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I thought I'd share these tips with you that helped me get off of the first rung of the ladder when I started with card sleights and mind oriented card tricks.

I used a mirror for ages, trying desperately to conceal what I was doing from myself. I found it totally unnatural. However, I started using my digital camera to take quick movies which I then watched on my telly. By separating the action and oberservation, I was able to improve at a far quicker rate. It was also easy to resposition the camera for different persepctives. I bought a small, tripod which is only 9 inches high which was fabulous.

In terms of testing whether or not I could pass this off to others (pun intended), I just got on with it. My mates would come round for one reason or another and I'd just tell them I was practicing a trick and show them. However, one caveat is that you really should dress it up in a trick, rather than just use the sleight. It's the magic they'll love, not the skill.

Mentallism was another matter, but with a similar strategy. I tried some of the routines involving invisible (as on none, not special) decks of cards from the Devil's Picture Book. I am quite a confident character anyway, but a bit of self help NLP really does charge you up, as does a few successes. Just get on with it. Just try it. There's no way of improving without using people. I tended to use half drunk people in the pub to start with and work down the more sober ones as I improved. My overriding piece of advise here is to have prepared patter for failure and possible alternative tricks to fork off in to if things go wrong. Remember, if they said the five of spades and you chose the five of hearts, then really, that wasn't bad at all and if you tell them that, then they'll believe you.

I hope these little gems help you progress. Maybe others could post their reverlations.

Here's another installment from M♠rvell's early days.

Start using one colour of bikes early; even when you've got mates round to play cards. Do your first few tricks with them and just make them part of the furniture. They won't suspect a thing if when you whip out a second or speciality deck.

I made a big thing about people riffle shuffling them badly. This put them right off riffling them during tricks which rely on an overhand.

Playing a game of cards which have dealer changes lets you see who is the worst overhand shuffler, which is useful.

You could even consider buying a couple of packs for your local. This way you can do some impromptu work involving a swap and everyone will think that it's the pub's pack.

Ubiquity is your friend.

Chapter 3

Learn to overhand shuffle properly. If you've not a got a Royal Road, get one now. There's more to the position of the hand than expected, especially when you learn to IJ and UC. I'll use abbreviations to askew any reveals.

When learning to IJ and UC, put the A-5 of a suit on top of the pack and perform the moves. Check you've done it. Now do it without looking.

I can't emphasise enough the usefulness of carrying a pack of cards at all times. This gives you the opportunity to practice any time. It also ensures that you make bikes the order of the day if an impromptu game of cards should come up. Ubiquity again.

Set yourself challenges you can achieve, like "I'm going to do this three times in a row without looking". Then do it. One of my favourite times to practice is during the adverts on telly. In the beginning, whip out the pack and continuously IJUC until the end of the first advert, then check. Keep doing it, maybe upgrading to two adverts. Work up to a whole advert break. Take note of the products, the people and the music on the advert. Never ever look at your hands.

Listen to your shuffle, it should sound ... well ... nothing special. In all hope, that's all the spek is going to notice about your shuffle whilst you enthrall them with some story or other patter.

Use this shuffle, including the moves and controls whilst playing cards as well as doing tricks. Obviously, don't cheat, but it's good practice. You don't have to know what cards you are controlling, just that you can control them confidently.

Trust me ... Learn to spring.

It's a difficult but useful skill. Learn to do it early and use is as a flourish in your tricks. You need to be able to to it without looking and you need to be able to do it over a break.

You'll wreck decks doing this, so practice with an old duffer you've got kicking about or those ones you took off the pub's hands when you bought them some bikes in your ubiquitous colour.

Don't throw anything away, even the pens that don't work and especially knackered decks, boxes and jokers.

Start practicing forces early. Use them when you don't need them. You don't need to know the value of the card, just that they chose the one you wanted them to.

Also on forces, have a standby trick if you miss a required force. Or you could use equivoque.

Can you please put that all into one post instead of 6 just to get your post count up to 56 in 2 days ?

Aside from that, some pretty good advice in there.

~David

David R. wrote:Can you please put that all into one post instead of 6 just to get your post count up to 56 in 2 days

I post them as they come to me. I could sit and write a 20 pager, but nobody would read it. I don't give a damn about my post count.