I'm looking for a some expert advice on learning card tricks. Post reference books and videos for learning and practice. Post you're suggestion for a beginner's foothold to card tricks. What basics need to be established and perfected? How to tackle card manipulation/handling... in both technique and discipline?

For most people the starting point is Royal Road to Card Magic. The book is wonderfully progressive. You learn an easy sleight, practice it, then there are some tricks which use that sleight. It's a great place to start. Another possibility is the 4 volume Card College but much more expensive and it's size makes it failry daunting.
Good luck and have fun.
Davy

You're likely to get a variety of opinions here.
Take a look at the Sticky posts at the top of 'New to magic?' / "Card magic skills: learning by order of importance " and "Magic books & Videos for beginners".
You should get some ideas.

Highly recommend Card College, by Roberto Giobbi. Volumes 1 & 2 include enough for a lifetime of performances.

Good luck!

Get some easy to learn stuff too: Scarne on Card Tricks, Encyclopedia of Card Trick and/or Giobbi's Card College Light, Ligher or Lightest.

I second Jaz's advice. Practically everything new and old has been discussed regarding cards and do searches on specific topics. It's really all here. And more so if your fortunate enough to have a magic shop relatively local.

Never show anything to anybody till you perfect it...well.
good luck, and believe me, there is more fun in the journey of learning magic rather then to focus on the destination...
enjoy

Don't, no don't, check out any of my books, written JUST for you! Strange...

I recommend Harry Lorayne's literature. I had great fun from Apocalypse. What more could one need to get best bang for buck?

Other recommendations are Michael Ammars ETMCM 1 to 9 and Card College book 1 to 4

APOCALYPSE is a lifetime of great magic, but so are The Classic Collection, Volumes 1 and 2, plus others. To repeat - written JUST FOR YOU.

I am not much of a card guy, but I glanced through a friends copy of Apocalypse, and I can safely say that Mr Lorayne is well justified in recommending it to you. One of these days I am going to pick up a copy. Funding is a little sparse at the moment or I would already own it.

I have Harry Lorayne
Classic collection, brillaint! So good I dare waste time mastering all his awesome tricks.
Just been trying to ace the Oil n Water trick and I move on to others then..
Brillaint way he teaches! Sometimes fast but so elegant and brillaint!

Lorayne and Malone ..to me the 2 best card magicians!

I have been studying Lorayne's The Magic Book for about 6 months now. It is a great beginners book with an introduction on how to handle a deck, shuffles, 3 double lifts, then chapters on effects. Recently I picked up the Classic Collection vol 1.
These two should hold me for a long time. In the DVD category I have Ammar's Easy to Master Card Miracles volumes 1 & 2.

Mr Lorayne, to be perfectly honest, I think he wants to learn the basics. That is why some people recommended Card College and RRTCM.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but Apocalypse is more geared at people that already know the basics. So to be fair, I would recommend one of your books, but it would have to be: The Magic Book!
After this, I think Close-up Card Magic, Apocalypse and Classic Collection would be invaluable.
I also think that Ammar's ETMCM are a great investment, but again, only after learning the basics.
I'm writing this with the greatest respect as I appreciate all that you(H. Lorayne) have done for magic and I am NOT trying to start a fight. Your books rank among the best. But you still need the basics, found in books like: The Magic Book, Card College, RRTCM, Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic, The Amateur Magician's Handbook ect.

AJ

No argument, Andre. You're right - I did write The Magic Book for the public so it teaches the basics. But, many card people tell me that they did learn the basics from Close-Up Card Magic. That book, of course, has been re-written, updated, etc., along with four others of my books, in Lorayne: The Classic Collection, Vol. 1. Anyway, your recommendations are right on. Best - HARRY L.

A vote here for Michael Ammar's Easy to Master Card Miracles Volumes 1-3 (DVD) by L&L Publishing.
If buying single volumes, I'd start with volume 2 or 1:
Vol 2: Ambitious Card, Twisting the Aces, Dr Daley's Last trick, Kannibal Cards, Card Warp, Card through Handkerchief
Vol 1: 8 Card Brainwave, Las Vegas Leaper, Triumph
are some of my favorites. I use every one of them.
These tricks are a few SOLID CLASSICS that can be done with an ordinary deck and teaches basic sleight technique.
Awesome.