3 quick questions I would love to have answered

[Turbay_Travis]

Hey thanks for taking the time to read this. I have a couple quick questions that i need answered by some other magicians.
1.) Where can i find good card tricks that Can be performed with a regular deck and doesnt involve a set up or doubled cards or anything. I am asking this because when i look at my arsenal of tricks i see that i have a good amount when i am carrying MY (gimcked) deck on me, but if i dont have my own deck on me and im at a friends house for example and someone just gives me a regular deck of cards i want to be able to still perform powerful magic. I find that theory11, penguin magic, and ellusionist sell mostly tricks that involve some kind of gaff or set up and not many tricks can you do just with a regular box of 52 cards. So if anyone can answer this it would help a lot thanks.
2.) How do you respond when a spectator says "how did you do that?" after a trick.
3.) How do you respond when people ask you "how do you learn your magic"...i dont really know if i want to say "well i pay money to learn from DVD'S". So what do you guys think would be a good way to answer

Thanks a lot guys!

 

[TeeDee]

1. Go back to your fundamentals. Card College, Royal Road, Oz Pearlman's Born to Perform Card Magic, any of the basic sources really.

2. I treat it as if they've said, "That's amazing!" because that's usually what they mean. People know that you're supposed to laugh at comedy, be scared by horror and so on, but magic isn't so common that audiences know the cues for responding to it. So, they default to something that they think they're supposed to say even if that's not what they're really thinking.

3. Something along the lines of, "It's kind of like a community. Knowledge gets handed down from the great magicians of the past, and then you have to seek out the people who add to that knowledge and are willing to share it with you today. Mainly, though, it's a lot of study and practice." It's kind of the truth, but it has implications of an semi-secret initiatory system that sounds quite intriguing. By adding in the bit about, "study and practice", it cuts off the idea that it's just a matter of learning the secret in order to make the trick work. To my mind, that's the most important thing to get across because a lot of people think that magic is just knowing something that the audience doesn't, and therefore requires no skill.

 

[Philipp S.(4)]

First of all I would agree with everything TeeDee said. Just a few notes:

1. I guess you have to start with the basics again. This isn't meant offensive but before you try to learn new tricks read books on how to present you magic and how to structure your routine.
"Strong Magic" and "Designing Miracles" by Darwin Ortitz will suffice for the beginning. Learn how to interact with people. This is also helpful in real life.
2. An often quoted line is: "Can you keep a secret? So can I." But TeeDees point nullifies my line. I would generally choose what you like. Nothing too cocky but just something that fits your style.
3. I often say: "Direcctly after my birth I asked the doctor to pick a card." That works for me. But I will try TeeDees line.

 

[JButterfield]

1. Books like Card College, Royal Road to Card Magic, anything by Dai Vernon, anything by Harry Lorrayne, anything by John Carney, Cardmagic by Richard Kaufman, Apocalypse, anything by Larry Jennings, Expert Card Technique, Stars of Magic, Scarne on Card Tricks

2. There's a bunch of lines for this; search and you can find them. Or write one yourself, in your voice.

3. I usually tell people that I learned at my local magic shop. Those guys have been a huge help to me, and the least I can do is try to throw business their way.

 

[FormlessMars22]

1. As everyone here will tell you, start with the fundamentals, as I say, a lot of powerful magic can be done with just a simple double lift.

2. My usual response to this varies, I usually ask them how they think I did the trick and joke about their response and ask if they'd like to see another, alternatively I usually just smile and say it's magic and they usually just brush it off and laugh.

3. To this I usually be honest about it, I say read a lot of books on magic and know what to look for when one starts learning magic.

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

1 - Already answered.

2 - TeeDee's point is spot on. There's a big difference between "How did you do that?" and "How did you do that!" Usually if they only ask once, I don't say anything I just let it percolate. If they press it, as in, "No .. really .. how did you do that!?" I reiterate the premise of the effect. For me, though, I generally build an explanation into the presentation so the audience tends to think they already know how I did it.

3 - I'm honest with them. I tell them I spend a lot of time in conversation with dead people (which is a reference to reading books that I read a long time ago and it stuck with me), and that I've studied a lot of esoteric systems in an attempt to both figure out the universe and regular my own issues.

 

[Luke B.(6)]

I take the derren brown approach when answering those questions. I recommend saying "it's just a lot of experience" when answering those how'd u do it questions.

 

[Dietman72]

1. BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS!!!!.....did I say books?? also take a look at penguin magic as they have a lot of card stuff on the site....

2. A handy excuse to use that I even use is "Magic!!!!" or "Through years of devotion and being a hermit not seeing daylight for several years you develop a nack for it" <-- personal favourite as I don't get out much or simply "I have too much time on my hands"
all are good answers I think, others may disagree but depends on your style as well.

3. Years of dedication to study. Watching dvds and reading plenty of books... not to mention there are many whom we get and bounce ideas off and collaborate with etc etc it goes on

 

[William Draven]

1.) Where can i find good card tricks that Can be performed with a regular deck and doesnt involve a set up or doubled cards or anything.

You can go to a few different sources. Royal Road to Card Magic being a good starter one. Mark Wilsons Complete Course in Magic, or the Tarbell Course in Magic will give you more card material than you'll ever use. Failing those then you always can fall back on Expert At The Card Table, and Card College.

2.) How do you respond when a spectator says "how did you do that?" after a trick.

There's a LOT of stock replies for this question.
* "Very carefully."
* "Very well thank you."
* "Can you keep a secret? {wait for reply} So can I!"
* "Magic!"
* "Well I use {insert some bull crap excuse here that sounds technically plausible and is highly inaccurate.}"
* "Well I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you."
...the list could go on for a few more pages but I'll cut it off there.

Honestly all those canned stock lines make you sound like a pretentious douche as a magician. I find that most people are pretty good with an answer along the lines of "Through skillful practice and mastery of sleight of hand. Would you like to see another?" And just go strait into another routine. Most people who ask you how something is done is just saying the first thing that comes to their mind. It's just a reaction. Very few of them actually expect you to give them a strait answer. They just don't know what else to say in that moment.

3.) How do you respond when people ask you "how do you learn your magic"...i dont really know if i want to say "well i pay money to learn from DVD'S". So what do you guys think would be a good way to answer

This question is pretty rare... I only encounter it once in a blue moon myself. I just tell people that I'm self taught for the most part, with the exceptions of having the opportunity to learn from others on a couple of occasions and leave it at that. I keep my replies pretty vague. I usually tell them that I learn from books or DVD's that are made for magicians, and if they have an interest in learning magic themselves then a good place to start is at their local public library. That usually always answers their question and empowers them to learn something new if they're genuinely interested.

 

[Randy]

Whit Haydin on The magic cafe mentioned that you really shouldn't give them a straight answer when they ask "How did you do that?!". He made a good point of how it ruins the mystery and the moment. Once they realize it takes practice and skill, it makes them feel like THEY can do too.

I always liked the way that Michael Ammar would address the question. "How did you do that?!" "Did you like it?" "Yes!" "Thank you." and then move on. Or do what Whit would say "I know! it's Impossible isn't it!" and then move on.

 

[RedbeardThePink]

1. Get Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic if you haven't already. It's got a lot of the same sleights and principles taught in Royal Road, but it will also teach you about a zillion other things that have nothing to do with cards at all.

2. I either say "Hours of Practice" or "My magic powers," depending on the crowd.

3. Again, I usually just leave the explanation at "Hours of practice" and "Self-taught." If I have someone that acts really interested in learning I might mention books, videos, and where to get them.

Solving any of the questions you've mentioned can really be boiled down to reading the spectator. No solution will work in every situation, or at least most won't.

 

[LucaL]

1) go back to the old days when their were books and kits. or, when you go to a magic shop, ask for an impromptu trick.

2) Laugh and say, " It's magic!"

3)I get that question alot. I just say, "I learn my magic from hogwarts" and they won't ask again

 

[Ibimania]

1) Learning good card stuff: Expert Card Technique, Royal road to card magic, Easy to master card miracles.

2) How to respond to how did you do that: "I would love to tell you but the practice it takes to achieve this is a lot so telling you would ruin the trick for you yet you would not be practicing enough to be able to do it, because I believe you have better things to do" OR "The magician who created this taught me it said he would teach me how to vanish myself if i am able to keep this secret for an year, so please understand?" OR before the trick say "I will only show magic if you promise not to ask how it is done, because I have heard that a hundred times and don't want it to be hundred and one".

3) Where did you learn it from: "Who taught you how to speak? your parents? did they teach you the cuss words? See? You have learnt from different sources and it has become second nature and you do not know which words you learnt where anymore. It is the same thing with magic, you learn moves and principles practice them for hours and it just becomes a part of you and you are performing tricks without knowing where they came from. But If you want to learn, you should have commitment and a good library" OR you could have a fake explanation for a trick ready, I love bluff explanations and a lot of magicians do that.

 

[AnthonyL]

1. The same answer, just learn some moves. Some of my best reactions have come from just making a trick up as I go. But you can only do this if you know how to handle a deck of cards.

2. Comedy answer or just say magic!

3. I tell the truth, I got a magic book and a deck of cards one Christmas and I haven't put them down since.

 

[Philipp S.(4)]

@Anthony

You must not say it in the way you say it because it implies that you just happen to know a secret that they don't know. You have to make sure that they know that magic is really hard and needs a lot of work.

 

[AnthonyL]

Are you talking about question 2 or 3?