A young desperate Magician needs help

Jan 22, 2017
10
1
Italy
Hey everyone,

I spend hours trying to find out how this trick is done but I can´t figure it out so I need help maybe a tutorial on YouTube, an Article in a Magazine, a book or anything else that helps.

Here is the performance of Chris Ramsey:

Thanks

Patrik
 
Jan 22, 2017
10
1
Italy
Thanks for the fast reply and I totally respect the work of others. Only some times there are some Magicians who teach their Tricks for free but I´ll buy it.

Could someone give me more advice for books that don´t teach only the basics but also some effects that are more advanced?
 
Jul 13, 2014
176
27
The royal road to card magic or the card college series. I think Royal road is public domain, so there are probably free pdfs out there. A word of advice on learning moves- they're very, very hard. And they need to look really good. Avoid YouTube like the Plaugue except to watch performances by good magicians to see what things should look like. Most of those tutorials will screw you up. But if you want to learn say, the classic pass, find a good slight of hand artist(I'll list some below) and try and find a video of them doing that move, in our example you'd Google Jason England classic pass.
Also, remember that despite what everyone says, there's no such thing as an easy trick. Everything takes practice, and lots of it.

Skilled sleight of hand magicians:
Jason England
Paul Wilson
Steve forte
Richard Turner
Darwin Ortiz
Derek delguadio
Dai Vernon
Charlie miller
Larry Jennings
Michael Vincent
Ed Marlo

If you're really serious about becoming good, you should only learn from good sources, which I can provide more of if you're interested. For now, you should avoid YouTube except in the aforementioned instances, and any magic product not coming from a good source(which I can provide if you want).
 
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Jan 22, 2017
10
1
Italy
I like slight of Hand but I like performing at a Table or standing. The thing I don't like is self working Tricks. When I perform I like doing color changes. I havent got small hands so palming is no big problem. I practice a lot infront of mirros. Anything else needed?
 

RealityOne

Elite Member
Nov 1, 2009
3,744
4,076
New Jersey
I like slight of Hand but I like performing at a Table or standing. The thing I don't like is self working Tricks. When I perform I like doing color changes. I havent got small hands so palming is no big problem. I practice a lot infront of mirros. Anything else needed?

As @DominusDolorum said, you shouldn't rule out anything that is self-working. What is important is the illusion of impossibility that the spectator sees, not the difficulty of the method used to obtain that illusion. The is true for gimmicks and gaffs. Combining sleight of hand with self working principes and gimmicks or gaffs will fool most magicians. We should seek the illusion of impossibility by any means possible.

Color changes are not, by themselves, magic. They really need to be part of a larger routine. Similarly, pick a card / lose a card / find a card plots generally are not that interesting.

My recommendation is to get the first two volumes of the Card College Series or the Card College DVDs. That will give you a good foundation in sleight of hand magic that you can build on. Most of what you have learned on Youtube probably is not proper handling. If cost is an issue, start with Royal Road to Card Magic and then check back in from there.
 
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DominusDolorum

Elite Member
Jul 15, 2013
893
1,114
31
Canada
One last question I always like to order more stuff because of the shipping any others? Also self working!
What's your budget?

My favorite video series of all time is the Michael Ammar's Easy to Master Card Miracles. You will get a variety of tricks that require some sleight of hand, as well as self-working tricks and presentation tips (The REAL secrets). You can see the list of each trick when you research a volume: http://www.ammarmagic.com/easy-to-master-card-miracles-1--dv.html

If one or two of those interest you can always buy them separately here: http://www.michaelammarmagic.com/
 
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Jul 13, 2014
176
27
For performances you should study
Ricky jay
Dai Vernon
Juan tamariz
Rene lavand
Helder guimeras
Lennart green
Michael Vincent
Bill Malone
Shawn Farquhar
Joshua jay
Asi wind
I'm sure there are more, those are just the ones floating around in my head right now(that I've actually seen) some have books and DVDs, others, not so much. The only sources from Ricky Jay for example, are a YouTube video of a show, a documentary, and some historical texts. However that performance is a gold mine of information.
With regards to teachers, seek out material by
Roberto giobbi
Joshua jay
Helder guimaeras
Dai Vernon
Juan tamariz
Michael Vincent
Those are the only guys I can personally attest to, however anyone on those lists would be a pretty good bet as a solid learning source. However, at least for now, try and avoid those flashy, modern type guys like shin lim, Daniel madison, Dan and Dave, etc... and focus on the more classical ones like jay, gumaeras, Vernon, etc... Also, meet and talk with fellow magicians in person, attend lectures if you can, or find some knowledgeable magician in the area and at least occasionally, hang out and get some feedback.
 
Jan 22, 2017
10
1
Italy
Also, meet and talk with fellow magicians in person, attend lectures if you can, or find some knowledgeable magician in the area and at least occasionally, hang out and get some feedback.
Problem is in my area isn´t a Magician I live in the mountains sooooo thats hard and I like Books more than videos if possible.
 

RealityOne

Elite Member
Nov 1, 2009
3,744
4,076
New Jersey
Problem is in my area isn´t a Magician I live in the mountains sooooo thats hard and I like Books more than videos if possible.

For self-working, get Card College Light and Scarne on Card Tricks. If you want some fun stuff to move into after you get the fundamentals, Art of Astonishment, Volume 1, John Bannon's High Caliber and John agustaferro's One Degree. With those, you are set for at least a year.

Also, I'm always willing to help anyone who wants to learn from books and willing to help people improve their performances.
 

DominusDolorum

Elite Member
Jul 15, 2013
893
1,114
31
Canada
Scarne on Card Tricks
I am going to over emphasize this book. It's a must have for anyone interested in card magic, especially if you love gambling themes. David constantly cites one trick in this book, Scarne's Drunken Poker Deal (page 122), and that trick ALONE is worth the value of 10 copies of the book. One of my personal favorites from this book is Braude's Mental Card Trick. Absolute simplicity, but it's a killer and self-working!
 

RealityOne

Elite Member
Nov 1, 2009
3,744
4,076
New Jersey
David constantly cites one trick in this book, Scarne's Drunken Poker Deal (page 122), and that trick ALONE is worth the value of 10 copies of the book. One of my personal favorites from this book is Braude's Mental Card Trick. Absolute simplicity, but it's a killer and self-working!

The Mental Card Trick is very nice. There are some great effects, Calling the Cards, Upside Down Deck, Traveling Aces, Swimmers (which I do a version of using the numbers off lottery tickets), Nomenclature, Scarne's Drunken Poker Deal and The New Deal Poker Hand. There also are a lot of classics in there, Do as I Do, The Wizard, The Dean's Poker Deal (Jonah Principle), Miraskill and Card on Ceiling.

Card College Light is a great book and is worth it for the first two effects - T.N.T. and Intuition. It only gets better from there.
 
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