Where to Now?

[Lindel]

I've recently picked up card magic, and over the past few months I've made a decent amount of progress. I'd consider myself somewhere between beginner and intermediate. I've covered all the content in the Royal Road to Card Magic, and mastered the slights in there, in addition to some material from the YouTube channels 52kards and Disturb Reality. I've also started on Expert Card Technique, though I'm not finding it as accessible as RRCM.

In no particular order, I know:

-A couple false cuts
-Hindu and Overhand controls
-Various forces, my current favorite being the cull under spread (still working on classic force)
-Speaking of which: cull underspread control (is that the proper term?)
-Basic jogs, natural jog
-The classic palm
-The classic pass, Herman pass, turnover pass
-Cardini Change, Shapeshifter Change, and Shake Change
-Charlier Cut
-The Glide
-The Marlo Tilt
-A decent double lift
-KM Move
-The Mercury Fold
-Spring (not mastered, I hate how quickly it ruins cards)
-Dribble (not mastered yet)
-Elmsley Count (just started working on it)
-Probably some other basic stuff I'm forgetting. If it's a move in Royal Road, I probably know it, with the exception of a few flourishes, like the thumb fan, which still eludes me.

For actual tricks, aside from a bunch of Royal Road effects, I've got a basic ACR that ends with the pop-up move followed by a Mercury Fold finale, my own Ace collector routine, the Two Card Monte, Triumph, the Biddle Trick, the Chicago Opener, a couple good prediction tricks, and I'm working on the Torn and Restored Card. I've gotten fairly comfortable performing them for friends and acquaintances, and I think my presentation is fairly good.

My question is this: where do I go from here? Am I missing fundamental building blocks that will inhibit me as I move forward? Are there things I'm practicing that just aren't really worth it? What sleights should I be focusing on, and what tricks would best expand my repertoire? What resources will be most useful to me? Thanks!

 

[cameron.j.braxton]

By having books such as Royal Road to Card Magic and Expert Card Technique as your foundational sources you're off to a brilliant start. I'll start by recommending that you go back and re-read Royal Road to Card Magic, but this time with the intentions of refining and clarifying points in your handling. At the same time you can start reading Expert Card Technique, and start practicing these sleights and routines in addition to the ones from Royal Road to Card Magic. Since you've already read Royal Road to Card Magic, reading the two books at the same time will not be too difficult. It will feel like a review of the old while learning the new. Once you've finished this you can continue by re-reading Expert Card Technique at the same time you pick up another book. Sourcing multiple books at once is what allows us to add variety to our arsenal of sleights. A beginner may know how to control a selected card, but the intermediate knows multiple ways to control a selected card. The advanced limit themselves to only a handful of the best methods, despite knowing hundreds of methods of control. That said, the best methods are going to be of a personal preference and found by adding more and more to your practice sessions. Also, note that I am not promoting quantity over quality. You should learn each variation of each sleight that you come across to a proficient and practical degree. From there, you can decide which one is best for you and start focusing more on that one.

Incorporating these sleights into your card routines is going to be the next goal. For instance, you may decide to do a Bluff Pass instead of the Marlo Tilt in your Ambitious Card Routine, or perhaps a Cardini Change versus a Classic Color Change. Experimenting with the methodology of the effect, without changing the plot, is a great exercise for practicing all of the sleights that you have been learning. If you don't feel that you know enough to do this exercise don't worry. It will come with time. Just note that the purpose of this is to make some of the more impractical or abstract sleights "practical." Giving a context to a sleight that is already beautiful only gives us more reason to appreciate it. Again, Royal Road to Card Magic does this excellently.

Stick to the classics for now, and group them in groups of three when you perform them. For now you should still be playing it safe by sticking with the classics of card magic and staying off of the "What's Trendy Train Track." I can personally assure you that this will keep you performing some of the strongest magic has to offer. Now, while modern classics do fall under this category of "classics," be cautious when determining which effects are modern classics. This process is going to be very difficult, but it comes with the territory of progressing from a beginner to an intermediate magician. Another step closer to the intermediate level is going to be transitioning from one effect to the next. A smooth transition is going to have more to do with the presentational aspect of things, yet it can save great magic from ending to early. Three is just a number of preference.

Lastly I will recommend, although not crucial at this point in your magic, studying about audience management. It is too soon to learn magic theory, but learning how to manage your audience plays a grande part in the overall tone of your magic. Audience management includes the basic things such as misdirection and scripting, but also things such as tone of voice, positioning and even the location of the performance.

Book References: The Expert at the Card Table, Card Control, The Card Classics of Ken Krenzel, ,The Card Magic of Le Paul, The Five Points in Magic, More Inner Secrets of Card Magic, Scarne on Card Tricks, Cardially Yours, Tangled Web

 

[Lindel]

Thanks! That gives me an excellent sense of direction. I'm glad to hear I've started on the right track. Of those books, is there one in particular that you'd recommend studying during my reread of Expert Card Technique, or am I fine to just pick up whichever catches my attention?

 

[cameron.j.braxton]

The book The Card Magic of Le Paul followed by Card Control. Granted, the Expert Card Technique is a rather difficult book to get through, so I insist that you take your time. The reason I mentioned the The Card Magic of Le Paul is because it is plot focused and provides a nice contrast from the sleight heavy Expert Card Technique. Again, just take your time, enjoy and appreciate every move and routine, and on occasion take breaks. Reflecting back on what you've learned, even though you're not learning anything new, is still progression since you're spending time in thought with everything.

There isnt going to be a set path, however, there are certain milestones that we can make sure to hit.

 

[Lindel]

Sounds good. One more question. What's your opinion of double backers? Of all gimmicks, that's the one I'd be most likely to use, personally. In most situations we can create a similar effect with something like the KM move, but double backers seem so much cleaner. Do you think I should avoid them, for now at least, to keep them from becoming a crutch?

 

[cameron.j.braxton]

Apologies for the late reply.

Double backers are more versatile than other gimmicks and, should be embraced rather than avoided. However, not always will we have a double backed card with us for certain effects that require them. In these cases knowing things like the KM move or others can help recreate the effect without the gimmick. Granted, this makes more work for us when it comes to achieving the desired effect, but we aren't entirely dependent on the double backed card as a "crutch." It becomes a crutch when we refuse to work out a "gimmick-less" method. Deconstructing and then reconstructing tricks so that they work both with and without the gimmick is a brilliant exercise. After all, I'd bet that a lot of the gimmicked effects were first accomplished by sleight of hand and then later, with some out of the box thinking, they were streamlined into a single gimmick. On that same note, if we can use a single gimmick to cut down and clean up the amount of sleights that we need, then we use the gimmick.

Here is where I praise the double backed card. The double backed card is one of the few that has multiple applications. Its versatility ranges from ambitious card routines to the invisible card plot and even a triumph sequence. In addition to the fact that it is a single card that can be left in the box if it's not needed, nearly every card magician has some basic work with it. The exception being the sleight of hand purist of course, but even they could have their sleights simplified with a gimmick.

Miracles with cards are obtainable regardless of the decision to use, or not to use a gimmick. The simplicity of the method is the only that is affected by this choice.

 

[Lindel]

That makes sense. Practicing gimick-less methods for each effect keeps us from being limited in impromptu situations, and it's useful practice anyway, but I'd agree, why would we restrict ourselves when they make our work smoother and more convincing? Thanks again for all your insights, I really appreciate it.