talkmagic.co.uk

I don't post on here much, and tend to lurk rather than contribute much. As a beginner, still struggling with basics (and when I use cards I regularly play 52 card pick-up... ), there is little that I have to say.

All that said, one thing I have noticed, particularly from beginners like myself is the 'wanting to do complicated tricks' syndrome that many have, eschewing simple stuff for the forementioned complicated stuff.

Here's my point : Spend the time getting the basics right, and the rest will follow. Learn the sleights and practice until you have them down pat. Good magic is in the presentation, that I have learnt in my short experience, and it's hard to concentrate on that aspect until you can do the magic itself flawlessly.

There's a little trick that Jay sankey does with three business cards- drawing three arrows on them, he does some cunning little moves and apparently makes one of the arrows move on the back of one of the cards so it points in another direction. Although I know how it's done- like most of what he does, it blows my mind to watch him do it- excellent skill combined with brilliant presentation.

You can melt people's brains with the simplest of tricks, providing you do them well.

As the old saying goes - don't try to run until you can walk. You'll fall on your *rse.

Just my tuppence worth...

Chris.

I think what you say is both true and expressed very well. Just wanted to say that.

I'll second that! I have fallen for this problem many a time trying to perform effects way beyond my level...

The Biddle Trick is one of the strongest effects you can do for someone and also one of the easiest.

Kati

Spot on Dr Death. I wish more magicians would concentrate on presentation. I've been playing with the Sankey trick you mention for a few months now, completely changed the presentation and even the drawing, but I have to agree that it's an incredibly powerful and impromtu little trick. Have seriously blown a few people away with this. Though there are effects that are even easier and would enable full concentration to go on presentation. I'm all for starting out with completely self working tricks and then gradually introducing sleights into your act, possibly something like twisted sister which uses a basic move that doesn't have too much heat on it ( similar to the move in the Sankey Trick ) then when you can do it flawlessly without heat, you can move up to an effect like Sankey's which does have heat on your hands during the critical moment. Taking it slow like this ensures that you don't have to concentrate so hard that your presentation goes out of the Window.

I agree with some parts of what you are saying, but I do not believe that some tricks are beyond anybodys level. It all depends on how much effort and practice you put in. I am the process of learning the Pop-out move that Oz Pearlman uses in Shotgun Aces. I have had this video for a while, but couldn't be bothered to learn it.

If you put in enough effort, you can do any trick that you can buy, learn, read, figure out..... whatever!!!!!!!

I'm certainly not trying to say that any trick is out of anybody's reach, but to do a trick well, unless it's self-working, a thorough understanding of the basics is essential.

And Kev, despite your age- your card handling skills are way ahead of mine- I've seen your video that you posted on your magic site, and you seem to have it all sorted.

You appear to have done the groundwork of which I speak, non?

Chris.

Oui, but I have only really come away from that simple ground work in the past few months.

That trick is very easy, you only need to know one move. Just keep practising and the better you will get

I didn't actually mean to sound like what I sounded like but It came out wrong. (I'll send anyone a cookie if they understood that )