Want to know the real truth about self working magic tricks?

Self working magic tricks tend to be the most popular types of tricks sold in magic shops. Because self working tricks don't require the use of sleight of hand, they appeal to complete beginners that are yet to develop the skills required for more technique driven effects. More established magicians will often add self working tricks into their performing material if the trick fits their style and is suitably impressive for their acts. However, the term 'self working magic tricks' can cause cause a serious point of confusion..

Even when a trick is 'self working' you still need time to master the 'self' part.

Self-working means that the required work will be on your presentation rather than how the props are operated.. It can still take just as long to master.

Don't assume that a self working trick can be performed well right out of the box. The mechanics of the trick may not require sleight of hand, but that's only a small part of a great performance. Most of the 'magic' of magic is in it's presentation. That's not included in the package that arrives through the post to you. You add that yourself through HARD WORK.

Every magic trick becomes self working over time

A self working magic trick usually has a method that is simple to execute and with a process that is automatic. But even the mechanics of a knuckle busting magic trick should become 'self-working' over time as the magician masters the moves required to perform it. Every magic trick that is near 'performance ready' should seem self working to the performer. If it doesn't, it's not ready to perform with consistant ease and success.

Every magic trick needs:

Commitment
Practice
Reherasal
Charisma
Presentation
Timing
Context
Meaning
Engagment

There's no rush when it comes to performing a new magic trick. Take your time, even with magic tricks that are advertised as self working. Put your 'self' into them, thats where the real work begins..

How to Palm Playing Cards – The Best Top Palm Technique

by Dominic Reyes Leave a Comment

By Ben Williams

Sarah writes: ‘Could Merchant of Magic give me some advice on how to palm playing cards and improve my top palm.’

‘I do have quite small hands, and I’m using a poker deck, but I don’t think small hands are the problem. I’m reluctant to use a bridge deck as all the decks I use are poker sized…

With the right misdirection, I can get away with my top palm, but not consistently. I’ve tried the method outlined in the Royal Road to card magic, and Dai Vernon’s method, but I still feel that it looks obvious that I’m palming a card and more often than not, I don’t get it into quite the right position and end up with edges showing! I feel I must be doing something wrong!

I understand that misdirection can make all the difference, but can you recommend any resources or suggest any ways that I can improve the technique itself? Thanks very much!’ – Sarah

How to palm playing cards without mistakes

Hi Sarah,

Of course, we can help, there is a tonne of different places to study palming playing cards, I will list a few great DVDs at the bottom of this page.

Firstly, let’s see if there is any advice that may be useful to you…

With regards to the top palm, it’s a bit like a pass, at first it is impossible to do, then it becomes something you can carry out under misdirection, then it becomes something that is invisible. I am glad that you have taken the time to lay a playing card on your hand to see if it is physically big enough to hide a playing card, not many people do this and swear it is the size of their hands and they cannot hide the card. However, usually it just needs an alteration to the position of the cards, or how they hold them that solves the issue, not stretching your hands!

The real secret of how to palm playing cards

First of all, practice as much as you can. When it comes to a sleight that can be helped by misdirection, it usually means that it can be harder to execute and potentially risky (which the top palm certainly is!). It is important to get the muscle memory down so that your hands can do the move without your brain thinking. Unfortunately, this only comes with time and repetition. The key is to be able to perform the move without thinking and whilst being able to do other things, it should become an automatic process like turning on an indicator whilst driving, or moving the mouse for your computer.

How I palm playing cards using the top palm

I don’t have an outstanding palm, but I do know when to misdirect, or I can easily orchestrate the misdirection needed. This is how I get into the moment where I can create some misdirection. Firstly, I top palm with two hands. I can one handed top palm but it is only 75% and I have never drilled it to 100% so I do not do it on gigs usually. I perform this top palm by getting ready into position, so that I am ready to palm. When I am ready with my hands in position I simply ask if they would be impressed if I had predicted what their card would be. The moment their eyes come up to me, I perform the top palm. It happens the moment their eyes move up to me, not once they have locked on me. You can wait until their eyes have ‘arrived’, but you run the risk of being too late and letting them catch up with you and spot the palm. As mentioned, my palming technique is not the best technique in the world as the thumb is a tell tale sign so I use misdirection rather than when being burned, but it is practical.

Spectators that don’t look away

Here is how to deal with an awkward spectator who just won’t look away. If anyone is burning my hands too much, I will tell them to watch harder! This is purely beneficial to me, not them. As they watch closely they will be focused intensely on your hands, I simply wait and make them wait for something… And I do nothing! I then break their concentration swiftly by saying sharply, ‘of course, I won’t do anything if you are looking!’ This is a joke, but it serves a purpose, the first sentence tells them to pull focus (on beat), the more a spectator focuses, the more they relax when their concentration is broken (off beat), this is a very basic explanation of the on beat and off beat. The stronger the On Beat, the stronger the Off Beat.

How to palm playing cards and make it look invisible

If you wish it to be invisible, then I am afraid, this will only happen over time as your fingers and muscles finesse the move. My advice for practicing would be to practice very slowly at first, analyze each move individually and try to see where the pressure in your hands causes an effect to the playing cards. If you can understand why sleights work, it is much better than simply understanding how they work. Again the goal is to have these sleights become an automatic process, which can only happen if it is drilled again and again and again.

Here are a couple of great sources to learn palming:

Practical Card Palming
Sleight of Hand Secrets With Cards
Encyclopedia of Card Sleights Volume 6 by Daryl – Download Now

Here is also a free eBook all about Misdirection Techniques should you wish to learn more about this area of magic.

Is Magic Art?

by Dominic Reyes 2 Comments

Is magic art? Should magic be considered an art form?

Greg's a young magician who has to write an essay for school on why magic should be considered an art form. He's being proactive and wants to get the opinion of other magicians as field research.

Do you agree that it is an art form? What arguments would you make?

Please share your thoughts at the bottom of this page.

Phil Hyslop:

What is magic? "Magic is the theatrical art of creating the illusion of impossibility in an entertaining way." Charles Reynolds

Sean Mccarthy:

I think magic isn't an art form, although it has the potential to be. In the same way that an easel and a paint brush aren't a painting. It requires an artist. Somebody with a passion for what they do and with a message to give. Magic can be an art, but only when the tricks come second to the people.

Ian Leic:

I got a copy of Ken Weber's book "Maximum Entertainment" the other day and in it he says that magic is an art as it falls under the umbrella of 'performing arts'. Like others here, I personally believe that magic has the potential to be an art but shouldn't be classed as that automatically. A block of clay needs a sculptor to create art rather than a mess. A keyboard needs a composer to create art rather than just a noise. Magic can be an art but whether it is or not is entirely reliant on the person performing it.

Jørund Werner:

Yes. I believe magic can be an art form. I went to an art school years ago, I'm not only magician, I also make comics, draw pictures and write short stories. In my experience the hard work I do when I make art has a lot in common with the work I do when I work on my magic, Yes it's an artform, if you put your soul and hard work in it. If It's original and interesting to watch, if your magic is something that does not loook like magic you have seen before, then I think you can call it art.

Chris Curley:

Magic is art. The cards are my canvas, my hands are the paint and my mind creates the master piece. Too say magic is not an art is not a wrong answer just a view on the subject. Magic that does not seem to be art was not performed properly.

Jonathan Nicholson:

Brilliant question. I would say that magic is an art but in the way that paint, brushes and canvas is not art until the creative element (artist) is introduced. Perhaps more akin to dance…

TRICKS are not artistic, but a magician has the ability to create art with them. Some card flourishers now call their card flourishes "juggling" but watching some of the videos (again part of the creative process) I would class that as art.

My partner says magic is not art. In her defence – she has seen me perform.

Tomás Ó Laoch:

Art is supposed to make you feel something you make people feel wonder and whimsy so yes i believe its an art form people look at a painting and wonder the emotion behind it so that's my argument behind my statement.

Sam Mcgurgan:

Well all art forms need to be perfected, magic also has to be perfected, therefore magic is an art.

Dominic Reyes:

Great posts on this topic! I would agree.. Magic is much like any other form of performance. The props and techniques are materials for the magician to create something. Perhaps the 'art' comes in the presentation and delivery of the magic?

Self Working Magic Tricks – What This Really Means

By Dominic Reyes