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I've finished Royal Road to Card Magic, though still practising, of course. I am well aware of other standard sleights which people use like the E Count and the T Palm. It seems to me that there might be another book which comes next, or are we really into Card College now?

In any case, my question is this. Given that I'm looking for some technique material, rather than trick list, where do I go after Royal Road?

Expert Card Technique
Card College

Daryll Enc of Sleights
RRTCM DVDs

Or some other DVD or book set?

it's a toughie, it depends on what kinda cardician you want to be...you seem quite a techie kinda guy, so i'd say expert card technique (which will last you ages), and maybe The Expert at the Card Table to see how it all began....

that should keep you going for a while, and then personally speaking only, the first lennart green dvd (always with the Lennart!), despite shonky camera angles and occasionally bad explanations, its still worth it, cos you learn so much..

Frankly, I'd say that you should get some more performance based stuff and have a look at how much of the knowledge you've already got from RRTCM is used by the 'great' names in card magic.

Marlo, Vernon, etc. performance videos are expensive, but absolutely great.

Then, as Abraxus says, Expert at the Card Table isn't a bad way to go. I'd also recommend 'More Card Manipulations' and 'Card Control'.

It won't be long before you stop buying one-trick-pony stuff and get into some real card work it seems!

I would recommend getting 3 or 4 routines together and working them until you're happy - then performing them a couple of hundred times in front of real people.
I think you'll learn far more from that then you'll learn from any book or dvd.

OK, that confirms it. I'd been recomended the Expert, Card Control route before. I like this route, because all the books are cheap as chips.

Don't think for a minute that I'm not practicing and performing though. I've got the tricks from RRTCM and Enc Card Tricks to be going on with and they'll keep me going for a while. I just wanted to keep my technique learning going in parallel.

At what point does Card College become appropriate then?

seige wrote:It won't be long before you stop buying one-trick-pony stuff and get into some real card work it seems!

I'm glad I'm not loaded; that's such an easy route to go down. I look at my book collection now and I'm happy with all of my choices. There are a few gems missing, but they will come with time.

horses for courses really i think...once you've got the knowledge you really should get amongst it as much as possible...and start thinking about concepts and ideas for presentations...

take OOTW for example, there's so many versions...try and create your own possibilites and reasons...

i think thats the next step, try and think about the why's and how's of what you do...what elements of your personality to you amplify or change when you perform? if you're stepping into mental magic or mentalism (thought i'd say both to avoid arguments) as your profile says, then thats vitally important...

how do you achieve your results?

I've just finished Absolute Magic and am presently thinking about magic, presentation, persona, etc.

I still feel like I'm learning/practising and in that "performing other people's stuff" stage.

Card College is great.. but expensive..

Its very much more modern and the presentational ideas within are more suited to the modern audience. You learn a lot more false counts, colour changes.. shifts, multiple shifts,

well worth it.. I have expert card technique, expert at the card table, card manipulations, more card manipulations, yada yada yada but still working through them all.. lots of stuff I not had chance to touch on...

you could always look at "counts, moves and subtleties" By Jerry Mentzer.. an inexpensive book but one that should be in every cardicians library