Alain Nu - Any Card

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THE BLURB：
One of Alain's most prized reputation-makers this is the
effect that helped to tip the scale to alain's favor before
he was signed for FOUR hours of TV specials with the TLC
network!  Learn all about Alain's experience with his most
diabolical methods to the classic Any Card at Any Number
(ACAAN).  Any Card...， uncovers 12 full years of developing
and performing Alain's own personal touches on this most
incredible premise.
Here's what it contains：
1) Alain's detailed handling of his solution to the classic
Berglas Effect， which he simply calls， "Any Card..."  A
randomly thought-of card is found at a random number from
the top， or face， of an examinable deck， under the watchful
eye of a very skeptical audience!
2) Seven essays， integral to Alain's philosophy of ACAAN.
These cover important presentational considerations，
creative concepts， subtleties， anecdotes， opinions， and
objectives of the ACAAN effect that are often never
addressed.
3) One entire chapter which details three original
development techniques as well as three original casual
false mixes (w/photos and illustrations).
4) An entire chapter dedicated to 6 different variations and
a related effects， three of which are easy to do and can be
learned in under 30 minutes!
5) 52 full pages， on 8.5" X 11"， very clearly written.  Plus
a BONUS EFFECT： Any Card Thru Table (and into the awaiting
hand of a stunned spectator!)
52 pages， 8.5" x 11"
MY COMMENTS：
The Any-Card-At-Any-Number plot is becoming irritatingly
ubiquitous.  Assuming that you are as intrigued by this plot
as so many others， this begs the question of whether this
particular version is right for you.  I can't say that， but
perhaps the blurb and some additional info that I'll provide
will help.
Obviously， if you're not into using playing cards， you're
probably not reading this right now， anyway.  Also， Alain Nu
is one of the masters of mentalism and magic and his
thinking in this book is brilliant， if not necessarily the
type of material that you're comfortable with.  I definitely
enjoyed reading this book.  He always includes important
philosophies， intriguing handlings， and worthwhile
discussions of his effects.
That said， Alain admitted in a pretend ad copy of this book
(on page 11) that his "Any Card..." method is "Not easy to
do or learn.  Advanced-level card technique preferred.
Lengthy set-up.  Also requires that you do mental gymnastics
while performing， and is entirely dependent on your ability
to sell it for it isn't.  Consider yourself warned." On the
other hand， it's not as comparatively difficult as some of
the hardest card sleights or mental work.  As Alain points
out， and I agree， it will take a certain level of
committment in order to maximize the effectiveness of this
miracle， as Alain has envisioned it.  Many top
professionals， including David Berglas， have done so and
that's why this particular effect is one of their most
memorable ones.
Included in this book is Alain's incredible Bluff Bridge，
which is a false bridge shuffle that is incredible.  I saw
him many years ago use this in a lecture and everyone's jaws
dropped.  He also explains his favorite cuts， passes， and
other moves which are not common ones， but should be， as
they are excellent， too.  And， as the blurb says， there are
some technically easier variations of this effect that he
includes.  One of them uses business cards.
I think it's fair to say that this book isn't for everyone，
but if the blurb above interests you， or you're a fan of
Alain Nu's thinking， then you certainly won't be
disappointed as this book is a thoroughly engaging and
enlightening exploration of a neo-classic plot in mentalism
and magic.