I just have a question. Does anyone know of a book or DVD that teaches routine. I am kinda new, been doing magic for a couple years, mostly all card tricks, and a few coin tricks. I am having trouble deciding what should follow what. What are some good tricks that follow each other in lets say a 45 minute time frame?
I can do some good tricks and I practice daily, but I still have trouble grouping.

Thanks,
Bj

I posted this on July 21 under "Record Keeping" in the "Food For Thought" section:

Routining

I have always believed that proper routining is one of the most important considerations in performing magic. I believe this even when magic is performed impromptu. One should always know the routine or routines that will be performed – again even if the performance is impromptu.

I think everyone will agree that it’s not good magic to perform a number of 4 ace tricks one following the other. And I believe it’s not wise to ask a spectator to have to watch a series of “take – card” effects as he’ll not only forget the cards selected but the tricks will all belnd together in his mind. That’s what makes so much magic boring.

As a matter of fact if I’m doing several card effects and the first involves a selected card, I will use that card for the other effects.

Here’s an example of a card routine that I do at a “walk around” performance and it consists of 2 effects:

1 Annemann’s A Card In Hand – from Miracles Of Card Magic

A card is selected and shuffled back into the deck. A spectator is given another card – not the selected card and asked to stab it into the deck next to the selected card but it is not next to the selected card and then the card that the spectator is holding turns out to be the selected card.

2 Carlyle’s Homing Card – from Stars of Magic

The same card used in the above effect goes into the magician’s pocket several times.

Note I’m using the same card for both effects.

The record keeping I do for this is that I have a sheet of paper that lists the effects I like in the first column and then in columns to the right I put a number next to the effect I’m considering and the number it will be performed in the routine.

So for the above routine there would be a number “1” next to “A Card In Hand” and a number “2” next to “Homing Card”

I may have six or seven such routines and I will know beforehand just what routines I will be doing.