On Magic Book

I remember being in a lecture in one of Hong Kong’s Magic Associations; the lecture was called Expert at the Card Table. Published in 1902, the book is still the most popular and widely used manual for magicians. The book is amazing; however, the lecture notes provided by the lecturer were just as great. This made me realize the importance of magician’s notes; the notes from other magicians are just as important for one’s individual development. Here are some steps below to help you guys with your development of magic tricks!

Step 1: Get Familiar

People often purchase a magic book in order to learn a certain move or effect, and that is actually the best thing you can do. This is because you want to be familiar with the creator’s perspective and thought process, which is always in the introduction and a certain parts in the book. In turn, being familiar with the book’s contents and the creator’s perspective, allow you to have a better understanding of the reasons why certain effects were chosen and executed. Thus, this allows you to execute them in the most appropriate manner and environment.

Step 2: Learning it!

Learning the sleight of hand could be different for everyone; and would always need a solid understanding of the effects. It is effective to reread the description several times, then forming a mental image of how it is executed, while considering the audiences perspective. By doing so, you’ll know what to anticipate from the different perspectives without risking a chance of getting lost. "To attain the highest degree of excellence at card manipulation much study and practice are necessary; but proficiency in the art quite sufficient for the purpose of entertainment or amusement may be acquired with very little effort if a thorough understanding is first obtained to the best and simplest methods of accomplishing the sleights" (Erdanse, The Expert at the Card Table). In other words, avoid practicing the wrong things! Sometimes, illustrations will help you better imagine and prepare when you are doing it. But, it is important not to focus heavily on the illustrations and neglected the text. If you’re still lost, look it up on the Internet or sensei YouTube.

Step 3: Remember it

Often, magicians go through a book in a hurry and forget some essential effects or sleights soon after. Keep a notebook and some post-in notes to help you remember the effect. You can find quick references if you have the need to reread it. Also, practice, practice and practice! Until you can do it with your eyes closed!

As most magicians learn things from videos and through the Internet, there are the forgotten techniques hidden somewhere in the books. It is always great to bring these uncommon techniques to the table. At times, you might be able to “wow” other magicians by spending the time to study through magic books. Good luck and I hope this guide will help you with the process!

The Infamous Nugget

photo courtesy of Arts of Play

If you are a card rookie, then you might not have heard about the infamous Jerry’s Nuggets. Jerry Nuggets is a discontinued card deck; however, you may buy some off of EBay for $350-500 per deck depending on if they are sealed or second hand.

A recent Ebay auction on the Jerry's Nugget

You might ask why someone would spend a cold 300 dollars on a deck of cards?

Well… Story Time!

Once upon a time, in 1964, Jerry Lodge and Jerry Stamis founded the Jerry’s Nugget Casino. Around 1970, the Jerry’s Nugget playing cards was then printed specifically for the casino. Originally manufactured by the United States Playing Card Co. in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Jerry’s Nugget was printed on the highest quality casino grade paper. However, after the Jerry’s Nugget decks were printed, Lodge and Stamis realized the cards could easily be marked because of the white boarder around the deck (which is uncommon for casinos to use white boarder cards). The truckloads of Jerry’s Nugget then disappeared into a storage unit for many years.

Jerry's Nugget on the bottom

After years the Jerry’s Nugget decks stayed it storage, they later resurfaced in gift shops. The infamous cards only costed 50 cents per deck. Magicians throughout the 80s used it, but it wasn’t until the late 90s that it starts to gain popularity.

However, in 1999, a man name Dominique Duvivier (a magician), bought the last remaining stock of Jerry’s Nugget consisting of 40,000 decks. Since this magician bought the last remaining stock of the Jerry’s Nugget cards, they are now considered to be rare and a true treasure in the world of cardistry.  

The End!

I was fortunate enough to play with a deck a few years ago. One of my friends, was a card enthusiast, was lucky enough to purchase a deck of Jerry’s Nugget. What stood out about the Jerry’s Nugget was the stiffness of it; the stiffness makes it easier to perform tricks, which is why professional cardists prefer them. The card deck also smelled horrid (my little pug nose hated them); it was rumored that the Nuggets used a toxic chemical finish, which some people speculate that, that is why it gives them such durability. While others speculate that due to the years of the cards being stored in the storage unit caused the element of the paper to change; and some say it’s the colors use on the paper that provides the durability. However, the creators of the Jerry’s Nuggets are no longer around today, so this question will be left unknown.

Although it is a one-of-a-kind deck, it is unlikely that the original Jerry’s Nugget will be reprinted. If you happen to have some money and not know where to spend it, or if you have a time machine, Jerry’s Nugget would be a great investment!

On Palming

Palming, is one of the oldest techniques in card magic. Magicians often use palming techniques to vanish or produce objects, in this case, cards. The technique is not exactly an easy thing to learn, because even though most people with big enough hands could palm; to look natural while palming could takes months to even years. Depending on the desired effect you want.

I, myself, cannot palm (as you can see above). I have struggled greatly when I started to learn card tricks due to my small pug hands; as most card tricks require larger hands for basic palming techniques. Throughout the years, I discovered new ways to get around these problems. And I'm here to give you some advice on what you can do if you can't palm.

"Tenkai Palm"

One of the most popular ways, is the Tenkai palm. It is as simple as the picture shows; hold the card with your thumb. But, the Tenkai palm is easy to flash, so you need to pay attention to the angle. Tenkai is more popular in card manipulation. The Tenkai palm is one of the easiest ways to conceal a card; preferably 1-on-1 magic tricks or card table tricks (or cheating in poker).

 

"Houdini Palm"

This palm technique is inspired by the Houdini Color Change. Unlike normal palming, Houdini Change uses the lower part of the palm to palm the card. This technique is very simple, but takes some time to learn how to fully conceal the card from the audience. Because of my small hands, I could easily flash it in the back of my palm; however the wrist and arm will be there to help.

"buckle the deck"

Palming is also a good way to "steal" a card from the deck. Throughout the years of learning cards and magic, I found the "bottom steal" works really well for me. Bottom steal (as the name says) is simply stealing the bottom card away from the deck. To do so, you first need to "buckle the deck", giving the bottom card a clean opening in order to steal (like the picture above). Then, you should be able to separate the bottom card from the deck (like the picture below). 

This half palming technique works great and hard to flash because the deck is basically covering for you. Now, to "steal" the card, simply take the deck with your other hand and move it forward to the audience as a distraction. This is essential because this move is very easy to flash and you want your movement to be fully natural. The stolen card could be hidden in your pocket, or even in a wallet; so that its a "deck-to-wallet" magic trick.

If you want to learn more about palming techniques on table, I strongly recommend Jason England for you. He is the master of cheating with cards, and his tutorial will be a great help for you to develop your style of magic in the future.

Happy palming!

Different Types of Flourishes

Cardistry is different from magic. Cardists do not use visual manipulation to stun the audience; however, they use a non-manipulative method to display their creativity and performance of card tricks that look like art. The first known cardistry move is known as the 'sybil cut'. The Sybil Cut was created in 1992 and was what marked the movement of cardistry, itself. Cardistry is still at a young age, do to the fact it was only founded in 1992, a majority of tricks are learned through YouTube.

The Sybil Cut being demonstrated by the Pug

Cardistry is divided into two categories: cutting and shuffling. Cutting involves the act of dividing the deck into several different blocks, while performing some neat tricks in between. The Sybil Cut is an example of cutting decks. Shuffling, on the other hand, focuses on bending the cards and creating creative movements and shapes.

The Farro Shuffle

The Bridge