I'm very new to magic and was wondering if anyone could help me??

A friend of mine is a magician. Every time I see him he amazes me with his tricks (or should I say 'effects!). He works mainly with cards and his repertoire is endless although I'm sure I've seen nothing yet. Anyway, next time he gets his deck out, I'd like to blow him out of the water with a few effects of my own but don't know where to start.

I suppose 'blow him out of the water' is a bit ambitious, but to be able to do something to impress him would be great.

Any ideas guys?

There's not really anything that it going to blow him out of the water that you'll be able to learn by the next time you see him... unless you guys only see eachother every five months. I'm afraid that anything gimmicked, he will know, so you're better off trying to impress him with some moves or just a very clever trick.

My suggestion is to get hold of a copy of Royal Road to Card Magic, or The Encyclopedia of Card Tricks, or maybe Tarbell Vol. 1. And familiarize yourself with the moves and basic handlings taught in each of these books. Then start sifting through all the effects and find one or three that you really like the sound of and then practice those effects until your fingers bleed... okay, no bleeding needed!

Anyway, my point is that your friend will appreciated the amount of work you have put into learning a small routine. It will show respect to the art of magic and that could very well open many doors for you should you choose to study a little deeper.

Hope this helps,
-Reis

Hi mjackagic

I cant help but smile at your post. It reads as though you are a female newcomer which makes it even funnier. Welcome to the funny world of magic!

Pop into your local magic shop and treat yourself to "The Royal Road to Card Magic" and a couple of decks of Bicycle poker playing cards (they are good quality for card magic) - if indeed cards are your forte. If you want to learn all magic, look out for Mark Wilson's "Complete Course in Magic" Both books are very good value for money.

RRTCM teaches many 'sleights' and then offers a trick or two based on the chapter you have just read.

But for around £30 - you are all set! Good luck, hope this helps you the next time you are looking at his deck.

Roger

BTW - I see you live in Sheffield. There is a brilliant shop in nearby Wakefield, called Merlins. Check them out!

Or There is a magic shop in Sheffield.
I'm not sure of the name but its in Brord Street.
0742 760482

Great advice you received there. there's really not much you can do.
try some self working effects. learn a few. there has to be something he doesn't know . or try some effects that are based on math. The royal road to card magic is a must anyway so get it quick and start learning.
good luck !

-Matt

Hi guys

Thanks for the advice, looks like the Royal Road to Card Magic is the one.

Reis - you are right, it is an art. I video'd some of his routine the other day and although I've watched it a number of times, it doesn't get any less exciting. I still get tingley when I watch it.

Roger - Oh my God, I've just re-read my post and see what you mean - a few double entendres in there. Oh well, if the cap fits!

I see you mentioned Bicylce poker cards. My friend actually gave me a deck (oops, here I go again!) - Bicycle Rider Backs - what's the difference? Should I buy the pokers or stick to his Riders?

When I was starting out in cards, one dvd that provided me with much needed help was Oz Pealman's Born To Perform Card Magic. I'm a visual learner so this dvd was a great introduction for me to learn the core skills of card magic - some fundamentals, controls, flourishes, and routines - including the Ambitious Card. I hope this helps.

Unless the cards are labeled "Bridge Size" the "Rider Backs" you received are "poker".

Cheers!

I don't own Oz's DVD but I can't say I'm all that impressed by what he teaches (from what is in the product description). I see he teaches the trick that David Blaine called 2 card Monte which is actually an effect called Be Honast (ethics alert). I also don't know if teaching beginners the Hot Shot Cut is the best idea . Plus, If there are 2 magic shops near you (as stated a few posts above this one) you should try to shop there. As I stated earlier the ethics are questionable. Penguin is also not the most ethical shop on the web (see link in my signature).

You are absolutely right, Jeremy. Born To Perform Card Magic is not a stand-out by any means. Oz sometimes goes over some of the controls and flourishes rather quickly ; but I did learn when I first started out. The dvd sorts of propel me to the next level of card magic. Well, I discovered Penguin before The Café (and that was almost 2 years ago), and I did spend most of my available magic funds at Penguin.

Mjackagic,
I suggest that you buy a copy of Steinmeyer's Impuzzlebilities.
In that book (about 12 dollars) you will find an effect called the 9 Card Problem.
Either your friend will be amazed or he will impressed that you know something.
Peace,
Parson

Thanks for the advice, lots of useful info here. Off shopping!

Hey - let us know what you get!

Just a thought here, but are you trying to impress you're friend by the fact that you can do a card trick, or impress him with a card trick he hasn't seen?

If the latter, and your friend's repertoire is as large as you say, he has probably seen all the card tricks you could learn in a short space of time.

How about trying some non-card magic, instead?

Mike

Hi Mike

I'd like to be able to do a trick even if he does know it, which I'm sure he will.

As regards the non-card magic, what did you have in mind? Would have to be something easy.

mjackagic

One thing I might add about cards...

If you have small hands (or in my case, short fingers and stubby thumbs) you might want to look at bridge sized cards. I'm not sure I'll have be able to do a taikei(sp) palm with a poker deck, my hands just don't fit.

Good Luck,
Dave