Should I even get Royal Road to Card Magic?

[SplitHeavens]

I'm still a beginner-intermediate at card magic, I would say, but I've been playing around with cards for quite a while now and I'm past the really basic stuff that I'm thinking that it would be overkill.
I'm also buying Expert at the Card Table and Card Control: Practical Methods right now and I was wondering if I should include Royal Road to Card Magic.

 

[MagicShadow9]

UHHH........SHYEAAAA!!!!


Just because you "know" the basics doesn't mean you know them well. I mean, i thought i knew everything i needed to know about card magic when i was 2 months into magic. But then someone told me to get Royal Road and boy was i wrong. I didn't even know half the stuff on there!

So yea, definitely get Royal Road. I still refer back to it till this day, cuz it's a really useful book, even to an expert.

 

[KojiAtsuma]

My first post, but I second that you should get and go through Royal Road to Card Magic Its a classic that I believe everyone should go through. The knowledge you gain will treat you well.

 

[d00m5day]

A must - great reference book.

 

[Glenn West]

You know, all the books I've read, and own, I have never read Royal Road, OR Card College, lol.

In no way is this advice to NOT read them. I strongly advise that youe do. I may go pick them up now that I have said this, lol.

 

[tally-ho]

yeah, i've never read card college, but I have read royal road and highly recommend it.

 

[CaseyC]

Don't even consider not buying it... BUY IT.
Seriously, regardless of what you think it is, it's not just a "beginnerz" book. As MagicShadow said, you are still going to refer back to the material in RR even after years of working with the material.

 

[jok3r]

I got the dvd set when i was about where your at, and i got nothing out of it.
I thought is was really dull, and un-useful.

But thats just me, I would get card college if i was you.

 

[bugjack]

To be honest, if you can afford it I'd skip "Royal Road" and get the first two volumes of "Card College" instead. The teaching is a lot clearer and the approach is a lot more modern.

 

[The Tumbleweed]

I got the dvd set when i was about where your at, and i got nothing out of it.
I thought is was really dull, and un-useful.

But thats just me, I would get card college if i was you.

That's because you got the DVD set.

 

[SplitHeavens]

To be honest, if you can afford it I'd skip "Royal Road" and get the first two volumes of "Card College" instead. The teaching is a lot clearer and the approach is a lot more modern.

Okay, I may just get this one instead them, I heard they're very similar.

What's everybody's thoughts?

 

[KojiAtsuma]

They are similar but I believe Card College has more material in it.

 

[SplitHeavens]

Okay, I think I'll just skip Royal Road to Card Magic and get Card College.
Man, I really wish I started doing magic using these books, everything I learned is so scattered. XD

 

[MagicShadow9]

Card College is considerably more expensive, but it is better than Royal Road. If you have the money, then you should get Card College Vol 1

 

[praetoritevong]

I got the dvd set when i was about where your at, and i got nothing out of it.
I thought is was really dull, and un-useful.

But thats just me, I would get card college if i was you.

So tell me something.

If just about every single modern master of the art of magic calls Royal Road an indispensable resource, and 99% of magicians who study it learn to become better magicians, where does that put you?

 

[Steerpike]

I see Card College as being for the specialists. I have about 10 card tricks I really like and regularly perform, most of which can be learned in Royal Road. Any others I know get whipped out maybe a couple times a year for a special occasion.

So yeah. I based most of my card education on Royal Road, never picked up Card College, and I still rule.

 

[Randy]

The Book itself is great. I myself didn't like the DVD's because R. Paul Wilson seemed kind of bored and so did his guests. I mean, I understand the stuff he was performing was probably way bellow the normal stuff he's shown them at the time.

 

[Morgan B]

To add to the list of ignored opinions:

Card College is cheaper...has been time tested...and many swear it to be the only book you need on card magic. It is a book that one can read over a few times and find something great in it each time. Some of the effects are classics. The only down side - some of the effects and sleights are dated (like the glide), but that doesn't mean you won't gain a solid foundation in card magic.

Card College is exactly that - a set of books teaching you progressive card sleights, it is organized well, and the theory is taught very well. The effects are good - the only problem is most effects won't use anything that hasn't been taught - which explains book 5.

Anyhow - I think they are both great. I have both - RRTCM and CC 1-5 (and the light set).

I don't think it is a fair comparison - one was invented as one of the original texts on magic, the other learnt from that and had more information at hand to publish/contribute. Nevertheless, the fact that RRTCM is still being spoken of, I think, makes it worth a 20 dollar investment - and it was my first book.

However, if I were to start today, and had the coin - I would get CC, because it is well thought out and a solid book in magic.

That being said - I don't know ANYONE who has bought one or the other - and with practice - hasn't been great with a deck.

 

[Randy]

Actually I'll add to the card college thought.

Royal Road is great and is really cheap ( I think around like 10 bucks tops.) But with Card College you pretty much get much more detail on the sleights and just about everything is updated. Due to the fact that it was written at around 97 I think. Also Giobbi goes into detail on theory and he does a pretty good job of explaining a lot of things and making them easy to understand.

Royal Road just gives you the gist of how to do said sleights or effects.

 

[SplitHeavens]

Do you think just the first one will be good enough?

I really don't feel like shelling out $75 dollars at the moment for two books.

I own 13 Steps, Paper Engine, Mysterious Stranger and I haven't even read any of them, save Mysterious Stranger.