How to do Magic Tricks

Advice and Support for Magicians

Is Expert at the Card Table Worth Reading?

by 3 Comments

The most famous book on how to do card magic is Expert at the Card Table by S.W. Erdnase.

Is the book still useful for magicians?

Should it be recommended to beginners, or viewed only as an historical text?

Why is Expert at the Card Table so popular?

There’s no denying the importance of the book to magicians. Expert at the Card Table has remained in print since 1902. More than any other book on card magic, Expert at the card Table has played a central role in the training of magicians. It has been reprinted many times. both in its traditional format and as annotated versions, including the new release by Mike Caveney – Annotated Erdnase. The book has been translated into Japanese, German, Spanish, French, and Italian.

Magic DVDs have been released by a several professional magicians, attempting to explain the techniques in Expert at the Card Table in more accessible ways and adding their own suggestions to the methods. Allan Ackerman, Wesley James, R. Paul Wilson and Revelations series of Dai Vernon are the most popular modern adaptations of the book.

“… perhaps no other book in all the list of conjuring books has been so avidly read, so affectionately regarded.” – Jean Hugard

Magician Guy Hollingworth performs an excellent show presenting the story of Expert of the Card Table.

Dai Vernon often quoting from it, including page references, when teaching card magic at the Magic Castle.

Problems with Expert at the Card Table:

There are several problems with Expert at the Card Table from the beginners perspective. It’s outdated and it’s older style of writing can make it a very hard read. Textbooks have moved on considerably over the last century, and modern students are used to information being presented in a much clearer and considerate layout.

The book is know to contain ‘misinformation’, ‘errors’ or ‘traps’ depending on who you ask. Regardless of Erdnase’s intentions, the text does need an interpretation in parts.

The methods taught in the book have become classic techniques for magicians. Many of the best have been perfected and developed further over the years. New methods replace old and it could be argued that the best parts of the book are now available in improved texts that are easier for beginners to learn.

Is Expert at the Card Table suitable for total beginners?
Impressive recommendations, but should The Merchant of Magic recommend it to beginner magicians that ask us which magic books they should read? Our first recommendation to complete beginners has always been Royal Road to Card Magic, but what is the next step?
Adam Symons writes: ‘Worth reading? It depends what the reader is expecting from it – don’t forget its essentially a manuscript on card table sleights with a few tricks bolted on at the end. While some of the techniques have been superseded, the advice of deportment, and attitude etc is still as valid as it was over a hundred years ago (as, IMHO, is the advice on the Shift), and there’s still plenty of useful card work in there. I also think there’s a degree of snobbishness surrounding it.’


‘Personally I think the balance lies somewhere in between – I’ve taken a lot of useful things from it, but I don’t regard it as the ‘be all and end all’ of cards. I’d definitely recommend it to a novice, though not as a first text, if only for the undoubted historical contribution to their art.’

What do you think? Has Expert at the Card Table become nothing more than an icon or badge for card magicians? Is it a case of the ‘Emperors new cloths’?

Has it’s content been refined, improved, or reformatted giving new choices that are easier and more effective magicians training sources?

Should it be essential reading for beginners?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below:

Magic Collection – A Magicians Obsession with Magic Tricks

by 1 Comment

Steve Chmara's Magic Collection
Every magician is a magic trick collector. FACT. We all have a drawer, case, box, or even just a corner of a room, where all our magic tricks get stored over the years. As magicians, we feel drawn to a beautiful magic prop, and sometimes we crave them even if we have no intention of performing the magic trick. Over the years, our collections build up to become a treasure trove of magic secrets.
Imagine if you had a room in your house, totally devoted to magic tricks. What would it look like? Steve Chmara know’s because he has just that. An Aladdin’s cave of magic going back past the turn of the 20th century.

“Magic apparatus is a unique collectible because it’s not something that just sits there. People come over and say, ‘What’s that?’ But instead of going into this long-winded explanation, I simply show them.”

Collecting magic is a fascinating hobby. Unlike many collections, each item is more than just a display piece. The magic tricks you collect over the years cry out to be played with, to be performed and shared with an audience. It may be wonderful to sit amongst your collection, but it must be hard to not feel that the items are ‘waiting’. If magic tricks were alive, they would be performers and showmen. Each magic trick patiently sitting there, for it’s time to come again, when it gets to express it’s purpose for being. A room like Steve’s must be such an exciting place for a magician, and also one of the saddest.

DO THIS: How long has it been since you looked through your draw of magic? The reasons why you abandoned a magic trick years ago may not be there anymore. Old magic tricks become alive with the new techniques you have developed over the years that you can bring to them. Props can be re-purposed, routines that were too technical when you were a beginner are now full of possibilities. If you were to go through your collection now, would you find magic tricks that you had totally forgotten about?

Image Source: Winnipeg Free Press
Video Submitted by Monty Witt

How to do Card Magic Tricks – Problems with Little Finger Break

by Leave a Comment

How to do a better finger break

Colin Writes: “I’m learning card magic tricks and I tried to learn the little finger break (1 hour solid each morning), and whilst I could do 100 “clean” each day, it was still taking circa 200 tries to get there. Am I doing something fundamentally wrong – any quick tips on this? Finally, I used to use a different website and have to say that your website, the emails and the support you offer, are head and shoulders above. Keep on the great work!”

Thanks Colin. It’s always satisfying to get good feedback, and both myself and the team at the Merchant of Magic appreciate it.

Wow, hat’s off to you for putting in some serious hours into your card magic practice. That shows real commitment. Finding the time to do regular work on your card magic tricks can be a struggle for many people, so an early morning practice session is a remarkably good idea. However, you may find that you get just as much benefit from a few short 10 minute practice sessions through the day, rather than a full hour all in one go.

Magicians doing private tuition at the Merchant of Magic shop are often put on a 10 minute practice drill, repeated twice a day. The aim is to build up muscle memory of the technique so a period of rest between small sessions will give your mind time to consolidate the learning that has taken place in the session.

With the little finger or pinky break, there are quite a few methods. The mechanics of card magic tricks aren’t something we can write about on the blog, but we can give you 3 quick tips that will help.

1) Slow down altogether, start drilling the move as slowly as you can. Don’t attempt to speed up, no matter how hard you want to. The little finger break is actually performed slowly, with the angle of the deck covering the action. The move slowly you can get into position, the smoother it looks and the more control you will have.

2) If you are trying to get into a break just using your little finger, bevel the playing cards slightly. While in mechanics grip, your thumb applies a little pressure to the bottom cards in the deck, causing them to bevel out slightly. This creates a slope and the little finger will be able to do it’s work more easily.

3) If you are having trouble holding a break with your little finger, you may be trying to hold too small a break. In practice, the break can be quite large. It’s hidden from view by the position of the deck of playing cards, and your hand as it holds the deck.

It’s more profitable not to focus on the size of the break, but rather on ensuring that the top of the deck playing cards looks flat and level. Use your thumb to push down a little on the top, so it hides the break from the front and disguises any curve on the surface of the deck.

Best wishes and good luck with your magic

Dominic Reyes