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The new Giobbi voluem "Card College Lite" may also be good for some quicker results. The Card College are good for putting in the hours and learning the technique, but these may get you performing more quickly. Since the routines are less technically demanding it will also give you a chance to work on the presentation side of things - which is much more important!

Phil

PS very interested in the comment about The Secrets of Alkazar - have never come across that before in 20+ yrs in magic.

philipsw wrote:PS very interested in the comment about The Secrets of Alkazar - have never come across that before in 20+ yrs in magic.

I'm one of these strange guys that doesn't really have a big problem with Ellusionist and Penguin. Don't get me wrong, I don't endorse them by any stretch of the imagination...I just don't find them to be the things of evil that so many in the magic community do. In fact, I honestly believe that there is a time and a place for everything under the sun.

But, if I had my way, all magic sites on the internet and all magic shops including the brick and mortar shops, should be required to force any beginning magician to purchase this book (Alkazar) before they are allowed to buy their first Hot Rod or get their first download.

If you had to go to college and obtain a degree in magic before you could begin showing magic to the public (like a doctor getting his degree before he can actually be a doctor), this book would be the very first that you'd have to study. It would be required reading.

I've been doing magic for (around) 35 years now. I still find this to be an excellent book and if I were given the choice of getting rid of my Wilson's or my Alkazar, Wilson would be the one going out the door.

This book is THAT important.

Mike.

Right it looks like this book is what you would call essential reading then. I'll have to get myself a copy.

I was thinking about something similar myself a while ago Michael. I was thinking about the time invested in sleights and practise. Then I thought to myself, I'm not spending enough time on theory and presentation. Of course get the technique down. But I do believe that a great magi once said- remember sleights are only the tools for magic!!

Secrets of Alakazar sounds very good. I'm definitely gonna look for that book. Thanks, Michael Jay.

If you decide to get this book, then I'd better give you a "heads up" here.

The book is aimed at kids, aged 8 - 12. The writing is simple and the format is very different to what you are used to when reading a book on magic. This can easily put you off.

Don't let it. You can breeze through the book, it's not very long and it reads easy. But the wisdom in that book that can be applied to making your own magic better, more magical, is the gold that is in Alkazar.

It contains the stuff that you don't normally consider, the very basic building blocks of magic, which are overlooked in the vast wasteland that the magic industry has become.

You can, quite literally, spend hundreds upon hundreds of dollars getting the new stuff out there and you can spend hundreds upon hundreds of hours becoming a great mechanic and/or technical performer.

Or, you can spend a fiver and learn how to do magic.

The exceptional part of this all is that if you spend that fiver after you've already spent the massive dollars and massive hours, you can go back and re-assess what you do now and make it not only stronger, but turn it into magic, by applying the philosophy of Alkazar.

It is a book that is greater than the sum of its parts.

Mike.

I was gonna say there Michael, I looked this book up and I kept getting all these kiddies books. I'll have to do the good ol' "its for my wee sister" line when I buy it.

From a student of mine, who is a good magician and was already doing part time table work before he picked up Alkazar:

I have gotten Alkazar and it's a fantastic read. I'll have to re-read it multiple times. I can't thank you enough for recommending it.

Trust me - get the book.

Mike.

Edited in:

I just received this a short while ago from another student of mine:

It's come! I am sitting here with a little yellow book in front of me and I can already see why you like it!

What I'm going to do is read it from cover to cover, no props or anything. Then I'm going to go back and work through it (carefully).

The principles of misdirection so simple, so straightforward, yet how we don't take them into consideration.

I hope I make the most of this book. I've bought a treasure and it's now down to me to make use of it.

A big thank you to you Mike for pointing me in it's direction.

Tomo wrote:

Little_Penguin wrote:I am already familiar with basic handling techniques such as false cuts, double lifts, numerous false shuffles, and the pinky break. I don't think RRTCM would be helpful in that regard.

Royal Road contains way more than just basic sleights and it's dirt cheap

RRCM is quite literally a bible for card magicians. It doesn't have just sleights and handling techniques. After each section about a technique, RRCM gives you a bunch of tricks that apply to it. It's very, very useful.