A Beautiful Mind

Linval

Great

Carolyn

Love it!

Jason

Great trick as always from the great Paul Wilson, and great instruction. Will take a bit of time and experience to really get to know the ins and outs of the effects, but will be fun that's for sure.

George

Giacomo

Joseph

This is a very interesting effect. It truly engages the spectators and makes them think without them being intimidated. The other aspect give the magician several outs if they would need them. I love the way this flows, it's been worked out very well.

Kevin

I love everything Paul Wilson creates, but this effect is absolutely stellar. It’s 100% practical, organic, and perfect for any closeup worker plying their trade in the trenches of restaurant work or other strolling events like cocktail hours, corporate events, bar mitzvahs, etc. The psychology and machinations of A BEAUTIFUL MIND are expertly devised and crafted. Paul’s thinking, as usual, is concise and diabolically deceptive. I have already tested this effect under professional conditions three times and the reactions I have gotten are through-the-roof incredible!! Whether you are a working professional or amateur, A BEAUTIFUL MIND is an exquisite piece of artistry you will be using in your repertoire any opportunity you have!

Mattia

Chadier

Very good explanation
Very logical moves and justifications
Not too long so easy to finish and to understand... ??

Ray

This is a great routine that I will use. It can even be done with a borrowed, shuffled deck which makes it a real worker. Get it! You will use it!

Russ

I really like this. You actually get 3 effects out of it that builds. I do not own Chadwick’s material so I couldn’t compare but the plot is clever and and fun natured as the patter leads to the spectator trying to decipher the performer’s thoughts. I do not believe that you need direct hits at all. I will say that Paul could have gone on more about different scenarios but we all must think outside the box. So, I perform it now with Vernons strip out addition using Dingle’s Nolap switch and ask the spectators to try to touch the ( blank of spades, etc. ) it cleans up beautifully. I recommend this but think outside. It’s a great plot! Thanks Paul and VI.

Alexei

Beautiful routine that combines applies the principles of mentalism to card magic. The routine allows the magician to match three selections (one way or another) and make a prediction that ties it all together. Where mentalism does not reach the goal a sleight of hand may be required to make the ends meet. Overall, I liked the idea of this routine more than the execution. The advertisement video misrepresents the actual routine, as more outs are needed and some dirty walk in a form of sleight of hand may be required to clean up. Since I got this at a discount, I was a happy camper. I think the handling within the routine can be improved.

Philip

Aviya

This is a nice trick in general. There's a nice switch being taught that I may consider to use in other effects (not shown in the trailer, more on that later. And you may want to modify the context and your attitude to justify it and make it more natural - note that this topic is not being discussed in the video but you can do it yourself with some thought).
The negative score is due to two issues I had with it: the first, as others stated in other reviews, is that what you see in the trailer is usually not that you get and it just the best outcome that will happen only once in many performances (if at all, depends in yours ability to really guess what others will choose...). So just know that if you want to get that trick because of what you saw in the trailer you may get disappointed... :/
The second issue I had with this trick is that it's a bit complicated, since the outcomes are not the same from one performance to another you need to remember what you do in each case, which is super legit for an effect with several outcomes but I guess that from the trailer I expected a relatively easy trick. And in addition I'm not sure that I want to invest the time to learn to perform the effect with all its outcomes just to have it most of the time looks like the more probable, and less impressive, outcome.

Allan

The best outcome is excellent, as shown in the video, and Vanishing Inc was honest to point that out in the description. Also, most of the other cases will look the same to a lay audience. However, there are some other possibilities that Paul does not go in full detail, he only comments about alternatives and techniques that can be used. So I believe that all outcomes should have been filmed for the tutorial, and at least one detailed explanation for each of them as well, just for the completion of the explanation.

Matthew

The effect and routine itself are superb. My issue is more with the teaching. Paul Wilson doesn't do a very methodical job of going through various possible outcomes, leaving you wondering what you might do if X, Y or Z happen. He also mentions, and demonstrates, certain sleight-of-hand moves that he employs in certain situations. None of these are taught. It's not like they are very basic sleights known to magicians of all skill levels, so this doesn't do a very good job of equipping you with what you need to do the trick. Unusually, since most downloads are packed with waffle, this could have done with a lot more detail.