Card trick routine for beginner

Aug 11, 2017
9
1
Hello fellow magicians..im a beginner teenager that wants to get seriously involved with magic..ive started with youtube but im thinking of buying 'Royal Road to Card Magic' and '13 steps to mentalism'..Id like to ask you a suggested routine of 3-4 tricks that I can do in my mini performances..I currently start with a force/mental trick, then continue on a trick in their hands (here then there, 2 card monte etc) and try to finish with a visual or astounding trick..Is that routine okay? Can you suggest me any specific tricks for start? I do not want them to be the easiest out there tho (not expert level aswell).
 
Jan 26, 2017
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There is nothing wrong with easy tricks. In fact, I think the easier the tricks are, the better they are (to a certain extent), since you just have to focus on the patter.

Definitely go ahead and buy the Royal Road. You will get a ton out of it. It has a lot of tricks you can use.

A couple beginner tricks you can use directly from the Royal Road, which get great reactions, are the
"Do as I do" trick from the Key Card Section.
"Designed for Laughter" in the Glide Section
"Gary's Spelling Trick" from the Glimpse section.

These are 3 of the more basic tricks that still require some sleights. The Palm and the Pass take a long long time to perfect to the point where you can present with them. However, you may also be able to do the tricks from the double lift section.

Good luck!
 
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RealityOne

Elite Member
Nov 1, 2009
3,744
4,076
New Jersey
YouTube isn't the best place to learn magic. Most of the teaching reflects poor fundamentals.

Royal Road is a great book with a lot of great effects. Also check out Scarne on Card Tricks - a lot of powerful magic without significant sleight of hand.

If you can afford it, get Roberto Giobbi's Card College Volumes 1 and 2 and pay particular attention to the fundamentals. It will let you learn the right way to do things. Gobbi's Card College Light has some great effects that require minimimal sleight of hand already set up into routines.

For mentalism, skip 13 Steps for now. It is not a beginner's book. Get Fulves' Self-Working Mental Magic, Anneman's Practical Mental Magic or Bob Cassidy's FundaMentals (on Lybrary.com).
 
Aug 11, 2017
9
1
There is nothing wrong with easy tricks. In fact, I think the easier the tricks are, the better they are (to a certain extent), since you just have to focus on the patter.

Definitely go ahead and buy the Royal Road. You will get a ton out of it. It has a lot of tricks you can use.

A couple beginner tricks you can use directly from the Royal Road, which get great reactions, are the
"Do as I do" trick from the Key Card Section.
"Designed for Laughter" in the Glide Section
"Gary's Spelling Trick" from the Glimpse section.

These are 3 of the more basic tricks that still require some sleights. The Palm and the Pass take a long long time to perfect to the point where you can present with them. However, you may also be able to do the tricks from the double lift section.

Good luck!
Hey, thanks for the answer..i just bought the book (Royal Road) and ive got some questions.. Could you suggest me some tricks in a specific order for me to perform them? From inside the book if you want..Id love like I said a mental trick for start, then something in their hands and lastly something really worth remembering..2 of my friends understood how i force a card with hindu force and now i need to find something else. Also they've understood Here and There by David Blaine.. Any suggestions about it? Sorry if my requests sound dumb but im just a beginner that wants to learn
 
Aug 11, 2017
9
1
YouTube isn't the best place to learn magic. Most of the teaching reflects poor fundamentals.

Royal Road is a great book with a lot of great effects. Also check out Scarne on Card Tricks - a lot of powerful magic without significant sleight of hand.

If you can afford it, get Roberto Giobbi's Card College Volumes 1 and 2 and pay particular attention to the fundamentals. It will let you learn the right way to do things. Gobbi's Card College Light has some great effects that require minimimal sleight of hand already set up into routines.

For mentalism, skip 13 Steps for now. It is not a beginner's book. Get Fulves' Self-Working Mental Magic, Anneman's Practical Mental Magic or Bob Cassidy's FundaMentals (on Lybrary.com).
Hey sir, thanks for the reply..Out of the 3 mentalism books which one would you say offers the most impressive effects? Do they also include simple forces or mental forces aswell? Im reading online Derren Brown's book called Tricks of the Mind trying to find a good mental force..What do you think
 
Jul 28, 2015
159
95
Hey sir, thanks for the reply..Out of the 3 mentalism books which one would you say offers the most impressive effects? Do they also include simple forces or mental forces aswell? Im reading online Derren Brown's book called Tricks of the Mind trying to find a good mental force..What do you think
What are you trying to force??
 
Jan 26, 2017
2,173
1,338
23
Virginia
Hey, thanks for the answer..i just bought the book (Royal Road) and ive got some questions.. Could you suggest me some tricks in a specific order for me to perform them? From inside the book if you want..Id love like I said a mental trick for start, then something in their hands and lastly something really worth remembering..2 of my friends understood how i force a card with hindu force and now i need to find something else. Also they've understood Here and There by David Blaine.. Any suggestions about it? Sorry if my requests sound dumb but im just a beginner that wants to learn
1. Honestly, this is kind of hard. You need to sort of choose the tricks, see how you can customize it to better fit you. Then you need to put your style on them. After that, you should be able to formulate a routine. Your routine should have:
A strong opener to draw attention
2 - 4 effects to entertain
A strong closer.
It's really hard for someone else to understand how you perform. After reading through the first few chapters in the book, pick a few effects you would actually perform. Then make a routine. I could maybe help you from there.

2. The thing about the hindu force is, you are not supposed to perform it as you learn it, which is the problem with a lot of YouTube videos. I'm willing to bet that the channel you learned it from did not teach it correctly or fully. It needs to be done with a lot of confidence, but not come off as a move. It also needs to have a slight gap between the force and the actual pulling of the cards. I am assuming you are using this for your mind reading effect? You can do 3 things: Practice your Hindu force to perfection, Use a different force (the back slip force is great, it is taught in the royal road), or not force a card at all (read through the "Glimpse" section in the royal road).

The Here and There trick also needs to be spaced out and done with confidence. In fact, I'm fairly certain the methods from YouTube are not even taught the right way. There is a much easier way to do it which is much cleaner, and much more adaptable. However, if you are gonna perform it, make sure you know what you are doing and have practiced it a bunch,
 

RealityOne

Elite Member
Nov 1, 2009
3,744
4,076
New Jersey
Could you suggest me some tricks in a specific order for me to perform them?

I think you have it backwards. Find effects that you like and THEN figure out the order. Read Royal Road cover to cover to figure out which effects you like, practice them and perform them. You will learn a lot doing that.

2 of my friends understood how i force a card with hindu force and now i need to find something else. Also they've understood Here and There by David Blaine.. Any suggestions about it? Sorry if my requests sound dumb but im just a beginner that wants to learn

That is most likely a result of poor technique or a lack of practice. Both of those effects are surefire in the hands of someone who has mastered the performance of those effects.

Also, although David Blaine performed Here and There the actual effect is John Scarne's Switchcraft published in Frank Garcia's Million Dollar Card Secrets in 1972. If you like that, check out Rapid Transit in Royal Road.

Im reading online Derren Brown's book called Tricks of the Mind trying to find a good mental force..What do you think

Honestly, there isn't a good "mental force" where someone just thinks of a card. Better to learn various methods of forcing such as the riffle force, backslip force, classic force, dealing forces, etc. Or, as @Maaz Hasan said, learn some good glimpses.
 
Aug 11, 2017
9
1
I think you have it backwards. Find effects that you like and THEN figure out the order. Read Royal Road cover to cover to figure out which effects you like, practice them and perform them. You will learn a lot doing that.



That is most likely a result of poor technique or a lack of practice. Both of those effects are surefire in the hands of someone who has mastered the performance of those effects.

Also, although David Blaine performed Here and There the actual effect is John Scarne's Switchcraft published in Frank Garcia's Million Dollar Card Secrets in 1972. If you like that, check out Rapid Transit in Royal Road.



Honestly, there isn't a good "mental force" where someone just thinks of a card. Better to learn various methods of forcing such as the riffle force, backslip force, classic force, dealing forces, etc. Or, as @Maaz Hasan said, learn some good glimpses.
Okay I understand..One last question, do you think that the undercover force card (another way of cull force) is a good force for start?
 
Aug 11, 2017
9
1
1. Honestly, this is kind of hard. You need to sort of choose the tricks, see how you can customize it to better fit you. Then you need to put your style on them. After that, you should be able to formulate a routine. Your routine should have:
A strong opener to draw attention
2 - 4 effects to entertain
A strong closer.
It's really hard for someone else to understand how you perform. After reading through the first few chapters in the book, pick a few effects you would actually perform. Then make a routine. I could maybe help you from there.

2. The thing about the hindu force is, you are not supposed to perform it as you learn it, which is the problem with a lot of YouTube videos. I'm willing to bet that the channel you learned it from did not teach it correctly or fully. It needs to be done with a lot of confidence, but not come off as a move. It also needs to have a slight gap between the force and the actual pulling of the cards. I am assuming you are using this for your mind reading effect? You can do 3 things: Practice your Hindu force to perfection, Use a different force (the back slip force is great, it is taught in the royal road), or not force a card at all (read through the "Glimpse" section in the royal road).

The Here and There trick also needs to be spaced out and done with confidence. In fact, I'm fairly certain the methods from YouTube are not even taught the right way. There is a much easier way to do it which is much cleaner, and much more adaptable. However, if you are gonna perform it, make sure you know what you are doing and have practiced it a bunch,
Okay thanks, about the Here and There trick, could you tell me where I can find the easier version of it? I love this effect as it was the first trick I tried to learn and got some great reactions from some friends.
 
Jan 26, 2017
2,173
1,338
23
Virginia
Sorry its not undercover, its underspread** I'm talking about this one
That isn't really one for beginners. The cull force takes quite a bit of practice and misdirection.

If you want something similar, but easier to do, count off the cards from the top one by one until you hit 5 or so, then just spread them. This accomplihes the same thing, as all of the spread cards spread over the bottom most card, which was initially the top card. Break it and square it where they touched, and hold up the packet, thus forcing the top card. I think it may be taught in that video but I am unsure.
 
Jan 26, 2017
2,173
1,338
23
Virginia
I would look at some of Jason England Tutorial's they are really good also take a look at this young man's Tutorial "DMB Spread Control" link https://store.theory11.com/products/dmb-spread-control?variant=47951444175

DO YOU HAVE A PRACTICE MIRROR
James
So 1 thing I would say is that Jason England, and actually probably most tutorials out there, are not all for beginners. In fact, TXI rates only 3 or so of them as easy. Even then, you need to know what to do with them.

He should really focus on the basics first. Then, a ton of tutorials are great to learn from. Very few are better than Mr.Englands, so I too recommend them. But he should start with the basics.

Oh also, a practice mirror is a cool thing to have, and a great practice tool, but you don't really need one. Especially with the Royal Road. A regular mirror is good enough for checking angles with palms and stuff, especially since I am gonna assume most of the stuff he is performing will be in a standing setting, ot too much sitting down.
 
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Mar 7, 2017
3
0
43
NJ
wrenbjor.com
So a simple a beginner myself, I hear a lot of flack about YouTube but I found three people that make sure the history of the tricks are taught and they focus on pushing books and pointing out that there is poor technique on YouTube. Look for Jay Sanky, Chris Ramsey, and Xavior Spade. They make sure that technique is taught.

I have learned several easy and intermediate things from them.
 
Jan 26, 2017
2,173
1,338
23
Virginia
So a simple a beginner myself, I hear a lot of flack about YouTube but I found three people that make sure the history of the tricks are taught and they focus on pushing books and pointing out that there is poor technique on YouTube. Look for Jay Sankey, Chris Ramsey, and Xavior Spade. They make sure that technique is taught.

I have learned several easy and intermediate things from them.
I don't know about Xavior Spade (never watched his stuff), but I can definitely tell you that Jay and Chris are 2 of the better sources out there. My only problem with them is that they kinda teach you how to perform it, which is fine for most people, but I think it is better to learn how to do it, and learn how to perform it in a basic way, then figure out your own presentation. Another problem I have is that a few of the key things are missing in their demonstrations, but that is normally fine.

There are definitely better channels out there, but as long as YouTube isn't the only source you are using, it is a great resource (again, as long as it isn't an exclusive source).
 
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Apr 26, 2013
52
10
I've just opened a DVD I bought about 6 years ago and much to my surprise was full of GOOD easy card controls. But I think this is Disc 2 from a set but it is well worth buying.
Brad Christian NINJA you will love it from Ellusionist it even has one or two card tricks at the end

James
 
Oct 20, 2016
17
12
Oklahoma
Hello fellow magicians..im a beginner teenager that wants to get seriously involved with magic..ive started with youtube but im thinking of buying 'Royal Road to Card Magic' and '13 steps to mentalism'..Id like to ask you a suggested routine of 3-4 tricks that I can do in my mini performances..I currently start with a force/mental trick, then continue on a trick in their hands (here then there, 2 card monte etc) and try to finish with a visual or astounding trick..Is that routine okay? Can you suggest me any specific tricks for start? I do not want them to be the easiest out there tho (not expert level aswell).
I don't see anything wrong with starting on Youtube (it's where Shin Lim started) as long as you go to good sources and unfortunately, there are a lot of bad ones. 52kards is a great account and he really knows his stuff and teaches it well. I'm a visual and kinesthetic learner myself, so YT was a great place for me to start. I did buy and read RRTCM and it has a TON of great stuff. Highly recommend to anyone just starting off.
 
Jan 26, 2017
2,173
1,338
23
Virginia
I don't see anything wrong with starting on Youtube (it's where Shin Lim started) as long as you go to good sources and unfortunately, there are a lot of bad ones. 52kards is a great account and he really knows his stuff and teaches it well. I'm a visual and kinesthetic learner myself, so YT was a great place for me to start. I did buy and read RRTCM and it has a TON of great stuff. Highly recommend to anyone just starting off.
I agree. 52Kards is probably the best free visual resource for anyone.
 
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