Hi,

The question is topics name.

Thanks

SantiagoM

Not enough. Not nearly enough.

About a half hour to an hour a day.

Those who gamble regularly tend to practice least.
Those who are just learning new techniques will often practice quite a lot each day. Sometimes too much.

During my teens and 20s, I practiced about 2+ hours per day and in class, under the desk (shame on me).

PLUS, almost every Saturday for about 25 years, I used to have magic "jams" in Manhattan at the resturant "hang-out" for 4-5 hours with some great card guys.

There was also a gambling supply store in the city which I use to go to occasionally.

When I practiced at home I had a 3-way mirror to watch all angles...but, it is sometimes best to practice while watching TV, so the moves become mechanical and you don't have to think about your hands moving.

Once your hands move automatically, then you can concentrate on presentation and "let your fingers do the walking"

Now, with a full time job, wife and kids...I don't have time to breath....forget about practicing ... But, it's worth it

Your life can not revolve around magic !

I got my entire class out of physics homework one day because I named the card my teacher was thinking of.

That was a good day.

A minimum of 3 hours a day. sleep is over rated.

I practice at least 8 hrs a day 3-5 days a week I try to always have a deck in my hands. I learned that it wasn’t how much I practiced but how, I learned to stop once my hands started feeling tense or when I started to get the sleight I was trying to learn wrong. Also learned not to focus so much on speed but on the mechanics of the actual sleights. If during practice your effect is coming out wrong then it will happen that way in front of an audience, and if you continue to practice doing the effect the "wrong way" cause your trying to work on speed for instance then your not doing anything. What I’m trying to get at is that you could practice 15 hours a day but if you’re not doing it correctly then your doing more harm than good. Sorry guys I tend to get off track hope this helps.

I practice when I feel the need to and stop when I feel the need to also. No time constraints or goals these days, just quality instead of quantity.
Cardamagically,
DOM.
:)

As important as practice is, it is important not to burn out. And to get plenty of sleep.

if in doubt...do without. Better to practice 20 minutes a day every day, than to have a 12 hour jam session once a week.

So the moment you start getting tired. Put the cards down...do not worry, they aren't going anywhere. They will be there when you want to get back to them. and if you are like me you WILL go back to them sometime that evening.

I think Bill Palmer said something about Magicians having some form of OCD. I think he has a point.

Santiago,
What works for me is 30 minutes of practicing a set of tricks each night (I am working on a routine). When I need a break at work, I’ll practice card sleights. 2 things I also find helpful is:
1-I only keep in the room I am practicing in the props I need (cards, coins, paddle trick and chop cup). If I am in my office where I keep all my magic stuff, I get distracted.
2-Keeping a journal (logging progress and ideas) has kept me on track.
Good luck to you... thanks,
Bruce

I cannot imagine anyone practicing 8 hours daily. Maybe it is just me. But it seems just abaout impossible to do so and be productive.

Different strokes for different folks.

As beginning magicians, you can practice in front of mirrors all you can for the time you're able to do so. For example, performing a DL (if doing card magic) well enough. But it was also mentioned earlier to also practice in front of a TV - which gets you to do the sleight without thinking about it or watching your hands. This is, I believe, a much better method to learn. Sure, do it in front of the mirror to study your hands, angles etc. But once the basic move is done, do it without thinking about it. One of the best ways is by watching TV, or on a bus, or doing other things that don't focus your mind on your hands.

I've recently delved into the art of coin manipulations, only because I want to add more variety than just card magic. So while idle, I'd practice classic and thumb palms. It took me a long time to comfortably hold a coin in classic - perhaps dropped the *** thing a million times. All of a sudden, one day, it "worked", and I found that "sweet" spot in my palm to sit the coin, much like how the tennis player finds the right spot on his racket to hit the ball effectively. It just seems to click one day and all makes sense.

But that wasn't good enough, as just being able to conceal the coin is only part of it. You have to also be able to quickly and secretly get it into and out of classic, and that is what I have been practicing lately. So I've almost always got a coin in my hand day by day, at work and at home. Other times, I'll practice French Drops while watching a TV show, without watching my hands.

Most of the time now, I'm not conscious that I'm picking up things with a coin in my palm, as I try to have my hands look natural. David Roth teaches an excellent method of learning classic palm without your hands "telling" everyone what's going on - look for his Expert Coin Magic DVD's at your local supplier. Another is Jay Noblezada's "In The Beginning There Were Coins" - there are undoubtedly many, many others.

Sorry for getting long-winded here!

Dave

this is exactly what I do.. And the most important thing for me is, the practice session should be enjoyable.. If I'm not enjoying the practice (for any reason, which is very rare), then I'll stop

About Practice while watching TV, that is a very good idea. One that works for me since I live in new York City, it to actually perform effects that have a lot of moves I can do... as practice under fire so to speak.

I'll perform Twisting the aces....as the train is lurching from station to station... or between bus stops. I need to focus on patter, misdirection, presentation.,.. and the sleights...all while maintaining eye contact AND keeping my balance. Ok I would not be doing a complex ACR under these conditions... But it's a good way to practice my Elmsley/ Jordan Counts.

One thing that Teller recommends ( yes he does talk...go figure) Is to distract yourself and then do the move... say have the cards in your hands and have someone you trust at home say.." Now!!!" and you do a DT... Or a top palm. Distract yourself somehow and then try to do it without thinking.

I practice from after dinner until I go to bed, usually around 3 or 4 AM. A lot of hours but I too vegetate in front of a screen and it doesn't feel like practice. I haven't read a magic book or seen a magic DVD in a long time. Nor do I practice tricks since maybe 5 months back or work in front of a mirror.

Instead I lie on my bed and switch back and forth between coins and cards all night and just work on mechanics. Palms and passes and things like that. I am becoming fairly solid at this now, all from being burned out and fed up with practicing actual tricks. Which I hope to get back into soon as well.

As has been mentioned, when needed put the cards down for a rest. Hand problems will tend to stick with you for years. I think that if you are able to, every few months or so try to go without touching the cards or coins at all for a few days. Yea, I know... easier said than done.

About an hour a day

I don't have a standard practice time, I just take out my cards and fool with them whenever I feel bored!

Couple of hours every day during the week, rarely on the weekends when I'm working.

I tend to practice less on sleights and work more on performance and structure now than I did a year ago. I'm starting to feel more confident with the different techniques I use so more time is spent on dissecting each routine I do, looking for improvements. I also try not to learn new sleights just for the sake of learning them and I only practice something new if it is necessary for a routine I want to do.

I still carry one or more coins in my hands most of the day though, moving them from palm to palm. Focused time set aside for dedicated work on magic is probably 10-15 hrs per week. Longer sessions during weekends and shorter during weekdays.

I practice about 30min. to an hour each day.