As per my other posts, I've just joined the forum and am getting back into magic since doing it in my teenage years. Quite simply I'd like some advice on buying some 'classic' close-up tricks and/or new works that I can perform in front of colleagues, friends etc without too much reliance on sleight of hand, setup or gimmicks. Most of the stuff I have from my younger years are Tenyo products and looking back, some are just awful such as the pencil through a pencil, many relying on ‘gimmicks’ too much. Some gimmicks are helpful, whilst others simply destroy the illusion and decrease an audiences ability to suspend their disbelief. Does anyone, esp professional magicians use Tenyo products?

What are people top 5 'wow' 'must have' pieces that never fail to amaze, both classic and new. I’d esp be interested in pieces that don’t arouse suspicion or can even be handed out for inspection.

Andrew


What are people top 5 'wow' pieces that never fail to amaze. Classic or new?

Andrew

Without a doubt, Out of This World. No sleights - slays.

///ark

I'd have to say the invisible deck.

Andrew,

get a dek of cards and work on some self-working tricks. Scarne on Cards is a great resource and a bargain.

Andy

1. Scotch & Soda.
2. Sponge Balls.
3. Vanishing hanky (T.T.).
4. Color Monte.
5. Floating Bill. (I.T.)
These are just a few that are examinable.
Cardamagically,
<<<KRaZy4KaRdZ>>>DOM
:)

If you want to buy a book instead of indivual tricks, It's a must that you get 'Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic', if you haven't already.

It has tons of effects that are great and not hard but are still very good.

Somebody please back me up here.

Andrew, I'd suggest two things: first, a good paddle trick like a Money Paddle (click HERE to view) or the Jumping Gems (click HERE to view).

Next, as others have suggested, get a book of tricks, as opposed to single tricks. Not only is it a better value, but you'll be exposed to a wide variety of effects and can pick and choose what you like.

This way, you'll have some surefire "mechanical" effects that are easy to perform, and you can start learning some sleight of hand so you won't need lots of fancy gadgets. You can try Volume One of the Tarbell Course or "Hugard's Magic Manual," a $15 Dover reprint of Jean Hugard's 1939 "Modern Magic Manual," which is available through Amazon, click HERE for more info. BTW, if you like sleight of hand, the Cups and Balls is a very good place to start.

And remember, a trick is only as amazing as you, the magician, make it. SETH

You can't go wrong with the above. I picked up an easy great looking effect just yesterday at Fantasma. It's their "Ring-Scape" or ring through rope. Here's a link to the demo.

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/488859/fan......ugh_rope

Without a doubt, this book is worth it's weight in gold. Not only is it jam packed with great effects it will also teach the prerequisites to more advanced material you may learn down the road.

Be careful on buying stuff that looks cool or maybe easy. Get books, DVDS, lecture notes, and try and find a mentor. This will save you from buying stuff, that once you get in the groove, you will never use. I have a ton of crap that I collected before I hunkered down with books and videos. My mentor told me that everyone does it...part of the learning process. Any questions just let me know I have a lot of reference material.

Just adding my $.02. I too am a beginner. I am not all that cash constrained, so take that into consideration -- but for me big bang for the buck effects:

1. WoW by Masuda. Easy to do, still have to practice some small sleights (which is good in my opinion) and killer effect. Up close, personal and people love it.

2. Prohibition by Charlie Justice (I think). Again very cool trick, pretty easy and takes a little practice.

Take a look at their demo videos and see if you like the effect -- if you do then I would highly reccomend them.

The book "Now You See it, Now you don't" by Bill Tarr has a wealth of great tricks and sleights. "Fraud" is a pretty great (but will require some prep at home) wow-elliciting trick.

There is another post of the "5 best pocket tricks magicians always carry" in the Café. At one point I went through all of the previous posts and compiled a list...It may be enjoyable to review it in this thread too, so here it is...


1. I.T.
2. Crazy Horseman Cuff
3. Star gazer
4. Deck of cards,stacked deck, crash course 1, Aces stacked on bottom
5. Trilogy Dirty Pool (Michel Huot) –
6. 3 ball (Garrett Thomas)
7. Divided Attention (Sankey)
8. Design Duplication (Osterlind)
9. Hundy 500
10. Thumb tip, loaded w/$2 bill, black silk, $100 bill switch,Sugar packs,
11. Scotch and Soda
12. PK/PTK ring
13. Quarter for "STUCK"
14. Silk hanky
15. Osterlind Watch routine
16. Betting game with yes/no card
17. Divine a thought of telephone number
18. Pulse stop
19. Pen through quarter gimmick, normal quarter, pen
20. One or two half dollars
21. My card to wallet is my everyday wallet
22. Flash Cotton
23. "Questionable Trick"
24. "Recap"
25. "Cigarama"
26. "Florida Keys"
27. "Torn & Restored Bill"
28. Entourage
29. Two Dollar Window
30. Wonderland Dollar/Bill
31. Hypnotic Choice
32. flipping dollars,
33. MagiCard
34. Mental Yarn
35. Mark Jenest's No 2 Pencil
36. Gaffed Sharpie
37. 1-2 quarter gaffed coins
38. Two Ones to a Two
39. Two Pennies on Knee
40. Tenkai Pennies (see Bobo's)
41. Invisable Deck
42. 2 Card Monte
43. Fant-a-Stick
44. Ike Dollar Coin & Sudbury Penny (Spellbound)
45. Lubor Lens (Reality Twister)
46. 3-Ring Circus (Jay Sankey)
47. Mismade Dollar Bill (Four Corners)
48. Gimmick for doing Cap In Glass Bottle (Prohibition)
49. pens (Flip Stick),
50. Rubberbands (CMH), crazy man handcuffs, penetrating and linking bands
51. Color Changing Knives
52. $1 & $5 bill transposition
53. Card Warp
54. Pinnacle (ring & rubberband)
55. KK (Kenton Kneppers card in wallet)
56. Flaming wallet
57. Two Green Sponge Balls for Balls in the Mouth
58. Hopping Halves
59. Pinky tip
60. McDonald's aces
61. floating cigarette/match/toothpick card.
62. Hot Rod
63. Bite quarter
64. Nickels to Dimes
65. color monte
66. mini cups and balls
67. ash pen
68. lit cigarette vanish
69. Loops, (something I do with cards).
70. Greed.
71. BWind
72. Alien Autopsy.
73. Two dice for a dice addition trick
74. Two paper clips for the linking paper clips
75. Kollosal Killer in heirloom wallet
76. Slow burn (Sanders) on a exotic looking money clip
77. a half, a copper penny, and an expanded shell half
78. psychokenetic pen and duplicate
79. 3 Fly III
80. Outlaw wallet
81. p***et writer
82. Bryn Reynolds' "Business Coin Prediction"
83. small pad of PCT paper
84. Banachek's "M.I.N.D" opener
85. dollar bill w/ pre-written prediction of serial number that will be selected
86. Stealth Assassin Wallet with 4-card version of KK
87. magic square prediction
88. PK Time (usually using the spec's watch, mind),
89. 3 phase coin routine,
90. a coin transposition,
91. The Magic Traffic Light
92. 5" or 50 sponge bunnies
93. Magnetic Silver Copper
94. Lethal Tender
95. Cigarette thru Quarter
96. Brainwave Deck, B'Wave, 8 card brainwave
97. Perfect Pen
98. PK Pen
99. Paperclipped card for Jay Sankey's effect
100. Rubberbands for Kenner's Missing Link
101. Invisible Deck
102. Standard Bicycle Deck in Osterlind Breakthrough order
103. 2 quarters for repeat coin under watch
104. Silver dollar for a 1 coin routine using muscle pass and Backpalming
119. Daryls no touch card trick
120. Business card prediction.
121. "What's Next?"
124. Raven
125. Folding coin
126. 'Pick a card, any card' Kipp Sherry
127. P-PIK Prediction Cards
128. Spider Pen
129. Dime & Penny
130. Disappearing Card Deck
132. Leaving Home
133. Princess Card Trick
134. 3 half dollars for "3 Coins Across,"
137. Sponge Ball Routine
138. Mystic Chips
139. Colour Changing Silks
140. 4 Coins (dollars or halves)
141. Blue deck (with blue and red dup)
143. Coin purse
144. Okito box
145. copper, copper/silver
146. Multiplying balls
147. Ellis ring
148. Gaffed knit balls
149. Ammar's ETMC

Wow, that's quite a list! I don't think I have that many pockets (and I don't believe I'd be a beginner once I mastered half of that list!)

Wow! Great list, pradell. Thanks for taking the time to compile it and share it with us.

A few of them I'm going to have to do a search to find out just what they are.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I think these lists will keep me busy for some time hunting down the effect. I gather some titles are more generic, rather than belonging to just one person.

On a tangent, has anyone subscribed to CardTricks 101 or know much about this or similar pay to enter magic sites? I've posted a message in the Mgrs area asking Steve for advice about general internet sites / links and reviews of sites.

Keep the lists coming! Try to mention creator if possible.

Andrew

Out of This World is by Paul Curry, and can be found in his Magician's Magic, which, as it's published by Dover, is easily and cheaply available.

There's a pretty similar version called Intuition in Roberto Giobbi's Card College Light. I would highly recommend this book to a beginner. It contains only self-working tricks, but also includes tips on how to use sleights to improve them when you're ready. The tricks are arranged into routines, which (especially in the case of T.N.T and Intuition) set each other up nicely.

///ark

Mark Wilsons complete course in magic. This is a great book with a lot of effects. They can also be modernized with a little creativity.

I would second the Mark Wilson suggestion. Resisted it for a long time thinking it would be hard to understand tricks from a book -- boy was I wrong -- great investment

I will have to jump on the bandwagon and third the Mark Wilson suggestion. This is the book that first led me into learning magic after talking my parents into getting it for me years ago. I still have that book, and it is well worn and dog eared, but still lots of great information. I was actually reading through it last night, thinking that is is about time for me to start learning the cups and balls.