Lessons in Magic

The Four Burglars

Court Magician — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 16:00:29 +0000

Click here to view the embedded video.

What an interesting classic. You’ve probably seen this when you wee younger, this is just a slightly modified version that can be done impromptu and with a borrowed deck if needed.

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Follow the Leader

Court Magician — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 16:00:33 +0000

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This is an extremely simple trick to perform, but looks like you did some incredible sleight of hand. No matter where the leader pile is, the follower packs always end up following. Visual magic at its best.

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Migrating Decks

Court Magician — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 16:00:31 +0000

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This is a great trick to perform for 2 spectators. Requires minor prep, but is a pretty amazing looking trick and fools every time.

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Why Magic DVDs Suck

Court Magician — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 16:00:14 +0000

This might sound crazy, but I’m not a huge fan of “traditional” magic DVD’s and videos. I know, here I am pitching magic videos and downloads, so it must sound like I’ve flipped my lid, but let me explain.
There are two types of magic videos. The first is the “classic” kind that you would find on VHS tapes and recently on DVD (are they on Blue-Ray yet?). They do the trick possibly in front of an audience, sometimes it’s slow and one trick at a time, but with others it’s a series of tricks, and in both cases, the trick is explained later on the video. The other style of video is the “street performer” style where they go out and show tricks, boom boom boom, then back to the studio to teach it (whether one at a time or all at once). More camera angles, more cuts, and more loud music in the second style.

But they both suck. And you know why? You buy a DVD for $40 or more and you get 15 tricks, 14 of which you may never use and one of which was likely the reason you bought the DVD. Maybe you thought there were other tricks you might grow to like, and the sheer quantity of tricks available make it seem like a steal (it’s like $3 a trick), but be honest with yourself – you paid $40 or more for one, maybe 2 tricks. Not a great investment. And sometimes, you might even buy one trick for that much, only to be disappointed with it – but that’s $40+ you’ll never see again.

The great thing about this site is that you can actually pick and choose which tricks you want, and only purchase explanations for the ones you feel work well for your style. You can see what it’s supposed to look like, and you’ll get a step by step explanation of the trick, and the only “extra fluff” you’ll get is variations and details on how to better perform the trick.

You know what else magic videos are missing? More tips than what’s on the videos. With our stuff, you get hand typed notes that will help enhance the explanation, show points that might not be clear in the videos, and additional ideas and thoughts. And you can always post comment questions or email us to ask anything you need clarity on. Try to get that from any of the magic DVDs you’ve purchased…

Anything else you’d like to see us provide you guys? Fell free to leave a comment or drop us a line.

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Flash 4 Ace Production

Court Magician — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 16:00:55 +0000

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A very cool way to produce the 4 Aces (or any other 4 of a kind you want).

Magic Exposer

Court Magician — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 16:00:03 +0000

I’m sure you’ve seen those “Magic Secrets Revealed” shows where they show the audience how to do some stage illusion out there, and I suppose you’ve always wondered if that means that everyone will know how your tricks are done and no one will be amazed, etc. Well I’m here to dispel that whole myth.

I run an events group in my area with about 100 members. I belong to other event groups in the area, each with equal number of members. I have about that many Facebook friends. To be conservative, I know about 250 people. Not one of them knows how I do any of my tricks. Not one.

But, you say, those are only close up magic tricks. Yes, but not one of those same people have even mentioned how they know, have seen, or even know about these exposure shows.

“But Nidal, that’s just a small percentage of the human population, how can you be so sure”. Okay, you’re right, people have seen those exposure shows, lots of people (aren’t these shows weekly now?). And lots of people probably remember how it’s done (we’ll presume 25% or less, people are forgetful). But that is still a small percentage of people in relation to THE PEOPLE YOU WILL PERFORM FOR. In other words, you’re most likely not performing for the few people who not only have seen the show, but actually recall the tricks performed, most of which aren’t even the tricks you’re performing.

Let’s think about this differently. How many people know how a movie is made? Sure, they know you point a camera and the actors say their lines. But do they know how many takes one shot will require? Each minute of film takes about 10 minutes of shooting time, and 4 times that to actually shoot. And what about the make-up involved, or the wardrobe that they have to make, the sets, the lighting set ups, or even the direction that’s involved in getting the lines our just the way they should? And we haven’t even mentioned editing and special effects (yes, even simple dramas require special effects).

Ok, that might seem an over complication for a comparison, but think about it: do they know about the double lift you just did, the Elmsley count, the palm, the Braue Reversal? Do they know that you planted that card in the box, already had the prediction written, directed them to choose a specific item? Do they know those are “trick” cards, or trick coins, or whatever? Nope.

Have you been exposed? How so, and were you able to resolve it?

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Among the Discards (NEW)

Court Magician — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 16:00:07 +0000

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Another great fooler, where you are taking the spectators on a ride they think is going in one direction, but you lead them another direction. Quite a surprise and really can only be topped by something happening within the spectators hands.

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How Many New Tricks Should We Know?

Court Magician — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:00:04 +0000

I’ve heard it said the you should learn 3 tricks extremely well rather than learn many tricks well enough. I suppose this depends on what you want to do with your magic.

If you want to be a performer, you should know about a dozen tricks so that you can do a show – depending on the length of the show and the individual trick, this will vary. If you want to an amateur, then 3 tricks to show your firends is perfect, but you can always know a good number of others.

I think I lean more towards the latter than the former, but a good mix of the two is what I believe to be the proper balance. I know about 2 dozen or so tricks that I believe I know extremely well and can perform without much thought. But I know about 80 or so other tricks that I could perform with either more thought, more practice, or more other things. I might ask the help of a friend to refine these extras or perhaps use a video camera to iron out any kinks I might have over it.

But these 80 or so “extras” won’t make it into the “top 20″ until I feel they’ve been mastered and require little thought to pull out and perform. And it’s not that these extra new tricks will add to the list fo extremely well learned tricks I know, but they will replace one I might want to work on some more. So there’s never more than about 20-24 tricks in my arsenal. Also, anything that is replaced must be able to fit into a show or theme, and not really be a random trick (like a 4 Ace trick would be fine with a 4 Ace production, etc).

Remember that the more tricks you learn, the more tricks you forget, so always keep those top few and always keep practicing those so as to keep yourself at top shape, and only add when you feel comfortable with your top picks.

What are some of the tricks you have in your top few?

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Lightning Fast Triumph (NEW)

Court Magician — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:00:15 +0000

Click here to view the embedded video.

This is one of those tricks that you see once and just have to learn. If you’re familiar with the original version of Triumph, you’ll be easily fooled by this one, and it’s a great, almost no sleight version of the original. Done properly, this is an amazing fooler for regular folks and other magicians.

Tricks Using Gadgets

Court Magician — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:00:05 +0000

I don’t own an iPhone, I own one of the Android phones. I like my phone and will continue to work with the Android platform. Nothing against iPhones, it’s just not my thing. Anyway, there are a number of “magic tricks” available for the iPhone (or so I’ve seen), but there’s nothing similar (yet) for the Android device. The question is, are the worth it?
The answer is not simple for me. I recently saw a trick performed where a chosen card “calls” the magician on his cell phone. I instantly knew how I could mimic that on my phone (and it can be done on iPhones likely with free software). It’s not an actual magic trick on the phone, but it uses the phone as a handy prop and way to reveal a selection. A brilliant use for the phone.

What I’m not sure of is where the phone itself (or device, as I suppose it could be an iTouch or eventually the iPad) does most or all of the trick. There’s no skill behind potentially forcing a card or something even simpler.

On the flip side, I did recently see a trick on the iPhone that, although made the phone an essential prop, it didn’t seem to indicate it as the secret – it was a well done series of mind reading style tricks and quite amazing looking. Made me actually check the prices on the iTouch.

For years, magicians have been using gimmicks to perform various kinds of magic, from simple things like mirrors to actual electronic gadgets that tell you what the card is, to fake coins, to magnets. So how does this differ? Maybe it’s because all of the gadgets prior still require skill and practice. With these new phone tricks, you could sit and fool yourself doing magic with them and not learning to develop your skills at performance at all.

Do any of you have an iPhone or iTouch that you have tricks for? What do you think of this use of them?