Benscholz99

-Almost all sites will sell some items that are knock offs. Just don't buy them. Penguinmaic do sell some really good items though

The complete review of The Ostrich Factor by Mike Close in MAGIC magazine and other review excerpts from Genii and MUM are now available at my web site.

Regards,

Gerald

Think about which trick(s) you like from the books / videos you have and practice the moves related to the trick(s). Use a note book if you like to record the sleights you learn and where you referenced them. This is not a stongly stuctured way to learn, but I do it and it is a nice way to enjoy the process of learning magic. Sometimes I get more serious and set some goals for my practice / rehearse schedule usually to learn a new routines for a party or visiting friends. I like all the Ammar videos and the Harry Lorayne Magic book as they have easy to learn and do magic - but you have to practice the moves and rehearse your lines or you're doomed:)

Have fun and good luck.

Martin

This is essentially what I do too. I wish I could say that I've meticulously worked through every line of RRTCM, ECT or Erdnase, but I haven't... magic is about entertainment and sleights are a means to an end. If I find a particular trick entertaining, I learn the moves necessary to perform it. That way you are learning an effect/sleight that genuinely interests you, instead of forcing yourself to acquire something because it happens to be the "in" thing.

Some of you have e-mailed me asking if my book, The Ostrich Factor applies to learning card magic. Yes, it does, but not specifically card magic. The practice and rehearsal techniques in the book have a wide range of application, from learning sleights to rehearsing the finished performance piece.

Some of you have also asked if the information in the book is the same as in my articles in M-U-M magazine. While some of the subject matter is similar, the articles in the magazine are completely different. They are not rewrites from sections of the book.

Thanks for the e-mails. I appreciate your interest in The Ostrich Factor.

Regards,

Gerald

I used Card College 1-4 and still have not mastered everything in them. These are excellent books and great references. Also I used Royal Rd. and the Expert at the Card table. I never used any DVD's which now that I think about it may have restated and simplified issues in the books that I was having a hard time understanding. So Card College with various DVD's for supplement is the way to go IMO.

Absorb what is useful.

Check out Jamy Ian Swiss' "Sleights Study System". In a word, excellent. Available from his website.

-AY

Hi Alexander,

Looked for "Sleights Study System" on Jamy's site but couldn't find it. Do you have a link?

Best,

Scott

Bugjack - it's content within one of his essays on the site. Also if you purchase his Theories II notes you get a complete description of the sleight system plus a lot more. You won't be sorry................

Bugjack - it's content within one of his essays on the site. Also if you purchase his Theories II notes you get a complete description of the sleight system plus a lot more. You won't be sorry................