I forget who said this, though I know it was a boxing coach, but I think it's useful. The saying is: "Miss one day of practice, you know it. Miss two days of practice, your opponent knows it. Miss three days of practice, everyone knows it."

This can easily adapted to magic: "Miss one day of practice, you know it. Miss two days of practice, a magician will know it. Miss three days of practice, your spectators will know it."

Just my two cents.

I hope he doesn't mind, but one of the most profound quotes on the topic I ever read was made by the venerable Mr. Bill Palmer.

I've been pretty much doing the same act for several years. It's down pat. You can believe, when I read his quote, I opened up the case and "cleaned the rust" off some of the old props, lest I've gotten complacent. I have a laminated version in my magic room.

Thank you Mr. Palmer.

"Practice your material until it becomes boring. Then practice it until it becomes beautiful."

Practice is the difference between a good magic show and making an oral book report to the author on a book you didn't read.

Fooling someone without practice changes the audience that is fooled.

Bob
Magic By Sander

I remember putting together a pretty nice 3 ring routine in my earlier years. I even won a club contest with it. Some time later I dusted them off and proceeded to do the most horrendous possible with those poor rings.
I was so traumatized, I did not touch them for years, lol.

I still shudder.

tom