Hey there!

I will be in Bratislava for a week. There is the magic shop (Addam's) and I want buy few gimmicks.
I need your help to decide what to buy

I think, I will buy:

Bicycle - Mixed Pack (Gaff cards) - cause it can be used in lots of different tricks.
Svengali Deck - I heard it's very useful and powerful.
Invisible Tread - mostly for the trick, where card jumps from the middle of a deck (don't remember its name).

Maybe: Stripper deck (i don't really know, what it is)
And also some books or dvd's.

So, my questions:

1. Could you recommend me more stuff, that will be useful and universal? Or that's will be enough?

2. I found 2 types of invisible thread in that shop:
1) http://www.magicshop.sk/Elasticke-nevidi......d459.htm
2) http://www.magicshop.sk/Elasticke-nevidi......d581.htm

The cost of second one is only 2 euros more, but it's twice longer - there is a big difference in quality?
Also - do I need wax?

3. Is it worth buying Stripper deck?


P.S. I'm completely beginner and never used any gimmicks before - just a deck of plain cards

I don't personally use either gaffed decks (except one that I assembled myself) or thread. However, get a couple of th*mb t*ps and ask the guy behind the counter for some resources other than the vanishing silk. Also, get a couple of books. Asking the guy at the shop can be very helpful.

Patrick

You might consider unkmas, as a newbie, you'll need to acquire a respectable amount of useless magic props to motivate your ACTUAL learning. Sure, occasionally it will be bitter and you'll get ripped-off, but eventually you'll get some strong stuff that you 'might' use someday. But better yet unkmas, you'll develop the fervor to read and think about your magic.
I'll hazard a guess unkmas. You could actually use Loops (There, I said it). The two gaff decks you mentioned are ultimately just *toys. *Read you can do better on you're own, but see first line of type here.
ah what the heck. Saddle-up and enjoy the ride.

Personally, I would buy the stripper deck and not the Svengali. You can use the stripper as a regular deck, the Svengali you can't. You're very limited with what you can do with a Svengali. And it can't be examined like the Stripper can. The two threads are compeltely different. One is elastic (stretchy) and one is not. Ask the shop salesman to show you samples of both thread and see which one you would prefer. Mesika will probably be "more invisible", and therefore more usefull. And yes, get a little wax. It's sometimes better to use than tape. Also get a thumb tip (one that fits) and a 9" square piece of silk. Once you get comfortable with your "trick cards", get an Invisible Deck - the best card trick on the planet.

Jim

I take it back, both threads are elastic. I would buy the Mesika because I've had good luck with his products. Jim

Thank you all for answers!



Maybe I confused its name? I mean a set of different cards - double back, double face, blank face and so on.



That's what I'm talking about! I enjoy learning slight-of-hand moves. However, I think every magician using gimmicks. I don't want buy lots of them - only minimum set of that things, that will be really useful in different tricks. And this is a chance to buy useful things, without paying a lot for delivery cost

And yes, I think small amount of them will motivate me a lot. I know that learning such things is a very slow process for me - when I had been learning fire-show it took me more than a year to learn things, that others can perform after two month. So in the near future I will able to do only small amount of things perfectly. And such gimmicks can do my "tricks base" more wide and powerful.

Am I wrong? I think you have much more experience, so your opinion is really important.

Thank you for your opinion. It's really hard to think about what you doing, when you a newbie and there is no people, who can review what you doing. But I will try.


Unfortunately, there is no chance to ask salesman - it's online shop. I will get my order from the storehouse, and there is no demonstration zone. So I will consider buying Mesika.

Also, I will think about buying a Stripper deck. As donny said, maybe it's just a toy? I don't know how it works and what it is. I just hear, that it is cool and useful Could you point me to its description (or tell me a bit about it)?

Hello Unkmas!

It would help if I knew a little bit more about YOU! Apparently, you are from another country, although you've had some "American" English education, and, you explain your situation quite well.

I've been performing magic for about 70 years, about 20 as a part time professional, and about 50 as a full time professional. At 84, I'm retired.

If I may offer a few words of advice, if you are seriously interested in learning about magic, READ BOOKS!!! Usually, I would suggest the TARBELL BOOKS, but, in your situation, I would recommend the "MARK WILSON'S COMPLETE COURSE IN MAGIC". It was written by WALTER GIBSON, who wrote dozens of books about magic and magicians over his lifetime. (He wrote magic books for Harry Blackstone, senior!)

Unless you are willing to READ, you will probably spend a lot of money, to buy magic PROPS. (You cannot BUY TRICKS! You cannot BUY MAGIC! TRICKS, only "exist" while they are being performed! MAGIC, only "happens" in the spectator's mind!)

Buying a PROP, will not make you a magician! (When you buy a violin, you must study, practice, and, learn the theory!!!!!

The late S. H. Sharpe, said "it" very well, many years ago: "Those who think that magic consists of doing tricks, are strangers to magic. Tricks are only the crude residue from which the lifeblood of magic has been drained."

If you are particularly interested in cards, buy "The Royal Road To Card Magic", written by the late Jean Hugard. I knew a professional magician who only read, and used tricks from THAT book, TO MAKE HIS LIVING for years!

Harry Lorrayne has written a number of books on cards. So has Giobbi. They are excellent, but, start with "Royal Road", and, the "CCIM"!

I would strongly recommend that you wait until you have a bit more experience before spending money on "gimmicks" like Mesika!

Decks of cards are not gimmicks! They are props! A gimmick is an unseen device.

A stripper is much more practical than a Svengali! --But, like that violin, you must still learn how to play it!!!

Best wishes!

Hello, Dick!

Yep, I'm software engineer and scientist from Russia. I think, my job changed my English to American way.

I already have Royal Road to Card Magic. I started my study from this book, and had learned some basics. Now I watching Card College DVD - it's more ... visual.

I understand, that I can't just take props and use them - it would be boring

I think, I'm not very interested in general magic at the moment - so I consider buying something about coin magic instead of CCIM (maybe, Jay Sankey's dvd?).

Thank you for your big answer! I will buy bicycle's pack anyway, but I will think about buying some books/dvds instead of buying Stripper deck and elastic.

Unkmas,
If you get the stripper deck, also get the booklet. "101 tricks with a stripper deck", and make sure the deck matches whatever deck of cards you usually use. The booklet will get you pointed in the right direction. The duplicate deck is to switch your stripper deck. While the Stripper can withstand some scrutiny. I prefer not to use it with follow up card tricks, so I switch them.
The stripper is good, but it is not the magic. Use some elements of it, mixed into your regular card magic and you can make small things happen.
The same goes for the Gaff Deck and Svengali, get a book, and match the decks for switching.
While the Svengali is fun, it has been rather overexposed. The standard routine has been seen on TV by many, pick a card and the deck changes... I have found it useful to force the same card on multiple spectators, pick a card, replace, pick replace etc. That way they all get the same card from the deck. It can create a unique reveal. Used traditionally, too many know it.
Good luck

Dorogoi droog! (I THINK that that is correct!

My grandniece studied some Russian, and, I remembered a few words! --(very) few! hee hee

I think you've made a wise decision. "FESTINA LENTE"! (wise old Latin proverb) It means, "make haste slowly!)

I read ERDNASE, as a teenager (in the '40s). I practiced all of the flourishes and "fancy" shuffles, but, never got seriously interested in card tricks other than that! I've been fortunate to meet and know most of the top cardicians of the past 50 years (Vernon, Elmsley, Jaye, Racherbaumer, Marlo, et al.) I've enjoyed watching them perform, but, I'm not interested in performing with cards (except doing the fancy "show off' shuffles!) hee hee

Bobo and I were friends for 50 years. We both perfored mostly in schools. His book is GOOD! However, you will probably "get" more from dvds, like Sankey.

You are wise to ASK questions, before you spend your "rubles"! Just try to be sure that the one who gives you advice, knows more than just the CAALOG
names" of the TRICKS! Another old Latin expression: 'NEMO DAT QUOD NON HABET! --No one can give what he does not have!" sums it up, rather well.

Best wishes!

Dick

I would recommend buying the Eugene Berger penguin magic lecture (not the spooky magic one). You will learn a ton of magic and save yourself a lot of money. For example he teaches a card coming from the centre of the deck using cotton thread (Al Baker). Much cheaper.

I too would recommend a stripper over Svengali deck. Thought about a Swami gimmick? Takes a bit of practise but there are many effects you can do with a nail writer.

Just for controversy's sake, I don't much like Royal Road. Gasp. I know, what am I thinking? I actually think your best purchase would be Gerry Griffin's Complete Card Magic 4 DVD course. Only £20, it's unbelievable value, and although you might not use much of the beginner's tricks, I perform literally dozens of the other effects. Some real staples of card magic, like triumph, the Biddle truck, transposition, card warp, twisting the aces, oil and water, OOTW impromptu, the ACR... Seriously, you could have a professional repertoire just from the material on these DVDs.

Gotta say, I would advise the Svengali over the stripper.

1. Stripper decks are hard to make look good. They require a ton of practice to make look really good, time better spent learning from the Royal Road and Card College you already have.

2. That stripper deck is going to be a wedge, and they are usually poorly made and when the cards are facing different directions they stick out like a sore thumb. There are other kinds of stripper decks that are far more deceptive, but the way you use them is different.

3. I once watched Nick Locapo absolutely fry an audience with a Svengali deck that people were convinced was a regular deck. I think the way most magicians handle a Svengali dates back to the first poor version of it they saw demonstrated in a magic shop, probably by someone who didn't want to show it so they didn't learn all the cool stuff you can do with it. There are some cool spreads, cuts, and even work with stacks that you can do to accomplish a host of tricks you'd never be able to do with a regular deck. That is if you put the work in. The work to use a Svengali deck is way different than a stripper.

You sound like you are pretty dead set on buying a gimmicked deck. I think you'll get more fun out of the Svengali than you will the stripper.

It's fun to have a trick deck to fool around with. A stripper deck is much closer to a regular deck, so it can withstand a bit more scrutiny and can be used for non-stripper effects. Be sure to get a booklet with performance suggestions.

A Svengali deck is fun, and can do a lot more than you typically see in a toy store demo. There's an inexpensive booklet titled "101 Tricks with a Svengali Deck" that will point you in the right direction.

An Invisible Deck or Brainwave Deck is also a lot of fun, and can be very mystifying. Again, try to also get a pamphlet with performance ideas.

There are some good marked decks on the market, and you might enjoy playing around with one of them. (And yes, it would be good to get a book of ideas as well).

If the invisible thread is for performing a rising card trick, consider getting a Devano deck instead. It produces a similar effect, but the mechanism is self-contained (and clever).

Be sure to get high-quality trick decks. If you always use red bicycle decks or blue bicycle decks, get your trick decks in the same back design. Then, with a simple deck switch, you can perform a variety of miracles with what appears to be the same deck.

Good luck!