Hi I have been in magic for a few years now as a hobbyist but I never really sticked to a course to learn all the basics.

I want to go through Royal Road but to me the tricks I see there are so much weaker than tricks I performed and some of them I really question the impact on laymen this days. Like Thought Stealer? Do people really want to spell a card? Probably a lot of people are not even good at spelling.

Also Poker's Player Picnic. There's so much better plots out there like Chad's Long a Shuffling Lesson.

So how do I keep my attention from wondering to other things when I think the tricks are not strong?

I've written soooo many books JUST FOR YOU!!

Better effects are subjective. However, I went through the same thing. It was mostly after learning Harry Lorayne effects. It made it very difficult to want to learn new effects because of the great reactions I got.

Eventually I decided to just push myself and see what else I could do. I normally just try out an effect. I don't go crazy with practicing every thing I read, but it is good to have some knowledge.

I can tell you that there are effects in Royal Road that I still use. If asked to do a quick bit I like to do Designed for Laughter. It really hits hard. The main thing you need to remember about the effects is that it is all in how you present the effect. It is easier to find effects that already fit your personality, but sometimes you will read something interesting and find that a certain effect can be adapted to that story easily. That makes it a winner.

To address your people not wanting to spell. Apparently you have never tried this out on a person. I have found that you have to gauge if a person is going to work for you. I tend to spell it out with them. This has got great reactions from people. You shouldn't look at something and say that will not work or people won't like it just on a hunch. Try things out and you may be very surprised.

Now if you want to go through the Royal Road and hate the effects then I would say either just read the text without the effects or move on to different books. There is no wrong way to learn just a different road. I wanted to learn coin magic and for the life of me I couldn't bring myself to learn from Bobo. It doesn't make me a bad coin guy just I took another path.

Good luck

I know about Designed for Laughter. Its a gem indeed. I'll try to stick with the book and maybe try performing some of the effects I don't think are good as well to see what reactions they get.

If a particular trick/effect does not "click" for you... then I would think you might have a hard time making it "click" for the audience. Can they see through any disenchantment you might have..maybe

I have had the same advice given to me. I decided to stick to the things I really liked. I think part of performing..is really enjoying the things you do... If this is your job and lively-hood then maybe the argument could go the other way...to a point.
but if you are just doing magic for fun ... then don't force it.

Yeah, LoveKey, you got the start reading the good boring stuff!

Harry Lorayne Simple Spelling Routine
Harry Lorayne Aces Only - With Kings (aces are spelled to)
Harry Lorayne Spellbinder (any selection is spelled to)
Harry Lorayne The Indicator (procedure to set up a four of a kind for spelling from a shuffled deck)
Harry Lorayne Favorite Aces and Kings (aces are spelled to)
Harry Lorayne Stranger Card Faro Location (aces are spelled to, then four of a kind to free selection is found as well)
Harry Lorayne Deal Jog Speller (spelling a card after looking through the deck)
Harry Lorayne Controlled Spelling (a card is instantly spelled to from a shuffled deck)
Harry Lorayne Cast a Triple Spell Variation (setting three cards for instant spelling in a riffle shuffle)
Harry Lorayne Spell-Mell (aces lost, four packets formed, one ace spelled from each)
Harry Lorayne Spell-Mell (aces lost, four packets formed, one ace spelled from each)
Harry Lorayne Easy Indicator (procedure to set up a four of a kind for spelling from a shuffled deck
Harry Lorayne Tally-Ho Detector (spelling using words on card case)
Harry Lorayne Tally-Ho Ace Locator (spelling using words on card case to find aces)
Harry Lorayne One-Hand Second-Deal Speller (used as spelling effect)
Harry Lorayne, Jim Steinmeyer Spel(l)egant (small packet)
Harry Lorayne A-M-A-Z-I-N-G (aces lost, "amazing" is spelled and aces found there)
Harry Lorayne Off-the-Rack 3-piece Suit (aces are spelled out from four-Ace-packet, last one transforms into selection, two variations)

So long, as you're talking about "boring" Mr. Oh-so-knowledgeable you might as well mention my very first One-Man Parade in The Linking Ring Magazine way back in March of 1964!! - all faro-shuffle effects/routines - and much SPELLING!!
And you might as well mention where a lot of the boring stuff you mention appears - like in JAW DROPPERS 1 (sold out) and my current book - also heading toward "sold out" - JAW DROPPERS TWO. That contains A-M-A-Z-I-N-G Plus - very, very, boring - and Royal Spelling Slowly - can't get much more boring than that - plus up-dating of Off-The-Rack 3-piece Suit.
Thanks much for your boringly jealousy-ridden post and the plug opportunity!!!

Oh, and about 75 - that's right, SEVENTY-FIVE!!! - "jaw dropping" non-spelling effects/routines in JAW DROPPERS TWO. Go to harryloraynemagic.com to learn more about it.

I two am in a similar situation. I knew some tricks but not really any of the basics except an messy over hand shuffle and how to do a pinkie break. Wanting to get serious and start learning more I had heard from several people that books are the way to go.

I have heard the royal road to card magic appraised by tons of people. So I had bought it. For me the tricks are hard to understand and at times and are not so clearly explained in my opinion. I feel like a lot of the effects or at least the way the plot for them are presented are a bit outdated and would not be as effective in modern day times.

With that being said what I have been doing is I go over the tricks and take what works for me but I am mainly focused on learning and understanding the principals explained in the book. My overhand shuffle is now neater and I now can even palm a card more naturally and less suspicously which is something I never thought I was capable of by following this book and although I have not found but a handful of the tricks actually something I would use I feel like I have learned a lot of the basics required that makes it easier to create my own tricks but to also have the abilities needed when that same sleight is used in another book. and to me that alone is enough to force myself through the book even if I was not to get a single trick out of it.

I'll repeat - "I've written soooo many books JUST FOR YOU!!"

Wow, lots of ads in these threads. LOL!

Yeah; no help at all - just ads (all I see is one - mine! Not really an ad, just mentioned my site - which is at the bottom of all my posts anyway. LOL!

I know Royal Road has a great reputation, but I've never bought a copy. Harry's books have a great reputation, too, but the persistent efforts to market his books on this forum have turned me off, personally. No offense, Harry, just a quirk of my makeup.

I personally find that what works for me is to find particular tricks that inspire me and then I have a reason to work on sleights that contribute to them. I am not and probably never will be an avid card magician. I do a few things with cards because most of the time cards don't inspire me that much. But pick any branch of magic, really. If the trick inspires me to want to do it, I will work on the sleights and moves it takes to do the trick. But if I don't have a trick I want to do, it is really hard to make myself work on a sleight to do something I don't want to do.

If you are not inspired by RRCM, pick something that does inspire you. Harry has books that many card workers love. He says they are written just for you. Perhaps you will find inspiration there. Or, there are loads of other books out there, videos, too.

Find inspiration, find what you want to do. You will then be motivated to work on the mechanics. Material in RRCM might be more relevant if it offers a different way to explain a move you want to learn, so might well be worth keeping as a reference.

-Patrick

Harry did you write the many books Just for me or Just for Mordo58? I am getting confused here

For YOU, LoveKey1988. Hope I've unconfused you.

Sorry I turned you off, Mr. Woolery. Not my intent, obviously. However; hearing that - I'd just as soon you didn't buy any of my books. No offense - just one of MY quirks.

LoveKey1988,

I would suggest that you don't need to know every slight, just the ones that you will be using. I would suggest that you focus on a few effects that you think are not boring and work on them.

Some of the Classics are classics for a reason. I have created my own handlings and/or patter for some of the classics like ACAAN, Ambitious Card, Twisting the Aces, etc.

I have also picked up some good ideas from some lectures. Jonathan Levit does an amazing psychological force card routine where a participant deals to a card selected by another person.

KJ

@Lovekey1988

If you can afford it I would also recommend Card College. Giobbi says Vols 1 & 2 should be considered as one book given they are the basic course, but the first on its own has more than enough to be getting on with and covers the majority of what is in RR. More importantly for you, I think the illustrative effects for each move are stronger and more relevant for today’s audiences. He does actually use some from RR too but gives them a rejig. I started studying card magic last year and bought RR as a starter, but once I’d invested in C.C. I’m not sure I’ve gone back to a RR effect once.

Just "started studying card magic last year" and already recommending?! Wow! I started studying card magic EIGHTY YEARS AGO and I recommend any one of MY books. You might even benefit from one or fifteen of them! CLOSE-UP CARD MAGIC came out in 1962 and from what I've been told over the decades from people all over the world - it's still more than "relevant for today's audiences" - even a routine like OUT OF THIS UNIVERSE - but, sorry, out of print.

Oops...neglected to mention that you can see which of my books on card magic are available at harryloraynemagic.com. My books are not cheap, so obviously, if you can afford them. (Oh; Close-Up Card Magic IS available as an e-book - not my favorite way to learn.)