Complete beginner to magic

Nov 22, 2016
13
1
Oh sweet :) you should check to see what local magic shops are around you. As I mentioned before, Costco sell them by the brick - 12 decks for £18. Check out tally ho and aristocrats too.

I will try out them places thank you :)
 
Hi there. I wouldn't say I'm new to magic as I've had on and off spells in the past 15 years, but I'm nowhere near as experienced as the majority of people on here. That said I can offer you advice nonetheless. The Criss Angel Platinum Magic Kit won't really give you much in the way of props, but what it can undoubtedly give you is a taste of an audiences reaction when you pull off a trick successfully. Admittedly they are very basic tricks, but even a polished 'cup and ball' routine can amaze an unsuspecting audience. If you're not sure about investing too much money into magic yet, then I would start by scanning through the free available material here at Theory11.

As for cards, Bicycles are great. There are obviously better decks like the Theory11 decks (come on guys, sweet product placement!) but Bicycles are cheap and readily available. I'm from the UK too so I know you can easily obtain them from MagicShop.co.uk, and they even stock Theory11 gear too as an added bonus! And yes, learning card tricks IS time consuming, but well worth it! I'm now trying my hand at Cardistry because I love working with cards so much.

Hope this helps :)
 

WitchDocIsIn

Elite Member
Sep 13, 2008
5,877
2,945
Kenneth already mentioned this but I'm going to say it again, because I feel it's really important:

Everyone learns at different speeds. Don't compare your progress with other people's progress. When I started out I tended to do that a lot and it can be discouraging.

When it comes to fine motor skills like sleight of hand there is some programming of the brain that has to happen. You are literally creating new connections and synapses in the brain tissue. The more you use those skills, the fatter the pathways in the brain become. That can't happen over night.

Also - you're starting later in life than many of the people you'll talk to on the forums and such. Don't worry about it. I started when I was in my late 20s. 28 maybe? I forget now. I think it actually helps - when someone gets into magic as a kid, they often use magic as a replacement for a personality. So every conversation is "Want to see a magic trick?" Whereas if you start later in life you tend to already have a developed personality, and a variety of life experiences you can use to build presentations around. Wayne Houchin (who was a consultant for Criss Angel) says in his lecture that his magic didn't get really good until he stopped obsessing over magic and did other things.

And it's always good to have inspiration, so here's someone you may be interested in checking out:
http://www.smokeandmagic.com/
 
Oct 20, 2016
17
12
Oklahoma
HI I am a complete beginner to magic im 23 and getting a criss angel magic set for Xmas im wanting to start out with easy stuff and get better, what advice would you give to a beginner ? ? I don't understand sleight of hand or anything yet I am completely new to this but I really want to become a good magician, all help would be grateful thanks
I personally started out on youtube before going to individual tricks on T11 and Ellusionist and I got a solid foundation from it. That being said the majority of people on youtube that "teach" are very poor. If you do want to go there and learn I would recommend 52kards, TheRussianGenius, and Jay Sankey. All of them do a great job teaching and definitely know their stuff.
 
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WitchDocIsIn

Elite Member
Sep 13, 2008
5,877
2,945
I know TheRussianGenius teaches other people's material so I do not recommend him unless you want to support intellectual property theft.

I've been told that Disturb Reality stopped teaching other people's material but I do see at least one video teaching something that is currently on the market. Also I just can't stand him as a person.
 
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RealityOne

Elite Member
Nov 1, 2009
3,744
4,076
New Jersey
I personally started out on youtube before going to individual tricks on T11 and Ellusionist and I got a solid foundation from it. That being said the majority of people on youtube that "teach" are very poor. If you do want to go there and learn I would recommend 52kards, TheRussianGenius, Jay Sankey, and Disturb Reality. All of them do a great job teaching and definitely know their stuff.

Sankey is good, Aaron Fisher's channel is great. I'd avoid the rest.
 

Nurul

Elite Member
Dec 8, 2013
239
186
Birmingham, UK
I wouldn't say avoid the rest, definitely check out 52Kards. He has some very good techniques and is very concise with his explanations. More recently, he's been endorsed by a fair few magicians, some of who teach a video on his channel.
 
Mar 8, 2016
75
8
you already know the xmas thing? And bought a criss angel thing? Oh well. There's tons of magic things. Let me know if you need any help. Dudes like me just think you're amazing without the tricks. lol
 
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