I just bought
:bluebikes:
The Royal Road to Card magic
Expert Card Technique:close-up table magic
Card Manipulation
Magic Cyclopedia: A Complete Course
:bluebikes:
And I was wondering was this a smart move our is there any books that are better in the area of cards? And if not heres a little friend Ill like for a while

Wikiro

Wikiro...all those books are great for beginners, fairly inexpensive also. If you are new to card magic your on the right track.

But if you can afford it, I also reccommend the Card College series, great resources at your disposal.

For something more advanced, try Expert At The Card Table by S.W. Erdnase...It will keep you busy for a while.

re;
"was this a smart move"

Well it certainly wasn't a bad one. These are classic books, and whilst there are some that may be an easier read, you have got a wealth of information at a bargain price.

Paul.

Hi,

The Royal Road to Card magic
Expert Card Technique
are really very good books in my opinion.
if you are new in card magic and want to do your first steps, the royal road is really the best. but after a while, you have to by the card college of giobbi. it's "the bible" )
When you are looking for more good tricks, look at annemans card miracles vom dover
wothfull matieral

Hannes

Card Manipulations is a little hard to understand I dont get the book change.

Wikiro

Whilst I certainly believe that classic books are called "classic" for a reason, you could do a lot worse than buy card collage, as already mentioned.

If you can work your way through the older books (which can be a little baffling) then stick with them, they are great resourses!

All of these books are great, but ANY aspiring magician should learn one difficult gimmick-free coin routine. The lessons in misdirection, time and audience management which coin magic (of the, say, David Roth or Gary Kurtz variety)imparts are priceless. Holding out, for instance, becomes much easier because coin magic teaches how to direct the spectators' attention unerringly.

Get Kaufman's Coin Magic.

Hi,

i think you are right in what you can learn from a gimmik free coin routine, but in my opinion, i think richard kaufmanns coinmagic is a bit difficult for beginners. i get the book as one of my first magic books, an i didn't understand much. after a while i bought bobos coin magic where i found all the basic slights. i think for a beginner, bobos coinmagic is better, because there are the basics....

Hannes

To springboard off of what Paul posted earlier:

Here's a BAD move: buying a book and then not taking the time to read it.

One problem I find (as a newcomer to magic) is that, while the explanations in the Royal Road and the Cyclopaedia are very clear, it's diffiult to know when you are really approaching a decent level of proficiency. Without a skilled card magician ready to hand to tell you simple things such as (for example), "yes, your riffle shuffle's fine but, your overhand shuffle is far too slow," or whatever, it's difficult to know if you are really anywhere close to achieving the skills described.

The books may show you the moves, but they don't convey more abstract qualities such as the timing, the smoothness, the overall presentation.

Are there any books that can help out with the problems I've mentioned?

best wishes
Huw

In that respect, "use the old magicians friend: the mirror"

That's the patronising advice I was always given, but I could never look at the mirror without instictively reversing my hand gestures and messing up. In short, no book or mirror can tell you if your riffle shuffle is fine or if your overhand shuffle needs work, only a spectator (who does not have to be a magician) will tell you if what they see is good.

Good luck

re;
"your overhand shuffle is far too slow,"
Speed of an overhand shuffle is unimportant.

Watch non magicians shuffling cards, there are a few variations, speed differs. At the end of the day as long as it LOOKS like you are mixing the cards and you don't drop them on the floor it is good enough.

There are books on presentation and showmanship (Alex Elmsley has interesting comments on this type of book in The Collected Works of Alex Elmsley). You would probably find Ortiz's Strong Magic very useful.

A mirror can still be useful (showing if obvious finger breaks can be seen etc.), but when you think the mechanics are invisible then you need to start showing real people.

It's like driving. You really start to learn AFTER you have passed your test. With magic, once you think you know what you are doing, you start to really learn when you start entertaining real people.

Paul.

But what about those people that are like " thats great now leave me alone"
Just because they cant figure it out?

Wikiro

With great respect, if people want you to "leave them alone" there may something lacking in your performance skills.

When I say "you" I mean you as in "you all" not you personally.

The ultimate aim is for people to BEG you to show them magic. If they are consistently asking you to leave them alone there is something wrong somewhere.

What is a good trick that can make someone want more just by getting a little glimpse of the trick (like out the corner of their eye).

Wikiro