RLT by Christopher Rawlins

This beautiful new deck fits right in with many of Christopher's other latest releases.

This is a deck of number cards that are designed to look like a deck of cards made to play an on-the-go version of Roulette. Each deck contains the numbers 1-36 as well as a 0 card, a 00 card, six betting cards, a "how to play" card, and a cut card. The deck comes in a tuck box that matches the aesthetic and perfectly disguises this deck's clever secret.

In truth, the deck is a pack of number cards designed for magicians/mentalists. It contains two markings: one that tells you what number they chose and one that tells you if the number is black or red. The markings are very easy to read and quite clever. The number marking is in a position that keeps it totally hidden when the deck is spread, yet it's very easy to read once a card is removed. You can also read it by spreading the cards slightly further at their selected card. Its position is a large part of its deception, IMO.

Like many of Christopher's other releases, the cards are marked in a way that is an instant read--meaning there's nothing to decode. The pro of this is that it's super easy to learn and read. The con is that if the spectators were to REALLY examine two or three cards, they would probably be able to spot the difference rather quickly. It's not a bad thing, it's just something to be aware of. I personally prefer this style of peek because I value the speed and casualness of the read over the invisibility. Once again, this is psychologically invisible rather than literally invisible.

The cards are of the same quality you'd expect with Chris's other releases. They handle nicely and they look and feel exactly as you'd expect them to. When I opened my deck, I had two cards that were slightly stuck together, and when I peeled them apart, the green ink from the back of the card bled onto the face of another card. I imagine they may have experienced some humidity and/or heat on their journey across the pond to me. I wouldn't let it put you off of buying it though; I feel like that's an anomaly, and I'm sure Christopher would send you a replacement deck if that were to happen to you. He seems to be a genuinely good guy in the business.

I am so glad that he made this deck. I have never liked the number cards that just have bicycle backs. They just feel like such a weird prop that only a magician would have. These feel like they actually serve a purpose beyond just a magic trick, and that's part of what makes them so successful and invisible as a magician's tool. Thats the great thing about all of the decks that Chris has been making lately.

The tutorial you receive is just shy of two hours long. It begins with an intro and the origin of the deck, then walks you through the two different marks on the cards and their thoughts on the marks. I say "their" because the tutorial is taught by Chris Rawlins and John Cottle who has been working on the deck with Chris for over a year. You then get into the routines.

The Bet - In this routine the spectator shuffles the deck and begins to deal some cards to the center of the table and eliminate others. As they do this, the performer writes a prediction and sets it aside. Another spectator cuts the stack of cards the first spectator dealt to the center, and the number cut to matches the prediction the performer made.

This is a very simple routine utilizing the marks and a cross cut force. Some may know that the cross cut force is actually one of the most psychologically fooling forces out there, and this takes advantage of that fact. The clever combination of that force with the markings does add some camouflage to the proceedings, but I think the main issue with this routine is that it's too short to be able to build much as it's presented here. Even when watching the performance I was kind of left feeling like "that's it?" Not because the trick is bad, but because it feels like the first beat in a series of reveals, but it's the only one. (If you are a Jerx supporter, you'll actually be able to read his presentation and additional ruse for this routine in Love Letters #28.)

The Wheel - A freely selected card is placed in the card box without anyone looking at it. The rest of the deck is spread face up in a circle on the table to resemble a roulette wheel. As the performer moves his finger around the wheel, the spectator calls stop. The card below the performer's finger is removed. This is repeated a second time. When those two cards are added together, their total matches the number of the unknown card that was placed in the box earlier.

This is my favorite visual because the deck actually looks like a roulette wheel. I think the routine is unique and would fool the spectators, but it does require a timing force. It's a pretty simple one to do, and it's well hidden within the routine, but if you don't feel comfortable with that sort of thing, you'll want to pass on this one. Now obviously, you don't have to use the timing force--you could make it a physical force instead, but the timing force works well within the roulette theme here. I, personally, feel fine with the timing force. As of now, I think this is the routine I would perform with the deck.

Birthday Bet - The spectator removes the numbers associated with their birthday. Those two cards get put in the box. In their head, they add together the day they were born with the month they were born and this becomes their "birthday bet." The performer then deals through the deck showing them each card in the deck. He eventually stops on the number associated with their "birthday bet." Finally, the two cards from the box are added back to the deck and shuffled in. The cards are spread face up all over the table, and the performer finds the month and day the spectator was born.

This isn't really a good fit for me. I find it a bit convoluted, and I wouldn't use it. I also very rarely perform for strangers nowadays, so there will always be a suspicion that I just looked their birthday up before performing. There's nothing wrong with it methodologically; it's just not for me.

Number at Number - One spectator thinks of a number as the performer dribbles the numbers from hand to hand. Another spectator deals the deck, stops anywhere, and remembers the number they stopped at before burying it back in the deck and giving the deck a cut. The first spectator then takes the deck and deals to the number they were just thinking of. The card at their number is the very number the second spectator chose.

This one fooled me. I had no idea how it worked because it was so hands off. It's essentially an ACAAN routine with the number deck. It's actually a very simple method, but the multiple principles at play hide a lot of that methodology. It will require you to "gaff" one of the number cards, but that one card essentially makes the entire trick work. It is virtually self-working. There is a possibility that it won't "hit" and you'll have to do a minor adjustment before they deal, but most of the time, it will be an entirely hands off ANAAN (Any Number at Any Number.) They also teach you a way to perform the routine for just one spectator. While I do like the method, part of me wonders if this would be better with just a normal deck. I think there is potential for it to get a little confusing since two spectators are thinking of two different numbers, but that could just be magician's thinking. They do teach a great way to force a number in this part as well that you could use for other routines.

Overall, this is another hit from Chris Rawlins. It is a clever deck that looks legit, feels legit, and allows you to perform any of your favorite number deck routines with a deck that makes sense and feels like it has a "life" outside of a magician's repertoire. The routines taught are great appetizers, but clearly, you can be creative and use this deck for a plethora of different routines. The ones provided are just the tip of the iceberg.