Where to start?

[jmichaels]

About two weeks ago, while at work, an inmate did an awesome magic effect for me while he was in his cell and I have since became hooked. He told me a couple starter tricks to look up but I cannot find them anywhere. So here is my question, I guess.

Where should I start to delve into the amazing art of magic? I am particularly interested in picking up coin effects, card effects, and impromptu effects that require little or no props/set up, and are not for the stage.

Does anyone have suggestions as to where I should start. As of right now I have like 3 card tricks down and a few 'false transfers' with coins but that is about it. I am looking at learning from books, dvds, etc... also what are some of the best 'magic' websites to look at and keep up with the world of magic?

Thanks!

 

[Toby]

About two weeks ago, while at work, an inmate did an awesome magic effect for me while he was in his cell and I have since became hooked. He told me a couple starter tricks to look up but I cannot find them anywhere. So here is my question, I guess.

Where should I start to delve into the amazing art of magic? I am particularly interested in picking up coin effects, card effects, and impromptu effects that require little or no props/set up, and are not for the stage.

Does anyone have suggestions as to where I should start. As of right now I have like 3 card tricks down and a few 'false transfers' with coins but that is about it. I am looking at learning from books, dvds, etc... also what are some of the best 'magic' websites to look at and keep up with the world of magic?

Thanks!

So I guess you work in a prison as a prison guard? That would be cool.
Anyways, try to pick up either Mark Wilson's "Complete Course in Magic" or Tarbell's "Course in Magic", those are two greatest sources for magicians for any type of magic. A good beginner card tricks book would be "Royal Road to Card Magic", or if you want DVD's with tons of easy card tricks, go with Michael Ammar's "Easy To Master Card Miracles".
As far as coins go, Bobo's "Modern Coin Magic" is a great book, or as far as videos go for coins look up anything from David Roth.

 

[ArmanMagic]

Well there are two downloads on Theory11 that are free and of course there are many downloads on the wire. I would say stick with royal road to card magic or Easy to Master card miracles because they are really good beginner resources.

 

[RealityOne]

It depends....

A good general book is Mark Wilson's Complete Course. The Tarbell books (8 volume set) are more of a serious study.

For cards, you can go self-working (requiring little or no sleight of hand) or sleight of hand.

For self working, the classics are Scarne on Card Tricks and Fulves' Self Working Card Magic. The newer classics are Giobbi's Card College Light, Lighter and Lightest. Advanced study-- Beam's Semi-Automatic Card Tricks.

For sleight of hand, the classic books are Royal Road to Card Magic, Expert Card Technique, Card Control, Cuts Counts and Subtleties, The Card Magic of LePaul and Expert at the Card Table. The newer books are Roberto Giobbi's Card College books (start with the first two volumes).

For Coins, the classic is Bobo's Modern Coin Magic. A more modern version is David Roth's Expert Coin Magic. For coins I would recommend Eric Jones' Metal DVDs. Eric is a great teacher.

As for DVDs, Michael Ammar's Easy to Master series is great for cards, coins and anything else. Great teacher.

 

[Delusional]

Hey,

Haha I'd hate to be that guy that posts all DVDs as suggestions. But the best books have been mentioned (Royal Road, Expert at the Card Table, Bobo, etc)
For some great insight on magic effects, performance, theory, and everything imbetween- I'd suggest the following:

Ellusionist products
- How to do street magic
This DVD is what helped to get me started on my magic journey so many years ago. On this DVD you'll learn around 15 different effects, all of which are technically quite simple. However I feel as if the real gold of this DVD is how Brad explains presentation and theory of performing each effect. The knowledge that you get from that can be applied to all magic. Highly reccomended. This DVD is amazing.

- Inside Magic Volumes 1&2
These DVDs will teach some rock solid card and coin effects to add to your repertoire. All of which are technically simple. Brad is great at teaching the psychology behind each effect.

- Kard Klub Volumes 1&2
These DVDs are going to require slightly more previous knowledge than all the rest. These are quite unique videos because it features performances of actual young magicians performing their stuff out on the street. Brad then takes the video and breaks it down, in almost like a classroom teaching setting. The knowledge you will gain about performing is gold.

- Crash Course in Card Magic Volumes 1&2
Volume one will teach you some of the most simple yet deceptive card effects. This is great for a beginner. Volume two will teach the ambitious card routine.

Penguinmagic also has a free 2hour magic DVD on their website aimed at beginners who are just starting the art of magic. I reccomend checking this out. It's an instant download, nothing to lose. They also have a product called "self working card tricks."

Check out The Wire on Theory11. There are sooo many effects on it, and many of them are free, and simple to perform. The wire is an awesome place to learn great quality magic. Highly reccomend checking this out.

Hope this helps!!
JP

 

[jmichaels]

I really appreciate the feedback and support given here, thank you all. @RealityOne; do you have a place I can go to get David Roth's books/dvds? Any place that I look they are out of stock. The same for Volume 1 of Michael Ammar's DVD.

@Toby; That would be "Correctional Officer", not 'guard'. I really appreciate your response on those books I actually just bought a few of them a bit ago and have them on the way.

@Delusional; I like books and DVDs. DVDs are good because I can sometimes take what I read, watch it actually be done and it helps me to better understand it. I definitely liked a few of your suggestions and am looking into them.

 

[RealityOne]

I really appreciate the feedback and support given here, thank you all. @RealityOne; do you have a place I can go to get David Roth's books/dvds? Any place that I look they are out of stock. The same for Volume 1 of Michael Ammar's DVD.

David Roth's book can be found at Kauffman & Co.'s website HERE. Let me know if you need other suggestions of books to take advantage of the buy 2 get one free offer. As for the Expert Coin Magic DVDS, check out Daytona Magic HERE (I've dealt with them before and Harry is a great guy. Call to verify that they have it in stock before ordering) and Dreamland Magic HERE (I've never dealt with them. Also, I would call first to verify it is in stock). For coins, also check Dan Watkin's website coinvanish.com and go to the foundations page. Dan is a great guy with some awesome chops and his foundations section is really good (and free).

Michael Ammar's DVDs can be found at his website HERE and at L&L Publishing's website HERE. You can get a copy of his book in an electronic version from L&L's epublishing site HERE

One final caution -- don't get too much material too quickly. You can easily become overwealmed and end up learning a lot of secrets but not being able to perform anything. Take you time. Learn, master and perform an effect before moving on to the next.

 

[jmichaels]

David Roth's book can be found at Kauffman & Co.'s website HERE. Let me know if you need other suggestions of books to take advantage of the buy 2 get one free offer. As for the Expert Coin Magic DVDS, check out Daytona Magic HERE (I've dealt with them before and Harry is a great guy. Call to verify that they have it in stock before ordering) and Dreamland Magic HERE (I've never dealt with them. Also, I would call first to verify it is in stock). For coins, also check Dan Watkin's website coinvanish.com and go to the foundations page. Dan is a great guy with some awesome chops and his foundations section is really good (and free).

Michael Ammar's DVDs can be found at his website HERE and at L&L Publishing's website HERE. You can get a copy of his book in an electronic version from L&L's epublishing site HERE

One final caution -- don't get too much material too quickly. You can easily become overwealmed and end up learning a lot of secrets but not being able to perform anything. Take you time. Learn, master and perform an effect before moving on to the next.

I really appreciate the legwork, awesome support! I definitely understand (and agree) about getting too much at one time. Do you have an opinion over where I should start first, or is it a 'just jump in and go' kind of thing?

 

[RealityOne]

I really appreciate the legwork, awesome support!

No problem. Unfortunately, I have way too much experience finding magic to buy.

I definitely understand (and agree) about getting too much at one time. Do you have an opinion over where I should start first, or is it a 'just jump in and go' kind of thing?

Start with Mark Wilson's Complete Course. It gives a great introduction to magic and has some great effects. It covers cards, coins, bills, sponge balls, rope, mental magic and more. You can pick that up at any bookstore.

From there, the route depends on where you want to go.

The Ellusionist Videos provide you with a quick start and show you that simple methods can have great results. Crash Course 1 is great. I really like Eric Jones' teaching on the Metal 1 DVD (my review of it is HERE)

If you are looking to not spend a lot of money, get Royal Road to Card Magic, Scarne on Card Tricks and Bobo's Modern Coin Magic and then maybe Encyclopedia of Card Tricks. They are around $10 each in paperback. There are hundreds of effects in those books.

If you want to go serious on the cards, get Roberto Giobbi's Card College Volume 1 and 2. There are hardcover books as well as electronic versions at lybrary.com (my reccomendation would be to get the books and then the performance videos that go with it at lybrary.com). There is also a very expensive DVD set by Roberto Giobbi covering most of the first two volumes. I also recommend getting one of Roberto Giobbi's Light, Lighter and Lightest for some self working effects that are organized into routines.