The Dice Stacking Book
by Todd Strong
Produced by Perceptual Motion
Having recently purchased Todd Strong's Dice Stacking video, I was particularly intrigued when he contacted me out of the clear blue to review his new kit which consists of a wonderfully entertaining book, a plastic dice cup and four "cancelled" regulation casino dice as seen below.
The book is written somewhat tongue in cheek, but it helps makes a rather dry subject very humorous. While the the dice cup supplied in his kit is nothing to write home about, it is perfect for practicing until you are ready for something more classy like one of Mike Rogers' leather beauties. Todd concentrates more on stacking stunts than he does on the gambling presentations or full routines. In fact, he suggests the use of yogurt containers and film canisters for dice cups. So if you are expecting some kind of old-fashioned riverboat gambling expose', you are barking up the wrong alley. Expect to be wowwed by dice stacking feats -- not fancy props. Todd's approach is quite practical -- especially for the novice.
There are some very cool things about this book, not the least of which are two "flipbook" movies. The left and right lower corners of each page contain small still photos of dice stacking in action. When you flip the corners quickly -- a la a rotoscope -- the still photos come to life and show you a brief animated sequence of dice stacking and dice decapitation (see reproductions below).
This should prove helpful to those not yet willing to buy the video (which is well worth your money if for no other reason than to watch Todd perform some of the wildest stacking feats in the world).
Todd is admittedly a juggler first and a magician second, so his approach to stacking comes more from entertaining with balancing stunts than it does from how to fool an audience. He presents stacking in an easy to follow way, and his narrative is clear and concise -- his experience teaching is quite evident. He tries to inject high-brow humor throughout the book with reproduced art masterpieces integrated with imges of dice. A little strange, but good for a quick laugh.
Those of you looking for "magic" may want to look to Todd's video more than his book. I have read the Jim Zee book and I have Zee's video, too. Todd's material and presentation is quite different and worthy of your attention. If you want to learn stacking basics, Todd's book is a winner. Once you master the stunts, your audience will most likely remember your dice stacking demonstration more than your most complicated card trick.
Dice stacking isn't for everyone. It takes a knack and requires patience. But once you get it -- much like coin rolling, three ball juggling, or second deals -- it is hard to forget. I'm still working on it, but now I am well-armed with books and videos by Todd Strong. Click on any of the photos on this page to order Todd's products right now!
Highly recommended!
