It is truly a rare thing for my to give ANYTHING 5 stars......it just doesn't (hardly ever) happen. DiaMonte deserves all 5 of those stars and more. Jim Tyler is a top-rate professional. This effect is so clean and smooth and Jim presents it in a properly smooth fashion.

This is a flawless DVD, production-wise... nice case/graphics... and the gimmicked/cards are a straight forward as you could ever want. He spends a great deal of time, casually discussing many little nuances about what makes the trick work and what might hurt your performance of the trick.

I WILL BE BUYING more of this gentleman's stuff!!- ChipperPaul

With DiaMonte, Diamond Jim Tyler offers his take on three-card monte that is entertaining and commercial and works great for walk around. Like versions by Michael Skinner and Daryl, and those that employ the Patrick Page gimmick (Bob Sheet's Killer Kitson Miracle), these versions of the Monte are designed to entertain spectators and don't employ the traditional moves of the real Three Card Monte con as taught by Whit Haydn.

Like the commercial routines by Page, Daryl, Skinner and Sheets, DiaMonte employs several phases where spectators think they know where the different money card is, but can never find it. I like the fact that DiaMonte is all in the hands and you don't need a table, which makes it great for walk around. DiaMonte is different from the other versions in that you can hand out the cards afterwards for examination.

The trick takes some practice but there are no overly difficult moves. Diamond Jim also does a great job of teaching you the steps and explaining the nuances.

In execution, DiaMonte is much like Bob Sheet's Killer Kitson Miracle. Both are "in the hands" and employ some of same phases. Killer Kitson uses a heavily gimmicked card while DiaMonte uses a gimmick that you can make yourself out of playing cards. Both are great when you and spectators are standing. But if you're standing and spectators are sitting, I see an advantage with DiaMonte.

DiaMonte quickly resets but has to be done out of sight of spectators. A plus for Killer Kitson is that the trick is reset when you put it away.

I have long performed Killer Kitson but I like DiaMonte. If I were starting over, it would be tough to make a choice. But because of the gimmick that I can make myself, I would probably have to go with DiaMonte.

If you perform walk around and want an entertaining three-card monte effect, definitely check out Diamond Jim Tyler's DiaMonte. -Wayne Kawamoto

Quoted from David Regal's review for the May 2010 issue of GENII magazine: Mr. Tyler has provided you with a nicely produced, high-quality, short and sweet (hooray!) DVD of a monte routine, complete with the necessary cards and gimmick.  I am a big fan of the monte effect (Vernon felt it was the most commercial card plot) and I, like you no doubt, know many methods.  There are several good things about this version: The cards are always held, so no performing surface is needed, the cards are never bent, there are multiple phases- but not too many- that escalate and build into a lovely climax, and at the end the cards can be left in a spectator's hand. 

I prefer the concept "left in a spectator's hand" to the oft-loved "...and everything's examinable," because I strongly feel that if a performer tells a spectator to examine props after an effect is completed, any magical feeling vanishes and it commences to become an intellectual exercise.  Better to just leave the props out of the magician's control and let the situation speak for itself.  Well, there is a gaff here, but you get rid of it handily at the effect's conclusion, so you end clean.

Although this package comes with cards and the gimmick, it does not come with the special-quality substance necessary to attach the gimmick to the card.  You will need to go to an office supply store, the drug store, or K-Mart and spend about four bucks.

Considerations:  A very good monte routine, but you'll need to make one trip to a store.