talkmagic.co.uk

I know this has to of been posted bfor... but at least i attempted to use ur search . Just wondering if anyone had any suggestions for a good starters kit... im kinda looking for something to get me started on just card tricks, like the stuff you can just do on the side maybe impress a few friends or something . Just thought itd be a fun hobby. I have no experience what so ever w/ magic or card tricks so ... just lookin for a good book , dvd , or something to get me on the right track. Thanks!

Dan

The generally recommended (and cheapest) route is to get "The Royal Road to Card Magic" book by Hugard and Braue, and a few decks of bicycle cards. The book's fairly well laid out, and organised so that you can learn a few tricks fairly quickly, then learn more as you desire. All magic needs time and practice though.

A danger to look out for is to read a description of a trick, and to think it sounds too simple to fool people. They're often only simple when you know how they're done, and good presentation goes a long way.

If you're looking for a DVD then I can't do better than recommend Born To Perform - it's linked in my signature. It is a brilliant DVD that got me started in card magic - oh so easy and goes from beginner to pro.

Haha, beat y'all! [please ignore that]

Kati

The Royal Road to Card Magic DVD box set is very good too.

hey guys thanks for the advice i decided 2 go w/ the The Royal Road to Card Magic book, mainly cus its cheap , only 13 bucks @ Amazon . As for the cards, can i just pick a couple packs up at a Safeway or Target or something ? or do i need special kinds for magic?

dcp303 wrote:hey guys thanks for the advice i decided 2 go w/ the The Royal Road to Card Magic book, mainly cus its cheap , only 13 bucks @ Amazon . As for the cards, can i just pick a couple packs up at a Safeway or Target or something ? or do i need special kinds for magic?

Yes, those kind of cards generally won't be very good for handling.

Try to buy either a bicycle or bee deck, available online for around £1.75

Any cards will do, but better quality cards mean better handling. A lot of people prefer poker size (larger than bridge), but it depends on your hand size and what feels comfortable. There are some benefits to using poker sized bicycle decks that will become apparent as you learn more about card magic. They tend to give you a wider range of options, and are well recognised.

I've only been trying to do stuff with cards for a short while, and I've worn out a few decks of bikes trying to do shuffles, and basic controls (my attempt at a faro shuffle is particularly destructive), so I figure that to learn the basic stuff, it may not be a bad idea to use cheaper cards, as they get knackered easily in beginners' hands.

ordered the book, also found a deck of cards.... their pretty nice very slick... "Vegas Brand Playing Cards" , anyone know where i can start to play around with some simple moves, or some tutorials about card handling? lol im too anxious to wait the 5 days for the book to come to start Anyways if i leave a hobby alone for too long i tend to lose interest , but once its stuck, it tends to stick to me like super glue if you know what i mean