Woodyland - Disc 4

Well this is the final report you will be receiving from me on the phenomenal Woodyland. I have been really impressed by this set overall, blown away to be exact. So much material, covering the whole gamut of performing magic with playing cards. I really savoured this final disc, the topic of which, "Stacked Decks", is an element of card magic I hold dear. I have a personal love for the "idea" of stacked decks. The ability to disguise a series of tools inside a seemingly shuffled deck, and exploit those tools if necessary, really appeals to me. Now Woody kicks off with something very interesting, a discussion on the pro's and con's of working with stacked decks. Woody goes a long way to dispelling some common misconceptions about the use of stacked deck work, and offers some valuable insights into taking the fear out of relying on a pre-ordained stack to achieve a particular effect. 

Before watching this DVD, I was more than familiar with the popular Si Stebbins stack. What I was unfamiliar with, however, were some of the phenomenal effects made possible by the mathematical properties built into the stack. As Woody spends the first ten minutes laying out the internal connections between each card, each suit, and each value, things slowly started to dawn on me. I started to fall in love with Si Stebbins. I began to forgive it's alternating red-black disfiguring birth-mark and started to see the hidden beauty. I am a big fan of elegant simplicity, reducing something to the most effective form possible. Si Stebbins slowly started to creep into that category for me. 

The first effect, "Si Senor", sees Woody open a new deck of cards, give them a quick shuffle, and after laying them out in groups on the table, has a spectator select a card from any of the groups, remember it and then lose it in any one of the other groups. After collecting the piles and shuffling the deck, Woody is able to locate the spectators chosen card. In and of itself, a very fair and impressive trick; nothing too fancy, but bear in mind that when the trick is complete, a fantastic transformation has occurred. The deck that was in new-deck order just moments before this little miracle, now rests in perfect Si Stebbins order; marvelous, no? Ok so you really need a table. Darwin Ortiz, in "At The Card Table", can teach you how to achieve this without a table, but Woody's completes this task under the guise of performing an actual effect. Smashing!

The disc continues with "The Mentalist". This time an effect that with some slight modification can be performed in the hands. I like this a lot; it's now on the "to practice" list. A spectator removes a card sight unseen. They deal cards singly (to the table, your hand, the back of a small puppy, wherever) and you tell them you have the ability to stop them on cards with scarily similar characteristics to their pocketed card. The first card denotes the suit, the second the value. Boom, you're right. I think with a nice little presentation, this could be a killer (and it's real simple!). 

Now comes a real killer in the form of "Si Fry". A spectator chooses exactly how many cards they would like you to divine. THEY shuffle the deck. Their named number of cards are dealt to the table, by them. You could be blindfolded, yet you are still able to reveal each and every card that they are holding. This is great. Just great. It is devious in method, and seems truly impossible. The cards are genuinely shuffled by the spectator. Again, I really want to find a nice, neat little plot to wrap this gem up in, and I will slot it straight into my work. I cannot sing highly enough of this. This is currently top of my "get working on this now you idiot!" list. As before, there really isn't a great deal of work required to master this, just find your own style of performing it, routine it a little, and boom, a perfect little gem!

I can't personally think of a use for the next item, "forcing a number (using Si Stebbins)", but I'm sure it will be of use to some out there. Woody details quite perfectly a method for forcing any number on a spectator. I really have no opinion on this either way. It's clever, some will use it, not me. Maybe someday. 

After some discussion on the other curiosities hidden with the stack, Woody finishes with a piece of pure genius. "Spelling Routine" has its roots in "Routined Spelling" from his fantastic book. A real perfect way to close a formal close-up show. I am desperately looking for the right situation for me to deem this a worthy effect to learn. It has everything. A good beginning, a solid meaty middle, and a great finale. As with other effects, this isn't going to slot straight into the repertoire of every close-up table hopper. Rather, those fortunate enough to be able to spend intimate time with their audiences, with a table, and with rapt attention, will find a killer piece of close-up magic in "Spelling Routine". For what it's worth, I am usually far from keen on spelling effects. In this case, I can make an exception as there are some real strong magical moments occurring. 

One final chapter gives us some great insights into Woody's opinion on the psychological force, before the DVD closes with part four of the ever-revelatory interview. 

Overall, I am totally overwhelmed by the sheer amount of material on this set. I really really cannot recommend it highly enough. I've said it before, and I know it sounds trite and clichéd, but there really is something for everyone on here. 

And now it's time for me to go back to Disc 1 and start re-watching this brilliant set all over again. Keep an eye-peeled for possible edits to my original posts as I discover new gems :D

As always, if you have any questions, queries, complaints or criticisms, please feel free to drop me a comment below. 

Woodyland is still available here at a fantastic price. Order before 3pm and receive free next-working day shipping to the UK Mainland.