theory11 — Magic Tricks & the World's Finest Playing Cards
I need help, I have a passion for being a magician
- Thread starter Honeypot
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Welcome to the forums and welcome to magic.
Get two books - Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic and Scarne on Card Tricks. There are a lot of effects that use a deck of cards, coins and bills in Mark Wilson's book. If you see other effects you want to perform, we can direct you to the props you need. Scarne on Card Tricks has card tricks that don't require any difficult sleight of hand.
One you go through those books, we can give you advice on what to get next.
Get two books - Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic and Scarne on Card Tricks. There are a lot of effects that use a deck of cards, coins and bills in Mark Wilson's book. If you see other effects you want to perform, we can direct you to the props you need. Scarne on Card Tricks has card tricks that don't require any difficult sleight of hand.
One you go through those books, we can give you advice on what to get next.
Just remember. You'll need to invest more time than money. This might seem like good news to you, but remember, the time must be invested correctly. Something Dai Vernon, my favourite all-time close up magician said: If you don't like to practice, pick a different hobby.
The disclaimer being taken care of, listen up:
PROPS YOU NEED FOR NOW:
Your house probably has an old deck of cards. Otherwise buy one, they are cheap.
You probably have coins too.
You probably have pen and paper too.
You're good to go.
FINANCIAL INVESTMENTS:
Invest in two to three books early on. That will help you decide on what kind of magic you love.
In my opinion, you should get Complete Idiot's Guide to Street Magic by Tom Ogden, Modern Coin Magic by Bobo, and Self-working Mental Magic by Karl Fulves.
All above books have something or the other to do with cards in some trick or the other, by the way. Cards are a staple for most magicians.
I think I can send you links for public domain magic books for free too but as I said, clear the monetary investments early on, it's gonna help you.
And hardcopy >>> softcopy. (Judge me.)
OTHER RESOURCES:
Be active on these forums. Ask questions if you want.
Subscribe to magic channels on You Tube. Other than an ever growing source of tutorials, it more importantly will introduce you to the comunity of magicians in general. I found out about Theory XI through You Tube.
END THOUGHTS:
For now, just practice. Theory and everything can wait. If you really love magic, for now, just practice.
Good luck!
Keep us posted on your journey!
Though if you ask me, you won't need any online community once you've found Theory XI. I may be biased
Not really your question, but I'll talk about it anyway, because I can. Also, because I really wish I'd followed this common-sensical advice myself when I started out.
This should be obvious, but listen to more experienced magicians.
There are some incredibly knowledgeable and helpful magicians on these forums, whom I desperately wish I'd listened to sooner. To name a few: @RealityOne, @WitchDocIsIn, @obrienmagic. These are people who really know their stuff and are incredibly kind, generous and patient. @MohanaMisra often asks some very good questions (and provides her views on them, which are always worth reading) and kicks off very valuable discussions. If I forgot anybody, I apologise; these are simply the people who first sprang to mind.
TL;DR: Ask questions, and listen to the responses.
True. Don't just see that you have 10 million alerts, feel happy about it and do nothing about it.
I mean, feel happy. But also read. In general.
In fact, often when I'm learning a sleight, a trick, checking a book out, I always end up with about twenty tabs on Chrome, which basically consist of what people think of that move, how they do it, their problems, other variations, better sources, and so on. Usually Theory XI, Magic Cafe, and magic (or cardistry, or mentalism) subreddits are VERY informative. In fact, they're interesting to read even if you don't even know what they're talking about.
PS:- A few threads on Magic Cafe develop into arguments. But sift through all that, there's knowledge even in heated, offensive statements. Reading opinions and debates helps you form your own opinions, beliefs and mindset. Even if it's really just an argument, sometimes it's good to know what others are doing wrong, too.