Yes, I have read Card College and it is a brilliant series. Its a step by step course consisting of five books. Read through the books thoroughly and in order, and you will be able to do almost anything with cards. It will take time, dedication, and willpower. It's ultimately very rewarding, though. Buy Card College, Volume 1. Start with the basics and build up. Good luck in your journey!

I cannot recommend it enough! Buy the first two volumes because at the end of the second there is an invaluable chapter on theory, worth the price of the book alone!

mlippo

I love The Chicago opener. So simple, yet seems impossible.

Had a look at the chicago opener. Such a simple method but great trick.

I have ordered Royal Road to Card Magic and a couple of extra tricks as well as some loops for me to get stuck into

If you looked at the Chicago Opener, that is not Pop Haydn's version. The Chicago Surprise is Pop Haydn's version, I misspoke. Here is a video of Pop performing the Chicago Surprise:
https://youtu.be/v7zDyQqVUKc

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A tip for reading Royal Road: read through ALL of it, step by step. It will provide you with a substantial basis in card magic, as long as you don't just skim through it. Good luck in your magic journey!

Anand

Ron Bauer's Two Card Turnover Technique (TTT) is a great alternative to getting a break. No pinkie count, no get ready, no "strike." Looks very natural and convincing. It's thoroughly covered in his 2008 lecture notes: http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/S12223

Nice, I have put a lot of practice into a pinkie count just sitting in front of the TV and its really improving but I will try and take a look at this too

Keep it simple and try not to get too carried away with fancy doubles. Just pick the two basic, push over and thumb count for starters and practice until you can do them convincingly. When I started I kept a deck of cards in my hands almost the entire day practicing sleights. Eventually you'll do it without even having to look and you can just feel for it. Get two or three tricks down and then work on presenting them to someone as natural as possible. Trying not to sound scripted was the hard part for me starting out.

Also the best advice I wish I would have gotten starting out is to not get stuck on card magic. It's fun but you will probably want to learn some different stuff at some point so play around with different things until you find something you like.

Though not really in the same category of books and videos you were looking for. I would recommend the annotated Slydini to myself much earlier could I go back. I've learned more about magic and improved more from that book and the As I Recall film than any of my other books or videos on magic.