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Most coin and card tricks are boring though and he is right there.

And you're also right about the onanism that practicing sleights can be, there are people who focus far too much on technical skill and forget about how the audience is experiencing it. But there are people who forget about technical ability and end up performing dubious tricks which are deceptive, but the audience is intelligent enough to know that 'something' dishonest is occuring (often aroused by incredible unnaturalness that usually occurs in over-simplistic methods) regardless of the performer and his misdirection. I am just always cynical of these people, just as I am of those who occupy themselves with sleights alone.

TonyB wrote:

spooneythegoon wrote:So really it all comes down to presentation and selecting effects, as well as technical skill?

No. Technical skill is irrelevant. The public doesn't care. All you need is sufficient skill to fool them, nothing more. The rest is self-indulgence. It all comes down to selecting the right trick, then working on PRESENTATION, nothing more.

What I meant was the level of technical skill required to carry the chosen trick off with confidence.