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Bato William Regular user All I've managed to write is 160 Posts |
While it might seem obvious that the way to pick card tricks to learn and perform is to buy and/or borrow as many card trick books as you can get your clammy mitts on, the problem remains is that there are a LOT of card trick books out there.
Is there at least some type of classification system that can at least categorize all the oodles and oodles of card tricks so that one can at least partially narrow down one's search? Or is this just a pipe dream? Bato William
You're nothing but a pack of cards! - Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson)
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DWRackley Inner circle Chattanooga, TN 1909 Posts |
I think there are so many WAYS to categorize them that some overlap would be inevitable.
Skill level would be one criteria, from “self-workers” to simple sleights all the way up to full blown prestidigital monsters. The number of cards would be another criteria, from packet tricks to partial and full decks to more than one full deck. Then there are the gaffs and special printings and surfaces. Or you could look at it from the audience’s perspective: is it a vanish, a torn and restored, color change, turn over, or a simple pick-a-card, and if so, is the card forced or freely selected? And then there are some effects that are virtually identical except for a single aspect: the reveal, who handles the cards, or multiple helpers. I’d imagine someone familiar with MS Access could create a database where each card trick had a list of “key” words, but a paper index would most likely be huge! In the mean time, I just keep reading
...what if I could read your mind?
Chattanooga's Premier Mentalist Donatelli and Company at ChattanoogaPerformers.com also on FaceBook |
stijnhommes Special user 568 Posts |
Skill level, number of cards, and gaffs (or not) are things I use to select the card tricks I perform. My skill level is average, so I tend to stay away from effects that are very heavy on sleights (like those by the Buck brothers). By contrast, I do like to perform effects with borrowed decks, so I use that criteria when I select effects as well.
Another thing I look at is practicality: Can I perform this standing in the street or (heaven forbid) on a nudist beach, or are a table and clothes required to make the trick work. In short: I found the best way to sift through card effects is to determine what it is that you're looking for first. I tend to look for effects without gaffs that can be done with a borrowed deck and aren't too heavy on sleights, but your mileage may vary. |
MagiClyde Special user Columbus, Ohio 871 Posts |
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Another thing I look at is practicality: Can I perform this standing in the street or (heaven forbid) on a nudist beach In such an environment, heaven forbid you should rely on tips! As for classification of card tricks, I don't think that would be totally impossible, just incredibly difficult, like climbing Mt. Everest. Personally, I think they should be graded by what the effect is supposed to achieve, such as ACAAN (Any Card at any number), four ace revelation, etc., then work your way down from there. A bigger problem with such a database would be keeping up with all the new tricks that come out every year. Does anyone know if such a database has ever been attempted?
Magic! The quicker picker-upper!
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Bato William Regular user All I've managed to write is 160 Posts |
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A bigger problem with such a database would be keeping up with all the new tricks that come out every year. True; certainly adding new effects would be easy enough on an internet website. The question boils down to whether such a database would be of general interest to the magic community at large. What do the Magic Café denizens think of such a database? Bato William
You're nothing but a pack of cards! - Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson)
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MagicalMichael New user 15 Posts |
Isn't the "Encyclopedia of Card Tricks" (book, ~450 pages) from Jean Hugard & JJ Crimmins something like the database you are looking for? At least it's a jumpstart for creating such a db.
I cannot judge on the quality of this book because I am a beginner in card magic but it describes tons of tricks and it seems to be a good source just for that. It is extremely thin on describing shuffles, cuts and sleights but this is not what I bought the book for. Categorization ... from my perspective it would make sense to have difficulty on the highest level and then effect as a subcategory. But with a database you can do any kind of sorting and querying anyway. And last but not least, yes - I think the value of such a database or a simple spreadsheet would be huge. It also should list some good sources then, like DVDs, books and papers. My 2 cents. MagicAlMichael |
MagiClyde Special user Columbus, Ohio 871 Posts |
This is a project that could take a lifetime and never be completed, especially if wanting to cover every single card trick ever invented. The research alone would be mind boggling.
The other big problem would be rating the difficulty of the trick. What is "easy" for one magician may be "hard" for another, making the scale totally subjective.
Magic! The quicker picker-upper!
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TheRaven Special user 597 Posts |
This forum already has a classification of sorts under the "Pick a card...any card" section (Deckless, etc). In terms of narrowing down the choices, I find it helpful to look through these forums for topics like "What are your three favorite packet tricks." I look for packet tricks that seem to pop up time and time again in the answers and then look on youtube to see if I can find a video of someone performing the trick. Doing that, I find the ones that appeal to me and educate myself further on them. You can do the same for the other categories of card tricks (slight of hand, etc).
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stijnhommes Special user 568 Posts |
I can't remember the exact URLs, but magic databases have been discussed here before, but I haven't yet seen one that only includes card effects. Judging by some of the questions we get here on the board on things like ACAAN, I expect such a thing would get quite a lot of interest.
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Brad Burt Inner circle 2675 Posts |
You find card tricks or any tricks by watching and reading. When you find something you like you learn that. The very real problem nowadays IS that there is so much excellent material!
Try this: Get an old classic like Close-up Card Magic by Harry Lorayne. Still my personal fav. Go through the entire book. See what happens. Best,
Brad Burt
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The Burnaby Kid Inner circle St. John's, Canada 3158 Posts |
Denis Behr's book archive is a good starting point.
http://archive.denisbehr.de/archive/route/route.php?url=10 As for the original question, one of the benefits (and arguably curses) that card magic has over every other genre of magic is that you can make those cards do anything you want. You could literally sit there and say "What would it be cool for me to make those cards do?" and then go hunting and find at least five different methods for making it happen.
JACK, the Jolly Almanac of Card Knavery, a free card magic resource for beginners.
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andre combrinck Special user South Africa 953 Posts |
Good card book are in overflow!: IMO
Card College Stars of Magic Art of Astonishment The Collected Works of Alex Elmsley Impossibilia Smoke and Mirrors All the Dai Vernon and Marlo books + a million others... AJ |
Harry Lorayne 1926 - 2023 New York City 8558 Posts |
Among the "million others" you might want to check out is my LORAYNE: THE CLASSIC COLLECTION, Volume 1, because - it contains the re-write, update, etc., of Close-Up Card Magic, along with four other of my earlier books, and more. All impromptu-borrowed deck stuff. HL.
[email]harrylorayne@earthlink.net[/email]
http://www.harrylorayne.com http://www.harryloraynemagic.com |
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