Magic Tricks

There are many torn and restored card effects on the market, but I'll compare this to two that had the most influence on me, The Reformation and The Reparation. Reformation by Guy Hollingworth (Drawing Room Deceptions) is the most difficult. It is very clean looking, but it is not something I'd be comfortable doing in public because of how difficult it is. It is the most "impossible" looking routine, but the benefits of this routine over the others are likely to go over a layman's head. A magician will appreciate this more. The Reparation by John Lovick makes the Guy Hollingsworth routine much easier, but lacks the convincing degree of Guy Hollingsworth's routine. Lovick's routine is superior to Hollingworth's because a better balance between between ease and effect is achieved. Hollingworth's routine is very difficult to master and while Lovick's can achieve the same with less trouble while not sacrificing too much in terms of effect.

With that being said, I am not a big fan of torn and restored effects; I don't perform them and don't practice them regularly like I do other things. I'm sure I'm not alone in learning something for the sake of learning it; adding it to my repertoire of regularly performed is dependent on how much I like it after I learn it and it just didn't feel right. I'll look at it every once in a while, but not much more.

Torched and Restored by Brent Braun made me reconsider how I treat torn and restored effects. I've learned it and found it to be easier than Lovick's routine without sacrificing the effect. Braun's routine requires some setup, which I am not a fan of because I like working with a clean deck, but it removes the problems associated with the previous two routines. I can't really say exactly what the issues are without revealing the methods, but if you're familiar with the standard method, you'll notice something very special about Braun's routine. This results in a routine that is easier than Lovick's and looks as good as Hollingworth's.

I don't recommend it. I'm selfish and don't want other magicians doing this because I want it for myself! It's such a good routine that I'm adding it to my repertoire. It's clean, visual, and easy to do. Being easy is not (and should not) be a deciding factor in what one chooses to do for a performance, but what best achieves the desired result. The best happens to also be the easiest.