Comprehension of Magic Book help

[Matthew15]

Hey everyone,

I’m an aspiring magician who recently started practicing magic and sleight of hand. I’ve bought several books referred by the great Jason England being

Royal Road to card magic
Expert card technique
Expert at the card table

I love sitting down after work to practice but I have a hard time sometimes figuring out what the books are trying to tell me. The photos in the books don’t really give me much insight either.

I’ve been looking into videos demonstrating certain moves but at that point it’s me just trying to emulate what I see in front of me instead of truly understanding the concepts of moves and sleights.

If anyone could help shed some light on understanding the books or knows of a great video series I’d greatly appreciate it.

Thank you

 

[RealityOne]

Those books are classics but they are difficult to work through and understand. Additionally, there are some errors and some techniques which have since been improved. That is one of the reasons that I recommend Card College because that series is easier to work through.

R. Paul Wilson has a DVD set that goes through Royal Road. That is around $60. The first two volumes of Card College are $40 each. I'd go with the first two volumes of Card College.

 

[Matthew15]

Ahh I’ve never heard of those before. Is the card college a book series?

Thanks for your reply! I’ll have to look into these!

 

[RealityOne]

It is a series of five books. The first two were written as a set and intended to be a complete course. But then came the next three. There are great step-by step illustrations, clear writing (using consistent terminology) and performance pointers along with a lot of great effects.

 

[johnny wizz]

I couldn't agree more with the above advice. The books you mention are the classics and are outstanding works. BUT! They are all quite old now and for the various reasons Reality One has given you they are probably no longer the best starting point. I couldn't offer any better suggestion than Card College to get the basic skills sorted. After that there are many fine modern books that you can buy to help build your performance repertoire

 

[Matthew15]

Is there also any books for card tricks that you’d recommend? Or would the card college have enough material.

 

[RealityOne]

Card College teaches the sleights and then several effects that use the sleights. Get and work through through the first two volumes. There is a lot of material to perform in those volumes. After that, if you like the style, pick up the next three volumes.

If you want stuff to perform sooner, get Scarne on Card Tricks. It is all done without sleight of hand and a lot of the material is very powerful. If you have a bit more money, get the first volume of Card College Light. Even more powerful magic that doesn’t require difficult sleight of hand. The first routine is worth the price of the book.

Once you get a foundation through at least the first two volumes of Ccard College, come back and ask about other books with effects. There are a lot of great options but which one is best for you depends on your preferences.