Heyhey everybody.

I have a few simple questions, I've been trying to get into magic recently after watching a trick and my first reaction was "whoa, I wanna do that".

In particular, card magic, as you could take a deck of cards with you practicly anywhere.

I know a few sleights and own a few gaffed card tricks. (svengali, kings to aces etc.)

Now first off, I have to get over my TERRIBLE nervousness, I can't do a card trick in front of my dad with out freaking out, even though I can do sleights almost flawlessly in private (beside the DL due to not knowing how to be able to get a pinky break properly) ...and I'm 21 years old.

Even when using one of my gaffed tricks that require practicly no skill what so ever, I get nervous like you wouldn't believe.

Also, I haven't done any tricks for anybody beside my dad, grandparents, and best friend...yet.

But that's beside the point of this post.

Now, even though I wish to get into card magic, I want to get into a certain type of card magic.

I was wondering, what are the tricks I could look into, or books I could buy that would teach me the sort of tricks to completely freak people out, send them running from me...etc... I'm also looking for books that cover ONLY sleights, not tricks, I really want to learn the basics to get this right from the start. But, I really don't know where to look, I've been to quite a few websites and don't really know who to trust and who not to trust. (I picked up a book from a barnes and nobles on basic magic stuff but some of the explanations of the slights were simply confusing to me, but hey, least I tried to start off right =P)

But I just want to learn how to freak the everloving goodness out of people. =P

I know this would require quite a bit of patter, which I could do (I think, maybe I don't realise what I'm getting myself into yet. =P) provided I can get over the nervousness, I forget to even patter when I test a trick out on my dad due to my nervousness ...haha... Plus, he is a trouble maker when it comes to trying to do a trick "Let me see that" "No, I rather put the card here" "I want to take the card you don't want me to take" etc etc...you know what I'm talking about.

I was thinking about getting into mentalism tricks, but then again, I'm still a newbie to all this stuff, so what do I know eh...So I'm open to suggestions on the type of tricks I should be trying to learn.

Also I don't like the idea using gaffed decks as I think I would like to be able to hand out the deck to who ever I would be preforming for and say "Go ahead, look through the deck all you want". Plus the satisfaction of know what your doing was skill, rather than the deck doing the work for you.

Although if the effect is good enough, I suppose I would just try to put the cards away quickly afterwards...(like an invisible deck, which I still have yet to get.)

Anyway, thanks for reading this appreciate any help/advice you people could give.

Hello AAC

As a fellow card worker I would like to welcome you to the world of card magic, as a magic Café member I'd like to welcome you to the Magic Café and as a fellow human being with the same interests I'd like to welcome you to magic, I'm just not sure which I will do first!

I you have many hours of fun awaiting. As a newbie you have a lot to learn, but hell I don't think there are many people in magic that don't still have a lot to learn so don't let that get to you.

I have been doing magic for about 2 years now, which it may surprise you to learn that in the world of magic is a very very short time. So I can't tell you where you so go in magic, that is your decision and your's alone to make. But I will attempt to give you an idea of where I think the best place to start is, of course this is only in my opinion I am sure you will get many other posters here who may or may not agree with me.

So, a place to start, this is the easiest question, when people start out in card magic their first serious putrchase will tend to be one of two books, not always but a lot of the time. The first is actually a series of books called "Card College" by Robert Giobbi. This is a 5 volumes series that covers just about every sleight in card magic, or at least a lot of the really good ones and the staples of card magic. At the end of each chapter there are two or three tricks that employ the moves that you learnt in that chapter, you may choose to learn these or not but it gives you a good idea of the sorts of things that you are now capable of after reading that chapter and learning the sleight. Also in some of the volumes there are chapters on magic theory which are very insightful and are good for any magician to read.

The second book is "Expert at the Card Table" by S.W.Erdnase this teaches sleights as well but they are more gambling oriented. Well, at least this is what I understand, I haven't read this book so I don't really know. I will stand happily corrected by anyone who says otherwise as I have no real expeirence with this book.

Oh, sorry I should make that 3 books because there is also a book called "Royal Road to Card Magic" I'm sorry the author's name escapes me but a lot of card workers start with this book as well and I understand it is a lot like card college.

Ok so now you know how most card workers start out I will give you my reccommendations. I started out with Card College. I got both volumes 1 and 2 to begin with. These two volumes alone are filled with some really, really brilliant magic and volume 2 has some theory worth the price of the book alone. Also every sleight is very clearly explained and I didn't have any trouble learning anything in them. I didn't get the rest of the series for a long time for two reasons, 1. I had a lot of practice to do just on the stuff in the first two books and 2. They were enough to get me up to speed and able to read a lot of other books with different material in them so I wasn't invested in Card College and that was it. You can pick these up from almost any magic store and also http://www.ellusionist.com sells them.

So these two books are a strong reccomendation from me to get so you can get started with sleight. Also you mentioned that you are having trouble performing because you are nervous. Don't worry about this, it happens to almost everyone and beleive me it will pass. However because of this, for now, may I suggest a few self working card tricks. Don't let the name fool you these aren't gaff cards. Self working card tricks are performed with regular cards but they work by themselves as long as you have set them up correctly and follow the procedure correctly. For books with self working card tricks may I suggest "World's Best Card Tricks" by Bob Longe and/or "Dear Mr Fantasy" by John Bannon. Both are fill will some great self working card tricks that you can use to get comfortable with performing without having to worry about whether your sleights will fly or not.

Finally as for your Dad grabbing the cards or generally being disruptive there are many diffent ways to avoid this. Rather than rambling on any further instead I will give you a link to another thread that talks about this. There are a lot of different opinions on this situation in this thread and perhaps you might like one and use.

http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......forum=41

Till next we meet good luck with everything and may your magic journey be long and fun.

Moyle

Welcome

I can recommend Royal Road to Card Magic. You can buy the book from any big book store or if you prefer you can buy an ebook for a fraction of the cost. It is full of card sleights, flourishs and forces. I have always loved card magic and spend hours at home practicing my card control.

On the nervousness side, I just recommend practice, practice and more practice. If you are performing in front of family try not to think I am going to muck this trick up. I try out many of my tricks on my poor wife first and I have mucked up many times but when you nail a good trick it is an unbelievable reaction. I remember doing my first 'public' card trick in front of my soccer team about 3 years ago. Can't remember the name of the card trick but basically a spectator picks a card returns it back to the deck, deck is shuffled and the chosen card is reversed in the pack. To this day my close friend still talks about that trick to everyone. What a great feeling.

Just pactice as much as you can and don't be afraid to ask anyone on this board about anything. All the guys and ladys on this site are so helpful.

AAC,
Congratulations! I like that you are going to focus on the basics. You will find a new appreciation for magic.

In addition to Moyle and MightyRed75 tips here are my suggestions.

The fact is that most people have “pre-stage nervousness” before and while performing magic. With experience it will lessen and you will learn to control this energy and refocus it in your performance. This nervousness will lessen the more you perform in front of people.

One tip a magician friend told me was to practice looking at your audience, and not so much the cards. Your audience will look at what you are looking at. So, if you are constantly looking at the cards that is where they will look and may pick up on the sleight or the gimmick. For the most part what seems like a very obvious flash or mistake to you is usually not so obvious to the layman. So don’t sweat it and push through your mistakes. “The show must go on.”

I would recommend the following for learning the basics of card magic:
- Royal Road to Card Magic (book or DVD)
- Complete Card Magic (DVD)
- Daryl's Encyclopedia of Card Sleights (DVD)

Good luck,
John

The first thing I'll say is that your Dad's teasing will get you ready for the real world and will encounter hecklers and grabbers. It will get you thinking about how to handle these situations. You will thank Dad later.

The resources recommended above are good and I'll add
"Close-Up Card Magic" by Harry Lorayne. Under $20, good routines and usable sleights.
and
"Outs Precautions and Challenges" by Charles Hopkins.

Just curious, but why try to learn difficult sleights to start out. Learn card effects relying on sublety and blow your friends & father away. You might start with (if you can find it) The Card Magic of Nick Trost. As for difficult sleights, follow the rule of Ted Annemann " The Effect is the important thing, how you achieve is not!!!" So true..
Rennie

A quick suggestion. Try practicing your sleights on slightly less skeptical/combative audiences. I'd suggest doing some free shows at local elder care facilities. This is a safe environment, which allows you to make mistakes. Most importantly, you don't have to be nervous!! You can nearly drop the deck, pick it up, and re-arrange it, and they won't catch you.

I just want to throw in my two cents to say that Royal Road to Card Magic was the ultimate resource for me getting into cards. I doubt so appropriate a collection of material can ever be surpassed.

Hey AAC!!

Welcome to the world of magic!! I as most everyone else above also would recommend The Royal Road To Card MAgic by Jean Hugard. Also by Hugard is a book titled Card Manipulations and is almost exclusively about sleights and flurishes, as well as his book Expert Card Technique. These along with the other posts should put you well on your way to where you wanna be.

As far as the nervousness, lol, welcome to show business. I was a theatre major in college and I would much rather be in front of a packed house than a few spectators sometimes. I have been performing magic for a few years now and still get the hand trembling occasionally. It has become a nuisance more than anything now..lol. But in all seriousness, it does get better as you go and get more experience. Hope all this helps!!

Chris

Well the nervous feelings don't go away for me been doing magic for people other than family and friends for the last 14 years. Right before my show I get a little nervous. But after 5 minutes into my act my second nature kicks in. That is why we as magicians have to practice so much. I get into performance gear and it is over!

Hope that helps.

Now I would suggest getting royal road to card magic,the card college series. Then you will have enough slieghts and effects that you will be busy for awhile.

Vonbodan

Royal Road has always been a good foundation work for getting into cards. Especially now since R. Paul Wilson has also put out DVD's on the Royal Road. You have an excellent book and an excellent performer showing you how to do it so you make sure you get started in the right direction. It's like having a mentor.

Hi AAC,

I've always found the classics to be the best so I would have to second the 'Card College' series and 'Royal Road to Card Magic'. The respective DVD set for the latter is well presented and I've found R. Paul Wilson's explanations extremely helpful.

I see you already have the willpower to focus on the basics, that will keep you in good stead and provide you with a solid foundation to build upon.

Good Luck

Look up Ron Jaxon's post here on the shakes, stage fright comes to even the best pros, you gain confidence as you practice and do your effects. The more you practice and the more second nature it is the easier you fall into it. But even the top pros get the banging knees and a jitter of the hands before a performance. That is just normal.

Thanks for the great welcome and tips, couldn't have asked for much more.

I've found myself getting over the basic jitters around friends and family, especially my bestfriend, who usually gets a dumbfounded look on his face after tricks, which is priceless =D.

But, bad thing is that there are no magic shops around me, the closest one is 50 or so miles south of me, that is according to google.

But I'm going to make a list and try to find the suggested books off a site...especially the card college series, I've looked into it and it sounds good to me.

I've found myself practicing just a few sleights... DL, a good color change, backslip, false shuffles and cuts...basic stuff...

Anyway, thanks for all the tips and such again, I think I came to the right place.

Magic makers royal road to card magic is the way to go

Welcome! I am a magic newbie too. I've only been into magic for 18 months or so. On the heckling, I know it is hard. My hands still shake a little sometimes when I do a trick for a stranger. Just practice thoroughly and do it anyway. You are bound to mess up tricks in front of people even with practice, but you'll accept that better over time. ("Magic for Dummies" has some good lines to use when you mess up.)

I work with a bunch of scientists who initially tried to figure out every trick and catch me as much as possible. However, as I practiced and got better, two great things happened: 1) they couldn't catch me as often; 2) they stopped trying to catch me. Eventually, you get good enough that use can use a variety of techniques to fool the spectator. In that situation, they don't know when or how they got fooled. Most of my labmates eventually stopped trying to catch me as I got better and just started enjoying the trick.

The best help for me was my wife (my best friend). She is a very, very patient woman who would willingly watch the trick many times, even when she figured the trick out. Then, we could talk about the trick, performance, and making it better. If you can find someone to fill that role, it will help immensely.

Also, don't regard screwing up as a personal failure. Use it as a learning opportunity. FInd a set of people who are willing to give constructive criticism and do tricks for them first.

On books, here are some cheap books to get you started. Most can be bought online used for under $10.

Royal Road, again
Cyclopedia of Magic by Mark Wilson - small book, lots of material, good basics, helped me a lot
Karl Fulves books
Now You See It . . . by Bill Tarr

These will get you started. Good luck!