David Ladin aka Unbiased Magic Reviews – The Definitive ACAAN

Asi Winds is considered one of the best, for good reason. But David gave a lot of thought to what can be, for some people, a weakness: the math. Not to mention you need a mem deck (but of course that’s sooo worth knowing). Now, I still say Asi’s is worth it, it’s cream of the crop and has served him well. That being said, David certainly succeeded in improving it in a few ways (I know, that’s pretty bold). Make no mistake, this is David’s own put-together, and he gives credit where credit is due, but I found that the work involved is easier under fire. For us mortals, at least, and certainly for me.

I haven’t performed it yet, but it’s obvious to me having explored a number of ACAAN’s that his take definitely can be become second nature (I can even see it in my own practicing) and will quickly become easy to do without the look I get when I’m panicked and trying to do mental work or stall for time.

It’s not light years different from many you may know in “moves”, but the structure and accomplishing what you need to do is completely his, and the work he put into it shows.

Something important I want to address is the whole, “who is he, isn’t that guy just an armchair magician?”. No. I know David. He’s a humble guy and more than that, he keeps a low profile for a number of reasons, I suspect foremost of which is precisely because he’s not afraid to call garbage, garbage. I’ve seen him praise a creator and many of that creator’s works, then something comes out by that creator, and David sees issues with it and just lays it out and why he feels that way.

I bring this up because he’s beholden to no one, and that rubs a lot of people the wrong way. He’s also saved me money. But the point is he knows what works and what doesn’t because he performs a lot (every day even?). He has fresh audiences in his “day” job and he uses and performs magic precisely to build a lot of the connections that we all got into magic for in the first place; to share joy, wonderment, fun, and in his case, to build rapport and trust in addition to lifting up those in his care.

As far as his ACAAN, he knows his history, he’s put in the time, and this is his solution to the effect. And it’s one I’ll be doing. The only other one I do is Barrie Richardson’s impromptu version, not sure if you can find it now, it’s not in his books I don’t think.

One con, this version also requires math, but it’s not as taxing as others. That’s the whole point that he set out to solve. If you know Asi’s down cold, you may not need this unless you’re just interested in methods. But if it’s scared you, or if you want to achieve the same thing, I think you’ll really enjoy this.

For my self, the math/memory at first seemed complex (and I told him that). It’s not. It’s truly just that way at first glance. The math is pretty much 3rd grade level and the memory work isn’t difficult. I really think this version will be underappreciated, and it shouldn’t be. He found a great, practical solution to the problem, and as I said, he’s put so much time into it, it shows and is smooth. And that includes tons of real-world performing time.

So if you want to learn more, check out his trailer and reach out to him. He’s not hard to find.

Definitely Recommended.