What was the first effect that you learned?


To start mine was a TT and small silk.

Pencil through the hand.
Similar to Gregory Wilson's On The Spot with the vanishing pencil.

Needles in thumb.

Buddha papers.

Coin in a bottle. I must have been 8 or 10 years old and saw it done in the magic shop at Disneyland and HAD to have it.

What I, on one of my DVD's, call "Is This Your Card?" Best,

When I was very very young I received a magic kit but I had no instructions or mentors. I also collected playing cards without really connecting them with card magic at all. I thought all magic was about silks and pigeons. I wasn't the least bit interested in that.

My best friend gave me what could have been a one way forcing deck as a gift after he and his family had been abroad on vacation. I didn't know what it was for but for a while I went around forcing the Ten of Diamonds on different people. End of trick. Whenever I'm at my parent's house I do a little search for that old deck.

I did understand one very basic item in the magic kit. A light blue plastic grail type of thing with a red plastic ball which disappeared after you had covered it with the lid. I did that a lot one Christmas until I had exhausted my supply of spectators. I then forgot about doing magic myself for 30 years.

The first professional magic effects I ever saw was Linking Rings and Paper Balls Over the Spectator's Head. I was around 7. Loved it but didn't know it could be learned anywhere. Or maybe I would have pursued it. I still think about the linking rings from time to time. And I still have no idea how that is done.

As a young teenager I was very much into cards. I made up some false shuffles of my own but they were for beating my friends at Poker, not magic. I had a casino in my room with Roulette and everything and won a lot of comic books and things like that. I was the bank. I didn't know there was such a thing as magic books but I had two books on card and solitaire games.

The first card trick I ever saw and thought I could learn was Chicago Opener but I'm fairly certain that the very first thing I actually learned was printing a blank business card shortly after that. I was 38.

The first item in my oldest notebook (after the Aronson Stack order) is Twisting The Aces. I think that was the first card trick I really practiced.

Sorry, long nostalgic answer. You probably didn't want my entire life story, but oh well...

Jumping rubber band on the hand. At about age 5 or 6.

:magicrabbit:

Various TT effects. The first one I can remember doing is vanishing a lit cigarette in a hanky draped over my fist.

When I was in the 3rd grade my grandparents got me a magic set from a company called Creative Playthings. The first trick I learned from the set was the ball and vase. It was a cheezy little plastic setup but it sure was fun to play with at the time. It fooled my grandparents, or at least they had me believing it did.

Been "bittn" by the magic bug ever since.

Although I am sure there were earlier ones, the first one I remember is the Back Palm vanish for a card.
Two of my friends went to a Jeff McBride seminar and one of them taught me this when he got back. I haven't done it with cards in a while, but I can do it with coins now.

Invisible Deck. How great to learn a classic as your first effect!

"Making the coin cry or should I say water from coin"

Its funny to see we can all remember the first trick we learned, even after umpteen years.

I got a small book at Disneyland when I was a kid - "Magic from the Haunted Mansion" that has that trick in it. Good times. It's still around here somewhere.

Weirdly I can remember the first magic tricks I ever saw performed in a magic shop! It was the Fantasy Land shop, no longer there, in Disneyland. I walked in and the guy behind the counter was doing Hyrum the Haunted Hank. He then did Color Changing Knives and finished with Svengali Deck.

I REALLY, REALLY wanted those knives, but only had the money for the Svengali Deck. I sat outside and without reading the directions took the deck out and flipped through it showing myself a deck with all different cards. I flipped it a few more times and then by happenstance I flipped it in reverse changing all the cards to one card....!!! I about jumped out of my skin! I tried and couldn't repeat it. I put the deck away and waited until I got home to find out 'how' it worked. I loved it.

Still think it's the best trick anyone ever did for me...... ;-} Best,

Vanishing the Empire State Building.

Then McDonalds Aces.

I do not know why I posted this. Just feeling giddy.

I apologize.

A packet effect called Done With Mirrors.

I also started learning sponge balls at the same time.

I remember that shop. It was in the castle - I think it is a candy shop now. Steve Martin worked there before he made it into showbiz. There was also a magic shop across the street in the Disneyland hotel. Every week after I got my allowance I would ride my bike down then and get another trick, or just hang out and watch them do the demos.

It was on Christmas day, 40 years ago. I received my first magic set and the first trick I learned was the ball and vase. It is funny how that memory is crystal clear and yet I can’t remember what I had for lunch yesterday.

The Rubber Pencil... you know, wave a pencil loosely in the fingertips. It's a classic!

Cardamagically,
Dom.