Second Wind by Asi Wind

Asi’s newest book to the community is a throwback to beginner magic books. The idea is that if you take these simple beginner magic tricks and use your current knowledge of magic, you can make these old tricks more deceptive. Thus the tag line “A book of old magic made new.”

The style of the book does a great job of emulating the old typewriter font, hand drawn illustrations, and well-worn covers of those old beginner magic books we’ve all had. The biggest difference here is that the tricks aren’t actually created for beginners. You don’t typically see moves like the cull, classic force, faro, or pass mentioned in beginner books, but they are mentioned here as ways to make the tricks more deceptive. While all of the tricks are easy enough for beginner/intermediate magicians to perform, it’s clear that his intended audience is magicians already “in the know.”

The book is smaller than I expected. It’s the smallest book on my shelf—almost like a pocket edition. You could easily carry this in your back pocket or inner jacket pocket, but it’s laid out well making it easy to read and follow along. 

Royal Gemini - Asi’s take on Gemini Twins that results in a royal flush. 

This is a nice update to the classic Gemini Twins effect that certainly takes it up a notch. There are a few clever touches here that make it feel extra clean. If I didn’t already have a couple of Gemini Twins routines in my arsenal, I would add this one. It’s easy and it’s effective.

Cut to the Chase - The deck is cut into two piles. A card is selected from one pile and lost in that packet; the spectator keeps hold of that packet. The spectator then cuts the second packet to arrive at a random card. The value of the cut-to card is dealt from the packet they are holding, and their card is found at that location. 

This feels more like a sort of “classic” card trick. You can get into it from a shuffled deck with a cull and faro, or you can set the deck up in advance and that makes it self-working. It works, but I don’t think it’s the strongest effect ever. It feels like it needs to be part of a bigger routine.

Face Value - The spectator removes a bunch of cards from the middle of the deck, shuffles them under the table, removes one card, and sits on it. The rest of the cards are lost back in the deck. A card is selected and lost in the deck. The participant removes the card they are sitting on and the value of that card is dealt from the top of the deck to discover the selected card at that location. 

This is the same basic effect as the previous routine with a slightly different flavor. This one only requires a cull to get into from a shuffled deck. I prefer this handling because the spectator gets to shuffle the cards themselves. It feels a little more hands off to me. Again, the effect is a little lackluster for me, but the handling and method is good. 

Diception - The spectator rolls an imaginary die and remembers the number they roll. They remove any 6 cards from the deck, shuffle them, and remember the card at their though-of-number. Those cards are lost in the deck. The spectator then shuffles the cards faceup and facedown in a chaotic way and spreads them on the table. They count the facedown cards until they arrive at the number they rolled on their imaginary die. The card at that number is their thought-of-card. 

This is my favorite routine in the book. It’s performed FASDIU and it’s a fooler. It is a really clever use for the balducci cut deeper force. The effect is strong, but the method is what’s really great here. It’s a way to allow the spectator to shuffle the cards faceup and facedown and control up to a quarter of the deck. It’s a great method that has a bunch of uses outside of just this one effect. 

Color Correction - The deck is shuffled by a participant and it is cut into thirds. Each packet is handed to an audience member who then further shuffles the packet under the table. One packet is given to the magician and the other two are put onto one another. The performer claims he will separate the red and black cards in his hands visibly. He does so by outjogging the red cards and stripping them out of the deck. Not very magical. But he claims to have also separated the rest of the cards that one spectator is still holding. They are spread and sure enough, the red and black cards are separated. 

This is an easy (self-working) trick that is the type of trick that is often done as an additional kicker after an oil and water effect. Asi’s interpretation eliminates the oil and water part and instead uses comedy to hide the method. Again, it’s a solid method, but personally it feels like it needs to be part of a larger routine. 

Play it by Ear - A deck is cut various times by a participant under the table until they want to stop. They remember the top or bottom card of the deck before losing it in the middle. They bring the deck out and riffle it at the performer’s ear. He immediately tells them the color and suit of their card. He then spreads through the deck and removes the selected card. 

This is a clever handling for the classic trick. The deck is stacked, but it’s a stack you can get into rather easily with a cull and a faro. It’s a deceptive method that probably would have fooled me. There is a nice subtlety that makes it appear like you know the card before you actually do. 

Mind Trip - A spectator thoroughly shuffles a deck. While the magician’s back is turned, they deal cards onto the table stopping wherever they like, and remember the card they stopped at. They reassemble the deck and give it a riffle shuffle before handing it back to the magician. He looks through the cards but claims their card isn’t in the deck. As the participant names their card, the performer pulls one card out of his pocket—the chosen card. 

Another trick FASDIU that is really fooling. This is a smart combination of ideas. Usually in a situation like this you’d have to fish for the chosen card, but this handling eliminates the need to fish. It requires a palm, so it’s not self working like some of the others, but I like it. 

Overall, I enjoyed the contents of the book, but I think it’s a little overpriced for what it is. Of the seven routines, there’s only one method that I know I will absolutely be using (Diception) even though I doubt I’ll perform the effect as it’s written. The methods are all solid, and they are all improvements on the original ideas. I just wish there was a little more thought behind the presentation of the tricks. That’s left up to you. 

*FASIU = From A Shuffled Deck In Use