theory11 — Magic Tricks & the World's Finest Playing Cards

Recommendations on tricks

CatBritches

CatBritches

Aug 6, 2015
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To start this thread off, I wanted to state that I started doing magic a few years ago, back when I was about fourteen. I really loved it, but I ended up not keeping up with it (for various reasons) and it has been about a year and a half to two years before I have really done anything.

I really would like to get back into it but I am so out of touch with everything. I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations on tricks, as I seem to get lost in the sea of them haha. I prefer cardistry and card tricks, but I also really love stuff like Dresscode, and would like to get out of my comfort-zone as well.

Thank you in advance! :)
 
I agree, the realm of magic can be overwhelming. I think what may help would be these:

1) let's assume you have a game plan. And end goal of who you want to perform for. Would you be performing in the street? Restaurant? Hospital? School? Stage? Do you want to perform for kids? Anything I didn't cover?

2) lots of new magic gets released by the day. It can be very easy to get tricks here and there, but hardly use them. Then you'll be like some of these guys in Magiccafe who lament about having a garage filled with tricks that only come out when they get reminded of it.

Plus, magic isn't exactly cheap.

So to try and help you save and spend where it's needed. What interests you? Cards? Coins? Props? Gambling sleights? A mixture of things? Haven't completely decided?

I will say that the boices of experience will ask you 'what books on magic do you own'.

If you utter the word 'cards', Royal Road to Card Magic will be one of those books mentioned.

I'm a bit of a rookie and my laptop crashed, so all my book PDFs are gone and I can't remember what books I should replace--except Royal Road to Card Magic

You say you have an interest in cardistry. There are practical applications for cardistry moved with magic that go beyond the 'hand fan' and 'cutting a deck in a highly unusual way'.

If you have access to taking drama or theatre (assuming you haven't taken one already) I would highly recommend taking one to get used to performing for others as well as having the basics for building your own character (very very important aspect to magic).

Sorry to answer your question with more questions. Just trying to get an idea to better direct you to the places you want to go in magic.

And welcome to the forums
 
Hi Brett,

First I would like to thank you for not only responding, but for being so thorough. To answer your questions;

1) I would like to do street magic but I also have been wanting to preform at children's hospitals. Also, I don't have much experience with performing, other than for friends and family.

2) Part of the reason I stopped is because I couldn't afford it. I know there are a lot of inexpensive tricks and books, but, as I'm sure you know, the best stuff is usually more pricey. And I actually do not own any books.

3) As far as cardistry goes, I practice a few flourishes here and there, but that is one of the main things I want to get better at, which I know takes time and dedication.

4) I have never taken any sort of theatre classes, as I have never had access to them.

Like I said, I appreciate your response and hopefully I have answered your questions well enough. :)
 
Holy hell! I'm actually shooting to perform at children's hospitals as well! AND I've been a bit limited in only performingfor friends and family.

The criteria for what you CAN use in a hospital varies. It's worth your time asking, but I will say that you want to avoid: latex, live animals, anything with a strobe light (I had a trick that used a flashing LED lift and I ended up selling it. I don't want to be the one magician that tried to do a good thing and ended up inducing a seizure). Personally, I wouldn't use sponge balls or anything that's rubber, as I think they are a bit tough to sanitize.

Now, hold on. Just because a certain trick is pricey doesn't mean it's good. There's a lot of stuff out there that's way overpriced and flat out sucks. On the other side of the coin, there's a magician on the Magiccafe (Theodore Lawton) who uses Crazy Cube (a $2 trick) with great success. It's all about what you do with it. Presentation and scripting comes handy here.
 
Oh wow, that is awesome! The closest children's hospital is like an hour+ from me but it is the same area I am wanting to go to school at, so I'm hoping I will be able to do something then. I actually didn't think of a lot of stuff you were saying, like not using latex and sanitizing stuff. So thanks for that too. Do you have any tips on how to get that started?

I have definitely encountered a lot of expensive stuff that has looked terrible, which is another thing that makes me feel kind of lost. I try so hard to stray away from cheesy "uncle-doing-magic-tricks-at-your-birthday" stuff, though. I know simple stuff can be used greatly (Look at Calen Morelli) but I don't want to be pretending to pull my thumb off for people lol.

By the way, I want to add that it is nice to meet someone who is relatively new to this, too. It seems like most people could pull a dove out of a hat since the day they were born.
 
Yeah, I know that feels. Best thing to do is ask questions and do your own research to the best of your ability to avoid asking 'stock questions'. You have an idea of who and where you'd like to perform, that narrows down the field of magic you could use CONSIDERABLY.

As far as the hospital goes, depending on how much you want to perform (I'm shooting for weekly), you might either be working alongside volunteer services coordinator (which would have been my case in Las Vegas due to the frequency of how much I wanted to perform). OR, because a lot of children's hospitals already have entertainment deals lined up, you might be only able to go every few
months. You will more than likely need to take a class that explains policy, procedures, and protocol. You will also more than likely need to give blood work and proof that you have had a chicken pox vaccination. Also, you may need to run all of what you're going to do by the coordinator to make sure you not going to be a 'liability'. Yes, 'Pyro' is great, but if you're shooing fireballs like you're freakin' Mario Brothers; guess whose volunteerism is going to end quickly?

Again, It really depends on the hospital and it all starts with the volunteer services coordinator. In some cases, this could take months to get it sorted out. Honestly, that's more time to get some practice in.

As far as what to use. Theres a lot out there. Some obvious 'no-God', but that's what's fun in magic; there's so much that, if you look and think about it hard enough, you can create a great routine with it. I honestly don't buy anything unless I can think of a routine I can use with it--or see myself using it within a set.
I agree with not wanting to do 'Uncle's Magic'. There's a few tricks and routines I'm avoiding like the plague (Magic Coloring Book, for starters). Part of it is because I know they are over used, the other part is that if a child has happened to have seen that before, I'm not to get called out on it. With that in mind, I have a rather obscure set of effects that I'm pretty damn positive haven't been performed in public outside of magic demonstrations.

That's really weird that the nearest children's hospital is an hour away from you, as I'm in the same boat. If you say say the closest hospital for you is the Children's Medical Center of Dallas, I'm going to fall out of my chair.
 
I figured I would need blood work and stuff done, but that shouldn't be a problem considering I don't have any sort of disease. I guess I will need to contact the hospital and see what their specific requirements are. I just wasn't sure how to get the ball rolling, so to say.

Yeah obviously if I want to do street magic I'm not going to want to be sawing people in half haha. I actually really like the invisible deck. I know a lot of people say it is over used, but I think it is great for kids and adults. Sometimes the simple stuff can be the most interesting. And I do try to think of tricks that I could put into one routine, instead of just a bunch of stray tricks that can't go together.

That is odd but actually Dallas is a lot further away than the hospital I am wanting to go to haha
 
CatBritches said:
I figured I would need blood work and stuff done, but that shouldn't be a problem considering I don't have any sort of disease. I guess I will need to contact the hospital and see what their specific requirements are. I just wasn't sure how to get the ball rolling, so to say.

Yeah obviously if I want to do street magic I'm not going to want to be sawing people in half haha. I actually really like the invisible deck. I know a lot of people say it is over used, but I think it is great for kids and adults. Sometimes the simple stuff can be the most interesting. And I do try to think of tricks that I could put into one routine, instead of just a bunch of stray tricks that can't go together.

That is odd but actually Dallas is a lot further away than the hospital I am wanting to go to haha
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Holy hell, that's crazy. I actually just moved to Burleson. This is starting to get crazy.

All right, let's see. There's a new thing that came out called 'Tiny Plunger', it's a card trick that uses...a tiny plunger.

Invisible Deck is an oldie, but a goodie. look into some coin magic too. I know 'Three Fly' is a popular go-to. Maybe 'Misers Dream'

I have a couple oddball recommendations. Look up 'Security Lock' and 'The Third Eye'. They pack small and might work out for the street. Are you planning to work with a table?
 
Haha the hospital is actually in GA :)

I am definitely going to make a list and look into your recommendations so thank you very much for all of your advice!
 
Brett Hurley said:
I agree with not wanting to do 'Uncle's Magic'.
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Oi, I take offence at that!

Welcome to the forums Cat, and welcome back to magic.

Brett has given you some brilliant advice regarding so many aspects, from the whole hospital gig to specific tricks.

For learning a variety of tricks I love the Penguin magic lectures, Shawn Farquhar, Daniel Garcia, Paul Wilson and John Van der Put have been my favorites so far. The lectures are great, running generally for over 2 and a half hours, packed with content as well as some great insights from some of the best talent in the industry.

As far as cards go I would say starting with a standard deck, an invisible deck and a stripper deck is a good starting point along with books such as the Royal Road (as Brett mentioned).

Warning: A lot of people will STRONGLY disagree with what I am about to say. Learn to split cards. Learning to split cards has been a godsend to me, allowing me to use my creativity to create some minor miracles that excite me whilst I continue to work my way up the learning curve of sleights and everything involved with card magic.

Have fun!
 
Albright, so I just thought of something, since I am a rookie at this as well. 'Limited resource' tricks. I'm thinking of 'BREAK' when I say this. Tricks that come with __X__ amount of...things...

Are these tricks okay to perform with as a rookie? Or do these sort of tricks need to be avoided until you 'earn your chops'.

Only reason why I ask is because I have the idea that, once you're experienced, you wouldn't need to 'burn your resources' practicing with said 'limited resources'. At least, I feel like I'd burn through 1/2 of the ...things...from 'BREAK' before I'd go out and give it a go. As opposed to having experience...or being less dumb about it.

Again, this is not saying that 'BREAK' is good or bad, I'm just asking if 'limited resource' tricks are optimal purchases for beginners. And 'BREAK' just happened to be a good example.
 
Hey Cat. Welcome back to magic.

Give me a budget of what you would be willing to spend to develop a couple of street magic sets and a hospital set. I'll then give you suggestions within that budget.
 
Justin.Morris said:
Welcome! Don't forget to check out the books and videos in your library! I found a wealth of stuff there when I was starting out!
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Ditto! I know at our library in town they have Joshua Jay's Amazing Book of Cards which comes with a DVD, the Mark Wilson's Encyclopedia of magic, Magic for Dummies, the Klutz Book of Magic and a few DVD's on basic and intermediate magic. Any of these books would be great places to start, or restart.
 
leighelkins said:
Oi, I take offence at that!

Welcome to the forums Cat, and welcome back to magic.

Brett has given you some brilliant advice regarding so many aspects, from the whole hospital gig to specific tricks.

For learning a variety of tricks I love the Penguin magic lectures, Shawn Farquhar, Daniel Garcia, Paul Wilson and John Van der Put have been my favorites so far. The lectures are great, running generally for over 2 and a half hours, packed with content as well as some great insights from some of the best talent in the industry.

As far as cards go I would say starting with a standard deck, an invisible deck and a stripper deck is a good starting point along with books such as the Royal Road (as Brett mentioned).

Warning: A lot of people will STRONGLY disagree with what I am about to say. Learn to split cards. Learning to split cards has been a godsend to me, allowing me to use my creativity to create some minor miracles that excite me whilst I continue to work my way up the learning curve of sleights and everything involved with card magic.

Have fun!
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haha I meant to offence with the "uncle magic" joke, by the way :)

and thank you for the welcome and advice! I have made a list and added what you said. I appreciate it!
 
Brett Hurley said:
Albright, so I just thought of something, since I am a rookie at this as well. 'Limited resource' tricks. I'm thinking of 'BREAK' when I say this. Tricks that come with __X__ amount of...things...

Are these tricks okay to perform with as a rookie? Or do these sort of tricks need to be avoided until you 'earn your chops'.

Only reason why I ask is because I have the idea that, once you're experienced, you wouldn't need to 'burn your resources' practicing with said 'limited resources'. At least, I feel like I'd burn through 1/2 of the ...things...from 'BREAK' before I'd go out and give it a go. As opposed to having experience...or being less dumb about it.

Again, this is not saying that 'BREAK' is good or bad, I'm just asking if 'limited resource' tricks are optimal purchases for beginners. And 'BREAK' just happened to be a good example.
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I can totally understand that. And tricks that require limited resources are so much harder to practice. I used to know a few but I had a more difficult time with them, and they tend to be more expensive.
 
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