How to Learn Magic Tricks With Poker Chips – What the Magic Shop Recommends

Want to learn some cool tricks with poker chips?

It's a great way to impress your poker friends, and also transfers nicely over to coin magic. Lets look at how to get started:

1) You need some poker chips.

We recommend you invest in good quality clay poker chips as you are going to be working with the chips over a long period of time. Cheap plastic poker chips can work fine, but the clay chips have a much better feel and weight. You can pick up packs of clay poker chips very easily from most online magic shops.

2) You need some expert tuition on tricks with poker chips

We recommend learning from Poker Columnist and Entertainment Award Winner, Rich Ferguson in his excellent DVD on the subject of tricks with poker chips. The DVD covers over 70 tricks with poker chips, often seen on TV or performed by professional poker players.

The DVD also includes a range of poker chip tricks by Rich that are his own unique creations!

3) Whilst learning the skills, cheat and take a shortcut.

There's nothing wrong with using a gimmick to start performing poker chip tricks right away. As long as you are also learning the sleight of hand poker chip tricks, it can get you performing and building up a reputation for poler chip skills right away. Imagine being able to spin a poker chip on the very tip of your finger.

Check out this poker ship trick in action:

Top 10 Signs That You Are In Love With Magic

by Dominic Reyes 1 Comment

You've been practicing a few magic tricks and enjoyed entertaining your family and friends; But now you can't stop thinking about magic!

In order to help you figure out what is happening, we have compiled the following top 10 ways to know you're in love with magic:

Number 10

You've forgotten your previous hobbies.
Do you find yourself wanting to spend more and more time practicing your magic, at the cost of your other interests? If you find that your regular sessions at the gym, or your music practice are suddenly an inconvenience that is eating up your 'practice time' it's a clear sign that you are developing a magic obsession.

Number 9

You can't stop thinking about magic tricks.

Do you find yourself thinking about magic, presentations, and patter lines all day long? In the shower, whilst driving, or even when you are tailing behind your partner in department stores? If every waking moment is filled with thoughts of magic or ideas for new tricks, its a good sign that you are in love with magic.

Number 8

You care about magic.

There is a reason why you don't want to know the history of the band you went to see recently: you don't love it. When you're in love with something, you want to know all about it: It's history, it's community, what makes it work. You truly care about it, and it's popularity and future.

Number 7

You don't care about the quirks and geekiness of magic.

Even wearing a playing card tie doesn't seem so terrible. You wouldn't do it yourself, but can understand the temptation.

Number 6

You have great chemistry.

You can't be in love with something that you have no chemistry with. You are beginning to think like a magician, and think in similar ways to other magicians, that's a good sign. You can sit down with anyone who is interested in magic and chat to them for hours.

Number 5

You start seeing magic everywhere.

Suddenly, you start to notice adverts for local magicians, when you are out and about. The TV listings start to seem to have more magic that usual, and you start spotting magicians performing when you visit restaurants and pubs. You automatically switch to become 'open' to seeing magic performed all around you.

Number 4

You love spending time practicing.

You look forward to practicing, and don't care much about what else you could be doing. Lately, just sitting on your own with a deck of cards sounds like the best way you could spend an evening.

Number 3

You cram everything into one pocket, so you have room to carry magic props.

Pocket management suddenly becomes all consuming. You start looking at little bags to carry magic tricks and coin holders for your gimmicked coins. You start carrying a sharpie pen with you at all times.

Number 2

Other priorities take a backseat.

You used to train religiously, but lately, if you have a new magic DVD, you don't mind missing a workout. Not only that, but your workaholic drive of take home your work on weekends, seems like an unwise lifestyle choice.

Your to-do list seems to have become filled with new moves to learn and tricks to purchase and learn.

Number 1

You start planning about the future and magic is in it.

You start dreaming of turning your love for magic into a career. You find yourself looking at professional magicians websites online and reading about performing commercially. In the future, you want to make an income from magic, perhaps as a side line at first, but the thought of the lifestyle of a professional magician seems like a dream job.

When planning your next holiday, you know you want to build in magic somehow. A holiday to Vegas has taken over from the beach as your dream destination. Your future plans seem to have changed to include magic as much as possible.

It's love!

If you find yourself identifying with most of the above signs, there's a good chance you are in love with magic, rather than it being just a passing phase. If that's the case, congratulations! This is a lifelong love affair that will bring you more happiness than you could ever believe. Jump right in and welcome the obsession!

How to Find an Audience for Your Magic Tricks

by Dominic Reyes Leave a Comment

Richard writes: 'I've been practicing magic for a few years, but only performing to my family. How do I find an audience for my magic tricks?'

Nice work Richard! You've been practicing your magic over the long term, and that shows a real commitment to develop as a magician. Like many people, you have reached the point where you have run out of new people to see your tricks. After all, magic needs fresh eyes because a magic trick is never as strong when it's repeated to the same person. Lets look at some ways you can start performing to a wider audience.

Dominic Reyes recorded a short video in which he talks about finding an audience for your magic tricks:

In a nutshell, it's all about reaching out to the community. You already have an audience that would love to see your magic. It doesn't have to be a commercial transaction as the real value for you initially is experience. Start looking for an audience for your magic tricks amongst the charity and support sector. Study the 'what's on' guide to look for events that might like to 'bolt on' some close up magic. Advertised events may be at a stage where they have already arranged the entertainment, but that should not stop you. The goal is to make contact with the organisers and introduce yourself. When the best season of events start to be planned, you can recontact and be at the front of their minds, when they are doing serious planning.

The secret is to MAKE CONTACT. The world will not come to you, all by itself.

Introduce yourself and become known in those circles. If you make an effort to put yourself out there as a possible entertainment choice, you will land some gigs sooner or later.

Remember to be active in the magic community. Join a local magic club and be INVOLVED. You will have fun, learn, and develop an understanding of your local areas market for magicians.