talkmagic.co.uk

Hi, I am not a magician by any stretch of the imagination (maybe one day), but I am utterly fascinated by all things magic. I am due to go on holiday soon and wish to impress my 8 year old niece with some magic tricks, so I am looking to buy some tricks that can a) be simply performed by a novice, and b) be impressive to an 8 year old (and hopefully to the parents). I want her to really believe that I can do magic.

I have looked at various on-line stores and there seems to be a tremendous number of items out there, so I was hoping that maybe some people here could give their recommendations. Some of the things I am looking at are the "Notepad Surprise" by Sean Bogunia and one of the "Pen thru anything" tricks (there seems to be so many to choose from). Preferably I want items that can be examined afterwards (although if the trick is impressive enough this doesn't have to be true.

Thanks

ok this may not be what your looking for but the easist thing to do is buy a good book on card magic, royal road to card magic is one but there are loads... learn some of the tricks and sleights, DL being one of the most effective and i can assure you that your neice will think you are a legend.... failing that buy dynamic coins... its only about 8 quid and looks great

Thanks for the advice.

On reflection, I think you are right I should start off with a book. It's easy to want to jump right in there at the deep end. But in saying that I wouldn't mind a few gimmicks to take with me too.

On the book front I will check out the Royal Road to card magic. I have also heard good things about "The Encyclopedia of Card Tricks" and "Bobo's Modern Coin Magic". I also have been recommended books by Mark Wilson in the past. Have you heard of any of these? If you were to buy one book on Card tricks would it be the "Royal" or the "Encyclopedia"?

I will probably get the Dynamic Coins - it looks fascinating - I guess it will have to be the one using American Quarters though as my Niece lives in America...

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I appreciate it.

Basic stuff to buy are rising card, real floating card. Royal Road book is very good, but I have found DVD's better as very visual. Gozinta is also a great little trick and very cheap, be warned by spare sheets.

Thanks Jabba

Certainly I will be getting the Royal Road Book. If you could recommend a good DVD also I would appreciate that too. There seems to be so many to choose from.

I have done a quick search for "Gozinta" on
http://www.themagicbox.com/
http://www.magicbox.uk.com/
http://www.emagictricks.co.uk/
http://www.magictricks.co.uk/

and the only hit I got was for "Parabox" - is this the same thing? (boxes in boxes) - it looks good (and says it is easy) , although out of stock at the moment.

Ahhh, another uk site that sells magic tricks. I shall have fun browsing through that now

Bananafish...

If you want to SEE the tricks performed and you've a reasonable internet connection, try www.penguinmagic.com. It's a US site, but their demo video section is quite well stocked, and there's an intelligent and clear video of a wide range of effects there.

The guys at emagictricks.co.uk can supply you with most, if not all of the stuff in the demo videos sections.

Welcome to the addictive world of Magic!!!

Possibly some of the best stuff you can try is some of the Jay Sankey videos/dvd's. He's a magic lecturer/performer from Canada, who I would rate very highly, although he's not everyone's cup of tea. Some of the effects are quite advanced, but his magic is visual, simple, humorous and can be done with items you already have around you. The '45' DVD is an inspiration, as it shows a lot of sleights we use performed effortlessly and clearly by Jay - without any dialogue whatsoever.

As another idea when starting out, try and find what you ENJOY doing, i.e., vanishes, productions, card tricks, coin tricks, ropes etc. etc.
I think everyone here will agree that it's better to concentrate your efforts in the early days on one discipline.

The Sankey stuff will give you a good background on card, coin and general magic, although I'd recommend the 'biblical' Royal Road is read first, as you'll find that a lot of videos and tricks require you to have basic knowledge of sleights, utilities moves and terminology.

The above is very good advice indeed. This is one of those areas where the general rule of thumb could be, 'If it feels good - do it!'.

By this I echo the earlier comments that you should concentrate on what feels comfortable to you and, with any luck, your audience will sense that you're at home with the particular routines being performed.

Many of the Forum members will tell you that the only way to start in magic is by learning the basis sleights and doing card tricks - and they're not wrong in that respect! However, coin magic and routines with other small stuff can be just as entertaining. Many of the ‘packet tricks’ (where you get just the cards you need, usually specials or gaffed cards) can be performed after a decent amount of practice but a lot of them also require the use of basic sleights and counts so you do need some background skills as well. Other tricks using different props don’t necessarily need the sleights and can be learned m(and performed) quite quickly.

If you see something you like on penguin or emagic tricks, just do a quick search on this forum to see if there are any previous reviews, or ask for one if nothing appears. Chances are that someone will be able to give you more info from a performer’s point of view and it can help avoid buying miracle tricks, which turn out to be anything but miraculous!

Basic suggestions: enjoy what you do; practice as much as you can, practise again and then really enjoy what you do. Best of luck!

A truer word never said in reference to the 'ask someone before you buy' by Mandrake.

There are a lot of mavellous sounding effects out there, but there's a danger you'll probably use most of them once and then drop in the drawer.

Also, never be disappointed if you only receive 'instructions'. In fact, some of the best effects are learned from either books or pamphlets (or indeed taught to you by fellow magi) and can be performed with non-gaffed decks, coins, pens - just about anything.

If you want instant miracles, there are plenty around (try The ID or Brainwave Deck - an all time favourite which basically performs itself, and will guarantee that you look like a master magician straight away!)

And remember: once YOU know the secrets, don't share. What may seem like a mundane and easy-to-suss out trick to an experienced magician will still cause heart flutters to laymen (and laywomen!)

All in all, as Mandrake says, do what feels best. There is SO much choice that it may seem overwhelming, but we're a friendly bunch (I think ) and we'll be happy to answer any questions you may have.

There's a fine and pleasurable journey ahead of you, and if you stick at it, the rewards are great.

Basic ammunition is not expensive: a couple of Bicycle poker decks, some palming coins and some recommended reading are where most of us here started.

Of course we're friendly - buy me a drink and I'm anybody's friend!

Getting back to the original thread, we’re talking about entertaining an 8 year old girl so I’m beginning to wonder whether card tricks as such will be all that impressive to her? Would it be better to try and find some more colourful routines – silks, balloons, possibly some sponge ball magic? Emagic has a beginner’s section and I’m sure Laurence there would be very happy to advise on ease and suitability – a lot of the beginner’s stuff is quite suitable for advanced performers and audiences anyway so should be a good investment.

There were one or two other postings in the last few days which referred specifically to entertaining youngsters – if you do a Search and find these postings you might be able to get some very specific advice and help via the personal message function.

Just a thought!

Mandrake, we're doing the 'off-thread' thing again...

'Tis true... I've always found that kids have a very short concentration span. Silks, spongeballs, even some 'floating' tricks are good. But you're right... show them a card trick that takes any concentration at all, and you're done for (plus, does anyone else find that kids have an uncanny knack of working out how card tricks are done???)

The sort of magic which will undoubtedly appeal to children can sometimes be found in the 'stage magic' sections of these magic sites.

Kids are amazing - I used to be one once!

I recall when I was about 7 being shown a card trick by my Uncle (most kids in this days had Uncles who did magic) and not only did I spot what he'd done and how he'd done it - I loudly exclaimed it to all and sundry because it was so obvious!

To his credit, he didn’t smack me across the head (he should have!) – he just bought me my first magic set the following Christmas and the first thing visible on opening the box was a large handwritten note telling me to never, ever, give out the secrets of a trick! That was close on 48 years ago and, since then, I've only given away a secret once - and that was for a very special reason!

hi bananafish.
most of my shows are kids parties.
things that go down well.
haunted key, one way arrow, multiplying sponge balls to rabitt (sponge), cut restored rope, sliding die box a classic
miss made silk effects, change bags, square circle / ghost tube etc.
also purchase jumbo colour changibng kings to aces. or regular then scan print to a4, laminate.
also good one is to use a forcing deck to force a card, print htis on a4 with an eye for the back design have kid hold the a4 card and look at the eye.
kid faceing audience, motion to card and say to audience after three shout out the card he/she is thinking of.
email if you want other ideas that cant be discussed in open forum.
cheers jason.