New to Magic - Advice on Practicing

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hvaldez14

Mar 27, 2011
6
1
Hi Everyone,

I just picked up a copy of Card College Volume 1 and am already struggling with the Overhand Shuffle :p Does anyone have any advice for effective practicing techniques? My greatest fear is that I will spend my time learning and practicing a move incorrectly. At this point I don't even know what questions to ask so any advice about learning and practicing effectively are greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
 
RealityOne

RealityOne

Elite Member
Nov 1, 2009
3,744
4,076
New Jersey
With Card College, I'd recommend starting by reading through the entire explanation, paying attention to the pictures and imagining what you need to do. Then walk through it step by step with a deck in your hands, doing each step slowly.. Then try to do it a couple of time all the way through. After you feel you have it down, walk through the description again to make sure ypu've go it right (I've thought I've had something down but then realized that I was doing something wrong) and to understand the subtleties now that you have a feel for the move.

Practice perfectly. That is focus on doing it right compared to doing it a lot. Once you have it down, practice by not looking at your hands. That is a good habit to get into because you don't want to look at your hands when you are doing a sleight because that will draw the audience's attention to your hands.

When you practice tricks, break up your practice into three parts. The first is learning the moves (as described above) the second is putting it all together and the third is to rehearse the effect pretending you are in front of an audience -- including practicing your presentation and doing it at performance speed. The last step will help you because you are practicing the same way you perform.
 
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MarcoLostSomething

MarcoLostSomething

Apr 19, 2015
131
118
32
Florence, Italy
Don't ever rush, feel free to study at your own pace.
i remember when i started i was looking at the riffle shuffle and saying "this is so difficult!".
With practise, nothing in magic is too hard to learn, even when a move seems impossible.
At the same time, if you struggle on something, take a small break and don't overcommit. Sleep on that and come back later; knowledge is made of steps, never run, never stand, never jump too many.

The second advice? BE NATURAL.
every action must not only be hidden, but also justified: if something looks suspicious or artificious, that's what your should be working on.
So, after you learn how to perform a move invisibly, make it disappear even at your own eyes.
It helps using misdirection (with eye contact, body gesture, talking).
 
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Mental_Master683

Jun 19, 2015
2
0
www.mentalismacademy.com
In all seriousness, AnthonyL is right... You just have to find a worthy video or some sort of tutorial that shows you it step by step and just keep at it. It all comes down to muscle memory in the end so slowly learning the shuffle the correct way is a MUST! Then once you learn it correct you must just keep on doing it so that you develop the muscle memory...

Here is a pretty good youtube video that you can follow:

I actually found that video after checking out a website where I found a bunch of sweet new simple tricks that I picked up quickly. Also helped to lead me to other awesome tricks, tips, and videos.
 
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M

Mental_Master683

Jun 19, 2015
2
0
www.mentalismacademy.com
Mental_Master683 said:
In all seriousness, AnthonyL is right... You just have to find a worthy video or some sort of tutorial that shows you it step by step and just keep at it. It all comes down to muscle memory in the end so slowly learning the shuffle the correct way is a MUST! Then once you learn it correct you must just keep on doing it so that you develop the muscle memory...

Here is a pretty good youtube video that you can follow:

I actually found that video after checking out a website where I found a bunch of sweet new simple tricks that I picked up quickly. Also helped to lead me to other awesome tricks, tips, and videos.
Click to expand...
Oh sorry, the site was www.mentalismacademy.com... Has some cool free simple mentalism tricks and tips there.
 
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