Paul at hocus Pocus just hooked my my little cousin who is new to
Magic with some really cool books. He said he has many books and DVD for new magicians. Give
Him a call. Hocus-Pocus.com
1800 407-4040

I don't understand very well, why the Light collection of Roberto Giobbi is not mentioned. I think that the skills that these books teach us are the most important thing in magic or mentalism, the timing, misdirection, presentation... These skills are usually forgotten by the beginner, lost in a lot of sleights. These collection of books are intended for the beginner, but instead of a lot of sleights, Giobbi gave us a handful of automatic effects that are easy in the technical part for helping us to develop the skills needed to perform magic. So my vote is for the Light collection of Roberto Giobbi.

I recommend these as well. Giobbi teaches more than just procedure, he teaches presentation and routining - skills that are too often neglected in other books. Giobbi has also put together a free pdf document, Introduction to Card Magic that is of the same level of excellence as his other writings.

Hi everyone,

I'm totally new in magic, it is just around 2 months ago I started to train, and I focus on CnB. So far I learn the basic sleight from youtube and simple routine from some dvds, after spending 1-2 hours everyday, then I tried to perform it in front of some of my friends and I did it 3 times to 3 different group. my goal is to overcome nervous feeling and the result was - some sleight were executed cleanly but some not .
I do love close up magic , especially CnB and multiplying ball .

I need guidance to learn it pls advise what is the recommended book to learn CnB ? beside mark wilson course book.

Thank you,

Mostly great advice - from some who really know. Definitely stay away from my books!!

Amen, Mr. Lorayne! I'm no longer a beginner at 58 years old but I am currently re-reading and thoroughly enjoying "The Magic Book" by some guy named Harry. Is it recommended for beginners? It is subtitled, "The Complete Beginners Guide to Anytime, Anywhere, Sleight-of-Hand Magic". Need I say more?

Wow, this was a long thread to get through but well worth it. Some great recommendations here that I will have to get to. I saw a discussion earlier about books versus DVDs. In my experience, I found that the best resource was a combination of the Card College books along with the DVDs. The books are great but I've found that I'm more of a visual learner. Using both in conjunction helped me immeasurably.
Also saw a mention of Strong Magic as a good resource for learning how to construct an effect or routine. I haven't read that book yet but it is definitely on my to do list now. I'm am kind of surpried that nobody has yet mentioned The Magic Way by Tamariz. I just recently read it and found it an excelent resource on constructing a routine.

Maximum Entertainment by Ken Webber is great fortips on how magic mentalism should be performed.

I know everybody will have their own opinion, but Harry Lorayne's "The Magic Book" has been an excellent early read for me.

I don't remember if this has been mentioned, I didn't reread the whole thread, but I have to wholeheartedly recommend Magic by Misdirection By Dariel Fitzkee. Maybe I'm more experienced now and can just appreciate this more or something, but this book so far is one of the best books about the art of magic I have ever read.

I got mine for my Kindle for only $9.95.

This book is amazing. It will help you grow as a performer and entertainer.

By all means, get the Lorayne, the Giobbi, the Mark Wilson; as a beginner and beyond. But get this book and read it! It may just change the way you look at and approach our art.



And while you're reading have a doughnut and coffee...

I've recently started TRRTCM. The book is pretty awesome!! I'm up to the practice routine for the overhand shuffle and I was hoping someone could help me with one of the steps:)
"6. Control the top reversed card only by means of the overhand shuffle control, which will give you facility in the run, the injog, and the undercut.
Again check your work. The original top card should now be the fourth from the top of the pack."

I'm a little lost.. How am I supposed to get the top card to the 4th from the top?

Thanks in Advance:))

Welcome to the Café Nosson! Specific card control questions can be asked in the workers thread. You might be waiting a long time to get an answer here!

Having said that, with the card on top run 4 cards, injog the 5th, run the rest of the deck, get a break at injog, run off to break, throw packet of 4 to top. Card is now fourth from the top.

Hope that helps!

Theodore, thank you so much!!!!! First, thank you for the clear instructions step by step, that was very clear:) Second, thanks for letting me know the right place to ask:)) I'm gonna check out your Facebook page

You're welcome! Reading about card control can be a little confusing at first.

Enjoy your journey!

So as not to confuse my magic students, I always recommend only one book to start with: Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic. (I've repeated the complete title here in case some magic beginners find this last page of the thread independently.) Here's a shortened link to the Half.com listings for the book: http://tinyurl.com/markwilsoncourse. Regarding the Fitzkee book, I'm with Theodore Lawton; although, a magic student with a bit more experience might appreciate it more, as Theodore observed above. I'd also recommend Fitzkee's other two books in the famous trilogy, especially Showmanship for Magicians. While he wrote those books more than 70 years ago, the information still applies even in this modern age. A final piece of advice for beginners in magic who might read this post: Don't focus so much on the quantity of tricks to add to your repertoire but rather the ones that suit your personality best. Learn the technical aspects of the effects well, then spend a lot more time putting together presentations that mesh well with your performing style (i.e., Are you a natural storyteller? Are you a comedian? Do you have a special interest or field of expertise outside of magic you can incorporate into your routine?). This just scratches the surface, but if you remember one thing, remember this: Try to focus on presentation and entertainment value first as opposed to doing the latest tricks just because they're "cool" or because everyone else is doing them.

As a beginner; thank you for this advice. I have Mark Wilson's book, and will be working through various bits that interest me. I also have the "Born to Perform Card Magic by Oz Pearlman" DVD for a more visual view of the card work. I'm trying to avoid the trap of doing the latest tricks just because they're "cool"!

Jon

This is an extremely helpful topic. I have had the Amateur Magicians Handbook for over 20 years and I still reference it. I also recently checked out Lorayne's The Magic Book at my library and couldn't believe how much I missed after having already read it a few times before over the years. The level of detail that each effect goes into is extremely helpful.

I would also recommend Bobo. Another classic that you can't go wrong with.

Hi to everyone and thank you for all your advices!
I read all your topics and I bought "Complete Course In Magic" - M. Wilson, "Modern Coin Magic" - J. B. Bobo and "Royal Road To Card Magic" - J. Hugard & F. Braue.
I was attracted to "Now You See It, Now You Don't" and "Practical Mental Magic" because I want to have something about each important kind of magic but I have prefered not to exaggerate in the beginning
Now that I have the "material" I focuse on the method of learning and I'd like to ask you about it cause I've got some doubts.

Do you think that it's better starting with a single book (probably Wilson) and then continue with the others after a while, or do you think that it's better reading them together?

Thank you again!

Hi, Asop....O "Fabled" One?

Like yourself, I'm also just starting on my adventure into magic. I'm middle-aged, recently retired, and looking for something to help keep my mind and my manual dexterity in shape. I'm also realistic enough (or narrow-minded enough) to realize that, unlike most others in this forum, I'll never attain the level of skill that people who've been working at magic for 30 years possess. And, I also realize that, were I to pursue many facets of magic (i.e., cards, coins, mentalism, rings, cups & balls, etc.), I'd likely gain little proficiency at any of them. So, I decided that cards would be a sufficient undertaking.

As a result, and based upon the many recommendations in the various threads of this wonderful forum, I obtained Hugard & Braue's The Royal Road to Card Magic, Roberto Giobbi's Card College tomes, as well as two very wonderful Harry Lorayne books, Deck-Sterity and Quantum Leaps that were selling for a bargain on eBay. Using the first two as my "elementary textbooks", I'm beginning to learn the basics of card magic, while sneaking a peek at the Lorayne books for some instant gratification and inspiration (even though the Hugard & Braue book warns against 'skipping ahead' of the recommended course of study).

The learning, at least for me is slow, so I find that some self-working tricks help satisfy the hunger for a few tricks to learn as I study. In this regard, two DVDs by Ryan Schlutz (Miracles Without Moves and Effortless Effects) have been very helpful.

Then, lo! and behold, I happened to find a used book called Stack Attack by L.R. Brooks (aka, Lew Brooks) that essentially employs one of the very first skills that Hugard & Braue's book teaches: a false shuffle. Or, as Mr. Brooks calls his, a "false false shuffle" or FFS. While I'm nowhere near ready to perform any of the tricks in his book, the very first one, Order Out of Chaos, appears to be one that even a rank neophyte like myself could eventually use in a basic repertoire to look better than I really am. Others have likely discussed this specific trick elsewhere in this forum, but the skills required are quite basic. (Obviously, one needs a good presentation to accompany his or her repertoire, so even this trick will require more work than just the basic card skills in order for it to truly be a success.)

At any rate, these are my thoughts or opinions or whatever. But again, I'm just a complete novice, so view these comments as whatever they may be worth to you. In any case, good luck and all success in your endeavors.

Thank you for your answer Xsyllman,

I'm 25 so I realize that I'll never attain the level of many others magicians too, but I don't want to focuse only on a kind of magic, I'd like to have a general good knowledge of every important type of close up magic.
Maybe one day I'll find my way in magic like you did and I'll figure out that I'm better in one particular sector of the magic, but now I don't know it yet

Thank you again for your advices