New to magic, need some advice/reccomendations

mkitching

mkitching

May 25, 2016
19
3
Phoenix, Arizona
Hello, I have watched youtube videos from 52kards and disturb reality. I am able to do a decent double lift, and I am good at some tricks like the two card monte. I was wondering what the best route is to learn the best. Some questions I have are:

What are the best books to buy?

Any youtubers that do a good job with different basic moves?

How often should I be practicing?

What are some good videos on cardisty/flourishes?

This question may be a little hard as I am looking for more of an in depth explanation.

How should I be learning?
 
TylerScottIllusionist

TylerScottIllusionist

Aug 9, 2015
857
695
Michigan
www.youtube.com
mkitching said:
Hello, I have watched youtube videos from 52kards and disturb reality. I am able to do a decent double lift, and I am good at some tricks like the two card monte. I was wondering what the best route is to learn the best. Some questions I have are:

What are the best books to buy?

Any youtubers that do a good job with different basic moves?

How often should I be practicing?

What are some good videos on cardisty/flourishes?

This question may be a little hard as I am looking for more of an in depth explanation.

How should I be learning?
Click to expand...
This question as you stated earlier is difficult to answer because it's hard to know what kind of a learner you are.

Books are a fantastic reference if you are good at learning by yourself. Watching videos is not too bad but remember, it's best to buy tutorials from the pros since they give better tips and handling performances that YouTubers can not give. Also you really need to discover who you are as performer first and then hone in on that. Currently I'm seeing myself as more of an escape artist so I'm focusing on that for the time being but I'm also working on a very difficult cardistry move called the Ray Fan Production.

As far as practice goes, once again it varies as to how you are as a learner. For me, I usually practice around 2-3 hours a day just working on one move that is particularly difficult. It's not as frequent as I would like but I'm getting better at practicing more.

If you have any more questions feel free to message me. Hope this helps and welcome to magic!

Best wishes,
-T
 
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Tower of Lunatic Meat

Tower of Lunatic Meat

Elite Member
Sep 27, 2014
2,436
2,030
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Honestly, the best resources are books because you get the biggest bang for your buck. While the YouTube channels are great at getting people into magic, once you're in they are kind of unnecessary as they tend to do moves the wrong way.
Seeing how you're just starting, I'd get a book that displays a large variety of magic just to show you what else is out there. Mark Wilsons Complete Course in Magic.
As for what are the best tutorials for magic. I'll start with this. What magic interests you?
Same for cardistry, what artists and types of moves resonate with you?
 
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mkitching

mkitching

May 25, 2016
19
3
Phoenix, Arizona
Brett Hurley said:
Honestly, the best resources are books because you get the biggest bang for your buck. While the YouTube channels are great at getting people into magic, once you're in they are kind of unnecessary as they tend to do moves the wrong way.
Seeing how you're just starting, I'd get a book that displays a large variety of magic just to show you what else is out there. Mark Wilsons Complete Course in Magic.
As for what are the best tutorials for magic. I'll start with this. What magic interests you?
Same for cardistry, what artists and types of moves resonate with you?
Click to expand...
So far, I am seeing myself as a mix of funny and cool.
 
Timewise64

Timewise64

Oct 19, 2015
317
220
I agree with Brett....Mark Wilson's book has a lifetime of tricks and how too's.....I found a used one on ebay....saved about 1/3 the price of a new one and it looks new....!
 
Tower of Lunatic Meat

Tower of Lunatic Meat

Elite Member
Sep 27, 2014
2,436
2,030
Texa$, with a dollar sign
mkitching said:
Sorry read it wrong. I want to focus on doing card magic with cardistry mixed in.
Click to expand...

Look up 'Ace Cut' by Joel Paschall.

I don't want to sound like a downer, but mixing cardistry and magic is pretty tough--almost contradictory.

When you show cardistry moves, people are focussed on your hands. In magic, that's the LAST thing you want people to focus on.

That and about 99% of existing flourishes are impractical for magic application.
 
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RealityOne

RealityOne

Elite Member
Nov 1, 2009
3,744
4,076
New Jersey
What are the best books to buy?

Sleight of Hand
Royal Road to Card Magic, Expert Card Technique, Counts Cuts Moves & Subtleties, Card Control, Magic of LePaul
Card College Series

Self Working (Minimal Sleight of Hand)
Scarne on Card Tricks, Encyclopedia of Card Tricks, Self Working Card Magic
Card College Light, Lighter and Lightest

Any youtubers that do a good job with different basic moves?

No. Most of the guys on Youtube don't have good skills. Seek out Aaron Fisher's channel.

How often should I be practicing?

Whenever you want to.

What are some good videos on cardisty/flourishes?

Don't know.

This question may be a little hard as I am looking for more of an in depth explanation.

How should I be learning?

Read, understand, practice, rehearse, perform, adjust repeat. Read the books to find routines you like. Reread the routines you want to learn and visualize what is happening in your mind. Walk through the routine with a deck in your hands. Do each move separately and then start putting them together until you have the whole routine down. Practice the routine with your presentation (i.e. rehearse). Perform. Adjust to make your performance better. Start over with another routine.
 
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Mr.Book

Mr.Book

Apr 18, 2016
159
125
46
USA
Work a move in front of a mirror until you can no longer tell if you are doing it.....then start working on another move. Try not to do cardistry while performing magic, it makes people watch your hands. Just my opinion.


Book
 
obrienmagic

obrienmagic

Elite Member
Nov 4, 2014
1,469
1,422
Orange County, Ca
www.obrienmagic.com
Mr.Book said:
Work a move in front of a mirror until you can no longer tell if you are doing it.....then start working on another move. Try not to do cardistry while performing magic, it makes people watch your hands. Just my opinion.


Book
Click to expand...

Cardistry is great for demonstrations of skill. However, the less flourishes you perform during your 'magic' act, the more magical your performance will be!
 
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AmberGraci

AmberGraci

Jun 6, 2015
119
84
Charlotte NC
Brett Hurley said:
Honestly, the best resources are books because you get the biggest bang for your buck.
Click to expand...
I completely agree, I think books are the best resource especially when you're starting out, as digital resources typically only contain one effect/flourish. I'd definitely check out "What to Read" by Jason England, it'll give you a lot of ideas of where to start.

Personally I'd highly recommend Card College. Complete the course and you'll have gone from beginner to proficient. It teaches card sleights, and then effects using those sleights. It also has some great cardistry/cuts and theory as well (Theory is found in Volume 2). In theory he goes over outs, presentation, motivation, how to practice, comedy, etc.

Practice as much or as little as you are interested, just make sure you give the sleights/routines the time and practice they deserve before you start performing!

Best of luck!
 
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Davis West

Davis West

Elite Member
Dec 26, 2013
134
123
You should be learning in a way that you want to. There is no one answer to learning. Some people learn solely based on reading. Some people prefer watching videos. Just experiment with how you learn.

Also, there are many people that dislike YouTube magic. I am a supporter of learning magic from YouTube. That's how I got my start and it really helped me. I don't support, on the other hand, uploading magic DVD's to YouTube.
 
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