I'd like to get serious about my card education and I'm starting at the beginning for the most part.

I'm seeking advice on good book & DVD combos for card beginners. There are obviously some very great books and DVDs out there that stand alone, but at the moment I'm interested in a combination of book/DVD that will complement each other very directly with regard to the content.

So far I'm contemplating:

-Royal Road to Card Magic by Hugard/Braue (book) combined with R. Paul Wilson's Royal Road to Card Magic (5-disc DVD set)
-Card College by Giobbi (books 1-2+) combined with Roberto Giobbi: Card College 1&2 (4-disc DVD set)

Assuming price isn't a concern, can you give any advice on which book/DVD combination might be best?

Are there any other similar combos I'm overlooking that are equally good?

I have found the Card College series to be well sequenced; consistency building upon previous lessons. I highly recommend that combination.

Hudson

I actually like both those choices. I think its up to you. Royal Road was one of my first magic books I ever read. I highly recommend it.

Royal Road to Card Magic is where a lot of people start, and for good reason. The patter is a bit stilted and you'll probably want to change it (I always do), but for a beginner wanting to get into serious study it's a great place to start. The Encyclopedia of Card Tricks by Jean Hugard is another great place to start. Harry Lorayne has published an entire library by himself, and anything he has written is recommended - you might want to write to him and ask him which ones he recommends for people starting from the beginning. His posts are frequent and his email address is in his signature.

I also second the recommendation of Card College, although for beginners I always recommend that you find one book you like and work all the way through it before going on to a series. I don't know you personally, but I do know a lot of people who run out, buy every book they can find, and then quit when they hit a stumbling block (of which there are quite a few in card magic). Good luck.

THE MAGIC BOOK, for one.

The Royal Road to Card Magic is fantastic and you should pick it up eventually anyway, but (if you can afford to make the investment) I prefer Card College for it's crystal clear and modern illustrations and instructions.

Good luck in your magic endeavors!

The various routes seem to be:

A) RRTCM plus ECT, and probably the Encyclopedia of Card Tricks, maybe with either Wilson's 5 disc RR DVD set or Hunter's 4 disc set

B) Harry Lorayne's The Magic Book plus Close Up Card Magic (or Classic Collection vol1)

C) Giobbi's Card College vol 1 and 2 (and possibly 3-5), with the Card College 1&2 DVD set

D) Gerry Griffin's Complete Card Course (either 4 or 7 disc DVD set)

E) Wilson's Complete Magic Course

F) Ammar's ETMCM DVD series

Each route has its advocates and it's own peculiarities, style and strengths. Having not worked through them all I cannot say much in terms of a comparison, but my non-expert impressions on those I do own:

Card college is easy to read, precise, modern and thorough. The DVD set is expensive, doesn't exactly match the books, and I'm not a big fan of Giobbi's performing style. But it does add a visual teaching element to the books. He doesn't really cover trick decks, gaffs, or much 'standing' stuff. I didn't like many of the tricks as written.

Gerry Griffin's DVD set is cheap for the amount of content. The teaching is clear, but Gerry's style is very corny and the crediting is terrible. There is a superb range of tricks, IMHO - many classic gems of a range of beginner to intermediate ability ranges. No book companion.

Royal Road etc - I have only the books, not the DVDs, so I cant comment on the video side. The books are classic, but are written in a dated style. Loads of good stuff, ranging from beginning stuff to hard stuff, and covering some gaffs as well as SOH. But not, Imho, particularly organised (in comparison to CC, say). I found these hard to work from because of the style, but many people have no trouble with it. Very cheap and easy to get hold of. Something I found useful with these was to use them as 'secondary reading' with CC - following the CC 'syllabus' and double checking the descriptions, tips and tricks in the RR, ECT etc to try and get the best of both worlds.

Wilson's big tome is a general magic book covering a lot more than card magic. Easy to read, and covers various gaffs as well as some SOH. Mostly very simple stuff, though some great tricks all the same. Nice to have as a reference, but you'll want to go beyond this stuff if you want to become an intermediate or advanced card worker, IMHO.

Well, that's my limited perspective, and I'm afraid it's not worth a great deal, so take it as it is.

As an aside, I've also heard that Jamy Ian Swiss has something called the Slleghts System which is, supposedly, a list of various sleights and the 'best' books/DVDs etc to learn them. Having never seen this list I cannot comment further as to its utility for a beginner.

Love this thread, thanks for all the input.

I think I'm going to start w/ Royal Road w/ R. Paul Wilson's series.


BoomerET

Hi Boomer

Excellent choice, Royal Road was my way in, I haven't seen the dvd's by Mr Wilson but have read many many positive reviews about them. RRTCM may seem at first to be a bit old fashioned in patter and performance but learn the sleights and effects and the adjust them to suit you own personality, a few years down the line you will be glad you did and will probably be giving out the same advice.

Also do not disregard anything by Mr Lorayne, he has a few detractors on this forum and gets into a few arguments but his work is a gold mine of useful information. I have yet to encounter an author of card magic that can equal his clarity of teaching through the written word.

Regards

0045

Thanks 0045, I have a few books from Harry Lorayne. The Magic Book, Close-up Card Magic, and the hardcover volumes of Apocalypse.

Yea, I used to collect books, and put up a site to sell them, but luckily, 99% of them never got sold, probably because I set the prices too high. Maybe I was wise when I did that?


Boomer

One step at a time and one book or dvd at a time, it worked for me, hopefully it will work for you. It takes discipline and dedication, but dedication pays off in the end.

Am jealous about the hard cover Apocalypse volumes, out of my price range though.

All this from a hobbyist!

But an old and (hopefully) wise one.

Regards 0045

I'd also like to add Joshua Jay's "Magic: The complete course"

I forgot another possible route, for those who prefer everything off DVD:

G) Big Blind Media's Learn Card Magic Projects series: available separtely, or in a variety of bundles, there are DVDs covering False Shuffles and Cuts, Forces, Controls, DLs, Counts, Self-Working and Impromptu tricks, and even Culls and False Deals. I don't have these sets, so I can't say much about them, other than they have recieved high praise and BBM stuff is usually very well produced. This is another visual option for the beginner to intermediate card worker.

The combination of the book RRTCM and the Paul Wilson's DVDs really worked for me and it was what really made me start in Magic. My previous attempts without the "DVD combo" were not very successful, so I really suggest you to try using books and DVDs together. I'm pretty sure that all the suggestions here are just as good as the one that I used to start.

My only complain about Wilson's DVD is how bored some of the audience members seemed during some of the tricks. Juts make sure that you don't let their lack of enthusiasm downplay the impact that those effects might have for a different audience.

Best,

Paulo

Just curious,Paulo - did you ever try any one of my books WITHOUT a DVD? As I said, just curious. Best - Harry L.

Mr. Lorayne,

The e-book version of Classic Collection Vol. 1 is already on my buying list, as my next acquisition in card magic! From all what I've read about, I'm pretty sure it would be possible to follow without any video-aid. Currently I've been working with "stand alone" books too, but as I said, for me at least, the book + DVD really helped me a lot for the very initial steps, both in card and in coin magic.

Best,

Paulo

When I started, I wanted to learn every card slight. Then I learned that laymen don't particularly care about the how of the trick, they care that there card was "right there, I saw him put it there!" but now it is in the box.

I bought a ton of books and DVDs when I started and while I am glad I have them, I didn't need them. I don't know about others here, but as a beginner I tended to over buy. I will give you the advice I was given and didn't listen to: Just pick one, and work on the method and presentation; mostly presentation. All the books and DVDs suggested above will get you there, they have the info you need, just pick a set and go for it!

I started with these and they served me well:

Rudy Hunter's - Royal Road to Card Magic http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/1221
with the e-book http://www.lybrary.com/the-royal-road-to......-35.html

There's basically nothing wrong with any standard card magic book or DVD or combination of the two. But, do yourself a favor and don't try to learn everything in Royal Road or any other book cover to cover before starting to perform. Doing so will take a long time and a lot of it will be wasted. Learn a few sleights and some effect that use them and then start performing.