoken for?

[mrgoat]

Are the coupons all spoken for?

Since the OP only made four posts to spam his really bad sounding app almost two years ago and hasn't been back since, I would imagine so.