The Ambitious Card…

Is one of the favorite tricks in most magician’s arsenal.  With an unprepared deck, you can cause the spectator’s card to rise to the top of the pack.  Again and again, their card rises to the top – eventually leading to a grand finale of some sort.  In this video, Aaron explains two ideas for the ambitious card which you can incorporate right away.  For more episodes of The Card Magic Minute, check out Aaron’s Youtube channel.

If you really love the ambitious card, you should check out the mega-post on How To Do Easy Card Tricks… where you can learn tons of card tricks that you can perform right now!

 

Haven’t seen the first part of this blog series “How To Do Easy Card Tricks“?

Check it out here.
Hi there! This is the second half of our megapost How to Do Easy Card Tricks: The Ultimate Guide. In the first installment, I talked about 5 great Easy Card Trick Video Tutorials to make sure you get off to a successful start in card magic and 9 Pro Performance Tips to arm you with ancient knowledge the best magicians have used for a centuries. If you missed those powerful video tutorials and tips, you can find them here.

In this action packed post, I’ll share 5 Powerful Video Tutorials  that show you unique approaches to some of the most important secret moves, often called sleights, in magic. You’ll also learn 8 Pro Practice Tips that will make it easier than ever to get great results from even a little practice.

 

 

Simple Secret Moves Video Tutorials

 

Fundamental Sleights: A Small List of Necessary Tools 

Before starting with the 5 sleight videos, here are a list of the first sleights I teach my students during their online magic lessons. These simple moves are like 3 or 4 chord rock and roll – they constitute every essential function in card magic – forces, switches, reverses and controls. Once you can handle a simple version of each of these – and string them together to create a powerful effects – you’re doing real magic. And that’s the key to success, great reactions and growing your confidence in your magic.

You can find various descriptions of these sleights in classic card books like Card College and Royal Road to Card Magic. 

Basic Video Tutorials of the Crossing the Cut Force and the Two Handed Glide appear in the videos below, so you can get started right away.

• Overhand Shuffle & Overhand Shuffle Control
• Crossing the Cut Force
• Braue Reversal
• Two Hand Glide

Simple Sleight Video Tutorial #1: How to Hold a Deck of Cards

Like tennis or golf, if you want to go far – it all starts with finding and taking the right grip. How you hold the deck of cards has a lot to do with how successfully you can perform any card trick. If you watch the following video tutorial with cards in hand, you’re guaranteed to get off to a superior start.

Simple Sleight Video Tutorial #2: Misdirection and the Foundations of the Card Force

The following Card Force will allow you to create miracles with no sleight of hand. You’ll also be introduced to the all important element of misdirection and how it works in an actual magic trick performance. &nbsp
Misdirection is often thought of as the art of diverting the spectators from the secret moves and moments in a trick.  The misdirection master Tommy Wonder suggested that the word ‘misdirection’ itself is unhelpful because it encourages us to think in terms of distracting the audience or making them ‘look away’ from something. &nbsp
Rather, Wonder suggested we adopt the term ‘direction’ instead – as this term encourages us to think of directing the audience’s attention at all times – always toward the effect of the trick itself. This is how great magicians misdirect without ever leaving the audience with the feeling they’ve been distracted or made to ‘look away’ during a trick.  &nbsp
The following tutorial will show you exactly how this works in real life. It’s one of the easiest applications I know to show students who really want to start using misdirection to perform miracles.

Simple Sleight Video Tutorial #4: An Ancient Glimpse

Once you get a spectator’s card under control – either to the top or bottom of the deck – you can use a secret move called the Glimpse to get a peek at the freely selected card without anyone suspecting a thing. While there are dozens of simple glimpses in magic, and dozens more advanced ones that require months or years of practice, this one is a long time personal favorite. It’s easy to do, and will give you a powerful training exercise to develop your misdirection skills very quickly.
You can see a discussion and demonstration in the video below.
http://youtu.be/xJAkJOm43_w

Pro Practice Tips

Pro Practice Tip: Simple Moves Can Make Miracles

When we’re just starting out to do magic,  a simple web search can stress you out! We see literally thousands of card tricks, moves and techniques. Often, experts seem to imply that without the advanced methods in which they specialize, our magic tricks will be less magical.&nbsp
As a practical matter, turning any trick into a real magical experience for the audience takes more than doing the secret moves. No matter how advanced or difficult the method of your trick is, when you perform you’ll need to have most of your mind free to have fun with the audience.  &nbsp
If your sleights and methods are eating up to much of your attention, you won’t have any left to give to the audience. Your Pass, Palm or Force may be invisible and perfect – but what does that matter if the trick itself doesn’t connect? &nbsp
The Powerful Sleight Video Tutorials on this page were designed to show you how easy, effective tools can be used to create really great tricks. Each move I’ll show you is simple, takes place in a single moment, and has been designed to fit perfectly into great tricks that provide their own misdirection. These sleights free up your mind so you can focus on performing magic.

Pro Practice Tip: Choose Your Words In Advance

This simple advice is often the most difficult for my students to start using. Most of us simply practice a trick and then try and perform it, without giving any real thought to what we’re going to say during the performance. Trouble ensues, and often, the problems could have been avoided if the magician chosen his words, often called patter or presentation, in advance.

The reason for this is really very simple. If you don’t know what you’re going to say – you have to think about it during the show. That automatically takes your attention off of the fun you should be having with the audience. Just like a difficult secret move can take your focus out of the game and spoil the trick, deciding what to say in real time makes it impossible to be ‘in the moment’ as you perform.

Even more important, the words you choose matter. They describe the effect of the trick to the audience. You may think a trick is self explanatory – but that’s hardly ever acutally so.  If you don’t clearly communicate what you want the audience to perceive, it’s likely no one will have a clue what the trick was supposed to be. If you’d done a few tricks for your friends already, you’ve probably already experienced this reaction yourself.

&nbspThe exact words you choose can either make the trick seem more magical or less. Fair – or suspicious. You need only perform a few simple tricks before you’ll be surprised to hear words come out of your mouth which compromise the secret of the trick to some extent. Every experienced magician has made this mistake more times than he or she can count. And choosing your words carefully in advance is the only surefire way to avoid the problem.

Take special note: When you first start to write down your presentation and use it in performance, you’ll likely be discouraged. Many of my students complain at first because they feel their performances get ‘stiff’ and feel rehearsed.

&nbspThis is also quite normal. As you show your trick many times to different people, your words will become second nature. You’ll feel more and more relaxed as you perform,  and you may even start making small changes to the script as you perform in real time. You’ll be able to do this safely, because by then, you’ll know the effect so well,  you’ll be able to speak ‘on the fly’  without any fear of damaging the magic. You’ll begin sounding like your real self having fun – and that’s the whole point!

Pro Practice Tip: Every Sleight Needs Misdirection

When we see a great looking trick on screen, we make an unconscious assumption that the trick works in real life the same way it does on video. But most of the time, making tricks look and feel like real magic in front of a live audience requires a different approach. If you want to do magic tricks for real people, you’ll need to to use misdirection.

People watching a magic trick are never supposed to see you do a secret move. Actually, they’re never supposed to even suspect you of using sleight of hand. If the audience ever gets the idea you’re doing anything sneaky, they’ll dismiss your tricks as the work of ‘quick hands’. Then, it’s over. There’s no chance for a magical experience. As far as the audience is concerned – you’re just a trickster.

So to make sure you never experience this painful fate, it’s important to apply misdirection to every sleight – and every aspect of a given method. 

Pro Practice Tip: Short Sessions and Small Goals Win Every Time

To get in physical shape, we all know it’s better to exercise for a short time every day than to work out for 8 hours once a week. Practicing magic works the same way. And the good news is – when you have a plan and go about it with the right attitude, it’s actually quite easier than most people think.

I have many online students who have businesses, families and very busy lives. In fact, many of them can barely find 10 minutes at a time to practice. And yet, they make consistent, steady progress. Day by day, they master one simple action, then week by week, we put those actions to together and before either of us know it – they’ve got real magic that not only looks great, but will truly amaze and astound anyone who sees it.

Dai Vernon, perhaps the most celebrated close-up magician of the last 100 years, used to suggest that students sit down to practice with the goal of making one real, lasting improvement during a practice session. That was, and still is, very good advice.

However, I’ve consistently found that the most direct path to mastering a move is to break it down into as many small pieces as you possibly can. By doing that, you set yourself up for success by generating a number of very small, easily attainable goals. Now even if you only have ten minutes to practice, you can use them to achieve something – rather than sit there trying to decide what to practice.

Making steady progress makes practice fun, and makes you want to practice more, not less. And that’s the best way to get great results from practice.

Pro Practice Tip: Break-Up Tricks and Sleights 

No aspect of a trick, or secret sleight, is too small to examine and practice. Most of us start out with the feeling that only the ‘scary parts’ of a require practice. But quite often, it’s the way we handle the smallest details of a trick which can make or break the deception.

I filled the video tutorials in this handbook with more information than anyone can reasonably digest in a single viewing or even two. That’s because I want to make sure you have every detail you’ll need to succeed. And even with an easy, simple trick like the ones in this post, that’s a lot of details!  For best results, on your first viewing of a trick tutorial, just get the basic method in your hands and head. You want to be able to clearly present the trick in it’s simplest form – with no embellishments.

Now take that trick and show it to a few different groups of two,  or even three people.  You can show the trick to bigger groups if you’d like, but at this point, there’s no hurry. Take care not to get frustrated if the results of your performances are disappointing.  That’s totally normal –  and to be expected. You’ve just completed a major step toward the goal of making great magic.

Then go back and watch the tutorial again. You’ll see details, touches and instructions you missed the first time. Investigate each moment of the trick individually. As you become aware,  then address, each one of the details covered in the tutorial, the trick will get noticeably stronger. Your audience will feel it. You’ll feel it too.

This is the real practice process – the one that leads to great results and amazed people.  As you add detail to a good trick, bit by bit, it becomes real magic.

Pro Practice Tip: Avoid Complicated Tricks

If you want the audience to be truly amazed, keep your tricks simple, clear and direct. No matter how easy a trick is technically, or how few moves you have to practice to do it, the more phases in a trick, the more or separate effects within the larger routine, the more difficult it becomes to maintain the clear thread that holds it together clear in actual performance.

Most of my beginning students first master a few simple tricks and string them together into a set. This is a great way to begin and you can use the tricks on this page to do it. Try putting three tricks together and using them to create your first simple set – a sort of mini-show that starts strong and builds up to a climax. Start performing your set for different groups of people.  As your confidence and experience grow, you’ll be able to carry off longer tricks, or longer sets, with ease.  

Pro Practice Tip: Watch  the Greats to See What’s Possible

The best way for you develop an appreciation for how strong and amazing magic can be is to see it done by the best. Below are clips of two modern masters.  Watch them work and you’ll see proof that miracles are possible.

Bill Malone is not only one of the greatest card magicians in the world – he’s also one of the funniest. I first met him when I was 15 years old – and seeing him perform magic was a key moment of my life. That’s when I decided to become a magician.

David Williamson is one of the funniest, most talented magicians alive today.  Sometimes his tricks directly engage and involve the spectator – and sometimes, the trick itself doesn’t.  But even then, Williamson involves his spectators at every turn.

Pro Practice Tip: Give Clear Directions At All Times

We’ve discussed how some of the strongest magic directly engages the audience. There are many easy to perform classics that engage the audience, like Scotch & Soda, the great coin trick. Or the hard-to-beat classic Sponge Balls. These tricks don’t have difficult moves or sleights you need to master. But in each of these tricks, it’s crucially important to give the spectators clear directions at specific moments. So as you write your presentations down – make sure to pay special attention to the instructions you give your audience. What you say, as well as how and when you say it, will have a great impact on how well your performance connects with the audience.

 

Please leave a comment… I read every single one.

 

Do you want to do easy card tricks that blow your friends away, but at the same time, don’t take hours of practice? If you’ve ever tried to do a few tricks before, you may already know that it’s one thing to do a trick without exposing the secret, but  quite another to make a trick truly amazing to anyone who sees it.  I’ve been performing, giving magic lessons, and inventing magic for over twenty years, and I’ve written How to Do Easy Card Tricks: The Ultimate Guide to give you the very best easy tricks in magic – and also something more. This guide will also arm you with many secret tips and techniques that will not only make every trick you perform more astounding, but just as important, give you more confidence every time you practice or perform. Best of all, you can easily download the Easy Card Trick Video Tutorials in this post directly to your computer for later viewing.  You’ll find: 

5 great Easy Card Trick Video Tutorials based on the tricks I share with my magic lesson students to make sure they get off to a successful start in card magic. These tricks are time tested. I’ve worked out and included every detail you’ll even need to make these tricks seem like miracles to any audience. Most important – these tricks are simple, powerful and easy to master. You’ll love them.

5 Powerful Video Tutorials to show you how to do some of the most important secret moves, often called sleights, in magic. I’ll show you how to make these special techniques undetectable – and how to master them without hours of practice and frustration.

9 Pro Performance Tips to arm you with ancient knowledge the best magicians have used for a centuries to astonish. Magic becomes a lot easier, and a lot more magical, when you know these simple ideas and use them to choose, prepare and perform your magic tricks.

8 Pro Practice Tips will make it easier than ever to get great results from even a little practice. These jewels will ensure you can master the simple secret moves that magicians need to make the best magic  – and in record time.   I’ve made this a two-part blog series. On this blog, you’ll  find 5 Great Easy Card Trick Video Tutorials and 9 Pro Performance Tips. For part 2 of this blog series, I’ll be discussing the 5 Powerful Sleight Video Tutorials and 8 Pro Practice Tips.   The table of contents below will allow you to find any tutorial or tip by category – so you can jump any time you want to any topic.

Great Easy Card Trick Video Tutorials

 

Easy Trick #1:  No Such Thing As Luck

In this first easy to do, incredibly powerful trick you’ll prove to even the most skeptical audience that luck doesn’t exist – and that with the right secret powers, a magician can control to most seemingly random actions. Grab a deck now and follow along with this complete video lesson.   To download the No Such Thing as Luck Video Tutorial, right click here and save the video file to you computer!

 Easy Trick #2: Classic Color Changing Deck

In this incredibly powerful trick done with ordinary cards, you’ll literally astound every audience you meet. First one red-backed card turns blue – then another. Finally the entire deck transforms. To see the surprise ending, you’ll have to watch for yourself!  To download the Class Color Changing Deck video tutorial, right click here and save the video file to you computer!

 

 Easy Trick #3: Flying Card to Pocket

Traditionally, this great trick can only be accomplished by palming, which is the art of secretly stealing cards from the deck into one of your hands without anyone suspecting a thing. I built the version below for my students – so they could access this classic miracle without the practice required to palm cards. Pay special attention to this video. It will not only arm you with a great trick, but core concepts that govern all of the most amazing magic.  To download the Flying Card to Pocket video tutorial, click here.

 

 Easy Card Trick #4: Famous Three Card Catch

The effect of this amazing card location far outweighs the few minutes practice time it will take you to master it. It’s so simple and easy, you can produce a selection using this classic production after just a few minutes of practice. This tutorial covers a great deal more than the move itself.   To download the Three Card Catch video tutorial, click here.

 

Easy Card Trick #5: Miracle Mind Reading 

This remains one of my favorite tricks to this day. It shows how simple moves can be combined with just a little presentation to create and incredibly deceptive, amazing magic trick. In this video tutorial, you’ll also be introduced to one of the simplest, most effective card forces in magic.   A card force is a move that allows you to have a card freely selected in effect. But in reality, the spectator takes the card you want them to. This simple move can be used to create literally hundreds of great tricks. Watch the video and practice the Force for a few minutes and you’ll have one of the most powerful card magic weapons at your disposal.  To download the Prediction Miracle video tutorial, click here.

 

 

Pro Performance Tips

 

Pro Performance Tip: Jump Right In

Performing your first card tricks can be a lot like jumping into a lake. You can either get in the water inch by inch – and experience the shock of cold water twenty times, or you can use the time tested approach and dive right in. You’ll feel the shock in one bright burst and then start playing happily in the water.  Many of the students who take my magic lessons online are excited to perform magic, and at the same time, a bit terrified at the prospect. Difficult tricks that require advanced sleight-of-hand skills can take months of serious practice before you can even think about putting them into tricks.   The idea behind starting with easy card tricks instead is that the easier a trick is to perform, the sooner you will have the confidence to jump in and start making magic. Always remember: no magic happens unless you show it to someone! For that reason, the best way to get comfortable in your new role as a magician is to  find a simple trick, practice it ten or twenty times. Then start doing it for people. Don’t worry if you stumble several times or even make a mess of your first attempts to show people magic. It’s totally normal to mess up new tricks – no matter how long you’ve been doing magic. After a handful of performances,  you’ll feel less nervous and more confident. Your tricks will start to go better. That’s the perfect time to re-read this guide. After a few performances, every direction in the Video Tutorials and every Pro Tip on this page will offer you new details you didn’t notice at first and the whole process will make more sense. In less time than you can imagine, you’ll have a real miracle you can use to blow anyone away. The key is to get started – everything else flows from there.

 

Pro Performance Tip: Perform for 2 or More People At a Time

At least 80% of the people who get interested in card magic feel that the easiest way to start is by showing your tricks to one person at a time. I know this seems like the best approach – and believe me, I tried it myself when i first started out. But along the way, i discovered a different path that works a lot better. It’s much easier to direct the audience’s attention when you perform for at least two spectators.  Now you can, for example, say to the spectator on your left, “Do you think Anne over here has a strong sense of intuition?” The moment that happens, Anne is surprised. She looks at Sue. Sue is on the spot – she looks at Anne. It takes only a moment. But for that moment, anyone present will be drawn to watch the this ‘mini-drama’ play out. During this interval you have time all to yourself. You can do any secret move you’d like without anyone even raising an eyebrow. When at least two people watching – your misdirection skill and confidence automatically grows. Try this just a few times and you’ll see better reactions to your magic and more confidence in your tricks.  And as I tell my students – don’t worry. After you develop the confidence that comes with doing strong magic for two or three people at a time, it will become much easier to get great results when you choose to do magic for just one person.

 

Pro Performance Tip: Show Your Family Your Tricks Rarely

When we seek out our first audiences, they tend to be members of our family or our close friends. Why? Because they’re willing to watch. And while that can be very comforting, in many cases, it’s easier to amaze perfect strangers than our nearest and dearest. Like any would be magic audience – our friends want to see if we can fool and amaze them, but because they know us so well – they often participate in ways no ordinary spectator would. They can be unnecessarily challenging to work for – and hard to get into the spirit of the game. That’s exactly what you don’t want during your first attempts at magic. You need casually interested, friendly people if you want to get a good ‘read’ on just exactly how well any trick really works.

 

Pro Performance Tip: Only Choose Great Tricks

What makes a great easy card trick? Many of the easiest tricks, sadly, are not great. Some are downright boring. Have you ever seen the trick where the magician deals out three rows of seven cards? This is called the 21 card trick. It’s a classic mathematical ‘self-working’ card trick. It’s easy to learn, easy to do – but only a little fun to watch.   If you’ve never seen the trick, watch the example in the link above and you’ll see a typical performance of this timeless puzzle. Is it puzzling? Yes perhaps. Is it magical? Absolutely not. , You may be curious or even fascinated by it,  but you won’t be amazed. That’s because this simple card trick, and many like it, are not magic tricks at all. They’re easy card puzzles to be sure. But since they are not amazing,  they’re not great tricks.  Even if you only want to perform the easiest card tricks,  I suggest you stay away from tricks like this. They don’t amaze anyone and no one who sees one will ever beg you for more.  Always make sure you choose a great trick because it’s awesome, not just because it’s easy. Every trick you perform will have a much better reaction if it’s shows a clear, magical effect. The tutorials on this page are designed to make sure you have tricks that are not only easy to practice and perform – but also, extremely magical for the audience.

 

Pro Performance Tip: Keep Your Presentation Simple & Direct

All the old magic books, and many of the new ones, instruct the new magician in the importance of having an interesting presentation to go along with the magic. And there’s no doubt, if you have an interesting world view or perspective suits your tricks, then presentation can truly enhance the overall experience of your audience.  However, without care, this approach can backfire.

We’ve already discussed how important it is to know what you’re going to say during a trick. It frees your mind to strengthen the effect. The words you say are called the ‘presentation’ of the trick – and how you choose the words to say are very important to the end result.

But now ask yourself, what first excited you about seeing magic? Was it the presentation of the magic you remember most? Perhaps – but it’s far more likely that a trick or performance left you totally amazed, with no clue to the method. And fascinated at the possibility of being able to create that same experience yourself.

Your magic will be astonishing to the extent that your tricks are clear, direct and strong. It’s that simple.

David Blaine made this obvious when he had gigantic success using minimal presentation. Blaine knew how to let strong effects speak for themselves, and one of his great gifts was knowing how to get out of the way of his own magic and let the effect of the trick communicate for him. Too much presentation can dilute the effect,  so always keep in mind:  your presentation must work in service of the trick – not the other way around.

 

Pro Performance Tip: Always Remember the Magic Moment

When you pass your hand over the pack, snap your fingers or wave the magic wand – that’s a magic moment. It’s seems so simple to us when we’re learning card tricks, yet most of us never use it, or even take it into account. Even so, from the audiences perspective, this is when the  magic actually takes place!   Magic moments are important. If you want to do great magic tricks, you must use these opportunities and commit to them. Watch the pros do magic and you’ll see, at the key moments when the magic happens, they use their imagination to envision that they really do have the power to make happen. When the audience sees the magic happen in your eyes, it makes the entire trick more believable – and much more magical.  Also keep in mind –  when you commit to a magic moment, it adds a layer of powerful misdirection and deception to your magic. Now, when the audience thinks about how you did it – they have to at consider, if only for a moment, that you may have actually done what you claim. It sews just a touch of doubt in the idea that you only do ‘simple tricks’. It forces the audience to use their imaginations. And that’s a good thing. After all,  how can the audience experience magic unless you show them some? Try this idea out and you’ll see a difference in your reactions almost immediately.  

 

Pro Performance Tip: Use Tricks That Directly Involve the Audience

Whether you want to perform easy card tricks like the ones in this handbook, or you aspire to master expert level methods, there’s a simple truth you should keep in mind from the start: magic that directly involves your spectators will have far more impact than tricks where the audience just watches you do magic in your own hands. When we experience great magic – it’s because it happens to us directly. We don’t just watch. We feel the magic because we participate directly in the trick.

Let that idea guide you as you choose what tricks to perform and you’ll be able to effectively choose tricks that will have real and lasting impact on your audiences.

Here are two examples of master magicians who engage the audience at every moment. Enjoy! These are two of the greatest magicians of all time.

Don Alan was one of the most successful, entertaining magicians of the last century. If you watch him, you’ll see no better example of a performer who knows the importance of audience participation. Watch him and you’ll see exactly what I mean.

Juan Tamariz is the greatest magician alive today. As you watch this incredible card magic, pay close attention to how the master uses his hands, his eyes and his words to keep the entire audience riveted at every moment. Tamariz is truly the best!

 

Pro Performance Tip: When You’re Nervous – Keep It Super Simple

When you’re nervous – do the easiest tricks you possibly can. In fact, this is a good time to use an automatic trick. Just make sure there’s no way to get caught or exposed using secret apparatus, sometimes called gaffs. As the old advice goes – the moment someone catches you with a trick deck or special cards, you might as well retire for that audience – you’ll never be able to amaze them again.

But bearing that warning in mind, many of the best tricks in magic rely on these devices. But more important – these tricks can help you build your confidence and amaze an audience at the same time. They can be a powerful bridge to get you from the starting block to tricks that require a sleight-of-hand.

When I was in my early 20’s, I never would have taken such advice. I only wanted to do sleight of hand with ordinary cards – I simply wouldn’t use gaffs. Looking back, I know now I could have saved myself amazing levels of stress if I’d carried a safety net. A simple, powerful trick I could use at any time to either ease my shaky hands before trying out my new miracle, or to redeem myself after a magic train wreck.

You’ll do yourself a great service by having a few great tricks of this sort in your toolbox. They’re simple enough to perform in short order and strong enough to close a professional show. They provide the perfect cushion to help you begin performing card tricks with confidence.

Pro Performance Tip: Use Special Gaffs – Create Miracles

You must use well designed tricks that make it easy to guarantee you’ll never get caught using anything other than ordinary cards.  My original trick PANIC does just that!  It’s helpful when choosing gaffed tricks to be sure the trick ‘ends clean’. In magic, this means that everything can be examined by the audience after the trick.  Tricks that end clean are easier to perform confidently because you know that by the time the trick is done, there will be nothing to find. PANIC is one of my favorites tricks of this type. If you haven’t seen it, you should check it out now!

 

If you enjoyed this article, check out the next part!
How To Master Easy Card Tricks | Part Two

 

Now we need your help! Let me  – and your fellow readers – know which tips and videos above you found the most helpful. I’d also love to read YOUR performance tips – after all, there are many paths to great magic, and we want to explore them all! I can’t wait to read each and ever comment you post! – Aaron Fisher

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Welcome to the Aaron Fisher Card Magic audio library archive.

 

It’s like the old days, when there used to be magic shops with back rooms. Once you got in, you could hear the pros talk and get the secrets behind the secrets – the protected knowledge that separates casual observers from the deadicated.

As a card magic teacher, I regularly get questions from magicians all over asking me for advice on how to move forward. Most of the time, they ask really good questions that demonstrate clearly a genuine desire to to leave the ranks of the ordinary – and become a card magician in the highest sense of the word – A true sleight-of-hand artist – who can take any a deck, any time and create miracles for family, friends or even strangers in public.

In this post, I’ll share with you the most popular audio talks we’ve released over the last 10 years. You’ll hear a treasure trove of stories and concepts to help you understand the mysteries of magic – and so, get stronger reactions from every audience you meet. As you go through the recordings on this page, you’ll hear conversations about the great underground masters – and how we can use their ideas to perform stronger magic today. I’ll introduce you to the great magicians and teachers who fueled each step of my progression in magic. You’ll get an idea of what it was like to spend time with our fallen masters, like Jennings and Skinner and what it’s like to have a magic lesson over dinner with the greatest magician in the world, Juan Tamariz.

Hopefully, these conversations will add fuel to your fire – and inspire you to investigate your magic even more deeply. For in doing that, you allow magic to unlock for you it’s most powerful secrets – and also, it’s greatest gifts.

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Aaron Talks with John Sanbonmatsu, Ph.D.

Simply’Right click’ here to download to your computer.

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Classic Pass Discoveries

Part 1:  ‘right click’ here to download to your computer.

Part 2: ‘right click’ here to download to your computer.
It’s hard to find a technique in magic as beloved or misunderstood as the Classic Pass, sometimes called the two handed shift. While it is a challenging move – the chief difficulty is not, surprisingly, in finding the right finger positions or actions. The real challenge comes in understanding the true nature of the sleight – how it transforms the magician how practices it, and how in turn, that transformation leads to stronger magic and better reactions.

In this conversation, you’ll discover how it can make your magic far more effective even if you never choose to use it in performance. As a practical matter – once you begin to appreciate the power of this phenomenal tool, you will want to use it – and all the time. My own video instruction on both the classic and invisible turnover passes can be found here.  This approach to instruction gets faster, more durable results than any other training you’ll find.

 

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Frank Thompson: Master Card Man

Simply ‘right click’ here to download to your computer.
My teacher’s teacher was an legendary, almost mythical card player by the name of Frank Thompson. In many ways, Frank embodied the vision Erdnase described in Expert at the Card Table of the true underground expert. Among his peers, he was known to be rivaled only by Dai Vernon, Charlie Miller and Edward Marlo.When I asked a one of the greatest card men alive, Steve Freeman, to give his estimation of Frank Thompson – he likened Frank to Edward Marlo, if Marlo had never published a trick or move. This statement is important because Edward Marlo published more magic than just about any card magician who ever lived.

Through Franks Protege, I began studying Expert at the Card Table at the age of 18, and in many ways, the approach to natural technique hidden between the lines of it’s pages was pounded into my by Pete Francis – Frank’s only true apprentice. In this rare audio conversation, I sit down with Peter and discuss Frank Thompson and the true art of craftsmanship – as it was practiced by the masters during the last century. In this talk – you’ll find invaluable clues to guide you on your journey to card magic beyond amazement and above suspicion.

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How to Invent Sleight Of Hand

Part 1: Simply ‘right click’ here to download to your computer.

Part 2: Simply ‘right click’ here to download to your computer.
So many new magic tricks, moves and ideas get released to the magic community these days, it seems in some sense like it must be a fairly easy thing to develop a new piece of truly original magic. In my experience – this is yet another of the many illusions magic presents us (the magicians!) when we set out to perform great magic.

In these two conversations, we’ll discuss the history of sleight of hand over the last century: where the ideas come from, how to find them and how and when those ideas can be effectively altered or refined to create sleight of hand which isn’t merely novel, but actually further magic and take it to a more direct, effective and performable place. These talks are a must listen if you have the aspiration to not only perform – but actually create your own magic.

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What we can learn from Erdnase.

Part 1: Simply ‘right click’ here to download to your computer.

Part 2: Simply ‘right click’ here to download to your computer.
In 1902 S.W. Erdnase released a book that changed the way card magic, and sleight-of-hand, function. World sleight-of-hand card experts largely agree that no book ever written has described more effectively not only the mechanics of superior sleight-of-hand, but the mindset Erdnase used to apply those sleights at the card table. While these are largely the finest methods available for top and bottom palms, the two-handed shift (classic pass) and diagonal palm shifts (my favorite!), the book is incredibly difficult to read and comprehend without guidance and support.

These discussions will put Erdnase in context, tell you what the book can offer you and exactly how to go about getting the information out of the book. This book can be a great aid to your ability to amaze and audience – but it’s all about how you approach it. Listen to these discussions – the advice inside will help you make real progress quickly.

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My Magic Teachers – what they taught me – and how.

Magic is more like an old and venerable martial art than it is like a standard hobby. For the most part, great magicians get a lot of help along the way from masters who’ve already walked the path. In this multi-part discussion series, I’ll tell you about my own journey in magic – which started 20 years ago as of this writing. You’ll follow me from a magic store counter in Washington D.C to Erdnase training in Baltimore. Then we travel to Las Vegas, where I meet, and learn from greats like Johnny Thompson, Larry Jennings, Michael Skinner and more. Then, as my interest and performances grew beyond cards tricks and even close up magic, mentors like Jim Steinmeyer, Jon Stetson, Eric Mead and Max Maven helped me develop in ways i never would have imagined.

These conversations will not only introduce you to the powerful ideas i learned from these amazing magicians and friends. Hopefully, you can recognize in this story the entire evolutionary process that we all go through in some way or another when we become passionate about magi

The Beginning:

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Jack Birnman, Magic Masters & the Real Magic Shop

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Baltimore, Denny Haney & A Real Card Expert

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California, the Magic Castle and Larry Jennings

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Las Vegas, Skinner, Jennings & Tomsoni

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Tamariz: The Best There Is

Simply right click here to download to your computer.

 

Many years ago now I visited Bill Kalush, who founded the Conjuring Arts Research Center suggested I go to Spain and see the greatest magician in the world work. I was skeptical I suppose – but not for long. In this discussion, you’ll find out all about my experiences in Spain, and what it’s like to spend time talking about magic with a true visionary. 

 

 

 

More to come…

You want to learn card magic, huh?

Dai Vernon, known to most magician simply as The Professor, famously said, “If you don’t like to practice, you should get another hobby.” While this news may seem harsh, it’s most certainly important if you want to learn card magic. If you don’t like to practice, at least to some extent, you simply won’t progress.
However, I’ve learned from my own experience, and from teaching hundreds of students in my online training program, that the reason many of us don’t enjoy practicing is simple – we don’t know how to do it. Either we don’t understand the practice process, or we have unrealistic ideas or expectations. 

The truth is, when you start to practice effectively, you start having fun and making real progress at the same time. (This article on Easy Card Tricks is another great place to start!)

Practice can, and should, be a fun and highly productive thing… learning card magic. In fact,  practice can become downright addictive! 

Here are 8 ideas to keep in mind so that practicing close-up card magic become the most rewarding part of your day!

Tip #1: Consider The Source

Learn card magic on youtube???  Let go of the idea that you can get any information you want for free on the internet. Sure, you can get a lot of good material and many things to think about. But remember – you’re going to be practicing these techniques for years, if not the rest of your life. The money spent on getting the most valuable information from the most trusted sources (whether on video, book or directly from a teacher) pales in comparison to the months or years you could waste polishing what turns out to be a sub-standard approach.

Keep in mind, deceiving a live audience is a much different than fooling a one eyed, low-rez webcam. Choose the wrong sources to learn card magic from and the only one you’ll be fooling is you. For best results, consult classics by masters such as Tamariz, Vernon, Marlo and their students.

 

 

 

Go Right to the Top

To find out about the important sources for close-up magic, you can do no better than to start by watching this documentary. I was fortunate enough to have many of Vernon’s top students as friends and mentors – and that’s a chief reason my magic has progressed.

Tip #2: Finger Positions Count

This is so important, and misunderstood. Quite often, I work with talented, committed students that take many, many months to truly understand the importance of seeing, and applying the correct finger positions. You must begin to deeply examine each finger position at every single moment of the sleight.

• Does the finger touch the cards at the outer, inner, or middle joint?
• Is that the pad of the finger, or the tip?
• Or the right side of the tip?

At first, these might seem like endless questions, but as you begin to ask and answer them, you’ll begin to see the level of detail required to become a true sleight-of-hand artist.  These super fine details are clearly shown in the performance videos of any master close up magician. But have you learned to look closely enough to see them?

Tip #4: Practice in Slow Motion

If you’ve ever had a chance to work with a good video editing program you’ll know what I mean. you look at the time line in seconds, and then in order to make fine edits and cuts, you have to zoom in. Now it takes the same space to display the timeline of a single second that used to display a full minute of screen time. When you zoom in far enough, a single second can be divided into a hundreds of moments.
When you cease to repeat the action of the sleight mindlessly, and begin to investigate the action moment by moment, you zoom in – and the single moment during which a sleight takes place expands before you into an eternity.
Like the character Neo at the end of the modern classic film The Matrix, you can now see things, really fast things, in slow motion. Now, for the first time, you can see the many details, positions and actions required – and how to perfectly sequence them into a perfect illusion.

Tip #5: Practice In Stages

The Practice Process tends to loosely, but inevitably, flow through a series of specific stages.

Research and Development blends into Mechanics and Experimentation. Once you begin to understand the mechanics, you work to perfect them. Once the mechanics come clearly into focus, you begin Refinement and Polishing, which includes eliminating tells and flashes.

Finally,Relaxation comes – and with it, imperceptibility. Learn card magic and breath…

In order to learn a serious sleight, for example the Half Pass, it’s very important to work through these stages more or less in order. You can’t eliminate flashes before you understand the mechanics. You can’t effectively work to understand the mechanics of a technique until you’ve chosen exactly which technique and instruction source you wish to use.

You must tackle the big knobs before fine tuning the smaller ones. For example, you may dream of a perfect shower, but you don’t build the toilet before digging the foundation. You’ll just have to rebuild the toilet later! 

This is one reason a magic teacher can be so helpful in the learning process. Your teacher can help you see what demands your attention today, and show you how delaying work on some seemingly crucial detail will ultimately lead to better results in less time – and of course, more fun practicing  card magic.

This type of clarity become much easier after you’ve shepherded a few sleights to perfection the hard way. Eventually, you begin to understand the process, and develop intuition about when elements to focus on now – and what to save for later.

To Learn Card Magic – Start Where You Are

The most effective magicians learn to practice a technique in stages. In this video, I’ll show you an example from the Pathways Complete Card Magic Training System. As you’ll see from this video, our approach to practice changes as a sleight develops.

https://youtu.be/lBOO7sdRjIc

Tip #6: Remember the Big Picture

This one took me years to learn! Many card workers practice  sleights in a vacuum, as though moves are meant to be performed with the audience staring at your hands – almost as a demonstration. During our first several years learning card magic,  this is a particularly easy mistake to make.

No move is an island. During the early stage of Research and Development, you must factor in how the sleight is to be misdirected in performance, and how it will be structured into routines. These factors will help you choose the exact approach you’ll choose, and the source you’ll learn from.

As a rule of thumb remember this: There is no secret action that is designed to be burned by the audience. None. 

Only choose sleights that can be covered in performance, and incorporate that eventual goal  into nearly every practice session. This way, the finished product will not only look good to the eye, but even better, contribute to the finished illusion of magic that truly astonishes and audience.

Tip #7: Go to the Mirror

While very few sleights are truly invisible from every angle, like the Gravity Half Pass, you shouldn’t waste too much time working on sleights unless you know, through your Research and Development, that they are angle efficient – that means they can be executed invisibly from most angles. And that any bad angle can be covered in performance –  and still leave the impression of an imperceptible sleight.

 

 

Many popular sleights sold on magic sites do not meet this ancient, all important standard. But once you have found and chosen a sleight that does, and once you’ve developed a good sense of the basic Mechanics, your work is ready for the next stage. Go to the mirror, or your webcam, and practice working the sleight until you see nothing – absolutely nothing!
How does the move look from your left?  
How does it look from the right?  
How about super-close?  
Or further away?   
Your job as a close-up magician is to know how to adapt a sleight to each one of these situations, and make sure that when you perform, nobody can see a flash, or sense a tell. No one can do this part for you. Some workers make the decision not to flash – others don’t. 

Comedians have a term called ‘laughing ears’, for comics that get off stage and imagine that everyone was laughing during their set.

Magicians have ‘deceiving eyes’ – its a similar problem. It comes when you convince yourself you’re not flashing because you want to believe you’re not flashing.  Again this is an area where some real instruction from an effective teacher can be invaluable. 

Go to the mirror to learn card magic– it’s a hell of a good teacher. And stay there until the work is done. If you’ve chosen a sound technique and a good instructional source – you know it’s possible. So now do it! 

Tip #8: Patience is Key

This makes the rest of the process possible. When I first began connecting with my mentors like Larry Jennings, Michael Skinner and Johnny Thompson, I was shocked and scandalized when they told me that even the simplest sleight would take over a year to learn, and that advanced moves like the pass would take several years of practice. I simply couldn’t understand what they meant. I thought If I worked hard enough, I could cram five years of practice into five weeks.  

 

Turns out – the masters were right. This process takes time, patience and caring. You have to want to do it  because you love doing it.  

And that’s the good news – because much of the time, we tell ourselves it’s a question of talent. And that’s not true at all. If you love card magic, and you want to practice – and you’re willing to spend the time it takes, and get the help you need along the way, there’s good news. You have what it takes to become a real close-up card magician.  I’ve seen enough students by now to know.  

 You’ll never REALLY learn how to do magic. But if you spend a few years paying attention – you’ll learn how to learn magic. And if you can do that – your practice will yield fruit beyond your wildest imagination. You’ll amaze and astound – everywhere you go!  

Your Turn: We’d all love to hear about YOUR practice process. What’s worked for you? What hasn’t? How has your practice process changed along the way? Let’s make this a discussion we can all learn something from – and thanks for practicing the art of magic with me!