Magic books Archives

The Best Book To Learn Card Magic

“Hmm, difficult. VERY difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind, either. There’s talent, oh yes. And a thirst to prove yourself. But where to put you?” – The Sorting Hat. Hogwarts School.

The book – The Royal Road to Card Magic is regarded by many magicians as the bible of card magic for both beginner and advanced. However, once you have read and learned from this great book, what is the next step?

Why Royal Road to Card Magic is like the sorting hat.

The job of the sorting hat in the Harry Potter stories was to place students in the right school houses for their skills, and potential. The sorting hat didn’t randomly assign students to the houses, it took their hopes, interests and most importantly, their personality into account. When magicians come to the magic shop for tuition, we start them off with The Royal Road to Card Magic as the course sorting hat.

We think this is the best book to learn card magic because it is a gateway. It’s one of the 10 magic books every magician should read

Card magic tuition needs a first stepping stone. Royal Road to Card Magic is the best book to learn card magic because it acts as a first introduction to performing well. However, because it covers so many different areas of card tricks, it can be hard to decide which area suits you most and which area you will find most enjoyable to explore. Do you want to focus on gambling routines? Perhaps you are drawn to self working card magic tricks? Maybe you want to focus on magic tricks that use the new techniques you have learned?

The Royal Road to Card magic was intended to be an introduction to various styles of card magic, and it achieves its aim.

By the nature of the way the authors lead the reader through, you not only learn the essential sleights, but you are shown how they can be used in different styles. This, in turn, allows you to find your like and dislikes.

The Royal Road to Card Magic is the best book to learn card magic and will enable you to find your niche area. So whether, it is mind reading, story telling, gambling, parlor or close up card tricks that tick your boxes, The Royal Road to Card Magic was and still is the best introduction to date.

Two versions of Royal Road to Card Magic:

Royal Road to Card Magic Book– Illustrated with more than 120 clear line drawings that make the explanations easy to follow.

Royal Road to Card Magic DVD – R. Paul Wilson shows you every important sleight and effect from the Royal Road to Card Magic in the precise order it appears in the book.

What Magic Books Don’t Teach You About Becoming A Master Magician.

by Merchant of Magic 4 Comments

By Dominic Reyes

Becoming a master magician looks like it should be a straight line going from a beginning point A to mastery of magic at point B. As comedian Dimitri Martin shows us in the picture above, success as a magician is much more of a wiggly path than a direct one.

As magicians, it’s easy to assume that the path to becoming a master magician is direct. We like to think it’s a straight line because it’s clear and straightforward. It makes success seem reachable and direct, but reality doesn’t work like that. The messy, twisty line may be a mess, and hard to work through, but it shows us the failure, setbacks, dead end magic tricks, bad practice techniques, and all the mistakes that slow us down in the process of becoming a master magician.

Most magicians learn their trade from other magicians. We watch magic DVD’s and read magic books teaching us the magic tricks that have worked well for others. The magic DVD’s and books only show us the success’s other magicians have had. We don’t find out about the years of work that lead nowhere. The mistakes, missed opportunities and failures, every magician has experiences. Problems other magicians have faced tend to be kept private, so the journey to success seems to be a straight line.

This editing of success is fine for learning techniques. After all, it’s crucial to copy good technique and avoid mistakes or poor examples. However, as magicians, we run the risk of becoming disheartened by our own, slower progress. It’s easy to feel that we are not as good as other magicians because we see all the mistakes we make during the learning process. We are aware of every imperfection of our technique. Our honest, critical view of our own abilities can’t compete with the edited perfection of magic presented by a master magician in a magic video or book.

This is exactly the reason why many people suggest that women shouldn’t read beauty magazines if they want to be happy. The readers are presented with an unrealistic version of reality that can make the reader feel unhappy with themselves. The same magazines, often suggest commercial solutions to the problems that they create. As a magician, it’s easy to see, all the successful master magicians teaching magic, and feel that you are not as good as them.

Do This:
However you define your journey learning magic, expect a messy – but in the end, wonderful adventure.

Don’t compare yourself to hundreds of different magicians showing you their best magic tricks. Compare yourself to your previous abilities, and race YOURSELF to improve. You only have to ensure you are better that you were in the past, consistently over time, to become a master magician.

Magic Books – Should Magicians Learn From a Magic Book?

by Merchant of Magic Leave a Comment

I love nothing more than reading a magic book. I’ve always thought that Magic books have so much more value than magic DVDs. Obviously this is personal preference and a bold statement. But I stand by it and have often gotten into deep discussions with other magicians, arguing the pros and cons of Magic books when learning new magic tricks.

Let me explain my reasons. Of course, you may well disagree, but if anything, my views may at least make you think about the values of a magic book from a different angle.

In this modern age of DVD, YouTube, Instant Downloads, and streaming videos it is easier and quicker than ever before to learn magic. We now live in an instant world where all the information we hunger is readily available. This clearly has it’s positives, but it also has it’s negatives. Because we can obtain this information so easily, it’s true worth can be underestimated which in turn classes the information as easily discarded. Anything that is easily discarded has less worth. That brings us to a much slower way to learn magic: The magic book.

Magic books require time, and also reading a good magic book stimulates imagination. To read a magic book you need to be away from any distractions or interruptions. Within magic books are magic secrets. By that I mean magic tricks and routines that have been lost in time and lost in print. Are these points positives or negatives? I argue they are all positives.

Firstly, when you invest time in your magic book it gives you it’s value. If something is instant, it’s value may be less. Secondly, when you read your magic book works with your imagination to automatically create an image, therefore, when reading magic books in your mind you see yourself in the role of the magician. This helps build creativity and patter on so many levels.

Thirdly, if watching a DVD you can still be interrupted. People will sometimes ask you to do things. Essentially, if you are sat in front of TV, it is assumed you are relaxing and open to interruptions and conversation. When reading a magic book it will send out the signal do not disturb (in a nice way of course). Also, when reading magic books you can put music on quietly in the background, which has been proven to enhance learning.

Finally, there is the `hidden gem` magic tricks you will discover. To find gold you have to dig. Magic books are designed this way, and nothing compares to finding a trick that you immediately love. Its like flicking through CD’s in a huge music store and finding an old favorite. There is an old saying in magic:

“If you want to keep a secret, put it in writing.”

Put all these elements together and you have an excellent learning structure the magic book, plus when you learn particular magic tricks or routines you will have learn`t it with yourself in mind. This for me is the biggest advantage. When watching a DVD you are watching another person’s perspective on how to perform magic tricks, and subconsciously you will be learning the performers mannerisms. I have no desire to be a mimic. The magic should be about the magician as a performer, not the magic tricks. Magic books give you the option to be yourself.

Don’t get me wrong, DVDs and visual learning has it’s place, and everyone learns their magic tricks in different ways. These are purely my views and preferences. Obviously to explain a technical move or sleight in writing is restricted, and to see it taught makes the learning process quicker, but who is to say that the performer you are watching is performing the move exactly as it was intended? I hope my thoughts at least throw a new perspective on magic books and the benefits of reading and the learning process.

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