(This is my first real essay HERE, so please, any comments/criticism are appreciated!)

Lately, I've seen a lot of people around here (mainly newer magicians) going 'I need new tricks. I'm wicked good with cards, 2, and im advanced!' Let's examine this....If you're 'advanced' and 'wicked good with cards', can't you just use your enormous library of sleights and invent some tricks on the spot? Most card magicians have a large knowledge of sleights, making it easy to amaze people on the spot with an original trick made up right then and there.

This leads me to the main point of my essay: Adding that needed flare. It annoys me that people dismiss Mark Wilson's Complete Course In Magic or Card College Volume 1 as beginners material. They say 'Oh, I already know all my sleights' or 'I'm not a beginner.' Well, as many of you know, you can learn a lot from teaching something you know to someone, and that's exactly what I did.

One of my closest and dearest friends wanted to get into magic after I showed him a couple effects. Now, he's a lifeguard that works 10 hours a day, 3 days a week at a retirement home. He has about 7 of those hours to himself. So he decided to take up the art of Card Conjuring. He decided to log onto a 'Free Tricks!' website and learn from it. Now, for learning it off a lame site like that, he did pretty darn well. But I told him right then and there that he couldn't use that website EVER.

I then taught him basic sleights, looked through Mark Wilson's book with him, watched Born To Perform with him, and am going through Card Course Volume 1 with him currently. After looking through all of this 'beginner' material, I have noticed how many gems you can find.

Take Mark Wilson's book. He teaches a great version of the color changing aces where a spectators card is placed between the black aces, vanishes, and reappears between the red aces reversed in the deck. This is probably my favorite book, and after looking through it a few times, I've found that this can be turned into a routine that you can perform at a paid performance.

I've added some more advanced sleights to the effect to make the handling smoother and more believable. Instead of cutting the deck after the card vanishes, I pick up the deck and immediatly show the card sandwiched. Also, when showing the card to have vanished, I've made a pretty visual way of making it 'disappear'.

Now, when my friend performed this, I was impressed. He performed it fairly well, but his handling (not his fault) was so obvious. I mean, cutting the deck after it vanishes? Why do you need to do that? He also noticed this, and we sat down and started putting our minds together. We were then able to come up with some different and original sleights to use to make the effect killer!

What about Oil and Water? I’ve heard many people call this effect a ‘well known beginner trick’. Well, after watching my friend perform it, he asked why the changing and moving of the card has to be so slow. We then, once again, sat and though of a way to make it faster. Not only did we do that, but I showed him an easy way to show all 6 cards to be black, and then all 6 to be red.

He just received his copy of Card College 1, so I drove over and we had a ‘jam session’ today. He showed me what he learned from Mark Wilson and then I showed him the essentials. The point Is this: there is NO such thing as beginner tricks and material!

I remember reading somewhere that Eugene Berger (correct me if I’m wrong) has an entire show of JUST self working card tricks. A beginner card trick, or any trick for that matter, in the hands of a ‘professional’ or ‘an advanced magician’ should look like a miracle.

We all know the tricks Mac King teaches on the Worlds Greatest Magic? I use those all the time. I also use my Tel-E-Vision a lot too. With the right presentation, these effects will seem mind blowing. One time I goofed up on a DL kept going, and someone said ‘I know you were holding two cards, but how did it jump to the top?’

This essay has one main point: pick up your beginner material and a notebook! I now have an entire notebook from JUST today, and I only used 2 books and some easy tricks from Mac King. Imagine what a months work will look like! Start thinking of ways to add that extra flare to a trick, if you’re all as advanced as you say you are, you should have no problem.

Wow thats werid!!! I was JUST taught that effect like 2 days ago. But We both didnt know what it was called.

Good First Essay btw. Enjoyed the read. And i like the fact that your reminding everyone that since they 'know all the easy stuff now' and want harder material etc not to overlook the easy stuff becaus eit can be just as impressive if not more when performed correctly or with some *flare* as you say.

Il have to write one of my own.

Although this is certainly possible, one should never do any effect for a live audience until they have perfected it, and incorporated it into a routine. There is a big difference between performing an effect that is 'impromptu,' and performing an effect that you have never done before, regardless of the familiarity of all the sleights/moves involved. Even impromptu magic needs to be practiced, and rehearsed until it has become second nature.

Not to say that a magician cannot, or should not be able to come up with a good "out" should any potential mishaps occur, but this is always a last resort. Further more, those who assume that they are "too advanced" for some of the classic books that elaborate in depth on magic's basics, are not advanced at all, they are ignorant and impervious to what actually makes magic astounding.

They assume that the difficulty of the 'method' is what actually makes the effect astonishing, as opposed to how it is presented. If the method is not seemingly 'over-difficult' to accomplish, it must therefore not be worthy of doing for these 'almighty masters of conjuring.' When in fact, it is the exact opposite -- simple magic can be simply amazing. The less you have to worry about pulling off complicated, and unnecessary moves, the more you are able concentrate on your presentation, and showmanship.

Good essay, glad to see someone else has decide to contribute. Ok back to working on my book.

Good essay Fatal, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

Good essay, I enjoyed it aswell and it does relate to everyone... I have Card College 1 through 5 and number one has taught me some astounding sleights and finesses that make my card magic even more believable and enjoyable!