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Skorme New user 2 Posts |
Hello everyone,
I'm a relative beginner in magic and have a question about memorized decks. Regarding the selection of a memorized deck. First a small disclaimer: I know that many see memorized decks as an advanced technique and some people do not recommend this for beginners. But like many magicians, I am very much in love with card magic. And since this is my biggest preference (so far), I think I would take the biggest step if I could memorize such a deck. Maybe this will lead to more magic. I would generally say that I can remember things well and therefore see one of my strengths in memorized decks. I also looked at Harry Lorayne's Deck Learning Theory. I think this theory will help me quickly to learn a deck. (Does anyone know if there is a "ready to use"-list of German words? I would prefer to learn the method in my native language.) However, since it will still take some time to master the deck afterwards, I would like to stay (at least for now) with only one memorized deck. Now we come to my real question: Which deck should I choose? I would list memorized decks for myself as a beginner in four possible categories: (A) own deck (B) mathematical deck (C) unpopular memorized deck (D) popular memorized deck What am I looking for? I am aware that most memorized tricks work with any deck. So I'm looking for practical build-in effects. So (A) falls away for me. Because I don't have enough experience to take advantage of it. (B) also falls away for me. Since I want to remember my deck completely anyway. Therefore I put my priority on a visually mixed deck, as one that can be recognized quickly (e.g. because the suits rotate) So there are still (C) and (D). I'm not sure about this. I think (D) is most likely to belong to Mnemonica and Aronson. These are very popular and have the advantage that many magicians have already developed practical tricks for these decks. (C) has the advantage that there are certainly many more unknown decks here, which may not be immediately recognizable at first glance (although advanced magicians will probably recognize a memorized deck trick, regardless of which deck it is?). In addition, there could be decks here that have "better" built-in effects? My question in a nutshell: Which deck would be best suited for a memorized deck? What are the build-in effects of the different decks? I often read some trick names. But I can't find any of their shows. So I don't know if I like them or not. For example, I know that Aronson has a lot of poker tricks in store. However, some are also possible with Mnemonica. But do I really need lots of them? Has Mnemonica practical build-in effects? I know it has a good way to get it from and in NDO. But are there more? So I'm looking for a deck that provides a wide variety of build-in effects. So I think it’s going to be a familiar deck that a lot of magicians are working on, right? Which deck would you recommend to a beginner who starts working with memorized decks and does not yet know in which direction he wants to use his deck? Thank you! Greetings, Andreas von Broock |
ddyment Inner circle Gibsons, BC, Canada 2499 Posts |
If you have not yet done so, I would encourage you to read my essay on this topic, which raises points that you may not yet have considered.
... Doug
The Deceptionary :: Elegant, Literate, Contemporary Mentalism ... and More :: (order "Calculated Thoughts" from Vanishing Inc.)
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dclxvinyc New user 98 Posts |
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On Jul 4, 2020, ddyment wrote: I second this bit of advice. This is a fantastic essay and the resources on Deceptionary are exceptional and exceptionally well curated. |
Skorme New user 2 Posts |
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On Jul 4, 2020, ddyment wrote: Thank you! I will take a look later this day! edit: I should have clicked on the link. I've actually read that before. I think I realize that there is probably no real stack for me at the moment as I still don't know which direction it should go. (Since I'm not very experienced yet). I think I'll just choose one of the two classic stacks. (Aronson or Mnemonica) Thank you |
effkay New user 15 Posts |
I must admit, I’ve had this dilemma too. In the end I’ve gone with mnemonica. My worry was that it was too popular but a number of people told me that wasn’t a real concern as memdecks are so niche anyway.
I did look at the Redford stack but it just didn’t look random enough to me. I usually perform for family and friends which means they’re a sceptical bunch! Once spread, I couldn’t convince myself that it looked shuffled. Another piece of advice someone gave me was just to get on with it. Pick one and get learning. Get it memorised cold. |
ddyment Inner circle Gibsons, BC, Canada 2499 Posts |
The reason that I mentioned my essay is because it was not clear to me that the OP had investigated the choice between stacks that have built-in tricks and stacks structured to support many classes of tricks.
Many -- myself included -- would argue that structurally symmetric stacks are superior to those that only support a handful of very specific, predetermined effects (especially when those effects were predetermined by someone else). There is a reason why Juan Tamariz transitioned from his "Mnemonica" to his "Exhibition Stack".
The Deceptionary :: Elegant, Literate, Contemporary Mentalism ... and More :: (order "Calculated Thoughts" from Vanishing Inc.)
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dclxvinyc New user 98 Posts |
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Hey Doug, can you elaborate on what you mean here? I'm coming up dry on google. |
ddyment Inner circle Gibsons, BC, Canada 2499 Posts |
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On Jul 5, 2020, dclxvinyc wrote: Not sure what you're looking for. If you're unfamiliar with his "Exhibition Stack", here's a brief discussion from a few years back at the Café.
The Deceptionary :: Elegant, Literate, Contemporary Mentalism ... and More :: (order "Calculated Thoughts" from Vanishing Inc.)
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Pasteboard Alchemist Special user 502 Posts |
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On Jul 5, 2020, dclxvinyc wrote: It's a sequential, suit-cycling stack, not extremely different from Stebbins (but far less "spreadable" than Stebbins--I don't worry about spreading Stebbins out, but I'd never do a proper spread with the Exhibition deck.) In the maestro's words, the sequential stack: “Has very good advantages over Mnemonica. It’s very similar—you can do almost everything in Mnemonica, and some other very strong things. It’s the one I use most, now.” And, of course, he's right. There are things you can do with a sequential stack that you simply can't do with other stacks. I never appreciated the depth of material and flexibility in Stebbins, for example, until I switched from Mnemonica to the Redford stack (which can transition to Stebbins easily/quickly, so got me interested in Stebbins again.) |
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