After reading all the comments on what and what not to do regarding technique, consistency etc. I think what may be lacking
is where is your focus? Is it on your sleights (down and in) or on your audience ( up and out) I always interact with my audiences,
asking questions, making funny comments, making eye contact and acknowledging everyone at the table.

If you are focusing mostly on your sleight execution, which it sounds like you are rather that interacting with your audience then
you are a "move monkey" not an entertainer. Sure you should practice sleights and routines but what is ,imo, most important is that your spectators have a fun , mystifying experience. When you leave are they smiling, or have a look of wonder on their faces?

There are times I could pull an elephant from under the table and they wouldn't see it happen. Instead of focusing on executing
a "perfect" DL focus on audience interaction and management. Ask someone a question and when people look at that person for their answer do your get-ready (for example) Maybe you are putting "your" emphasis on the wrong thing. Instead place your emphasis on your audience. (Up and Out) Keep practicing and think more about your audiences, afterall they are why we are doing this. FWIW

Can you link to a video of what you suggest it should look like, or how it should be performed, to be more natural?

Hi terrible wizard, you say that you use four different types of DL I think you should pick your favorite one of the four and focus on that one and forget about the others.
I think in my opinion I do a good DL and how I practiced was infront of the mirror I turned over just the top card probably about 20 times while watching in the mirror how I do it then tried to mimic my actions but turning over two cards, not long after I got the hang of it.
I am the same as you my only interaction with magicians is on here so if you ever wanna Skype or chat in Pm let me know.

Kieran

Hi I would suggest this. You have obviously been around a while. I want you to focus on things that have worked the best for you. What types of tricks were they? What types of people do you get your best reactions from? What types of magic might replicate the best of your magic so far?

Magic is so diverse. There have to be some things you haven't tried that bring out the best in you. HOw about focusing more on comedy in magic? These types of things have helped me a lot. I trust they will help you too, bro. wishing you the best in all things, !!!!

Hi TerribleWizard,



So much good advice here that I hesitate to add anything. But... as someone who has trouble with nerves himself, and takes a long time to learn sleights to his satisfaction, I can empathize with you.



I had a strange thought after reading the posts in this thread: do you *enjoy* practicing magic? If not, maybe it would make sense to take a break from magic, or even give it up. You may find that other things take its place, activities that you enjoy and find fulfilling, and that don't make you nervous. Or, maybe you'll find that if you give up magic, with the intention of finding other hobbies instead, you'll discover that you really miss it -- and you'll take it up again, in a few months or a year or a decade, and the break will have gotten you out of the rut you're in at the moment.



For what it's worth, I'm going to describe my experience with piano lessons. I've been playing for about seven years. I very quickly discovered that I wasn't going to progress nearly as fast as I'd hoped. If I'm *very* lucky and *very* virtuous, I *may* be able to play Mozart's sonata #11 someday, something that I'd dearly love to do. In reality, I'm playing some lovely pieces that, though they took me many months to nearly master, are quite simple in the scheme of things. Many were written by some of the great composers to help children learn to play. (I'm 63.) But here's the thing: although I certainly experience frustration now and then, I absolutely love every moment of my practice, even when I'm frustrated. And I *am* progressing, even if slowly, playing pieces that would have been far beyond me a few years ago. So in the end it doesn't matter: I'm having the time of my life.



I don't know how useful these thoughts are. I'm trying to broaden your perspective beyond magic: is the unhappiness of practicing magic intense enough that perhaps you should give it a break? It's your decision -- I'm not trying to push you in any direction. I used to be pretty good at chess, though by no means a star. And I was fascinated by the quirks and complexity of the game. But around when I got out of college I realized that I wasn't enjoying it. I loved the game *in theory*, but in reality it made me really tense. It just wasn't worth it. And I don't miss it. I've found lots of other things, like piano, that I truly enjoy.



Okay... I've talked enough. I wish you the best, TW.



Best Regards,



Bob

Many good advices indeed there.

And as someone said, in this post, virtually every people will struggle with certain things, some of them they will never master.

I’m learning pretty fast (when I started magic at 19, I learnt false counts, faro shuffle, several controls, top palm, double lift in one hard work week) but I can assure you that I’m struggling badly with some sleights since two decades, like the side steal and the bottom deal, with which I’m not satisfied. Some people will maybe learn slower than me but at the end they will be better.

And watching super gifted people doesn’t mean we worth nothing !
As Bob mentioned his piano experience, I can give mine here too. People around me, my past teachers, other musicians told me I have very good hands, and that everything seems so easy for me. Now I’m working on the third piano concerto by Rachmaninov. OMG you have no idea how difficult it is for me ! There is some passages which are still not fully mastered after months of work. I know that if I was watching Lisitsa, Malofeev, or Kissin working on it, I would give up instantly ! It doesn’t mean I should…

As someone said, difficult things take time. Impossible ones, more…

Basically, as already said here, the way you work is essential. As for music, you have to fix some goals (step by step), to know exactly what you want to achieve, to work slowly and when perfect you can increase the speed (go then back and forth between slow and fast (even too fast) execution. Work regularly. Make breaks: as Zweig said, the breaks or silence are a part of the music.

In Card College, Giobbi gives a wonderful method on how to work sleights and routines (volume 2).

Thé huge advantage magic has is that what you have learnt will stay with you all your life. You will need to keep up things of course or rework a little if you have not used something for a long time, but it’s still there. Sport or piano are more demanding in my opinion, if you train less, you loose your shape, quickly. And it’s so hard to reach again the level you had before.

Just noticed TW's last post on this thread was in June 2017. Hopefully he's resolved some of these issues, because he's still on the Café.

I hope too. But anyway, everybody encounters despondency at times. Even the best. I would say it is a part of any learning process.

I'm sure you're right, Rachmaninov. Certainly it's true for me. By the way, I was heartened to hear your opinion that magic stays with a person in a way that piano and sports don't. Staying in shape with piano isn't a problem for me because I practice every day, but I find it harder to practice magic regularly every day. (Though I do pretty well. I find little cracks and crevices in which to play with my cards.)



Talk to you soon.



Bob

As much as I would love to be a master of sleights, I know I probably won't ever be. I am not a professional magician and can only spend so much time practicing. I own a video production company that takes up a lot of my time. I decided a while ago that I would focus more on sleight of mind than sleight of hand. I spend my time and energy working on card tricks that don't require difficult sleights but utilize very clever workings. I am into tricks that utilize things like the Gilbreath principle or psychological tricks. One of my favorites is a modified version of "The Gift" It's about the easiest trick I do, but it fries people because it seems so impossible.

There is a ton of great content out there that doesn't require difficult sleights or any sleights at all.

I should correct a little what I’ve said above. For piano, magic and other neuromotor skills, learnt things stay with us, but very complex movements have to be kept up almost everyday. Some pieces I’ve learnt a long time ago have been completely forgotten, and if I open the score again, it seems I’ve never learnt them in the past, it’s frustrating to have the impresssion that all the work has to be done again. But after a while, things come back, and the relearning process is fast.

A bientôt Bob !

Brad, personally, I value sleight of mind as much as sleight of Hand. There is a tradition to judge the expertise of a magician by his level of sleight of hand. I strongly disagree with that if it’s the main and sometimes the only criteria.

I agree. You know what they say, "If you want to fool a magician do a self working trick." ;-)

I actually just created a new trick last night that uses one of my favorite mathematical principles. The spectator would have to have a pretty good understanding of this principle to even begin to understand how it's possible. There is literally no other way it could be done short of having a Confederate.

That's the beauty of sleight of mind! ;-)

Really good suggestions here, albeit many different ones. I strongly agree with the idea of resting a bunch bit once work/time is put in. Sometimes you work hard on a sleight and feel like you are almost going backwards. Put the coin(s)/cards down for a few days, work on something else, or nothing at all, and come back fresh. Amazing how you may see progress. Good topic here.

Here is some different advice. I think even if you hardly perform magic, magic is one of the greatest things you can do to improve your creativity and to think strategically and out of the box. I think it is because of the boldness of the creative process of magic that I could imagine opening a diamond ring business without a store. At first it was like a fantasy. But I got the education, and became a world class gemologist. Then because of the flexible thinking I picked up in magic, I thought people might not mind buying a brighter diamond and a better ring without going to a store. Well, it worked, and I made millions slowly in it. I chalk it up to the POSSIBILITY THINKING OF MAGIC. MAGIC FREES UP YOUR MIND AND MAKES YOU WORK ON OPTIONS AND TRICKS MORE THAN ANYTHING I DO. SO HAVE A MAGIC DAY. GOD BLESS YOU AND MAY YOUR WILDEST DREAMS BECOME REALITY. THINK OF WHAT I NOT, FOLLOW GOD, AND ACT ON IT. AND LET MAGIC HAPPEN. I AM TO BLAME IF THIS IS WRONG. THE VERY BEST TO ALL OF YOU!!! AND I SECOND MUSIC TOO. IT ADDS A SENSE OF REAL MAGIC TO YOUR LIFE.

Countrymaven,


I absolutely agree. Life is full of magic. For me perhaps the greatest stimulus to seeing how magical ordinary life is comes from poetry -- reading it and writing it. It has a way of crystallizing our remarkable circumstances -- the amazing fact that we're here at all to wake up and see trees, houses, and all kinds of weather, and to feel for our fellow human beings, and on and on.



Brad,



If you care to share, I'd be interesting in learning about, and maybe actually learning, a few of your favorite "sleight of mind" tricks.




Bob

Well, I say "sleight of mind" sort of tongue in cheek. I'm mainly just talking about tricks that use principles like gilbreath, Triskadequadra, cato, etc. Tricks that rely on clever mathematical thinking than sleight of hand. If used creatively, these mathematical principles can create impossible effects with very little effort.

Apart from mathematical workings, I also love effects that exploit some psychological blindspots. For instance, the workings behind the selection process in Angelo Carbone's "The Gift" utilizes this idea to great effect. I reworked the effect to use two decks and it is completely hands off and impossible looking. Probably the easiest card trick I do and yet will completely break a spectator's brain.

I've come up with a new trick called "The Anti Card Trick" that uses one of the mentioned principles that I'll share if you're interested. I don't see how anyone could figure it out or come up with a reasonable explanation without being familiar with the principle it uses. It's brand new, so it still needs polish, but I think it's a pretty solid effect.

Hi Brad,


Yeah, I got what you meant. It's actually a pretty apt phrase, better than "self-working." I'll look up "The Gift," and I'm certainly interested in your "Anti Card Trick." As a not-quite-beginner, I'm looking for tricks that don't require a lot of sleight of hand, though I love s. o. h. and am working on my sleights. I do Color Monte, and have all but learned a Nick Trost small packet OOTW and Fulves's Geminii Twins. And I'm working on the Elmsley count -- very excited about that.



I've heard of Gilbreath and can easily look it up, but I'm not familiar with Triskadequadra and cato. Paradoxically, I'm a mathematician but don't usually like mathematical tricks. But I suspect that's because I haven't come across the ones that adequately disguise the math, and that aren't overly procedural.


Bob

Bob,
Thé Gilbreath principle is not procedural at all. And I’m sure it will fascinate you ! I’m still searching a mathematical generalization / modeling of this principle, no one seems to have tackle the task. I know only a particular case, the faro shuffle, thanks to Lu Brent Morris.

Brad,I don’t know triskadequadra, what is it ?

There is a book "The Triskadequadra Principle" by John Hostler that explains it. It's a cousin to the Gilbreath principle. The main difference is that you don't reverse one of the packs when you shuffle, so you can just cut the deck. However, you do have to be mindful of the bottom cards after the cut. There are certain qualities left in the deck after the shuffle that can be exploited similar to Gilbreath, however, it's not as straightforward and easy. I found it more of a curiosity than something I would probably end up using. I wasn't floored by any of the effects I've seen so far, but I do plan to play around with it more to see how it might be leveraged.