"X Marks The Spot" DVD by Justin Miller
Suggested Retail USD$30.00
Available from your favorite dealer
In a Blink: 8 Out of 10

"X Marks The Spot", a DVD with gaffs by Justin Miller, is a good take on the Triumph plot that goes nuts with the climaxes and, in the end, proves itself to be a very good card trick indeed.

I'm going to need some space to describe this one, because Miller has thrown everything but the kitchen sink into this routine.

A red-backed deck is shown face down, a card selected from it, signed, and lost in the deck. One half of the deck it turned face up and shuffled into the face down half. The cards are spread to show the cards are indeed face up and face down. The deck is squared and held by the performer who pulls from his pocket a lighter and a piece of paper with an "X" drawn on it. The paper is lighted and thrown at the deck. Instantly a black "X" appears on the back of the top card of the deck. The deck is spread and all the cards are now not only facing the same direction but on the back of each card is a black "X". One card is found face up, though, and it's the selected card. Turning this card over reveals that it doesn't have an "X" on it, but the back is now blue.

Whew. The end.

That's a lot of magic for a single card effect. You've got the "X" suddenly appearing on the deck, the "X" appearing on every card in the deck, the deck righting itself, and the selected card changing color. It could be argued that this is too much magic, that it's scatter-shot with climaxes, but this is less a conglomeration of climaxes as it is interwoven effects, all building to the true climax, which is the spectator's card being different from every other card in the deck. With a logical presentation, that works and works well; audiences love this one.

As for the presentation Miller supplies, it is extremely logical (well, logical being relative when it comes to magical entertainment, but you know what I mean). It's also a bit cliché, having been used time and time again since playing card were given backs I think. Still, it does work and it makes all the magic in "X Marks The Spot" sensical. This one will play with Miller's presentation but if you come up with something different you'll be more happy with this one.

Okay, so it's a great routine with an adequate presentation. There are a few other things you need to know before making the leap for this one.

First, practicality is an issue. You'll be carrying a single-purpose gaffed deck around. To me, that's pretty much always a deal-breaker; I don't like giving up the pocket space, but of course your mileage may vary. Also, repeating this one can be problematic in strolling situations; be prepared to carry extra somethings to pull this one off time and time again. Also, while you could conceivably do this without a table, you lose some of the visibility of the effect and a lot of the staging a table gives you.

Second, fire's in play here. I stopped using fire a long time ago because of liability issues (phooey -- it's because of possible litigation issues: I live in fear of someone fifty feet away suing me for a gazillion dollars because they're allergic to the smell of sulphur) so that's another make-or-break point for me. Miller, though, in his thoroughness, has supplied a version of the effect that is entirely flame-free. True, you lose some of the theatricality, trading fire for a flashlight, but it's also safer and, given Miller's presentational explanation, still quite logical. Miller gets a big thumbs-up from me for thinking that far ahead (which is a nice way of saying it's good to see a creator actually think about his consumers' needs rather than pretending they don't exist).

Really, those are the only things to consider with "X Marks The Spot" and arguably the stickier of the points Miller has taken care of for you. So you're down to the practical concerns with this one and, if you can deal with them, "X Marks The Spot", with all the magic built into it, will likely become a great addition to your act. Work up a different presentation, break the mold a bit, and you could end up with a powerful showcase effect.

"X Marks the Spot" DVD by Justin Miller
In a Blink: 8 Out of 10

Material: 10
It's "Triumph meets Color-Changing Deck" at it's core, and it's a great routine with multiple, logical climaxes. The handling is simple -- a few easy sleights and the supplied gaffs make the whole thing work -- and it plays extremely well. And if the idea of using fire doesn't appeal to you (it sure doesn't me), Miller was thoughtful enough to supply a flame-free handling. All in all, the material here is excellent.

Practicality: 7
There are three issues here: carrying a gaffed deck that cannot be used for other routines (there goes some pocket space), the real need for a table (conceivably it could be done "in the hands" but that's a chore to be worked out and will kill a certain amount of the visibility of the routine), and repeating it can be problematic (due to the method). However, the set-up and reset both are easy enough. In the end, this is a fairly practical piece of work.

Quality of Production: 10
It's a Kozmo production, which means high production values all the way around.

Quality of Instruction: 10
Miller does an excellent job of teaching, going into great detail about every piece of handling during this routine.

Presentation: 5
The presentation is an old one -- a supposedly marked deck, the selected card being "marked" by having a different colored back, etcetera -- but it's good enough for this routine. You may want to play with it a bit more, but Miller's presentation is a good one.


Shane

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