Here's the deal. I am an adult with pretty small hands who loves magic. My hands make it difficult for me to perfect certain things like sponges, some card sleights, etc. Even correctly doing some sleights doesn't help me past my hand size. I simply can't hide things well enough even with misdirection. I bought a TT a few years ago and it looked like i was using the thumb of a giant. My wife literally laughed at it lol. What would you recommend for someone in my situation? I have the TKO and love it, but want to expand into a decent show. Should I look more into coin, mentalism, and gimmicks? I know some sleights and palming will be needed every now and then and I am fine with that as long the whole routine doesn't require it like sponges do or if it is small like a coin. I just want to have some amazing tricks in my arsenal and want some advice on where to go with it.

Spongeballs come in various sizes, have you tried a smaller version? Also, wetting them down before performing helps make them appear larger.

There are SO many no-palm versions of various tricks, you should have a plethora to choose from. Card to impossible location - some recent products include The Light, Impossible Envelope, Tin Opener, F1 Wallet, etc.

There are also a WIDE variety of no-palm wallets that work great, with no palming required. Just control the card to the top of deck, touch to wallet, produce.

As for what tricks to recommend, there are thousands that require no palming and can be done with smaller hands. List the ones that appeared interesting to you, and we can tell you if smaller hands would be bad for them.

I currently have a gaff deck, TKO, and sponges. I am waiting on my pre order Tool to arrive soon. I haven't tried the smaller sponges yet...that may be something I loom in to.
I am interested in:

Greed
SLR
Extreme Burn 2.0
Loops or other IT/ITR stuff
Self tying laces
Strip
Insider
Dresscode
Ultra gum
All will be consumed
Function 9
Dlite junior (a bit concerned here but would be great for kid events)
On the spot
Linking laces
Bending the real
Liquid metal

I want to be able to a fluid show for friends, family, and events. With that said...any help, input, and suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I know I have a long road of practice ahead and I don't mind that. I'm just trying to get my foot on the right path so I don't waste money on things I cannot do.

Thanks for your reply and anyone else who takes the time to help me. I appreciate it!

The light and f1 wallet looked really impressive. Thanks for those suggestions.

I use to think hand sized matters, but it really doesn't. If you practice something long enough, you will find ways to make it happen. It may restrict what your capabilities are, but I am confident that no matter what your hand size, there is a way for you to be an awesome magician.

Keep at it. Consider trying bridge cards (They are a little smaller). Do what you love.

-ArchAngel_G

I agree. It won't stop me from doing what I love, but some things just don't work for me. It's definitely not a lack of wanting to practice...I realize most tricks are not simply pick up and perform. It's annoying to have small hands in some cases, but only a minor setback in my magic world

Gazzo has relatively small hands, plus he had a stroke several years ago that left him with minimal dexterity in his left hand. It hasn't stopped him from performing Cups and Balls with some of the largest cups on the market and balls that most magicians wouldn't dare try to use. His final loads are jumbo oranges and a melon!

Max Malini had small hands and it didn't slow him down in the least.

Small hands is no handicap. You just have to work with the tools you've been given. Can't classic palm a card? Use a gambler's cop with the back of the card protruding out of the back. Can't palm a coin? Use an edge grip or substitute a subtlety. Magicians produce jumbo coins all the time. Some even manipulate CD's as if they were coins.

Watch your angles and you'll be fine.

Avoid the Dlite. Everything else will be ok regardless of hand size. If you get into mentalism, use the BOON writer instead of the TT writer.

Liquid Metal requires some decent hand strength.

I disagree and agree with you here at the same time. Small hands is a handicap as most tricks do not take this into account. This is because to be best for the market they make it for the average magician. I am not average. In a sales pitch for a trick it doesn't tell you to be careful if you have small hands and this is what kind of screws me. I watch sleights in my ultragaff DVD that would be incredibly easy with a larger hand and it frustrates me. Some of them i 'can pull off while others risk being exposed way too much. You can't hide a halfdollar behind a quarter ya know? I do agree I have to work with what I got which is why I started this thread. I am trying to work with my small hands so i think coins, mentalism, gimmicks, etc is my route to take. My hands are not freakishly small or anything, but a deck of cards absorbs more than half my hand. Some things go from difficult to impossible. Although I obviously do not know all the sleights to fall back on. I simply try to learn from the sources I have and they have not provided me with much I can work with. Sooner or later I will be an expert small handed magician and I will provide help to those like me


Thanks again akira for more suggestions and input on my list of tricks. You have been a great help for me with starting points.

Use quarters instead of half bollars, 1 inch sponge balls instead of 2 inch, get a finger tip instead of a TT. Produce and vanish smaller silks, use a silk winder to produce larger ones.

Hope this has helped
Zambini

They sell miniature cards, y'know. You can use quarters, or even nickels for coin sleights. They make junior thumb tips, you can try those, or if you have a small load, you could even use the cheap TT that comes with kid's magic sets. (I had one of these TTs when I was starting out, you'd really be surprised how well it worked.)

If you can't find a TT or sponges that work for you, you could just do what magicians of old did; get creative.
I heard somewhere that the original TTs were thimbles covered in makeup. That should be pretty small, no?

Bending the real................Stay away. Not good.

Just in terms of card palms here are a few that should work regardless of hand size...

Tenkai
Gambler's Flat Palm
Gambler's cop

All of these are harder to master than a standard palm but hand size shouldn't be an issue. These are more about angle awareness than fully covering the card.

Also, when card palming....don't be afraid to bend the cards!