talkmagic.co.uk

Hi, everybody!

I'm such a noob that I wouldn't even consider myself an amateur magician. Just practising basic card skills at the moment. I'm very enthusiastic about learning. At 24 years old, I fear I'm simply too old to start down this path and be taken seriously. I find incredible inspiration from the works of Derren Brown and a local magician I have recently befriended (although obviously he is unable to tell me any secrets but I love watching him perform).

I have researched a great deal into hypnosis, and NLP due to the influences of the aforementioned and this is the area I am most interested in. Any other form of magic performance is more of a secondary interest to me as perhaps I would prefer to be more of a stage hypnotist than magician. I also am not concerned with learning other basics like cup and ball as there is no way I would ever use it. I am trying to learn card tricks but currently, with no tuition, I feel I have come to a dead end as far as improving my technique goes.

As I said, I am new to this world and any advice at all would be appreciated. How does one achieve in this industry? I refer not to hard work, but to the avenues one must go through to become a renowned performer.

welcome sir!

24 is is not too old to start - not by a long shot. Just ask out resident I.D! He started at the same age I believe and he has come on leaps and bounds. He is just c*** (not the best) now - not terrible!

On a serious note though - it is never too late to start, and you shall enjoy yourself. The first year I believe is the hardest, but after that, your enjoyment increases tenfold.

and, just before I forget to say it,

Hello!

welcome to TM - there are TONNES of guys on here who offer advice and stuff - you litterally just have to ask (and remember to be polite and say thanks )

good luck in hypnosis - not really my thing, but the NLP is for sure !

Maybe you could be a bit more specific with your card interests? are you interested in phsycic style card tricks, tarrot reading style tricks or just card manipulation?

(and I agree - its never tooi old to start magic )

Dan
aka Magical Trev

yes if are more specific then we can help you more. If you are interested in mentalism then the top man on here is Craig Browning (no offence to other members!), i do mainly weird magic but my background is in card and coin magic. Also look out for Michael Jay, he has great words of wisdom as well. Everyone on here is really nice so if you are polite i am sure we can help you. Welcome to TM

Hey. Thanks for the welcome. I'm interested in mentalism and things you can do with a standard deck of cards. Not tarrot or ESP cards though since I don't want to perform as a mind-reader/psychic but similar to the psychological way Derren Brown performs. Since I'm a biologist with an interest in psychology it certainly fits my personality a lot more. I don't really want to use special decks at the moment since that's kind of cheating in my opinion. I'm also not interested in coins or things that require special props. I'm just starting out so I want to concentate on the NLP and card sleights for the moment.

I just had a look at the sticky for tutorial dvds and trick reviews. £30 for a video of sleight tutorials.

Anyhoo, if there are interesting things I can do involving psychology and NLP please let me know so I can investigate. I know all about how suggestion works, I'm just inexperienced and a noob at magic. I don't really have anything I can give back right now except my academic knowledge on NLP and hypnosis.

Welcome

Welcome to TM

Welcome!
I'd really recommend Derren Brown's "Devil's Picture Book" after you've mastered "The Royal Road to Card Magic" book. It's a video and I believe the subtitle is "The Professional Card Repertoire of Derren Brown". That may give you some idea of what it covers. There are sleight of hand card tricks as well as mental card forces. It really covers a lot of great stuff. I again stress that you should watch this after you've studied "The Royal Road to Card Magic" book and maybe even a couple other card books.

As for mentalism everyone will recommend "13 Steps to Mentalism". It's a book by Tony Corinda. The two books I've mentioned are the "bibles" of their respective genres. They are both great places to start in the areas you show interest. You can find reviews of everything I've mentioned below:

Devil's Picture Book
Royal Road to Card Magic
13 Steps to Mentalism

Wow! I typed a lot. Sorry for that. But, again, welcome to TM.

P.S. Your spelling and grammar are superb.

Thanks, Josh. That was very helpful. I appreciate it.
I do pride myself on my English skills.

A very warm welcome to you.

Welcome to TM.