Hi everyone
I singed up for this forum a couple of days ago and I'm still loving it. I was looking around reading some opinions and stuff on different card products. I am pretty new to all this and I don't have much yet to help me with card sleights or anything. I got a Svengali deck and some little things but there very basic and not the best. With the help of this forum I decided to get some other stuff that I heard people talk about and such and here is what I ordered from ebay, i would like to hear opinions on these thigns and if it was a good choice to get this stuff.
Daryls Encyclipedia of Card Sleights 8 DVDs
Oblivion Deck
2 - Bicycle Invisible Decks
Brain Wave Decks in Bicycle
Color Monte

Love to hear what everyone thinks of those things and also what else is good for cards that people use .

Thanks a ton
Shaun

Well they're all good choices on their own - I'm interested in why you decided to buy 2 invisible decks - what effect did you have in mind?

Daryls Encyclopeadia of Card Slights is a good perchase, especially if you already have some experience with cards. If not, then perhaps buy a copy of Roal Road to Card Magic or Card College.

Good luck,

I just bought Hugards "encyclopedia of card magic" for ten bucks and it is excellent! Highly recommended and easy to find.

I just bought 2 invisable decks cause I hear there great and if I wrecked one up I will have a back up.

Shaun

Well, you should go through Expert card technique and try to get all the basics down like double lifts, double under cuts and things like that. You have a long road ahead but it's fun.

Oh, buy some sponge balls and learn a good sponge ball routine. I found a good routine in Mark Wilson's Cyclopedia of Magic. On this routine, come up with all your own patter(in fact, do that for the whole book).

pm me if you have further questions
Good luck,
tyler

Perhaps it would make more sense to ask "before" you bought, not after. What if someone told you made poor purchases? What good would that do?

You'll know soon enough.

I think a lot of people might disagree with me but I prefer the Michael Ammar tapes to the Daryls tapes. I think they are better at giving you the confidence you need to realize you can perform if you practice enough.

I don't think the Daryl tapes provide enough bang for the buck.

but that's just my opinion. so maybe for your next purchase check out the Ammar tapes.

Techneeqs,
I think all the products you decided to buy are all fantastic. I also highly recommend (like others) the card college series. And if you want to start doing coin work, then I recommend Modern Coin Magic by J.B. Bobo. For almost every kind of magic, I would have to mention Mark Wilson's complete course in magic. It has everything from card's to coin's to illusions that you can build.
Regards,
Cole

Everyone has "poor choices" laying around
unless they either threw them away to get rid of the evidence, or gave them to their Magi friends. You know: I got two of these things, do you want one? (pretend to have two)

If everyone told you they were rubbish would you stop using them? As Randy said, the best time to ask is before you buy.

But.. a good look through "The Good Bad and Garbage" thread will show you some people love effects that others hate! (But not always).

Many pro entertainers have spares for effects they use, so if the Invisible Deck does become a regular part of your act the spare will come in handy.

Paul.

I just wanna make one thing clear actualy, I'm not doing this to perform really. I just wanna learn this stuff for me for now, if I get really maybe in the future I'll think about it.
I just love making people say like "how did you do that?" it brings me joy. And its fun at the same time.

Shaun

Keep the secrets. You will find that you feel differently as time goes on, and the things you thought fit your personality do not.

I think that the most special and rewarding magic is the magic done for children.I still remember being led into the gym and sitting indian style on the floor for one of the most magical experiences in my entire life.

40 years later, that special time is still inside me. The show was well put together,but nothing realy special. Mostly the classics. Linking rings, dove pan, egg can,stratosphere, comedy funnel, apearing cane.

Last night I was sitting on the bed in the spare bedroom with a rag wiping the fingerprints off my own comedy funnel. You see I had just found a way to fold my egg bag and put it in the wide part of the funnel to save space in the suitcase. My wife came in to find me staring off into space trying to imagine what new wonderful thing would go in that empty space that I
had made.

You see, when I started back I just got a couple of things same as you.

Once you start, you are giving that special thing up and you can never get it back. But by giving it up for yourself, you are giving it to everyone else. Be sure you want to make this trade, or leave it alone. Performing deserves the extra effort and practice that is required of the art. Just showing tricks will make you apear foolish
to most. It doesn't have to be a big performance, or a long one, but it has to be the best you have to give and nothing less.
That is why it is an art.

Remember do not just make them say how did you do that? You want you audience to be entertained. If they have fun with what you are doing you will have fun. For me the whole point of magic is to make people forget what is going on in their lives for just a couple of minutes and just have fun. I never try to fool my audience just entertain.

Kyle

Well, I think that magic is not only to make the audience say "How did he do that?" I think that magic is an act of love, becouse love is giving the most important thing in your life to other person, if you are a magician, the most important thing in your life is magic, and when you do magic, you give, lets say you share this with other people, and that's why I think that magic is an act of love, When you do magic, you must enternain people, and that will make you joy.

That's all
MAGO68

If you want to be really serious about learning magic I recommend The Fitzkee trilogy (Lee Jacobs publications) and "Magic and Showmanship" by Henning Nelms (Dover Publications)I think that besides of learning techniques for doing tricks it is very important to learn -as soon as possible-
the things that can make us performers. I know this advise will be critizised, any way I think it´s sound.
Regards.