Just buy this deck, you will immeadetly understand when you recive it

Welcome to magic!!!

I agree with King of Pop. You should find out quickly, once you open the box.

Other trick suggestions: Get a set of sponge balls (size and type is a matter of preference and some debate, but go with what feels comfortable in your hands.) A box of 4 shouldn't be much over $10.00 Canadian. Get the Hampton Ridge video 25 tricks with Sponge Balls, about $10-15 US.

Get utility items: TT (the magic shop folks will know), change bag, etc....

If you need suggestions with the Svengali, PM me

hi,

welcome to magic.... and how much is your "pretty big load of money" ?? hee hee

anyway, if you are interested in card magic, a lot of guys will tell you to start with books... cheap and a lot of things to learn....

for me, I started with books, but am not really a book person... then I moved on to videos/Dvds.... I found that I learnt more... no offence to anyone, but its just me.... I learn more from visual demo...

Michael Ammar's Easy to master card miracles and daryl's EOCS is a good starter for card magic...

ammar's has tricks and teaches briefly on the sleights needed to accomplilsh those tricks...while daryl teaches more on the sleights... Both are VERY GOOD teachers...

if you are getting Ammar's ETMCM dvds, I suggest starting with the one that teaches twisting the aces volume...i think it is vol 2... actually any vol in his first 6 are ok... they are all keepers... he also has recently released vol 6-9.....

other person you should not forget to look at if you are byuing dvds is Bill Malone...

as for self-working tricks, maybe you can look at Skinner's 3 card monte... very very good !!!

tricks also recommended are: doc eason's impossible opener, McBride's kundalini, gordon bean's joker joker where you get to learn the LA open---very good !!! ,and not forgetting what a lot of people have claimed to be the best card trick: curry's Out of this world!!!!!

just my $0.02

enjoy.....
cheers
eric

I'm not too fond of the Svengali Deck. It's not examinable, and your friends will always want to examine your props. That is, I am assuming that beginner magicians usually limit their performances to friends and family, like I do.

The only gaff deck I'd use is the Stripper Deck, because it's pretty much clean, and friends don't detect the problem, unless they have a normal deck to compare with.

Although I do believe in black magic such as wicca and the ouji board, I believe it comes from the wrong source, which is why I do purely slight of hand, everything I do has a trick behind it. the Svengali deck is nothing "spiritualistic." I actually have three or four of them right now, it is merely a trick to fool the eye and make it seem like magic

The Svengali Deck was the first gimmicked deck I ever bought, buy it, you will love it.

The nice thing about a Svengali is you can do different types of forces also.
Once you get it, you'll know what I mean.