Do any of you out there, or I should say, have any of you out there tried pom poms instead of sponge balls? I have small hands and it is very hard for me to palm certain things like small coins. I have tried palming certain size objects like plastic balls and pom poms but no go. I don't like ordering online and don't have any stores to buy magic. I have 1.5" pom poms I use for a "basic" cup and ball routine but would like to advance a bit. Are there any self-working tricks that don't use palming? I know palming is one of the biggest sleights out there but I've tried it and it doesn't fit well for me. Any thoughts on this?

Thanks, James.

No,
Buy the sponge balls, nothing else works. It is not palming it is misdirection that makes this work and the compressibility that helps.

For Cups and Balls you can use pom poms for the complete routine, about 7/8" for the working balls and 2" or 3" for the final load balls.

Yes there are self-working tricks that do not use palming in coins and card tricks. We call them beginner magic. Professionals sometimes use tricks like "silver, copper, brass" and "Hopping Half" coin tricks.

If you do not like ordering on line, visit a magic shop, there are a lot in your area of the country. It makes a fun Saturday and they will like you not wanting to order on line, but help save their store.

Bill

I have heard the old "my hands are too small for palming" excuse so many times it isn't funny. Max Malini had hands that were so small that he actually could not cover a poker-sized playing card with them. But he still could palm.

Unless your hands are smaller than an old-fashioned silver dollar, you can still palm a sponge ball.

It isn't size. It's acting and misdirection that makes it work.

You should try to find a good magic teacher. A good teacher will show you how to palm. When I was a kid, I thought I would never be able to do it. Then I learned that I was working with coins that were actually too small!!!

There are lots of magic clubs in your part of the country. Join one and find a good teacher.

It will be worth the investment.

I never palm sponge balls. Misdirection is what I use and it is great. I do some clipping and some similar stuff, but rarely palm.

They make all sizes of sponge balls. If you want to know a bit more about sponge balls and cups get the Hampton Ridge video called 25 tricks with the cups and balls. Troy Hoosier goes through a couple different routines and one involves using the sponge balls to pull an effect similar to the Three Shell Game. I don't do any of the things on the video as I have my own pieced together routine, but I like Troy's teaching of the sponge balls, so it has a spot on my shelf.