Aug 21, 2017
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Hiya folks I'm a very late teenager (20) who recently discovered a burning curiousity with magic. After experiencing a street performance, 3 seasons of Penn and Teller and a few YouTube videos I found myself here. I recently learned a few ways to make a coin disappear, which was easy given my talent making small things disappear (I behave now though, I swear). So I find myself here, wanting to amaze people with tricks and share that magic feeling you get when you are fooled and amazed with others.
I have a few goals planned already but I'm after suggestions for sources on card tricks, improving slight of hand and escapism, I'm buying my first deck of cards as soon as I post this and handcuffs later tonight.

That's me, my half assed introduction and request for good teaching sources. Hope to spend a lot of time here in the future :)
 
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Jan 26, 2017
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Welcome to Theory 11! Let us know how we can be of help!

What kind of magic are you interested in? I'm assuming more so smaller stuff with sleight of hand and gimmicks. Coins, cards, sponge balls, etc.

The best resources out there are the books. I can direct you to some basic ones here :D Pick up one (or multiple/all) of these, and it will help get you started. (btw, if you didn't know the Golden text are links. I have given you the links to amazon for these books, but if that is inconvenient for you, depending on where you live, search for them at Penguin Magic, or ebay, or whatever).

Cards
For basic sleight of hand, A Great place to start is The Royal Road to Card Magic. It is a great beginner source. It will work you up from the very basics, all the way up to more advanced moves. It has a ton of tricks in it, as well as presentation. It will keep you occupied for ages!

If you are looking for more so Self Working Card Tricks, or Tricks that don't require too much sleight of hand, pick up Card College Light. Self working tricks are great because they allow you to create amazing presentations. Card College Light is part of a Trilogy (alongside it's brothers "Lighter" and "Lightest") by Roberto Giobbi. Roberto Giobbi has also written a 5 volume course entitled "Card College". It covers a ton of card magic, all the way up to advanced stuff. However, buying all 5 books is very pricey, so the Royal Road is a great alternative (the Royal Road still has a ton of info in it, and is only $10 for a paperback copy).

There are a ton more books you can pick up, but this is where I would start.

Coins
One of the best beginner coin magic books is J. B. Bobo's Modern Coin Magic. Most coin magicians would recommend you start there. It is also very cheap ($10)

A lot of Coin Magic can be applied to Ring Magic too! However, there isn't a major book o Ring Magic (at least as far as I can find), but there are a ton of effects out there on the market that will be of use.

Mentalism
I have no experience with Mentalism (as of yet), but I do know that a lot of Mentalists recommend Theodore Annemann's Practical Mental Magic. If I am wrong about this, I'm sure someone will correct me and give you a better book :D Also very cheap btw.

All Around
Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic is a HUGE book that covers almost all aspects of magic; Cards, Money, Rope, Sponge balls, Cups & Balls, Make at Home & Impromptu, Mental, Bets, Handkerchiefs, even full on Stage Ilusions! Now, the link I gave you says $15, but I have found people selling it for 3 - 5 dollars. It is very cheap and easy to get a hold of. Check the "more sellers" or look for it on ebay. You may even have a local magic store that might be selling it!

The Tarbell Course in Magic is a 8 Volume course put that covers almost all aspects of magic (literally almost everything available at the time of it's printing as far as the categories are concerned. Obviously, new things have been discovered, such as magic with your phone, or with a picture, but for the most part, everything is covered). It even goes over non performance stuff like advertising. It is however VERY pricey, a very tough read (in my opinion, if not just for the shear size of it). Thus, I would recommend getting a pretty good grip of magic before trying to tackle it.

Hope this was of help!

If you want more help, or more direct info about a topic, I will be happy to help! Also, if you are looking for some easy products you can buy and practice, then go out and perform to your friends as a one time trick, I can help you with that too!
 

RealityOne

Elite Member
Nov 1, 2009
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New Jersey
I second @Maaz Hasan's list with one substitution - Scarne on Card Tricks instead of Card College Light,. Here is what I would suggest to begin with:

Mark Wilson's Complete Course
Scarne on Card Tricks
Royal Road to Card Magic
Bobo's Modern Coin Magic

From there, we can recommend ohter books and DVDs that get you where you want to go.

Others like @William Draven, @ChristopherT and @TylerScottIllusionist are more familiar with escapes and they should be able to help.
 
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WitchDocIsIn

Elite Member
Sep 13, 2008
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Unfortunately there isn't a ton in print on escapes, and what is printed, I'm told, is often inaccurate.

The best thing to do is find someone who can teach you in person. Barring that, many of these skills can be learned online. It's not really a secret method - you're just going to use skills that most people never bother learning.

Depending on how in depth you want to get, just learn the skills. I do a strait jacket escape that is pretty good in my opinion. Took me several years and some important feedback to really hone it in, but now it plays great. I open my duo-sideshow act that my wife and I do with it.

Here's a tip for free, though: Don't skimp on the escape props. I've destroyed three strait jackets (average one per year) because I went a cheaper route. I'm now saving for a jacket that will cost me several hundred, but should last some time.
 
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