I’m working on getting you some cool freebies and deals with my BestMagicDeals website. This one I think it’s pretty good…

I’ve been talking to Alex from ExoMagic to give you guys some Massa decks for free since it’s one of the coolest decks they carry on their store.

He told me he’d throw in 6 free decks for everyone who orders at least two of these cardistry dvds, until supplies last.

I got my deck of Massas on Magic Weekend 08 and filmed Valiente with it at David Pedersen’s. These cards are cool for collecting and fans look really awesome.

If you don’t have them or wasn’t sure about where to get them from then now you don’t have any excuses. Go get them, they are free… for a limited time :P

Here is the list of products…

The Trilogy (3 DVD Set) by Dan And Dave Buck
The Trilogy: Andthensome by Dan And Dave Buck
The System by Dan and Dave Buck
Generation Extreme By Brian Tudor
Card Sharp By Brian Tudor
Generation X By Brian Tudor
Cradle to Grave by De’vo
Xtreme Beginnerz by De’vo
Secret Books of De’vo
Xtreme Beginnerz II by De’vo
Cobra Cut Collection by De’vo
Surfaced by Chad Nelson (Clipshift)

Here is what you have to do next

Make sure you add the 6 massa decks and 2 of the above dvds to your cart and use the coupon code “bestmagicdeals” during checkout to get them for free.

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed or email newsletter. You can also try Twitter if you want to know more about Alejandro Portela. Thanks for visiting!

Ekaterina, BabycatXD, has a new contest for you and she’s giving away her first edition “Secret Books” of David Beyer, De’vo, and some Arcane Playing Cards.

Not the best prizes but at least you can resell the book on eBay.

Just kidding…

All you have to do is vote thumbs up (I like) on a facebook fanpage to get her a webdesign upgrade. Just watch the video and you’ll understand.

Here is the link for you to enter the draw: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Montreal-QC/Passion-DLN/294921208797 Just click I LIKE on her wall post.

Thanks and good luck,

Alejandro

Edit: 1 secret books winner and 4 arcane deck winners :)

“My name is Antariksh but most people know me by my nickname Chotu. I’m 19 and from India. I was into magic before but flourishing gripped me more so I shifted my gears last year .This video showcases what I have achieved till now and I hope you enjoy it.

Looking forward to your feedback on improvement – Chotu :D ”

I’ve chosen this video for the third Up and Coming entry because I was shocked when I saw this guy. He opened me a chat on facebook and said, “Hi i’m Chotu, check out my video, I’ve been flourishing for about a year now”. I was like, ok… let’s see (I have to do this like dozens of times every day so I wasn’t expecting it to be this good, seriously)

So I saw those super cool moves and told him, man, you are going to be in the next Up and Coming!

So yeah, congrats Chotu and I hope the guys here can give you some advice on how to spend your following years in this community. Welcome and thanks for your potential contributions ;)

-Alejandro Portela
.thecuso

Read more about the Up and Coming initiative if you want to know how to win some cool prizes by helping the future stars of card flourishing. Visit the original post here: Up and Coming: A new section to push the art forward.

Any help will be appreciated and rewarded.

The last couple of weeks I’ve been talking to Michael from BMPokerworld to give you guys a nice deal on this deck they have produced exclusively with the USPCC.

They got a really small run printed and I thought you wouldn’t want to miss the opportunity to get your hands on one of these for your collection.

Brown Bicycle Rider Back

I didn’t present myself as .thecuso but “the guy from Best Magic Deals“, so after I explained what the blog was all about he thought we should do something together.

I tried my best to get you a 50% discount but that would only happen on my dreams… Instead, I managed to squeeze a cool contest that will be up until the end of february.

Brown Bicycle Contest

For every $10 spent from today to the 31st of march you will get an entry for a raffle where you can win a $100 gift certificate to spend on their store. Be it playing cards, poker chips, accessories… (milf not includded in the package)

NOTE: It’s very important that you write a note on your order saying that you want to enter .thecuso’s raffle.

Wan’t free decks

I also managed to get a coupon code that reads:

“Buy 12 Brown Bicycle decks or more and I will throw in 2 extra decks for free”.

If you want to know how to get this coupon code head over to BestMagicDeals.com and find out ;)

EDIT: Ok, the coupon code is “bestmagicdeals”, feel free to use it but if you find it useful go subscribe to the god damn blog!

-Alejandro Portela

.thecuso

Ok guys, i’ve just got SICK in the mail so after a first quick look through the contents here is my review, I’ll keep it short and direct.

First, if you are a noob (and sorry for that but I couldn’t find a better word) stay away from this.

This DVD is for the passionate only, I’m not bad with coins but haven’t put as much time into them as into my cards so I found it really hard and technical (this is just a first impression, we’ll see in a couple of weeks hehe), but then again, that’s just the way I like it.

Another point to mention. Ponta uses big silver dollars for most of the routines and only half dollars on the matrix ones.

There is a reason to that. I tried with my halves and found it impossible but then I watched the matrix and said… Ok let’s start with these :>

You will need big coins for some of the sleights. Maybe you can practice with poker chips or chinese replicas but if you were planning to make an investment on Morgan dollars, now it’s the time.

About the teaching… You all know: silent, over the shoulder and first person view, slow motion, a couple of text annotations here and there… I think it’s enough.

This DVD will last you a few years to get down. Not only the technical aspect, if you are like me you won’t stop practicing these routines until you’ve mastered them 100%, and that includes achieving Ponta’s level of smoothness.

Good luck with that.

-Alejandro Portela
.thecuso

“Last year we were approached by fashion giant Christopher Wicks’ clothing company English Laundry to incorporate our unique style of magic and card flourishes into a fresh new video that would showcase their brand. The end result is spectacular and to our knowledge, something that has never been done both in the fashion and magic industries. The video, directed by Silas Howard and Ben Peyser of Standard Quality, was shot with a Red camera on location at the Global Rebels warehouse. It incorporates a clever special effect that required us to wear green body suites and be filmed performing flourishes against a green screen.”

-Dan and Dave

Here is another promo video shot in downtown Los Angeles by Dan and Dave Buck for English Laundry to display during the 2009 MAGIC show in Las Vegas.

The goal of this project was to create eye-candy that would visually attract attention and create buzz for English Laundry’s new product line without the aid of a mannequin.

Check out the English Laundry playing cards at Dan and Dave

It’s been a while since the last time I blog something about coins instead of cards but there’s a good reason…

First of all, this DVD is only on sale in Japan at the moment but it’s coming to our market later this month.

Ponta the Smith is a magician from Osaka Japan, and in this DVD, he takes you through his handlings of some of the best coin routines around includding: Spellbound, One Coin Routine, Tenkai Pennies, 3 Coins Across, Vanish, 3 Fly, Winged Silver, Matrix, Backfire Matrix, Quick Matrix, Backfire Assembly.

Ponta the Smith has been a highly-sought, underground sensation and his improvements in the coin genre have taken the world by suprise. With Sick, he’s ready to blow up your conceptions of coin magic. Sick is his first DVD, and it is ready to take coin magic to a higher level of performance. Shot in a visual style, Ponta the Smith doesn’t say a word — he walks you through each one of his moves in an easy-to-learn, up-close style.

The reason I’m blogging this is because, man, I want some Morgan Dollars and I want them RAITNAO!

This damn trailer, and the other performance videos from Ponta the Smith at youtube, have made me want to pick up coin magic again.

I’ve read somewhere on a forum, maybe at the magic café, that this guy has done to coin magic what Dan and Dave did to card magic…

I’m not sure it’s the same thing but trust me, David Roth or Troy Hooser among others didn’t get me so motivated. Even though everyone KNOWS (and i’m no exception) that they are the “pros”.

I can’t wait to pick this up as soon as it’s out (this month) but first I need some good ol’ dollars.

Question is, Schoolcraft or Lassen?

-Alejandro Portela

Check it out: Sick by Ponta the Smith

Michael Herp entered a video contest hosted by Peter Jackson (Yeah, Lord Of The Rings dude) and he needs your vote.
Here is his message:

Hey Guys, as explained in the video, I really really need your support to win. 60 seconds of your time could change the course of my future!
http://www.your-big-break.com/entry/12018
There’s the direct link to my video, Perception, so go vote! Big Thanks!

-Michael Herp

But that’s not all.

Andrei Jikh is swinging back and forth the top 4 at the Nikon Festival Contest. If you haven’t commented there go now and give him the last push to win this. His video is just insane.
Don’t forget to rate 5 stars, that’s what counts and you don’t even need to be registered.

Here is his video: http://www.nikonfestival.com/blog/2009/12/09/in-the-cards/

Hey guys,

A couple of weeks ago I passed the 4500 subscribers mark at youtube and today youtube wants me to tell my followers to subscribe again!

Why?

The subscription system delivers videos from content creators to eager viewers and has become such an essential part of YouTube that that “subscribe” button is clicked over 1 million times every day. That’s a lot — which is why we’re especially focused on improving the reliability, usefulness and transparency of subscriptions.

If you subscribed to .thecuso on youtube before September and want to receive my bulletins, simply visit my channel, click the “Edit subscription” link, and choose “Subscribe to all videos uploaded, rated, favorited, and commented on.”

If you trust my taste and like the selection of videos I blog here you might want to activate this on youtube as well.

If you want to upgrade your subscription go now to http://youtube.com/thecuso and follow the easy steps on the photo, it will only take you 7 seconds.

I promise to bring you more awesome stuff on my youtube channel this year, includding some cardistry tutorials and exclusive videos that you will love and learn from. To all my subscribers…

Thank you,

-Alejandro Portela

.thecuso

Source | Youtube Blog

Cool promotion from Arcane Playing Cards. For a limited time, order an Arcane Card Clip by Joe Porper with the special ace cutout and get a black arcane deck for free.

If you speak to Joe (call him, he’ll talk to you), you’ll realize he feels strongly about metal work.

Joe will talk your ear off about the metal you start with and how you conduct your project. Joe sees no point in doing it if it’s not going to be the best.

Joe implemented our idea for the cutout reveal so that the beautiful Arcane ace could bleed right through the metal. It’s wonderful.

Not only do you get a tough-as-nails, card straightening, card clip to keep your cards safe – but you get a clip that lets the ace shine right through the metal.

Magicians in many countries swear by Porper protective clips, so why not do some mighty fine swearing of your own? Order one, or both, today.

Want more bargains like this one? Subscribe to Best Magic Deals

Hey guys,

2009 is over so we have to choose the cardistry video that represents this awesome year.
I could have put way a lot more videos on the list but I tried to narrow it down to only a few. I know it is a bit biased but hey, this is my site after all hehe.

Anyway, here is the poll.

 Loading ...

If you want to rewatch the videos before you submit your vote click the thumbnails above.
Enjoy, again,

-Alejandro Portela
.thecuso

PS: If you want to help the participants make sure you post this on the forums and share it on facebook and twitter.

HO HO HO!

I know you’ve been waiting for this for almost a month and it’s been killing you and all that but today the wait is over.

52 of you have been chosen by the stars to be one of the lucky winners. It has been an awesome experience climbing down your chimneys and falling down your rooftops.

This giveaway has been a huge one thanks to all the sponsors that made it possible, let’s give them a big round of thankful applause!

I just want to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone.

Congratulations for being so awesome,

Here is the complete list of winners: Christmas Giveaway Contest Winners

There will be more contests and special deals really really soon so subscribe to Best Magic Deals’ RSS Feed, Email Newsletter, Twitter and Youtube.

Once again congrats to the winners and everyone who participated and see you on the next one!

-Alejandro Portela “Santa Cuso”

Hey guys ,

The Anaconda DVD is already Up and Coming property thanks to Ekaterina who donated it for the views and comments she received on her “Second Best Job in the World” video.

Get involved

I’ve been re-reading the comments you guys are posting at the Up and Coming #1 and #2 and taking notes for myself to later decide who is going to win the prizes.

So far I have a few names in my mind but I want to see more people involed contributing with knowledge and experience. It’s not only about commenting a video but to help the new card flourishers on their path to the top.

Kate needs your vote!

Kate posted a video this morning with the instructions to help her out in the last stage of the contest. You don’t need to register or anything, just click thumbs up on her video (and thumbs down on her competitors’ if you want hehe). It’s pretty easy and it takes less than 10 seconds.

Here it is for you to check:

I’m sure that if we help her be at least on the top 3 she is going to throw in some more goodies. Here is the link to the site you have to go to vote for her: Vote for Kate

New Up and Coming Prizes

I’ve been contacted from different people wanting to donate stuff for the Up and Coming section. Some of them are the ones who already donated stuff for the holiday giveaway but I have new ones with super cool gifts.

Again, I want you to contribute actively. Although .thecuso is not a forum I consider you guys part of a small community or a big family if you want, let’s take cardistry to the next level.

One of the prizes for this year’s Up and Coming is the Titan’s Finger “Twist” by Titanas, a neat magic effect that allows you to twist your finger 180 degrees. Since Best Magic Deals are donating it, I thought you might want to check out the review posted there by Dee Christopher.

I think it’s an awesome thing to do as a cardistry gag after someone sees you do your crazy flourishes and ask the usual “That must take a lot of practice right?” So you can reply, “Well, you just need some flexibility on your fingers, check this out…”

You can check out the trailer to see what it looks like here: Titan’s Finger by Titanas.

Who said you can’t mix magic with card flourishes?

-Alejandro Portela

Happy Holidays guys,

Christmas is here and it comes with a nice red sack filled with shiny gifts for you, my loyal and adorable readers.

I’ve been talking to a few friends and companies about sponsoring a unique giveaway with magic products, playing cards and collectors’ items… because I know everyone loves free stuff, am I right? ;)

What first started as a small contest for Black Friday has turned into one of the richest giveaways with contributions from the main companies in the business and big names from card flourishing, magic, hypnosis and mentalism.

You are the ones that make .thecuso and I want to thank you for being there everyday, sharing your videos and ideas and helping others with your tutorials and constructive comments.

Christmas is a good time to give back and reward you for being part of this growing family.

“There are 52 Christmas packets for 52 different winners with an estimate total value of over $1200 in magic gifts.”

Before I explain the rules of the game let’s take a look at the good stuff.

THE PRIZES

1 Pack of Signed 1st Edition Smoke and Mirrors by Dan and Dave’s (one of each).
2x Downloads of your choice from Vanishinginc Magic Store.
2x Decks of Bicycle 125th Aniversary from Aceking
3x Packs of 1 Black and 1 White Arcane Playing Cards.
3x Karnival Assassin decks from trickshopmagic
2x “One-Hand Popover” DVDs from Aaron Fisher
1x “GENESIS” Download from Andrei Jikh
1x “Surfaced” DVD from Chad Nelson
2x Signed Copies of 1st ed. “Inside” from Daniel Madison.
6x Uncut sheets of Bicycle Raiders From MagicNetwork
2x “My night with a stripper” DVDS by Chris “Orbit” Brown
1x “Stain/Shiv” DVD by Andrew Mayne
1x Copy of Hong Wong’s hypnosis DVD “ZAP” from Jay Noblezada
1x Full “Reality is Plastic” Hypnosis Book and DVD set from Anthony Jacquin
1x “Manchurian Approach” Hypnosis DVD set from Anthony Jacquin and Alakazam
1x $200 worth annual subscription to MagicMez
2x Packs of 3 Red/Blue Bicycle Vintage Racer Backs from Eyellusionist
2x Packs of 3 Red/Blue Tally Ho Fan Backs from Eyellusionist
2x Packs of 3 1st edition Bicycle Raiders From MagicNetwork
6x PDF downloads of your choice from Dee Christopher
1x $25 gift certificate to spend on Dan and Dave’s On Demands
1x “Thunderbird” PDF from Lee Asher
3x 1-on-1 Training Videos (of your choosing) from Theory 11
5 “Devious” PDF from Geraint Clarke

How to win

To enter the giveaway, all you have to do is leave a comment below before everyone else.

Yes, that’s all.

The first 20 people that leave a comment will receive a prize from the above list. 100% sure.

The rest of the gifts will be assigned at random from all the comments received before the 25th of December, just make sure you use your personal email when you post the comment so we can contact you if you win.

RULES

In order to participate, you must write a Christmas related comment. It could be a quote, a funny line, something cheerful or simply your best wishes for the holidays. Be creative and original, but please try not to be repetitive.

Want a suggestion? Start writing it down right now and store it somewhere in your computer so when the time comes you can copy-paste it right away. It will save you some precious time.

How will you know when the comments are open?

I highly encourage you to subscribe to the rss feed or email newsletter, friend me on facebook and follow me on twitter.

Especially the last ones… because there, I’m going to announce the official launch in real time and give you some clues and hints prior to the event.

Hey, that’s optional, you can always try the oldschool “refresh page” method muahaha!

How to double your chances of winning

Here is a little trick you can do to double your chances of winning one of the gifts.

With your twitter account follow @BestMagicDeals and retweet the following message:

“@BestMagicDeals RT to Win over $1200 worth of magic, cardistry, poker and hypnosis products. More info at http://bit.ly/santacuso”

Sounds good, right?

Stay tuned and alert, Santa Cuso is watching you…

Good luck,

-Alejandro Portela

—

Looking for good magic coupon codes to save on your orders? Take a look at Best Magic Deals…

Hi guys,

As promised here is the second (and last) Up and Coming post of 2009. This time I’m going to introduce you to these two guys from Kazakhstan, Aituar Kazbekov and Sergey Lagutin.

When I saw the video I thought it would be perfect for the Up and Coming because I’m sure you guys have a lot to say about it. Production wise, style, moves, etc.

Here is the video, enjoy.

…

What you have to do here is to obviously check out their video and take a couple of minutes of your day to write a constructive comment about what you’ve just seen. Of course you want your comment to be as in-depth and relevant as you can if you want to opt in for the rewards but that doesn’t mean you have to only say positive things about the video.

Be objective, highlight the good things but don’t forget the bad things because those are what really matter in the end.

You know this Up and Coming initiative wasn’t conceived just to encourage people to write more comments but to help the newcomers to get quicker to the top so think of ways to make that possible and let’s move the art forward one step at a time.

Here comes the cool part…

Rewards

Oh, before I forget, let’s talk about some of the prizes for the first two “Up and Coming” posts (if you missed the first one you can check it out here: Up and Coming #1)…

If you help Kate with their modeling stuff here, she will donate a sealed copy of Bone Ho’s Anaconda DVD, the “Secret Books” of De’vo vol.1 and some cards.

Chad Nelson contacted me the other day to offer a copy of the best seller Surfaced DVD where you can learn the multiple variations of the famous Clipshift color change.

I will make sure my friend Jason Brumbalow throws in some Arcane decks.

Dan and Dave are also willing to contribute with some gift cards filled with magic cash for their store and other cool stuff I can’t tell you just yet.

Contribute as much as you can and it will pay off.

-Alejandro Portela
.thecuso

Handlordz products are once again selling on eBay. Including a collector item!

The FunWithAces guys Ryoma and Nebelfuchs have put up three auctions with a bunch of “xtreme” products for the enthusiasts.

“With their private product forums being down ever since the old yuku board hack, getting the xtreme bundle at a better price has no inconvenient at all.”

Right now the price is really low but don’t expect these products to end up going for thousands like in other auctions…

Anyway, here are the goodies that these guys listed…

Xtreme Card Manipulation Products at eBay

Jerry Cestkowski’s Encyclopedia of Playing Card Flourishes + Companion DVDs

“The Encyclopedia of Playing Card Flourishes is the first of its kind. This current, comprehensive treatment of fancy card manipulation will teach you everything from the Charlier Pass to juggling cards. With 2,800 photographs and a wealth of informative accompanying instructions, this massive book will keep you busy for years. The only reason you will put this 545-page text down is because it weighs 5 pounds. Hardback, 8-1/2 x 11, lies flat for easy learning.”

SUPERHANDZ XTREME BUNDLE DVD SET + EXTRAS

Includes the following: Xtreme Beginnerz Vol. 1 two DVD Set, The Cobra Collection DVD & Cradle to Grave DVD
+ De’ring DVD + Superhandz Music CD

LIMITED EDITION SUPERHANDZ SPADE PORPER CLIP

“These are simply the finest card clips ever made! We worked with Joe Porper on this project, and the outcome is AMAZING! Each one of these magnificent card clips are engraved with our Superhandz Spade logo and are also signed by Joe Porper himself! These clips have a special design to keep your cards flat and ready to go at a moments notice. All other clips on the market just can’t hold a candle to these awesome and durable black clips.

If you ever thought about getting a card clip, this is the one you have been waiting for!

Only 100 of these awesome card clips were made and were ONLY available from our store!”

If you are looking for something less “retro” you might wanna check Kate’s post where she offers her “Secret Books of De’vo” as a donative to the Up and Coming initiative.

I’m going to bid on the porper clip, I’m sure I can find a way to bleach off that logo…

Just kidding ;)

-Alejandro Portela

Ok guys, the first Up and Coming post is here! I want to introduce you to these new french flourishers, Ferrand Jeremy and Mayo.

We know the Scenacle guys (Aristote, Mattgic and Maxim), the Fun With Aces guys (Dimitri Arleri and Ryoma) the Queen Hearts crew (Paolo Ascer & co.) and maybe a couple more but there are not so many french dudes out there that have appeared here at .thecuso … Can you point me to another one? (check the archives, I’m sure you can)

What you have to do here is to obviously check out their video and take a couple of minutes of your day to write a constructive comment about what you’ve just seen. Of course you want your comment to be as in-depth and relevant as you can if you want to opt in for the rewards but that doesn’t mean you have to only say positive things about the video.

Be objective, highlight the good things but don’t forget the bad things because those are what really matter in the end.

You know this Up and Coming initiative wasn’t conceived just to encourage people to write more comments but to help the newcomers to get quicker to the top so think of ways to make that possible and let’s move the art forward one step at a time.

If you live in France or plan to go there anytime soon you might want to contact these guys for a little jam or meetup. Maybe you see them in your next local convention and recognize them for being here or maybe you just want to improve your non-canadian french accent… ^^

—

Show your love but don’t be afraid to be a bit harshy… Only a bit you “haterz”!

Rewards

Oh, before I forget, let’s talk about some of the prizes for the first two “Up and Coming” posts (next one will be in December)…

If you help Kate with their modeling stuff here, she will donate a sealed copy of Bone Ho’s Anaconda DVD, the “Secret Books” of De’vo vol.1 and some cards.

Chad Nelson contacted me the other day to offer a copy of the best seller Surfaced DVD where you can learn the multiple variations of the famous Clipshift color change.

I will make sure my friend Jason Brumbalow throws in some Arcane decks.

Dan and Dave are also willing to contribute with some gift cards filled with magic cash for their store and other cool stuff I can’t tell you just yet.

Contribute as much as you can and it will pay off.

-Alejandro Portela
.thecuso

My friend Kate, Ekaterina Dobrokhotova, has just entered a video contest and she asked me for a little help on promoting her entry. As I did in the past for Shoeman and CJ here is the post to support her. I hope you do the same, specially after reading what she’s got to offer in return for the favour.

Here is her message:

Hi everyone,

As you already know who I am, I won’t start off with an introduction, but rather with a little favor. As some of you know, I work in Show Business, Modeling and currently completing a bachelor degree in Marketing and I found a perfect job contract: International Shopping Consultant. The application to this job required the production of a video entry and the winner of the job title is based on BUZZ alone.

Here is the favor part: I need you to COMMENT (recommend me for the job), RATE (5 stars) and SHARE this video such that I beat the current highest viewed video.

I’d like to take this job offer as an opportunity to also give back to the community.

Here is how we will play this out:

Prizes

2000 views:

randomly chosen commenter will receive 2 decks of cards from the cards that I own… could be Arcanes, Wynns… you get my drift, but I decide.

6000 views:

I donate the sealed ANACONDA DVD to .thecuso’s upandcoming section.

12 000 views:

I donate the SECRET BOOK OF DE’VO volume 1 to .thecuso’s upandcoming section.

Over 12 000 views

: I will do more draws among comments, but we still have to get there, needless to say, I feel very generous.

How to vote

Here is my video entry: http://job.letsbuyit.co.uk/EkaterinaDobrokhotova

You may also check it on YouTube and directly comment and rate there:
International Shopping Consultant Entry: EKATERINA

IF I get the job, here is the list of cities I will visit: Berlin, London, Milan, Paris, New York City, Hong Kong and Tokyo. I will make sure I get to jam with as much folks as possible, so you know what you need to do!!!

Thanks for the support,
Ekaterina

—

So here is what you want to do…

Let’s go viral

-Play the video a few times or get your drinking bird to click the play button while you are practicing your bottom deals.

-Share the video in the forums. Not only magic forums but in the offtopic section of every nerdy forum that you are registered. In the thread topic you can put something like “What do you think about her legs?”, “I think she’s got a sexy accent” or something like that…

-Write a blurb on Facebook and upload the (not so)Secret Books(anymore) photo into an album and tag everyone there with a link to the video in the description.

-Retweet this post on twitter. It always works.

-Email it to your friends asking for feedback on your potential girlfriend. “Yo guys she does cardz just like me! Do you think I should ask her out?”

-Do all of the above mentioned things and pray to your favourite deity.

Alejandro Portela

Here is a nice promotion from the E guys. Could be the best campaign this year… I wonder how T11 is going to respond to this… Anyway thanks BestMagicDeals for the post ;)

Here we go…

The guys at Ellusionist have gone crazy. For these Christmas Holidays they bring us a contest where you can win from a $1500 credit card to spend at their store and a 32gb Ipod Touch loaded with Magic DVDS to hundreds of Arcane decks and even some ultra rare 1st edition Black Ghost Decks, yeah, those you saw at eBay for $500 a couple of months ago.

Here are some of the goodies up for grabs…

-1500 USD to spend at Ellusionist
-32gb 3rd gen Ipod Touch loaded with How to do Street Magic, Revolution, Shapeshifter, Crash Course 1, Crash 2, Ninja 1, Ninja 2, Kard Klub, Inside Magic, King Rising, Hover Card, and a backup DVD of each.
-45 minutes private training session with Brad Christian
-Hundreds of Arcane Playing Cards and Arcane Clips
-Uncut 1st Edition Black Ghost Deck Sheets
-Gaff uncut sheets
-Ultra rare 1st edition Black Ghosts
-Arcane Deck Uncut Sheets
-Ellusionist Street Bag loaded with DVDS
-Thousands of tattoos.

They have put out a special page where they explain how to get all those amazing prizes.

Go check it out now: Ellusionist Holiday Giveaway

Holly shiznit! Check out Brad’s S Fans!!! They are the best I’ve ever seen!!! ¬¬

Here is my biased review on Genesis to get you guys to hear my sexy spanish accent.

Nah seriously, this IS the DVD you are looking for, no matter your skill level or style. Genesis is hands down the best cardistry DVD ever released.

I’m going to briefly go over the contents highlighting what caught my attention.

I must say it took me 4 days to watch all of it because there is so much stuff here that it’s insane.

And that’s just the first quickie I gave it! This material will last me months to master…

So…Let’s begin:

Charlier Cut

Loved the tips on real life perfomances to give meaning to what we do and those funny lines to involve the audience. Really valuable advice.

Thumb Cut

I learned it the wrong way!!!

Now I understand why so many people is adicted to these cuts, now my flares look much better with Huron Low’s ninja style.

Scissor Cut

I have to say I miss some advanced applications here but the teaching for the basic move couldn’t have been any better.

One Hand Revolution Cut

Is Brian Tudor the father of the move? I remember it took me a while to get used to the mechanics but soon it became one of my favourite flourishes when I was starting out.

The one in my right hand always looked a bit weaker so I’m happy that Andrei is a lefty.

Angel

A beautiful move by Bone Ho. Andrei teaches the way to do it if your hands are as dry as a “mojama”.

Widthwise Triangle

This is not the method I use but it is the same result so it’s always nice to train alternatives. He also gives you tips to add flare and personality. Don’t skip this part.

Lengthwise Triangle

I love the advanced handling using hand motions and his “Blink” move to close it. I actually use the Lengthwise Triangle in one of my flourishes that you can, by the way, quickly get a glimpse in Sexy Time, I call it “Triángulo”.

One Handed Shuffle

This is the first flourish i’ve ever learned, even before the charlier cut. When I first saw this in Rene Lavand’s hand I fell in love with card flourishing. Andrei gives some nice points on how to master this tough guy.

Thumb Propulsion

Aka Long Distance Spinner. A move I’ve never been able to do. Will move it up my to-do list right after finishing this review. I must learn this move in order to be able to…

“Do your flourishes, do your applaudes cue, and when they’re applauding McBride the f*ck out of them” -Ineski

Spring

Andrei explains all techniques in this extensive in-depth tutorial, even The Virts’ way is touched here.

One of the most impressive and all time Stars of card flourishing.

Flower Fan

Another one that I have to practice in order to get an even full circle shape. Credits to Jerry and Jeff McBride. Girls love this one.

One handed Fan

Andrei Jikh’s one handed fan is one of the best I’ve seen, i mean, there’s Jaspas’, Shoeman’s and Huron’s but hey, we are talking about Andrei’s DVD here right? ;)

I have to practice this in my left hand as I normally do a Carnahan Fan instead so again thanks Andrei for being lefty.

Thumb Fan

It truly is one hell of a tough move when you are starting. I love the way Andrei forms it with that 360 spiky shape.

Watch out for the “oilies”! Great tips on how to perform it on stage and live performances.

Angel Slide

Shows you how to apply concepts from other artforms that have affinity to inspire you to create new moves. Really fun to practice. I love it.

Blink

The cherry on top kinda move. “If you Blink you’ll miss it”. A little one to use after a combo or as a transition between flourishes.

Angel Catch

Love the performance clip of this move with the thumb cuts sequence. Simple yet effective.

Time shot

I loved this move when I first saw it in the trailer. Going to use it for sure but first I need a good one handed fan in my left hand (where i wear my watch). Both methods taught are cool.

Pickwhip

You already saw the intro for this one. First you learn the swing cut as a prerequisite. Pacman easter egg ftw.

52 motions closer

Nice way to close a thumb fan, I’ve been experimenting with a few differentways myself. They make your fans look much much better, dont underestimate the closers!

Basic Card in Fan

Easy to do. Fun to practice. Good looking. You MUST learn this one.

Tetra

Credits to Matt Lang and Daniel Garcia. Again simplicity here is the key. A tricky move. I love this concept of instant surprise and actually use it in one of my flourishes (Satellite).

Bullet shot

Extremely easy, you get a lot of control over the flick. A nice alternative. Not recommended if you are a poss girl, watch the explanation and you’ll understand why.

Card in Flower Fan

Another aerial catch move. If you can do the flower fan then you can do this one. Nice subtlety on how to handle the card you toss in the air in order to increase the chances of catching it into the fan.

Rewind

Credits to Jerry for the deck twirl concept. Beautiful move. I adore deck twirls.

Flashback

An aerial two-packets false cut. Looks damn great when done up to speed. I will use it.

Twitter

Credits to Ling “Nemesis” Xuan and shoutout to Decknique. I like the sound the cards do when you perform it.

Bullet

The move I was interested the most in learning ever since I saw the underground “Contents” and “Allan’s edit” videos.

Can’t belive it is so simple to do! I need Andrei’s speed on this one. DAMN!

Basic ONE

LOL at the Secret Books easter egg at the intro.

Gotta love the flare that Andrei adds to the move. Makes it look completely unique.

ONE Charlier

Awesome when done in both hands. This is “bringing sexy back to the charlier cut”.

Rebound Concept

The good stuff will be in the upcoming volumes of Genesis.

Winged Concept

Another great concept using a fan as a platform. You have to see it to understand it’s potential.

Winged Instant Three

One hand revolution + one handed fan = Instant aerial triangle

Arial Winged Throw

Awesome looking. I love it. Works great with cobra-ish sound effects, you know what I mean.

Blanco ONE

– Alejandro Portela (That’s me!)

Blanco one is an idea I showed to Andrei Jikh in a quick late night webcam session. He liked it so much that thought would be a great addition to the first volume where he explains the ONE concept.

It’s not the most original thing I have but it blends pretty well with Andrei’s style. If you already know how to do Blanco from my public tutorial then this is a piece of cake.

Carnahan Fan

– Dan and Dave

One of my favourite fans there is. And I’m sure everyone’s too. Nice bicycle eco deck there twins, I want one now!

Learn the history of the move from Dave itself and why was he chosen for Smokin’ Aces instead of Dan.

Overall GENESIS Impression

“5/5 stars from me dawg!!!”

Let’s start a new section here. I’m going to call it Up and Coming and I’m going to be posting videos of beginners and amateurs that I think might hit hard in the future if they keep up the good work.

I mainly do this to encourage everyone to start being creative from their early days on card flourishing and move away from topics and overused patterns.

I’ll try to post at least once a week to leave you guys enough time to discuss positively the ups and downs of the videos in order to help them, from our experience, to become better flourishers and eventually kick our asses.

I might also consider doing a few unexpected contests every X months to see who is helping the most and even reward your favourite beginners.

The top contributors will get to chose their favourite “Up and Comings” to share the sweet prizes i’ve been stocking up for you all this time in my basement.

How can you help?

Post comments, give some advice, teach them something, retweet the posts, share them on facebook, introduce them to your friends, meet up, do collabs, form a group, get involved.

When I say there will be prizes I’m talking in terms of bricks of cards, maybe DVDs too, you name it. Trust me, you will love to take part in this iniciative.

You know this is not a forum, this is a family!

Start now.

-Alejandro Portela
.thecuso

Photography by Eugene Soh