Hi everyone I'm Marc and well I've been doing card magic for about three years now and just recently started doing mentalism.
So far the only effects I'm confident enough to perform involve me forcing a card and predicting it through various methods.... I know its simple but I've made a name for myself as either being Jesus or the devil depending on which crowds. In fact once I've seriously gotten "I'm gonna throw up" by one spectator. Anyway, I just purchased some things from penguin and want to know what you guys think and any more sugestions.

1 Beyond Secrets by Jay Sankey Hardcover Book 30.00
1 Bottled Up! by Jared Millican Instant Download 9.95
1 The Magician's Mentalism Wallet 44.95
1 MERCURING by Jay Sankey Extra-Large 13 20.00
1 Magician's Wax 2.50
1 The Xpert by Neil Tobin 21.88
1 Psychokinetic Touches by Banachek Book 8.64
1 The Trilogy (3 DVD Set) by Dan And Dave Buck - DVD 63.75
1 Nickels to Dimes 4.38
1 Invisible Deck Bicycle (Red) RED 5.49
1 Modern Coin Magic by J.B. Bobo Book 9.95
1 Freedom to Choose - You've Reached the $ 50 BONUS Level (PROMO) 0.00
1 Freedom to Choose - You've Reached the $ 150 BONUS Level (PROMO) 0.00


I am also looking for 13 steps but it wasn't in stock in penguin so I've held that purchase off for right now... any other suggestions and comments will be very much appreciated. Thank You

Marc

It's good to see a person actually admit to everyone that they are a newbie and not another natural Criss Angel (who in my opinion is a better actor than supposed "mentalist"). So I give you some congrats on that.

Okay, so you are serious about mentalism and mental magic. Before you go blowing your cash on the stuff you listed, purchase the following:

-Practical Mental Magic by Ted Annemann
-13 Steps to Mentalism

Study the material in those two books for at least 6 months. Those two books are the bibles of mentalism and you will need every last bit of information you can get out of them.

After your 6 month+ study, I suggest you look into Sleight of Mind by Harling and Nyrup. This will boost your intelligence on suggestion which is used in almost all mentalism effects. It's companion, The Geist, includes many routines using suggestion.

Next, you are going to want to take a look at some cold reading material. I suggest the following:

-Completely Cold by Kenton Knepper
-Full Facts of Cold Reading by Ian Rowland

Study those two books and you will have something so impromptu on you all the time that it will make you sick once in a while. Very good stuff to know.

I'll get back to you when you are done.

Brucelee

Bottled Up sucks. It's horrible. The guy that created it is a loser. Oh wait, Jared can read this. Great guy. 1 in a million. One of the best friends I have, as any of the AMers would agree too.

A few tips, when you first start doing Mentalism, you're going to want to do it around the same time you do your card magic. Don't. Magic turns mentalism into a trick. I've been doing mentalism for a while and I have to make sure to do the same thing. You also don't want to show nearly as much skill as you do with cards. Pick up 13 Steps ASAP. There's also a new video out called Simply Psychic, which isn't bad at all and pretty inexpensive. It's got some decent ideas. Also, look into Osterlinds East to Master Mental Miracles videos and his other 10 DVDs. His Mind Mysteries are really good. Banachek also has a few DVDs out that you should look into. If you're looking for difficult stuff that will really make you a reputation, look into Luke Jermay. Luke's a cool guy and has some great ideas. Kenton Knepper also has a lot of similar work out. The key, as hard as it will be, is to not buy a lot of stuff. You don't need a lot. Once you know some basic mentalism techniques (Center Tear, Equivoque, Psychological Forces, and even Muscle Reading) you're set and don't really need much more. I'd recommend going into mentalism slowly. Get started with some basic stuff until you know which way you want it to go and how your character will effect it. Not everyone can pull off the Max Maven style. Also, I notice a lot of magic in that order. Remember, if you want to be a true mentalist, you have to separate the magic from the mental performances.

Great ideas exodus! Definitely look into Kenton Knepper, Luke Jermay, and Richard Osterlind.

Thank you guys very much I'm gonna go to the local store after Christmas and pick up 13 steps and practical mental magic.... also by the way the Reason I got bottled up is for how to reseal the snapple so i can write a prediction under the cap..... Yes I am just a begginner but hopefully with about another 2-3 years practice and study I might be able to call myself at least an amateur, with a working routine...

You're a great beginner kid!

darn, I forgot Practical Mental Magic. Any of the Anneman books are awesome. Another overlooked and hard to find book is Al Koran's Professional Presentations. Koran's Medallion will be a focus point for my mental show when I get it going.

Thankyou and well hopefully by college I should be able to have a good working routine that I can perform with a blind fold on (and maybe I will),,,, By the way I'm only 15. I'm still looking for a mentor but I'm not if I would be able to meet them in person.

Without knowing where you are, there's no way for anyone here to help you with that mentor thing.

Maybe online mentoring?

Not a bad idea, but definitely not the most useful. It works and I like to think a few of us here have helped people in similar ways, but hands on mentoring is priceless.

maybe just maybe that might work.... It would be difficult but feasible.

but yes you're right in saying that hands on is priceless.

sigh... well do you guys know any good mentalists that are located in Charlotte?

The Carolinas? No idea.