Master Deck - Mark Oberon
25 pounds (roughly $33.00 US)
https://www.marcoberon.co.uk/product/master-deck/

The Hype:

Locate any named card instantly!

The Master Deck is a system from the mind of Marc Oberon, which takes all of the time and effort out of learning to use a memorised stack. You’ll really be using it in no time at all.

In this package, you will receive one specially prepared Master Deck, the Master Deck Book and an instructional DVD teaching the mechanics of the deck and six fantastic routines utilising the system.

My Take:

Sarasota recently hosted a lecture by Mark Oberon. Sounded interesting so I looked him up on Youtube. His performance on Penn & Teller (he fooled them) made my jaw drop. The performance can be watched here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeX16SATpqY He repeatedly has an audience member call out the name of any card and instantly has it in his hand.

Obviously this was one lecture I had to attend and I tell you, it was one of the best ten dollars that I have ever spent on magic. First of all, Mark is an incredibly nice man. He had brought his 21 year old son on his first trip to America. I had gotten there early and had a few minutes to talk with Mark. He was quite talkative even though he was laying his materials out.

Once the lecture started I told myself he won't tip how he locates the cards so quickly. This is his bread and butter. But he told us everything in great detail. Seems like it was accomplished using his creation, the Master Deck. He told us how it was put together and how it works. This is an absolutely ingenious gaffed deck. And each deck is created by hand. There would be no way these could be mass produced.

Instruction is via a fourteen minute online video which can be downloaded. It tells you everything you need to know but it left me wanting a longer video in more depth. Perhaps this is a good thing. Mark encourages you to create your own methods of revealing the card and, if you do, sending it to him. The way the deck works leaves it open to myriad ways to show the card. You are only limited by your imagination. And even if you only do the basic trick a couple of times at a performance, this is what is known as a Reputation Maker. Watch the video again and you will see exactly what I mean.

At the end of the lecture, I pulled out my wallet, let the moths escape and purchased the deck. It comes set up and ready to go. Since the cards are new, they can be slick and I managed to shoot about half the deck onto the floor. This forced me into putting it together correctly which took a while. However, doing this gave me a much better concept of how the deck is constructed and how it works. I usually have a deck in my hands to fiddle with while I watch TV and figured this would be a good subject. It is not a trick you will be performing immediately. For the basic routine, there are no sleights but you will have to play with the deck to get comfortable. The learning technique that I used consists of have a normal deck and have it shuffled. Turning the deck face down, I draw the cards off one by one and as soon as I see the suit and value, locate it in my master deck. When I started, I just named some cards myself but this is so much more efficient and it forces you to locate each and every card in the deck.

 Like a lot of you, I have bought lots of tricks at lectures that almost immediately go into the fabled "magic drawer". This is not going to happen. The more I work with the deck, the easier it gets. The way it is constructed is absolutely brilliant. Thank you , Mark, for sharing this with us an allowing us to purchase one.

It goes without saying (but I'm saying it anyway) that this one is a keeper. It may be several days until you are comfortable enough to perform it but when you reach that point, your audiences will definitely will be talking as they leave and they will remember your name.

Conclusion: This is a superbly designed deck that will allow you to do unbelievable things. I cannot possibly recommend this enough. Drop dead killer!

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