Neither is better, they're just two aspects of the same artform. Choose whichever your'e most happy and comfortable with but give the other one a go from time to time. Dexterity in cards can be useful for coin work and vice verrsa.
There really is no better, it is down to each performer. When i did normal magic (and if i do again) i would hardly do any coin magic as i do not like it much. I would do some to give guests variety but my main passion is card magic. It is useful to learn some basic coin moves and see how you get on, even if you do go on to do any more advanced coin material you will have a valuable set of moves to perform some coin effects when needed.
I much prefer card magic, it's my main interest. Having said that, there are some really good coin routines I am learning. Troy Hooser's " Charming Chinese Challenge" being one of them. I certainly think it helps to learn some basic coin work. Many card routines involve the use of coins, & vice versa.
Try everything at least once (in a magical sense, I'm not advocating pan-sexual experimentation).
I normally either do darker material or straight close up magic and I was happy with that, fits my persona etc., then I got a ring and rope with some other effects (Thanks Stephen ) gave it a try and it's enormous fun and gets great reactions. On the back of that I tried sponge balls and I couldn't believe how good the reactions were, plus it's enormous fun to do. If you're a hobbiest (like me) you owe it to yourself to give everything a go at least once, you may like it, you may not but at least you tried it.
I'd agree with Lady of Mystery, try learning the basics of both and then you can decide to drop one if it doesn't interest you. I will say though to not make the same mistake some new magicians make where they over load themselves with trying to cover as many different types of magic as possible. Don't! A jack of all trades is a master of none.
Personally I don't perform coin magic, at least not coin tricks like spell bound, matrix, ect... It's just never appealed to me but that's not to say that when someone performs coin magic well I'm not impressed and envious.
The main thing is that it doesn't matter what you chose to begin with because you can always just drop it and try something else. Just don't go out and spend hundreds of pounds, dollars, euros or whatever on magical stuff. Baby steps. No matter what you pick you'll find a good starting point recommended on this forum so just start with that and build from there as you learn more and progress.
indeed! If you are interesting in getting out and working as a magician then concentrate on building a set list. Just learn what you need to learn for your sets and any other skills can be learnt at a date. Good practical magic such as the DVDs of Paul Gordon and Lee Smith will give you a great set of working material without spending the earth.
I'm going to shock everyone and recommend giving Mark Wilson's Complete Course a read if you haven't. It'll give you a great grounding in all sorts of different areas of magic, from there you can find out which suit you the best.
Both are excellent forms of magic, but you tend be drawn, or more capable of, doing one than the other. I was never that much of a fan of watching card magic, but I found I took to it very easily and people enjoyed it so I concentrated on that more. I find coin magic more finnicky and although there are a few bits and pieces I can do, I have never been that drawn to it.
By learning a bit of both you will soon find which one you are more naturally drawn to. If you're lucky you'll be good at both!
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