Hi, here is a question for you. I am pretty a newbie in coin magic, I don't know a lot of smart movie and so on.

I only do the standard false pass and some nice trick like disappear a money by putting it on the back of my neck with misdirection, or disappearing with false pass and taking a wand to get my hands free.

I bought "on the spot" dvd and after a 2-3 months of incostant training I have mastered the greg wilson routine with 3 money (use the goshman pinch I think, but I am not very able to remember names)

I really love this routine. This is so powerfull and made me love coin magic. To get the point, now I have bought BOBO coin magic.

I have the book, and I am asking if someone can give me some tips on how to study it. I found it a bit difficult to understand, also sometimes I don't fully get how the magic effect should be.

Anyone could suggest me some nice routine I can find there, so I will start from them and learn one after the other? Is this a good way to procede?

Thanks and I hope you get the sense of my post, my english is not so good as I wish.
Cheers
Luca

You should look into Jay Sankey's Revolutionary Coin Magic. It's a DVD, so you may find it easier to learn from, and it also has some VERY useful routines and moves. The only place I know of to find it is penguinmagic.com. Highly recommended. As for BOBO's, I've never had much luck trying to read through it. I usually just use it for when I get a new gimmick or learn a new move, and I'll go back and look it up to see what material is written for it.

Luca,

Welcome to the world of coin magic!

Here are a couple of suggestions that will hopefully help you get the most out of Bobo.

Opie Houston’s Bobo Study Guide is exactly that. It’s a detailed listing of what, in Opie's opinion, are the most important sections of the book; and a pretty good strategy for studying and practicing them. You can find the study guide here:
http://www.zyworld.com/coinpurse/Articles90.htm

To better understand how the moves and effects actually look in performance, check out Malcolm Kavalsky’s Bobo Community Project at http://kavalsky.net:3834/OpenBobo/index.html.

This is a relatively new project that Malcolm has graciously taken on, so not everything in the book is documented yet, but it will certainly get you started with some of the basic moves and classic routines. Be sure to check back periodically for new clips.

And of course, if during the course of your study, you have any questions, the folks here at the Café are always eager to lend a hand.

Good luck!

- Rob

Study Bobo's slowly.
Practice the sleight in the mirror and study it.
When it looks like you have done it right,
try it at other angles.
You will pretty much know when you have it right.

If you haven't seen others do coin magic 'The Magic Video Depot' videos can be helpful.
http://magicvideodepot.com/

Try here also.
http://www.coinvanish.com/

...i'll probably get flamed for this...but you'll be better off with the david roth dvd's. bobo is not the best choice for a beginner.

dug

How could you possibly get flamed for suggesting Mr. Roth's work?

Not for suggesting the work of a living legend ...but for Dissing bobo.

dug

The problem for beginners is Bobo is a dense book and going through it page by page can be overwhelming. You do not need to be able to do every sleight he describes or all the routines. A lesson plan or study guide as mentioned by Rob seems like a good idea. I would suggest getting Bobo and an introductory DVD by Roth, Ammar, or Stone and using Bobo as the complementary textbook.

Larry is right about Bobo's, It can be a little intimidating. I started with Bobo. Just take it a little at a time. Work on your classic palm for a while. I don't have any of the Roth or Rubenstien dvd's but I have heard nothing but good things about them.

That's a wonderful guide by Opie. Thanks for sharing that Rob.

Thank you all men! Yours reply are very usefull for me! I think I will get the 2 dvds you suggested me first, then continue with bobo maybe. I will also read the Rob's Links, seems very interesting.

I second the Opie guide and if you are really really new to sleight of hand in general look at the "Now you see it Now you don't" books by bill tarr, Lots of pictures!(now that might get a flame!)

But be careful with the Sankey video, while dvd cracks me up everytime I watch it, he doesn't really teach technique, he mentions move by name and expects you to know them already; it's more routines and ideas... and lots of GoshmanPinch!

I struggled with Bobo for a long time. The work is now rather old fashioned in terms of the drawings (awful). I bought the Roth tapes and found myself really progressing. You will never, in a million years, pick up the grace and timing that someone like Roth displays from reading Bobo. I think Bobo is a good resource for intermediate or advanced coin workers.
The one thing I thought that Roth did not dwell on enough was the Classic Palm. I also bought a CD from Ian Kendall. This doesn't have an routines on it, but he teaches some sleights supremely well. His CD is cheap and he is a very nice guy who seems only too anxious to help dummies like me when they get stuck. http://www.virtualmagicshow.com/stuff

I also struggled with Bobo's for a while... trying to go chapter by chapter.

Then I read the following at the coinvanish.com site:

"In 1948 Arthur Buckley's book Principles and Deceptions it is written on page 33, "From experience I have found that it is better at the beginning to become proficient in the sleight that one intends to use rather than divide the practice time on numerous sleights that will seldom, if ever, be used when mastered. This I find particularly so with coin sleights. Coins are more difficult to master than cards or any other small objects are to the same degree of proficiency.""

So, I choose a few routines I wanted to perform and learn the sleights accordingly. I found that this worked a lot better for me.

I eventually acquired Michael Ammar's "Complete Introduction to Coin Magic", which helped tremendously as a visual reference to Bobo's.

That makes sense. Sleights are a means to an end. Figure out what you want to achieve, the end or effect, and then pick the tools (sleights, gimmicks, misdirection, timing, psychology, etc.) that work best towards that end.

Finding out who you are as a coin worker is as important as a good classic p.

I grew up on books and manuscripts. Slow growth was good growth for me. (and I am still growing)

Principles and Deception by Buckley has some interesting ideas and sleights/routines.

Bobo, Buckley, and Slydini started it for me. Then add seeing Goshman in person and I was hooked on coins and their entertainment value as props.

Later came the videos and recently DVD's.

Enjoy the journey.

Harris Deutsch
Compulsive except when it comes to cleaning......

I would humbly submit that you choose one routine you'd like to learn (from a book or video it doesn't matter). Practice each sleight or move required for the routine until you can do them without thinking. Then put them together and rehearse the routine as a whole "with patter". Once you think you have it down go out and perform it as often as you can, getting comfortable with it. Learning what does and does not work under certain conditions and making adjustments. Once you "know" have it down start the process again with a different routine that requires a few different sleights. Continue to pratice the old routine at least once a day. If you were to keep learning moves and not complete routines you could end up where many of us have been in being able to execute many moves (expertly) but not be able to perform a coherent routine. It's difficult but I make my best progress when focusing on one or two items at a time.

Larry

I think Larry's advice is right on target. Sleights and moves are a means to an end; that being the ability to present a completed piece of magical entertainment.

You get Ammar's "Introduction to Coin Magic", followed by David Roth's "Expert coin Magic Made Easy" 1-3, and you're set, you'll have all the basics you need.

Phedon

After one year of practicing Card Magic, I just began to work with coins, a must in my opinion for a serious magician.

Reading all the reviews about coin magic, I think I will soon buy Bobo Modern Coin Magic but found that it also exists a book New Modern Coin Magic.

Which one would you recommend ?