Confident Deceptions

David

This is one of my favorite books!! I got this one some months after i started learning card magic and was a bit afraid that it would be too hard for me. But it was actually the right book to take me up to another level. Offcourse, i had to practice a lot, but man, it was great learning and practicing Ladanye´s tricks (with a lot of Faro-Shuffles). What i learned so far and even use in my repertoire: Precision Aces, Thought Transference, The Set-Up (so cool), and The Gathering. When it´s about technique, these tricks make me look like a professional. Just love this guy! Love this book!

Doug

Fantastic book, but not for the beginner to card magic. Many of the effects require a faro shuffle. But if you are proficient with this shuffle, then get this book, because there are some powerful card effects here!

Joel

Really recommended for your library. Is an amazing book for card technique skills and fooling the most expert magicians. Really important to have it.

Edwin

Jason has really put alot of work into this. Its sometimes hard to understand the book but its not impossible.

Marius

He makes it seem so easy to do these tricks. I bought his books hoping to learn these tricks. Luckily I got them at Vanishing Inc on Black Friday and saved some money.
Unfortunately, there are so many books on sale and not enough money to buy all of them.
Maybe next year.

David

First class performances -- skillsets are tripping the light fantastic.

Anthony

This book is phenomenal. Jason Ladanye is the new Darwin Ortiz, and the effects in the book clearly show that. These aren't just your average joe pick-a-card tricks -- they are ingeniously-thought-out, audience-tested, and earth-shattering effects. Moreover, the plots/presentations in every effect make sense and are practical/logical, and Jason gives a reason for everything he does. Best of all, a good number of the effects are within reach for intermediate handlers. We don't get many books that continue raising the caliber of card magic nowadays, considering the thousands of card effects already published, but Confident Deceptions is one of them. The magic community is fortunate to have Jason!

Gerhard

I was so happy to see that this book came back in print and immediately ordered it. Firstly it's beautifully produced. Usually the smaller books do not lay open easily but this book is bound in such a way that it lays flat open. The photos are stunning and the writing is clear and detailed. Most of the methods require quite a lot of skill but that is expected from Jason. There are some tricks that are doable for an intermediate magi. I can highly recommend this book.

Timothy

Ben

Jacob

Jason Ladanye is so under appreciated by so many in the magic community. He is one of the best cardmen around today and also an excellent worker of his audience. His personality comes through well in his effects and he always offers methods which are far more accessible alongside his more finger flinging ones. Would recommend anything this man prints or films!

Jeremy

Have you seen this guy on Instagram? It's awesome that he is willing to share some secrets with us. I gotta say wow! Jason is so good! I'm buying his books with the hope that, with diligent practice, someday I'll be able to do even a fraction of what he does. Performance videos to accompany a book like this is really amazing. Thanks Jason

Frank

Card virtuoso with expert technique, timing, pacing, and maximum presentation performance. Lots to learn, and includes both card magic, and gambling demonstrations. Need to practice various sleights that are all very well explained. The book has clear text, and precise photos.
Highly recommend these advanced routines to intermediate and advanced card magicians. Lots of practice will be required but the rewards will be great!

Micah

This is an amazing book that instantly became one of my favorites. The best thing about this book is that all of these are performance pieces. In a lot of tricks that are sold and in books they require crazy stack deck and gimmicks. In this book he has a few of those but even with a stacked deck he always finds a way not to perform it as an opener. All of these tricks are amazing and I will go through every one now.

Quick Change Artist: This is the only opener in the whole book which I love. It really does have lots of visual moments and great trick to open your shows with

Lucky 50: Haven't looked at this one much because it has a wallet that I don't have at the moment. I might try it in the future when I get the special wallet.

Ladanye's Ambitious Card: Obviously this is Jason's handling on the ambitious card. It has an ending that even if you don't do this routine you can still use it as it is different than just your cards on top. I could definitely find myself using this ambitious card.

Arcane Control: This is a very nice sandwich routine that has a very good presentation which is what makes it so good. This trick has everything that a trick needs to go into someone's repertoire.

Thought Transference: This trick was kind of disappointing to me. When I saw a reworking of the biddle trick I thought this would be something I would use. If you have something that I am trying to get into you could use this but requires setup and I prefer the impromptu biddle trick. The changes do make it better though.

The Set-Up: This one was one of my favorites in the book. I love the trick as it is different than a regular trick. He teaches you a trick and then goes farther and shows you a different trick just when you think it is over. Fairly easy but one sleight that kind of scares people. Overall an amazing trick.

Precision Aces: This is also one of my favorite routines. A four ace sandwich routine that is very good. It has three of the sleight above that scares people but if you can do those you should be able to do this trick.

The Gathering: This is his handling of Collectors. The improvements make it a lot better. Not to difficult. Very nice trick that I think some people will perform.

The Player: This is his handling of the torn and restored transposition. It has a really nice presentation and a very practical trick that is very good.

The Ultimate Exchange: This trick is just clever. I like the transposition and the clean-up is amazing. Overall a very easy and amazing routine.

Forging Ahead: This is a great signature forging routine. The presentation is very good and probably one of the easiest tricks in the book. A very good trick.

Through and Through: This was one of my favorite routines in the book. Very good trick that is very practical.

It's all in the Hands: This requires the same thing as thought transference that I am trying to have. Overall a very good short routine if you have the thing.

The Big Blind: This one wasn't my favorite but a good trick if you like Texas hold'em. You pretty much doing the same thing over and over. I do like the bold switch at the end to get pocket aces.

The Big Stack: This was my favorite routine in the whole book. It is fairly difficult but doable for intermediates. I love the kicker ending of you getting the aces. Amazing trick.

Centerpiece: A center dealing routine that has something at the end that I haven't seen before. Very nice. It also requires the thing in Thought Transference but if you have it you should use this trick.

Bringing down the House: This is a great blackjack routine that will bring down the house. It looks impossible and is fairly easy to perform. Has setup but you can set it up after Quick Change Artist.

Best for Last: The last trick in the book is a stunner. You locate every poker hand in increasingly strong ways. This is a great routine and I am sure you will use it.

This is one of my favorite books and I am sure you will love it if you like sleight of hand card magic. You should get this book today.

Dan

Watching Jason work is very inspirational. What speaks to his commitment to excellence is the way his audience members react! Stunned and speechless! Also, it is a study in how important well-rehearsed (actually mastered) patter is to the creation of strong magic and an experience any spectator will NEVER forget. I look forward to studying Confident Deceptions diligently!

Henry

Wonderful card routines from an expert

Dimitrios

amazing

Rich

Rafael

James

amazing ,helpful visuals to correct any mistake you make from misreading the book (that's not very likely though its one of the best written books I've came across)

Jeffrey

Mind blown

Sean

This book... Far out. It's got some pretty serious stuff in there! Definitely recommend it. The great thing about Jason Ladanye (aside from his super human sleight of hand skills) is that he literally performs all of the tricks he writes in his books.
I know quite a few performers who only make tricks for the sake of selling them and keep their stunning tricks to themselves.

The moves in this book are knuckle busters so be ready to put in serious practice.
But it's a definite 10/10

Michael

I'm a huge fan of Jason. His magic is elegant and very thoughtful. This collection is no exception. Wonderful routines. I would highly recommend it. Also, don't be intimidated by the content. Not all of Jason's routines require advanced sleights. To my mind, this book should be in the library of every serious card worker. I have a standing order to get everything Jason puts out. One could easily make a living from the content in this book

Lawrence

Edward

Jason's work is tremendous! His work is a must add to your card studies!

Liam

What can I say... I'm so happy that this amazing book got reprinted. amazing routines and beautiful insights. Ladanye never fails.

Jeffrey

Finally picked this book up and already cannot wait for his next book (which should be released soon). Jason is a great magician and a student of Darwin Ortiz, so you can imagine the thought he puts into each move in every effect. The performance DVD is great. I really like being able to read a routine, work thru it on my own and when I finally feel I have it down... Watch how the creator of the effect interpreted it for himself. Make my tweeks from there (or not) sometimes you just want to make it your own and I find that to be the best part of books over DVDs. Without books, using only DVDs to learn, people seem to be more like "magic parrots" at times. (I know I have been guilty in the past).

Anyway, great book. Perfect size, super quality full color photos laid out wonderfully with the text and a very well shot performance video included. What more do you want? Highly recommended and you should grab it up fast so you can finish it before his next book gets released.

Chris

This book is fantastic. One of the effects in it is in my current repertoire. There are several that I have performed from it over the years. All the effects are very hard hitting and practical. The effects will take some practice, but are well worth it.

Looking forward to your next offering Jason!

Alex

tl;dr: Clear, well-structured book loaded with varied, strong material.

I’ve been watching Jasons youtube videos for a while and like his work and style, so I decided to pick up a copy of Confident Deceptions. I was expecting a book with a couple good gambling routines. What I received is an incredibly well-structured book packed with a variety of great magic effects, gambling slights, interesting controls, and notes on making clear, impacting routines.

One thing I want to call out specifically is the actual structure of the book. This seems like a minor thing, but I actually think it’s really important. The book is comprised of 18 effects (plus some front matter). Each effect is laid out in the following subsections: Effect, Setup, Method, Patter, Comments, Credits. This is FANTASTIC. I wish all magic books were laid out this way. I can’t always remember what the effect is for whatever-fancy-name a trick is, so in this format, you can flip to the chapter, and just read a paragraph describing the effect. It’s clear and not buried in 12 pages of method. Likewise, you can easily read through the method separate from the patter, which is great. The method section is also packed with full-color photos, which helps explain some of the handling.

As for the material itself, it’s all great. Each effect is clear (in the Strong Magic Clarity-sense of the word “clear), and there are a lot of neat uses of different controls and methods I have seen in other places. Handling for each effect is deliberate and efficient. Any time you have to do something dirty, there’s a clear motivation built into the action, so there’s no move-for-moves sake happening.

My favorite effect in the book is Through and Through. I probably would have bought the book just for that, so it was a nice bonus that there are 17 other great tricks in here as well.

One thing to note: the dust jacked is very very glossy and retains fingerprints like noones business. That’s literally the only bad thing I can say about this book.

5 stars. Highly recommended, especially if you like gambling material, but even if you dont.

Grzegorz

“In the performance of good magic the mind is led on, step by step, to ingeniously defeat its own logic.” – Dai Vernon

Darwin Ortiz is one of my favorite magicians. A few weeks ago if someone asked me: “If you could spend time with one great magician, who would it be?” I would, without hesitation, answer: Darwin Ortiz. Today, I will have a huge problem answering this question because of one of Ortiz’s students – Jason Ladanye and his first book, “Confident Deceptions.”
To be honest, I wasn’t excited at all when Confident Deceptions arrived at my door. I was very curious. I was wondering how Jason was able to face up with his mentor legend. Now I’m sitting at my desk wondering what words need to be used to describe his overwhelming talent, his technical mastery, and the presentational masterpieces that are Jason’s routines. Every one of the eighteen effects in his book are hard-hitting effects that leave your audiences speechless. Are wondering if your technical skills will allow you to perform these amazing effects? Stop wondering and buy this book. In Confident Deceptions you can find effects that can be performed almost without any advanced sleights as well as effects that require a lot of work on your end. But I ensure you’ll get great reactions from your spectators and it’s worth it.
In 1994 Darwin Ortiz gave us a fantastic lesson in his book: “Strong Magic.” In 2014 Jason Ladanye showed us that he learned that lesson. And he learned it well. Confident Deceptions is a fantastic debut that will settle Jason’s position and reputation. Jason Ladanye’s book went straight to my finest magic book collection next to Darwin Ortiz, Jack Carpenter, Derek Dingle, and many, many others. If you are serious about your magic you have no other way – buy this book. Now!

dovid

The book was great many great tricks in there some are very difficult but totally worth the practice you should definitely get this book great product

JoonHyuk

Just finished reading Jason Ladanye's [Confident Deceptions].
I must say that I am fully satisfied with my investment.

Not only does the book contain many powerful effects that are safe to be regarded as "self working effects", it also offers some technically challenging gambling routines that I am sure to work on.

Although [Confident Deceptions] is Jason's first officially publicized work, the professionalism and the attention to minute details impressed me.

I was also pleased that Jason replied to my questions regarding on the materials both from the book and elsewhere. He was very sincere and supportive.

If you're a passionate cardman, I cannot recommend this book enough. Yes, the book is not intended for beginners. It assumes that the reader is an already informed card magician with sufficient amount of prerequisite skill. This, however, doesn't mean that you shouldn't read it. The book [Confident Deceptions] will serve very well as an academic reference, if not a paradigm for sophisticated card work.

I am already eager to include some of the effects in my next performance. Quite frankly, it's been a while since I've employed a new material in my professional repertoire since I studied Darwin Ortiz's effects. (Which was quite some time ago, in case you don't realize) It is safe to say that I am reluctant to performing anything that is less than excellent. The contents in the book is that good.

-Ed Kwon, Seoul, South Korea 24/Sep/2014

Jerry

I do not like this book....I love it. If you, like me are a fan of Darwin Ortiz`s material you will also become a fan of Jasons book. Please do yourself a favor and study it but make sure you master all of the various sleights that is required for the effects because otherwise you will not make the book justice. If you are a serious cardmagician you should purchase this. But i have to admit that i wish that no one buys it or any of Ortizes books or dvds simply because i want to be the only one except Jason and Darwin who can perform it as good as them.

Jerry Danes Stockholm

Claudio

Did you know that Magic has the most vast bibliography of all subject?well, you can imagine,in this vast number of tricks,effects, how difficult it's to find something original.Our biggest limit?Our immagination!! "Confident Deception" the very first book of this "new entry" within the BIG names of card magic,Jason Ladanye,in my modest opinion, is a clear example of pure magic and a succesful attempt to find originality!the different effects and subterfuge explained in the 240 pages of this book ( i particulary loved arcane control for the audience reaction) left me positivly surprised and added some of this to my routines! the explantion of some techniques, the style in wich the book is written , the detailed explanation of the pattern and in the comments, the pics and, as i started earlier,the Originality make this a masterpiece that i from my experience highly recommend!! enjoy!

Vincenzo

Great book with great effects and gambling demonstrations from a very talented mind in magic. This one is for sure within the 5 books ever written in magic. Thats my honest opinion. Hope there will be more from Jason, the magic community needs more of this stuff!!!!

Tomas

I’ve been studying confident deceptions ever since It first arrived at my doorstep and I’ve just finished my second reading of the book and I thought it would be great to write a review on what I think about the extraordinary card magic of Jason Ladanye.
I’ve been speaking to Jason for quite some time now and we’ve had many great conversations about magic, probably because we are both students of the work of Mr. Darwin Ortiz. So when I found out Jason was about to put out a book I was really excited to finally see his own magic being put into the printed word.
Confident Deceptions is a rarity, every single effect in there (and I really mean every single one of them) is exquisitely designed to maximize audience impact. Jason’s got a kind of sixth sense for strong magic (something that Mr. Ortiz warns us about during the introduction of the book) and It really shines in every single presentation as well as in every method.
The book has a similar structure to any of the Ortiz titles in the sense that each effect is broken into several different subtitles in order to organize all of the information regarding said effect. You first find the title followed by a little quote that relates to the contents being discussed (Being an amateur writer myself, I was surprised to find several Robert Mckee references) then you’ve got the method, followed by a comments section and the credits and inspiration. Jason has been wise to actually include his script for every effect, something that Darwin Ortiz has occasionally done in some of the effects from his book “Scams And Fantasies with Cards” (2002).
The comments section is where the deviousness of Jason’s thinking is fully displayed and therefor appreciated by the connoisseur of strong magic. As a matter of fact, something that happens to me when reading any of the Ortiz books is that sometimes I may come up with an alternative method while reading the effect, only to find out that Darwin had already thought of it and discarded it for something that I had not thought of. I was delighted when the same thing happened with many of Jason’s effects from Confident Deceptions.
If asked to name a few of my favorites I would have to go for Through and Through, which is an excellent solution to a problem that Darwin Ortiz originated in his book Strong magic (1994). The method, once again is extremely clever and well-constructed.
However, my absolute favorite effect from there is Best for Last, an effect in which the magician demonstrates that he can cut to any poker hand called for, In fact he ends up cutting to each one of the hands from lowest to highest.
I could go on and on listing the effects that I like the most because in fact I love them all.. Jason’s magic takes the Ortiz philosophy and breathes new air into them, or better said, it injects it with steroids.
Jason Ladanye is an individual who is talented, creative and clever, but most importantly He’s extremely humble and generous, that combination tells you that He’s is set for greatness.

Samuel

Jason’s recent release; Confident Deceptions, is one of the best books I have ever read (not just for cards, but magic in general).

My favorite effects from the book are “The Player” and “Forging Ahead” and I cannot wait to add them to my repertoire. Saying that, this is the only magic book I’ve read where I would be willing to perform every effect in its pages.

Like a lot of magical literature, Jason states the scripts he uses for each effect. However, what’s been written is far from the norm - It isn’t the boiler plate patter that no audience is interested in. This is engaging, meaningful and “strong.” As far as I am concerned, Jason’s scripts should not to be copied. Instead, like the technical descriptions they are to be used as a reference tool. After you read the wording, you begin to understand how and when convincers, descriptive patter and story based lines should be used. I fear this is something a lot of people will overlook.

I am overly critical of most things in magic, yet I’m struggling to find flaws in Jason’s work. The effects are strong, the descriptions are clear and I enjoyed the content so much that I finished the book in one day.

In conclusion, I believe that any upcoming publications have a lot to live up to.

Terry

I am currently reading this book and it is one of the best written and illustrated books in my (extensive library). The well written explanatory text is accompanied by beautiful color photographs. The effects (Magic and Gambling) are outstanding. Difficulty of the effects ranges from easy to difficult. But there is nothing in the book that cannot be learned with practice and dedication. One of the easier effects in the book "Forging Ahead' is easily worth the price of the entire volume to a working Magician. The book comes with a DVD with performances of many of the effects in the book. There are no pipe dreams in this book only strong entertaining Card Magic.

Neil

LOVED the book. Pick it up right away. Worth every penny. Will you make DVDs of his work?

Peter

Thank you Vanishing Inc for putting out beautiful, stunning books! The Ladanye book is the best release of the year in my opinion. Keep 'em coming!

Matthew

Fantastic! THis book is gorgeous. Beautiful layout, nice descriptions, and terrific material. I had not heard of Mr Ladanye before but I can tell you I am a fan now. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes good magic and gambling material.

Will

I have just completed my first read-through of Jason's book. It's pretty much all I've been doing since it arrived the other day. This kid (I say kid because I'm twice his age) is absolutely brilliant. He gets it, and the material is staggering. These routines are lengthy, but they are also smart, and keep the audience focused on the magic.

Tom

I occasionally have a nightmare involving having to sell off magic books for cash. In the dream, there are always the same handful of authors whose books I would hold onto no matter what: Ortiz, Swain, Elmsley, Dingle, Wonder.

Now, I've had to add another name to that list: Ladanye.

This books is just an incredible piece of work, a pleasure to read (as well as watch the DVD included), and has effects in it that will literally make your audience scream in amazement.

Jason knows what real card magic should be, down to the smallest details, and doesn't try to come up with "magician foolers" (although a number of these will fool those in the know). He creates solid, well thought out, and intriguing material that is extremely commercial and will have the audience convinced that you can do the impossible. These effects leave them with no other choice but to come to that conclusion.

So thanks Jason and Vanishing Inc. This is going on the same shelf with the other books that I would risk my life to save in a fire.

TD

Lance

We have a book by a youngster who has taken lessons from Darwin Ortiz for the last 10 years or more. I went to his lecture where he was selling his book. It was like watching a Darwin clone. The book is the same. Nothing really original. There are no routines in the book worth practicing. Sorry for the bad review but I will tell the truth.