Alain Nu – Any Card

 

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THE BLURB：

One of Alain’s most prized reputation-makers this is the

effect that helped to tip the scale to alain’s favor before

he was signed for FOUR hours of TV specials with the TLC

network!  Learn all about Alain’s experience with his most

diabolical methods to the classic Any Card at Any Number

(ACAAN).  Any Card…， uncovers 12 full years of developing

and performing Alain’s own personal touches on this most

incredible premise.

Here’s what it contains：

1) Alain’s detailed handling of his solution to the classic

Berglas Effect， which he simply calls， “Any Card…”  A

randomly thought-of card is found at a random number from

the top， or face， of an examinable deck， under the watchful

eye of a very skeptical audience!

2) Seven essays， integral to Alain’s philosophy of ACAAN.

These cover important presentational considerations，

creative concepts， subtleties， anecdotes， opinions， and

objectives of the ACAAN effect that are often never

addressed.

3) One entire chapter which details three original

development techniques as well as three original casual

false mixes (w/photos and illustrations).

4) An entire chapter dedicated to 6 different variations and

a related effects， three of which are easy to do and can be

learned in under 30 minutes!

5) 52 full pages， on 8.5″ X 11″， very clearly written.  Plus

a BONUS EFFECT： Any Card Thru Table (and into the awaiting

hand of a stunned spectator!)

52 pages， 8.5″ x 11″

MY COMMENTS：

The Any-Card-At-Any-Number plot is becoming irritatingly

ubiquitous.  Assuming that you are as intrigued by this plot

as so many others， this begs the question of whether this

particular version is right for you.  I can’t say that， but

perhaps the blurb and some additional info that I’ll provide

will help.

Obviously， if you’re not into using playing cards， you’re

probably not reading this right now， anyway.  Also， Alain Nu

is one of the masters of mentalism and magic and his

thinking in this book is brilliant， if not necessarily the

type of material that you’re comfortable with.  I definitely

enjoyed reading this book.  He always includes important

philosophies， intriguing handlings， and worthwhile

discussions of his effects.

That said， Alain admitted in a pretend ad copy of this book

(on page 11) that his “Any Card…” method is “Not easy to

do or learn.  Advanced-level card technique preferred.

Lengthy set-up.  Also requires that you do mental gymnastics

while performing， and is entirely dependent on your ability

to sell it for it isn’t.  Consider yourself warned.” On the

other hand， it’s not as comparatively difficult as some of

the hardest card sleights or mental work.  As Alain points

out， and I agree， it will take a certain level of

committment in order to maximize the effectiveness of this

miracle， as Alain has envisioned it.  Many top

professionals， including David Berglas， have done so and

that’s why this particular effect is one of their most

memorable ones.

Included in this book is Alain’s incredible Bluff Bridge，

which is a false bridge shuffle that is incredible.  I saw

him many years ago use this in a lecture and everyone’s jaws

dropped.  He also explains his favorite cuts， passes， and

other moves which are not common ones， but should be， as

they are excellent， too.  And， as the blurb says， there are

some technically easier variations of this effect that he

includes.  One of them uses business cards.

I think it’s fair to say that this book isn’t for everyone，

but if the blurb above interests you， or you’re a fan of

Alain Nu’s thinking， then you certainly won’t be

disappointed as this book is a thoroughly engaging and

enlightening exploration of a neo-classic plot in mentalism

and magic.