talkmagic.co.uk

Hey guys, I'm really only interested in card magic and I'm just wondering who impresses people like you guys the most?

I've watch Dynamo for example and I can do some of what he can do, or know exactly how he does it.. cards only ..and It just doesn't impress me that much, please don't take this up the wrong way because that's not my intention.

Whereas If I watch some of the sleights from Ricky Jay or Lennart Green, It's so fascinating to watch, even though I know how they do it, it's just fantastic to watch people like that. I can only dream of being half that good.

So I'm just wondering who genuinely impresses some of you guys when it comes to card magic? Any advice or tips are much appreciated .

Thanks again.

Greg Wilson, not because of his skillz- although he does have mad skillz- but because of his showmanship.
Flashy cuts and such don't bother me really- unless you have a rapport with your spectators and can present a moment of magic you don't have "magic".
I appreciate the skill needed for complex sleights but I can be blown away by a simple DL in the context of a great presentation.
I also rate Cameron Francis for the above reasons.

I too am a cards only man. For me it's Darwin Ortiz.

Ortiz is the complete package: Performer, inventor, teacher, researcher.

Of his great work three books stand out as the pinnacle of our craft: 'Cardshark', 'Strong Magic' and 'Designing Miracles'. Reading and putting into use the knowledge in just these books will make you a better card worker than 90% of the current practitioners of the craft (both hobbyist and pro.)

I've spend the past 15 years exclusively practicing, rehearsing and performing his material, and I've loved every minute of it.

So yeah, unashamed fan.

I don't think anyone impresses me. I got bored and jaded with magicians a long time ago. I can't bear watching someone showing me a card trick and I can barely sit through a magic show. I love doing magic. I detest watching it. I suppose I have seen too many bad magicians and around 90% of them fit in that category. Alas the good ones have lost out and I can't watch them any more either because they have been tainted by the bad ones.

Sorry to hear that Mr Lewis

When was the last time you were impressed by a performance, and who was it?

I did watch myself on a DVD once.

I should have seen that one coming

To my mind the best card man out there right now is Paul Gordon. He is soley a card magician, he is a great performer. He is also the brains behind a lot of tricks and has some excellent packet tricks

Yes indeed. I would give him 6 out of 10. I would give Darwin Ortiz probably 5 or 6 out of 10. I would give his book Strong Magic 8 or 9 out of 10. I would give Ricky Jay 7 out of 10. Lennart Green in the past I would have given 3 out of 10 but have now seen him in front of laymen and have now upped the score to 7 out of 10. Harry Lorayne I would give 8 out of 10 and his books 11 out of 10. I saw Vernon decades ago on a BBC programme with Cy Endfield and Slydini. Based on what I saw then I would give Vernon 9 out of 10 and Cy Endfield 6 out of 10.

There. That is all the card magicians out of the way. Close up magicians, mentalists, illusionists and stage performers are another matter entirely.

Sorry Darwin Ortiz bores me almost to death. He is fantastic technician but everything is so percise it's not human. Ricky Jay however. I just like to watch him take a lesson from his presentation. That is what makes him good. Anybody can learn to perfect slight of hand not everyone can perform/entertain.

Alas yes. I am afraid Darwin Ortiz has that effect on me too. I saw him do a trick once and it was so slow it put me to sleep. Yet his book is excellent. Somehow he doesn't live it though or if he does there is some ingredient missing somewhere. I find Ricky Jay over presents a trifle as American performers often do but in a theatre situation this is not too bad. For close up work it is far too much. I have often said you can have too much presentation as well as too little.

I am with Mark, except that I think he is overly generous in his marking of most of the card guys.

I can watch Bill Malone. Beyond that cards are for 45, or at a stretch poker or blackjack. Two things that will send me home from a party are a card magician and a jackass with a guitar.

I suppose I am generous because I am also a card magician. And I do that better than anything else I do. And I can do a lot of things from hypnotism to kid shows to psychic readings. But I have always recognised that card magic should be entertaining rather than an exercise in technique. I have always said that you don't really need more than 5 or 6 moves to be really good at card tricks. If you know more then fine but you can get by very well with less. It is your tongue that is far more important than your fingers.

TonyB wrote:Two things that will send me home from a party are a bad card magician and a jackass with a guitar.

FTFY

SpareJoker wrote:

TonyB wrote:Two things that will send me home from a party are a bad card magician and a jackass with a guitar.

FTFY

I am afraid any card magician, good bad or indifferent, will send me home. And by guitarist I mean any musician or singer.

I can endure (even enjoy) bad poets, bad storytellers, bad jugglers. But no cards. It is one reason why I don't hang out with magicians.