Hi All,
Just thought I'd pop in here and introduce myself.
I'm a long-time lurker, first-time poster, and I've been serioulsy studying card magic for around 13 years.
I'm a lefty, so naturally I'm drawn to the material or Darwin Ortiz, whom I consider one of the greats of modern close-up magic.
I'm mainly a book-learner (I find it hard to learn with cards in my hands and operate a DVD remote both at the same time!), although I do appreciate the use of DVD's for refining portions of a routine.
Despite the number of years I've been into close-up with cards, I only have a limited collection of books (12-15). I tend to be extremely choosy when I select material to invest time and money in. This is why my collection largely consists of Card College 1-5 and pretty much everything put out my the impeccable Mr Ortiz.
I've recently started branching out into slightly more prop-based card magic, with routines such as 'Time Piece' (Ortiz, 'Cardshark') an eerie effect involving a 'haunted' pocket watch, and 'Appointment in Samarra' (Ortiz, 'Scams & Fantasies'), my first foray into wallet-work.
Whilst here at TM, I'll try to share tips on what I've learned with regard to the practice an rehersal of Card Magic, along with some tips on developing a card act.
Well, nice to meet y'all, see you on the Forums.
SpareJoker.
