Best Magic Tricks of 2013 Awards

The Best Magic Tricks of 2013

Creativity seems alive and kicking in magic, with a record amount of magicians choosing their best magic tricks to hit magic shops in 2013.

Most new magic tricks become popular for a short time as magicians try them out, and see if they will make the grade for their acts. Usually the magic tricks end up in storage and forgotten. So, let’s take a look at the best magic tricks to be released in 2013.

How the award winning magic tricks are selected.

The Merchant of Magic is a magic shop. So, it’s only fair to point out that we also supply most of the items that have won best magic tricks awards. However, the best magic tricks are just a few out of over 21,000 magic tricks that the magic shop supplies. The magic shop receives no payment from manufacturers for selection of the list. We have specifically left out any items that are produced by The Merchant of Magic.

The winners that have won a best magic trick 2013 award are selected from the following sources of opinion:

Customer feedback.
Quanity of sales.
Level of returns.
The views of magic shop demonstrators.
Reviews and feedback from magic forums.
Real world testing by professional magicians.

The Best Magic Tricks of 2013 Winners.

The list is given in no order. Each of these magic tricks have won its place as the top most recommended magic tricks launched in 2013.

Envy-Lope – By Brandon David and Chris Turchi

Envy-Lope has become on the the staple card magic tricks being performed by working magicians across the world. A signed playing card is lost in a deck of cards. Instantly the deck transforms into a little white envelope, containing the spectators signed playing card. A simple plot, visually stricking magic and an easy method has made this a winner with working magicians.

Clean Cash By Marc Oberon

A blank piece of paper, transforms into a £20 with just the wave of the hand. If a magician could do real magic, this is what they would do! Marc Oberon has invented a unique method for this popular magic trick.It’s a winner because he has managed to remove any unnatural moves. The magicians hands are clearly seen to hold only the paper. For working magicians who don’t want to use the traditional gimmick/prop for a bill switch, this is a great addition to their magic trick sets.

Sharpie Through Card by Peter Nardi

Peter Nardi took Rob Bromley idea for the Cigarette Through Card magic trick, and has greatly improved the method, making this practical and fun to perform for professional magicians. Sharpie through playing card allows you to easily stab a signed playing card with a normal Sharpie pen and then hand both items out completely unharmed! This magic trick is in the working magic cases of many performing magicians.

Glance by Steve Thompson

One of the best book tests ever invented. Glance allows you to perform one of the most impossible, memorable feats of mentalism with an object everyone has heard of and read before. And with Steve Thompson’s clever new system, you don’t need to fish for any clues about the word before revealing it. Glance is amazing in both engineering and design. Take a quick flick through the magazine and you will be amazed by the craftsmanship of the wording and layout.

Ace by Richard Sanders

Two joker playing cards are openly placed onto a spectator’s hands and two jokers are placed into the magcians hands. The magician just touchs his jokers to theirs, and all the playing cards transform into aces! Ace by Richard Sanders uses a very simple sleight of hand technique with a clever gimmick, so it’s ideal for total beginners to magic. It’s a wonderful moment, when the playing cards transform.

Electric Touch + By Yigal Mesika

Electric Touch Plus allows you to use the force of electricity so you can deliver an electrostatic shock that will course through your body to your finger tip. Imagine reading someone’s mind and they FEEL the thought leave their mind as if it were zapped from their body. Electric Touch + was a major improvment on the original device that was a massive worldwide success with magicians. The range of uses and the reactions it gets from spectators has made this a winner with magicians around the world.

Any Word – By Ben Williams

Literally ANY word a spectator can think of can be predicted in a clean, impossible fashion and the best thing is that Any Word requires NO SKILL what so ever to perform. The spectator at the end of the routine really feels as though you had influenced them to think of the word that is predicted.

Over the past three years Ben Willaims has honed this routine into a well oiled machine that devastates every spectator that witnesses it! He has performed this amazing piece of mentalism in casual settings, in loud working environments, one on one, in front of large crowds, he has even performed it on RADIO!

The Clarity Box by David Regal

In typical David Regal style, we have a practical and stunning addition to any table, or stage magicians act. A wonderfully crafted prop that is hard to find anything wrong with it! A folded playing card that has been on display in a CLEAR BOX, IN FULL VIEW the whole time is tipped out to show it is the spectator’s signed, selected playing card! The Clarity Box is appearing in magicians working acts around the world and it’s performance ‘in the trenches’ shows just how useful this item is to working professionals.

Tiny Plunger by Jon Armstrong

This funny little prop is the star of the magic trick! The tiny plunger holds onto to a thought of number of playing cards, locates a playing card selection, and a whole range of amazing plunger feats! Originally invented Mathieu Bich, and expanded by Jon Armstrong and Garrett Thomas, Tiny Plunger is that rare prop that is both comical, amazing, and magical.

Which magic tricks missed out?

This list should be longer! There’s a few magic tricks missing from the list. They are the ones that YOU like best!

DO THIS: Let us know which trick you think should be added and make sure you tell us why. Please share your thoughts in the comments section below:

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Best Magic Tricks Awards 2014

Best Magic Tricks Awards 2012

Dynamo Magician Impossible Wins at Broadcast Awards

by Merchant of Magic 3 Comments

Dynamo Magician Impossible wins Best entertainment Programme 2013

Congratulations to the team behind Dynamo Magician Impossible for winning 'Best Entertainment Programme' at the 2013 Broadcast Awards.

Dynamo faced strong competition from shows like Take Me Out, Britain's Got Talent and Celebrity Juice. It's great news that the show won in the Entertainment category at the awards, held at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London.

Dynamo: Magician Impossible has also been shortlisted for the TV Show of the Year award from Virgin Media.

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Best Magic Books – Books All Magicians Should Read – Ratings and Reviews

by Merchant of Magic 9 Comments

By Paul Knight

I’m going to give awards to the very best magic books in print. The Merchant of Magic shop asked me to share with you, the books I feel should be on every magicians bookshelf. Before I start listing my ‘winners’ I want to mention why magic books are so important to me, and should be to you as well.

In the age of instant downloads and DVDs learning magic has never been more accessible and quicker to perfect. This obviously has many advantages as visual learning speeds up the learning process ten-fold. However, living in this `instant age` can breed a laziness in us all. It can condition us to want things to be easier they are. This in turn, can make us lose out on the gems that have been put in writing by our peers.

Being of the old school approach I am a lover of books. The feel, the smell, and the entire experience of losing yourself. The knowledge that, quite possibly at that time, I may be the only person reading the book. As a result, any gems I discover, feel like a personal find, as opposed to it being handed to me.

Primarily for me, the biggest joy and benefit of reading books on magic is that whilst reading, you instantly visualize yourself performing the effect. Watching DVDs of magicians performing is all well and good, but the patter and the animation of the performer are also passed to you. This can hinder your performance when you finally show the trick to spectators as you will be performing the trick as you witnessed it, not how you interpret it.

With so many books out there, and no visual reference point to refer too, which books should you give your time? Where is the hidden gold?

From my own personal experience, this is what I suggest should be the `essential` books on your bookshelf, not only as sources to learn new tricks, but as reference points on tricks, techniques, performing and psychology.

Some people may disagree. If you feel I’ve missed a book book out, or you think I’ve awarded a place in these awards to a book that does not deserve it, Let me know in the comments section below.

C lose up magic secrets – Diamond Jim Tyler

Diamond Jim Tyler is a working pro, and this book is testament to that. A true pic and mix of tried and tested tricks suited for close up and stand up. Cards, coins, cups, business cards, levitation’s, cutlery bending, its all here all wrapped up in commercial presentations. If I ever want to learn a new effect that I know will play well to spectators instantly, whenever I pick up this book and always find a winner. Also, for its price the content is amazing value for money.

The Art of Astonishment – Volumes 1, 2, 3. – Paul Harris

Paul Harris changed the face of close-up magic. His ingenious thinking, off the wall plots and methodical approach cemented his place in magic history as one of the greatest thinkers in close up magic. These three books contain all his best creations. Cards, coins, pens, food, you name it Paul Harris has created a piece of magical weirdness with it. Not only are these volumes literally filled to the brim with amazingly clever effects, the essays covered are fascinating, and Paul`s thoughts on what he describes as `the moment of astonishment` should be studied and put into practice by every magician. These books are essential, and I guarantee if you buy one volume, you WILL end up buying all three.

The Tarbell – Course in magic.

Compiled in 1928 and comprising of 8 volumes The Tarbell course in Magic is essentially an encyclopedia on all related to magic. Many professional magicians have based their careers on these books. If you have an interest in the classics, these are the books for you. If you want a course in magic that you will revisit over an over, again this is the collection you need. If you want more magic than you can ever perfect, look no further. The Tarbell course in magic is regarded as a classic bible of magic, and a classic for good reason as it has survived the test of time.

Destroyers – Troy Hooser / Moments – Troy Hooser

Superb practical real world strong magic with amazing commercial presentations. Both of these books are a wonderful collection of cards coins, again as all the books I have suggested, all tested in the real world with real spectators, so you know immediately that all the wrinkles and nuances have been ironed out, and all the patter is included. Not only are these excellent books due to the content, but the quality of the paper and the books feels and reads like a dream.

So, there you have it…….from reading far too many books and having too much time on my hands these are what I consider classics, from which I use material from for the real world.

However, I do have two more. These aren’t specifically books relating to tricks, more so theory and good practice in performing, that i strongly believe if read and dissected contain priceless information for any performer of any level or creed.

Strong Magic – Darwin Ortiz.

If you consider the art of performing deserves an understanding, then this book is for you. It approaches the Art of Close up magic and what makes its strong, why it works and is a fascinating read. Reading this book will better your understanding of performance and in turn make you a better person yourself. A truly insightful read.

Magic by Misdirection – Dariel Fitzkee

Possibly the first book to focus solely on the use of misdirection in magic, covering in depth the hows, whys and psychology employed when using misdirection. Dariel clearly understands his art immensely, which comes across as you read, think and dissect what you do as a performer, and as a person. A truly eye opening read that makes the thinker think and the hobbyist improve tenfold.