I teach card magic. And there's a simple reason why I love to do that. It's because I love to learn card magic. The thrill of seeing improvement, no matter how small is a thrill that never, ever fades for the serious performer.  

But I discovered while I was still in high school that learning card magic can be a great deal more complex than it looks.  Between the ages of 16 and 18, I met my first real card experts: Jack Birnman and Peter Galinskas. Jack taught me about creativity and its role in card magic — including the notion (unbelievable to me at the time!) that you were allowed to change, or alter, the moves you read in magic books. But you had to have good reasons for doing so.  Peter taught me what those reasons were.

While I was in college at UNLV in Las Vegas, I was in the perfect laboratory to continue these lessons. I studied theater during the day and worked on close-up magic the rest of the time. While I lived there, in the city that's most synonymous with our art, I learned from several of the great names in card magic:  Larry Jennings, Michael Skinner and, of course, Johnny Thompson, The Great Tomsoni. From these men I learned that true creativity comes only from a solid grounding in our craft; and so they impressed upon me the rigors of study, the importance of the classics, and the need to seek that ever-elusive concept of naturalness that makes sleight of hand so beautiful.  

I continued learning as I continued working. In 2002, the same year that my book, The Paper Engine, was published, I decided to become a full-time entertainer. Since that time, the satisfactions I have experienced as a performer have inspired me to impart what what I have learned to a new generation of magicians.  

I know all too well, after all, of the many pitfalls and missteps that can derail anyone who attempts to learn the craft of sleight-of-hand. I've read misleading books filled with bad information. I've taken advice that turned out to be wrong. I've spent countless hours learning sleights and techniques that turned out to be of no use at all. All of these experiences have convinced me that no matter how many books or DVDs we own, there is simply no substitute for an effective teacher — a living, breathing guide — to help us on the  journey.  

That's why, in addition to my performance schedule of corporate events, nightclubs, and stand-up stage shows, I spend time every year helping card magicians improve. Each summer, for example, I work with magic campers at Sorcerer's Safari Summer Program in Ontario, Canada. I also continue to present my lecture/seminar at magic clubs, societies, and conventions all over the world. And I offer one-on-one personal coaching to serious, dedicated students.  

For me, it is seeing these students improve that makes teaching magic worth the effort.