Best magic book for beginners...

[marbjo]

Hey, I haven't been into magic for a long time, so I'm pretty new..
I'm mostly interested in card magic, and I wondered if anyone could give me some advice on which book to buy ( I know there are a lot of different opinions here, but there's generally a common favourite).
Like I said, I'm a beginner, I have the triology, so preferably nothing that clashes with the DVD

 

[Farrell]

Royal Road to Card Magic.

/thread.

 

[jimboguitar]

Roberto Giobbi's Card College

 

[Virus]

Erdnase-Expert at the card table. You cna find it at a library probably, and also royal road at a library too.

 

[Shodan]

Expert is a beast of a book - not beginner friendly at all. Card College vol. 1 is great, and Royal Road appears to be a firm favourite as well.

 

[RichmanMatthew]

Even though you are mainly interested in cards, I think you should try Mark Wilson's Complete Course In Magic.

 

[Eddie]

Roberto Giobbi's Card College

Second .

 

[J.R.]

Hey, I haven't been into magic for a long time, so I'm pretty new..
I'm mostly interested in card magic, and I wondered if anyone could give me some advice on which book to buy ( I know there are a lot of different opinions here, but there's generally a common favourite).
Like I said, I'm a beginner, I have the triology, so preferably nothing that clashes with the DVD

If you really want to use a book to learn the basics, then indeed 'Royal Road to Card Magic' is the first choice. The Card College series is even better (better illustrations, more details, more tricks, more sleights), but because it covers so much more, you may easily get overwhelmed with information and you will have a very hard time to chose which sleights to learn. And you may already know that in magic, it is better to be able to do just a few things and do them perfectly (and people will beg you to repeat them), instead of many things but with average skill.

But I think that you will get into card magic much faster if you carefully choose a couple of DVDs (two DVDs come to mind) where you can learn visually only selected tricks and sleights. And you will also be able to see people's reactions. In books you have to decipher the text and you will not be able to feel what reaction a trick will trigger.

 

[marbjo]

Thanks for your advice guys
By the way J.R. , what were those DVDs you would reccomend to a beginner like me?

 

[clllllust]

Thanks for your advice guys
By the way J.R. , what were those DVDs you would reccomend to a beginner like me?

Well Royal Road to Card Magic is on DVD as well as in print form.

If your having trouble finding these go to The Chapters Website. They have some beginner books like Royal Road, Expert at the Card Table, Bob's Modern Coin Magic, etc. If they don't have them in stock they will be able to special order you a copy . That is if you have Chapters in Norway.

Cheers,
-RA69

 

[J.R.]

Thanks for your advice guys
By the way J.R. , what were those DVDs you would reccomend to a beginner like me?

The best choice in my opinion is to get Ellusionist's "Crash Course 2: Ambitious Card" and Oz Pearlman's "Born To Perform Card Magic". You will get the best of street magic there including all the fundamentals and subtleties. Get both. Learn and practice what's in them.

If you want something similar to the Card College books, which covers practically every sleight available but is very well presented and taught, that would be Daryl's Encyclopedia of Card Sleights. It's priceless! But I recommend it only after you cover the two DVDs above, so that you have the perspective on what's interesting, what you need and what you can use from it. It's expensive though and it's not a must-have for a beginner.

Oh, and watch all David Blaine's street magic because that's where a lot of things started in the first place and there is a lot to learn from him in terms of presentation and what works on the street

BTW, "Expert At the Card Table" is indeed a classic (published in 1902), but it is very criptic and it wouldn't be my first choice to start out with.

 

[Greg P]

There are two classic books for beginners:

1.The Royal Road to Card Magic
2. Card College (series of five books)

The Royal Road is cheap and contains a wealth of information. The Card College series is more expensive (they are hard covers) but also covers a wealth of information. I don't actually own Card College (I bought the first two volumes and should get them soon) but from what others have said the series is fantastic. Very well explained, very detailed, and with great illustrations. Keep in mind, as a beginner, you probably only need the first two volumes to start with (this is why I only ordered those). The rest of the series can wait when you master the basics. Also, R Paul Wilson has a 5 disk DVD set that covers almost all the material in The Royal Road. I own this and think it is a great companion to the book (it is, however, not cheap).

Don't forget Theory11's 1-on-1 series 'Card Fundamentals' with Aaron Fisher. The first one is available and is great. If you are a beginner in card magic then this is a great way to start. Hopefully the second part of this series is the next 1-on-1 to be released!

The Expert at the Card Table is NOT for a beginner. It is a classic and something that should be studied but leave it until you've mastered some basics. I'm not sure why this gets recommended to beginners?

Since many beginners have the same question, maybe this thread or others like it could be stickied? Or better yet, maybe a subforum should be started just for beginners?

cheers,

Greg P

 

[FBackhouse]

I'm new to magic and I want to focus on card magic. What book(s) should I get along with The Royal road to card magic. Should I get either Card college light (if I can find it) or Card college volume 1? Im.really stuck. Thanks in advance for any replys.