Card Magic For A Beginner

Dec 7, 2017
9
6
I have always wanted to be able to do some easy but believable card magic but here is my problem:

I have cerebral palsy which effects the dexterity in my hands (particularly the right as that is the side effected) so what I was wondering is are there any tricks I can learn that uses minimal or no dexterity i.e no double lifts etc. but could still fool people or even tricks where I could double lifts etc by using a modifier.

Sorry if this is long & have rambled, I just don't know where to start.
 
Oct 29, 2017
52
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Norway
look into tricks with pre-arranged decks, there are a few ways to pre-arrange decks then all you need to do is memorize order and such
 

RealityOne

Elite Member
Nov 1, 2009
3,744
4,076
New Jersey
Scarne on Card Tricks is amazing, especially for the price.

Also check out Tamariz's Verbal Magic and Steinmeyer's Impuzzabilities.

Finally, check out the work of Wayne Dobson. He has been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and many of his routines new routines are able to be performed from his wheel chair with minimum dexterity.
 

DominusDolorum

Elite Member
Jul 15, 2013
893
1,114
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I'm going to beat a dead horse and say Scarne on Card Tricks. I recently just acquired Foolproof Card Tricks by Karl Fulves and it's great book on self-working card tricks.

If you want to learn through video then I cannot stress how amazing John Bannon's Move Zero series is. Just a fantastic collection of tricks that will also help get your creative juices flowing. I always recommend Easy to Master Card Miracles by Michael Ammar though there will be some basic sleight of hand required for most of the stuff. Nothing too difficult though.
 
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Biz

Elite Member
Jun 13, 2013
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bizandfriends.com
After you check out all of those, see about how you can use your palsy inside your routines, how you can build around it - usually when people look at a magician, they are in standby, in an awaiting of the effect happening or going to happen. But with you, due to what you have, people will be entranced from the beginning. People with a story is what mistifies people. Most of all, think about what kind of stories you can build around your character. When performing, decide whether it is you who is performing, or a character they you have developed. Usually, if you develop a character it is easier to see yourself talk about things and do things because it is not you, per se, doing them, but the character.
 

levivoltz

Elite Member
Dec 7, 2014
37
7
After you check out all of those, see about how you can use your palsy inside your routines, how you can build around it - usually when people look at a magician, they are in standby, in an awaiting of the effect happening or going to happen. But with you, due to what you have, people will be entranced from the beginning. People with a story is what mistifies people. Most of all, think about what kind of stories you can build around your character. When performing, decide whether it is you who is performing, or a character they you have developed. Usually, if you develop a character it is easier to see yourself talk about things and do things because it is not you, per se, doing them, but the character.
I really agree with this! Stories build good routines and if you can be open and real, people notice that and connect better with you. I mean just look at Mahdi Gilbert!
 

trapeze

Elite Member
Jul 28, 2016
70
58
USA
Okay...this may or may not be helpful but I'm going to throw it out there anyway.

One other performer that you may want to at least have a look at is Rene Lavand. He lost his right hand in childhood and through sheer force of will developed a repertoire of close up magic built for his own "disability."

Kaufman & Greenberg came out with an excellent book on both his routines and his personal story titled, "Mysteries of My Life."

There are many vids of his performances on youtube. Here is one of his appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show:

 
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Oct 23, 2014
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You should also check out Mahdi Gilbert. He's pretty much inventing slight of hand from the ground up for himself due to his disability. Obviously a different challenge than you have, but another example of someone who is able to make magic happen using his own style.

Not my favorite clip, but it was the easiest one to find:

 
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trapeze

Elite Member
Jul 28, 2016
70
58
USA
You should also check out Mahdi Gilbert. He's pretty much inventing slight of hand from the ground up for himself due to his disability. Obviously a different challenge than you have, but another example of someone who is able to make magic happen using his own style.

Not my favorite clip, but it was the easiest one to find:

That is a great performance. Coincidentally, that is almost certainly Gilbert's version of Lavand's "I Can't Do This Any Slower." Not that it is in any way less of an achievement...it is a great performance.

And I would be stunned if Penn & Teller didn't know this and were actually fooled.

But I think that the overall point of my post and kennethcmerrill's post is that sleight of hand is most definitely not beyond the reach of the "disabled."
 
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