Resources for beginners?

[Overflight]

So I am going to risk the death penalty by posting in here: yes, I am a "layman" and I am wondering what you think are the best resources for beginners in both magic and cardistry. You can cite any sort of resources: websites, books, free sources, paid sources, etc.

[xela]

Dan & Dave did a great job with their Academy.

http://www.dananddave.com/learn/media/

Free tutorials on the basic moves that you should master. It may take you a while, weeks even, before you get the thumb fan right. Keep in mind that flourishes become easier the more you learn them, because they all build on each other's concepts.

As for magic, give YouTube tutorials a shot to learn basic concepts like double lifts, color changes, math concepts, forcing, etc. Head over to any magic company and pick up the easier card tricks. I avoid gimmicked tricks since I'm not a professional magician and therefore gimmicks wouldn't work for me the way I want them to. I prefer sleight magic, especially since it's so on-the-go and can be done with any deck of cards at anytime.

Ellusionist's Crash Course did an excellent job teaching me basics. 95% of those techniques can be found on YouTube, but on YouTube you have to search for good tutorials since half the people have no idea what they're talking about, and when you're starting out it's difficult to discern between someone who has mastered a move and someone who is just regurgitating what they have heard.

Mismag822 is a great resource for beginner tricks.

[Kanped]

There's also 'The Royal Road to Card Magic' and SW Erdnase's 'Expert at the Card Table'.  The former is a great collection of tricks that you can build on and the latter is pure sleight of hand material, aimed primarily at card cheats.

[xela]

Books don't work for me, mostly because I am diagram challenged. I can't look at illustrations of cards moving around the hands without not being able to replicate it in any way. Not sure why I'm like that but hey -

[loldudex2]

Books don't work for me, mostly because I am diagram challenged. I can't look at illustrations of cards moving around the hands without not being able to replicate it in any way. Not sure why I'm like that but hey -

Don't worry. I'm pretty much the same. The PDF I got for the Blue Crown was practically useless for me.


A book that is for beginners, and is easy for even me to follow is "Scarne on Card Tricks". It's been around for over 50 years, and there's a reason for that.

[Don Boyer]

When I started learning, I used Ellusionist DVDs a lot - the ones that are produced by E as opposed to the specialized artist-oriented or gimmick-oriented videos.  They even sell them in bundles - but if you don't have the cash for the bundle, it makes a great checklist for what to look for.

The book recommendations above are great.  Dan and Dave's is a great place to scan through if you're interested in reading material.  I've heard that the Tarbell Course is good for magic in general, and that the two Card College series are excellent resources for card magic - the numbered series teaches magic with sleight of hand while the "Light" series teaches card tricks requiring NO sleight of hand.  As a beginner, try the "Light" series first, and just the first book to start.

For simple trick decks, try the David Blaine magic decks.  Don't buy them from his site, though - he's overpriced.  As a set I've seen them for $15/all three.  I still carry around his "Discover Magic" deck all the time.

I have the "Xtreme Beginners" DVDs, volumes one and two, produced by Handlordz - excellent resource for starting to learn flourishing, as well as Dan and Dave's own material on the topic (I hear that "the Trilogy" is a good place to start with them).

Oh, and please, don't go crazy buying every trick deck and gaff card (or even regular decks) under the sun until you're sure you wanna get into this with some zeal.  You don't have to spend a fortune to become good at cardistry or magic, and some of the stuff just isn't good for beginners.  D&D, Theory 11 and E all make some efforts to rank the difficulty levels of the videos they offer, some better than others.

[Marcus]

Funny, I was just discussing this with a colleague of mine. Everyone has their own way of starting out, and mine wasn't the smoothest so I'll just plain and simple rip off his list of a good start.


Books:
Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic
Royal Road to Card Magic
Card College 1 & 2


DVDs:
I'd definitely go Crash Course 1, and possibly Inside Magic to be honest. Even If I didn't work for E.


This should keep you busy for quite some time. The books contain a great amount of material, and the DVDs are a good visual tool to help you along the way.


As for decks - you don't need any special custom cards when you're starting out. Grab some regular Bicycle decks and you'll be alright. If you like the looks of a custom deck and have some spare change, by all means get one, but focus mainly on the magic. Custom decks will always be around.

[Don Boyer]

As for decks - you don't need any special custom cards when you're starting out. Grab some regular Bicycle decks and you'll be alright. If you like the looks of a custom deck and have some spare change, by all means get one, but focus mainly on the magic. Custom decks will always be around.

I'm with Marcus on this one.  Plain, familiar decks are perfect for starting with.  The good thing about using Bicycles is that there's an awful lot of gaff cards and decks available with the Rider Back, for when you reach that level of expertise.  Even simple stuff like Stripper Decks and Svengali Decks can be had without breaking the bank (those are two good beginner-level decks, great for starting off and doing some impressive but simple tricks with).  They're good quality and plain Bikes are available cheap at the big-box retailers - some sell by the brick for less than $2 a pack.

[Overflight]

As for decks - you don't need any special custom cards when you're starting out. Grab some regular Bicycle decks and you'll be alright. If you like the looks of a custom deck and have some spare change, by all means get one, but focus mainly on the magic. Custom decks will always be around.

Stupid Noob Mistake #1: I bought a couple of decks of what I heard was a good brand (Fournier) but they were plastic coated. Upon further investigation, I came to the conclusion that probably every single deck available in this country's market is either 100% plastic or plastic coated. The only magic store I know closed down and was replaced by a print cartridge refilling shop leaving only the Internet as means to obtain Bicycle decks... at around 3 euros each plus shipping. Man, this hobby can be quite expensive! :-)


Though I discovered that Amazon.co.uk sells bricks and they offer free shipping to Portugal if I spend over 25£ (I can always throw in a couple of books) so I may switch to that if I get really serious.

[John B.]

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No layman allowed, lol also check your library for books, i found a couple good vids.

[Don Boyer]

Checking a library might not be such a bad idea, really - a lot of Martin Gardner's stuff should be available, and maybe some of the better known works.  You'd have to find a large, well-funded library for the best chance at finding some good materials.

I heard Fournier's 505 decks are supposed to be quite good.  One magician, Lee Asher, created his own version of the 505, now called the 605, but they aren't exactly cheap.

Don't go too crazy looking for Bikes if they're hard to find or expensive.  Some company selling in your area has to have some decent-quality decks for reasonable if not cheap prices.  There's a few European magic shops on the web you can buy from as well; you can get the same stuff we're getting here in the States without breaking the bank in shipping and Customs.  card-shark.de makes their own brand called the Phoenix deck - the Master Edition standard decks are made by USPC, the makers of Bicycles, and they're comparable in quality.  They also make many of the popular magic decks with the same Phoenix design - and will take custom orders for when you become famous and want to make your own gaffs!