This  is a very straightforward dual-divination that
involves very little work in proportion to the impact of the
effect. It is very clean with all actions justified and at
the end there is nothing for the spectators to retrace.  No
sleights, nothing written down, no marked cards,  and
everything is examinable. Just a lot of fun with cool props
and some powerful mentalism.    As was the CASINOS Deck &
Kit, a sell-out,  this will be a limited run of 52 sets for
obvious reasons.  Get yours now

Here is what Richard Osterlind had to say:

"I just got Bryn’s Double-Down. This is a killer card effect
that has great props! You show a bunch of Casino cards (the
kind you buy directly from the Casino with holes punched in
them or corners rounded) from all the major hotels in Las
Vegas. The cards are fairly divided between 2 spectators and
mixed up. I mean they are “really” mixed up both face-up and
face-down! They are reassembled and further mixed if you
want. Then the 2 spectators each “mentally” choose a number
and a card as they are fairly fanned in front of them. The
mentalist then names either the Casino name or the card
itself depending on what way they are facing. It is direct,
fun and uses great props!"

and from John Bannon, author of Smoke & Mirrors and
Impossibilia:

"'Double Down' is exceedingly clever.  The more I work with
it, the more I appreciate its subtle and sophisticated
construction.  Bryn's use of individual casino cards is
inspired and very commercial.  One of the best, most
interesting tricks I've come across in a long time; double
(thumbs) up for 'Double Down.'"

 EFFECT:

The mentalist shows his "card collection" of some souvenir
playing cards from various casinos. Each card is from a
different casino and each face has a different value. A
spectator is invited to cut off some of the cards for
himself (no force) and the remainder is given to a second
spectator. Each freely shuffles their respective packets,
even turning cards face up or face down as they wish, and
each spectator thinks of a secret number...nothing is ever
said or written down.  The packet is reassembled and again
shuffled by each spectator if they wish; again some cards
face up and some face down if they desire.

The performer shows the cards to the spectators and they
only think of either the particular casino or playing card
value that falls on their secret mental number as the cards
are shown.  Since the cards are in such a mess either could
be showing. Nothing is ever said or written down by either
spectator yet the performer not only tells each spectator
whether they  thought of a casino or a playing card he then
goes on to name the exact casino names or the values of the
playing cards!

This one is a WORKER!

 This seamlessly combines a couple of underexplored
mentalism principles and I must extrend a thank-you to Max
Maven for helping me research the origins. There are also a
couple of things at work here that aren't pictured! I use
this one all the time and am confident that you will too.
This is not one of those effects that will sit in a drawer.
As always, I offer an unconditional money back guarantee.

MY COMMENTS:
This is a wonderful effect that uses an old principle that
I've not seen used much. It's also a lot of fun and easy to
do.  There aren't many outstanding mentalism packet card
effects ("B'Wave" is one), but this one certainly is one of
them.  And even if you don't like cards in mentalism, you'll
have to agree that having a collection of casino cards is a
unique and logical reason for having a packet of cards.
There's no extra gimmicks, everything can be examined and
handled by the spectators, there are no sleights, and the
performer starts and ends clean.  There's nothing extra
besides the ten cards.  I totally agree with Richard
Osterlind and John Bannon and highly recommend this.

The only other work that needs to be done is a small bit of
memorization.  The more you use this, the easier the
memorization becomes.  And you can certainly work a crib
into your handling, if you need it.  Bryn actually supplies
one for you.  Other than that, your presentation is the only
other work that needs doing.  There are no sleights,
switches, or moves.

I do have one quibble, but I also have an easy solution
for it.  And, of course, this is merely my opinion.
The quibble is that it just doesn't make sense to me to
choose packets to get a secret number, then return the
cards, and then look through the cards a second time.
That's just way too illogical for my taste.  However, it
must be done.  So, one must create a logical and compelling
reason for doing this process.  To me, putting the cards
back together logically signals the end of one phase, so the
solution must be that the performer has finished a phase.
To solve this, I've created an extra initial phase in which
I name the two cards cut to and then decide to make it even
more challenging by having the two participants pick from
twenty choices (cards and casinos) instead of merely ten.

Here's the effect's description as I've re-worked it (I've
altered Bryn's words): "The mentalist shows his 'card
collection' of some souvenir playing cards from various
casinos. Each card is from a different casino and each face
has a different value. After shuffling the stack, a
spectator is invited to cut off some of the cards for
himself (no force) and the remainder is given to a second
spectator.  Each looks at the card cut to.  The performer
than names those cards.

The mentalist explains he'll make a more difficult
presentation.  With his back turned, he has them silently
count the number of cards they each have.  The cards are
then reassembled and shuffled.  The participants are
instructed to mix the cards face up and face down so that
the casino names and card faces are mixed together.  The
performer shows the cards to the spectators and they only
think of either the particular casino or playing card value
that falls on their secret mental number as the cards are
shown.  Since the cards are in such a mess either could be
showing. Nothing is ever said or written down by either
spectator yet the performer not only tells each spectator
whether they  thought of a casino or a playing card he then
goes on to name the exact casino names or the values of the
playing cards!"

I found that this approach works very well for me.  Of
course, if Bryn's approach works for you, then great.  Once
again, what makes this effect so useable is that this
collection of casino cards gives you a reason to have this
packet with you.  It's a collection that you like to show
off and talk about.  It also provides an excellent
justification for the use of playing cards, as cards are
very common in casinos.  Bryn sends you the ten cards that
you need, a few pages of instructions, and a custom-made
crib, which is optional to use.  All of this comes in a
standard 6" by 9" polybag.