Free Magic Trick |
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There are a lot of websites out on the Web offering free magic tutorials. I don't like them. My philosophy is that, though magicians often over emphasize the importance of secrets, these are nothing more than "exposure" sites, exploiting laypeople's curiosity about magic, and serving no significant purpose for the magic community. They're only slightly better than those "Secrets Revealed" television programs that make our lives miserable by telling a prime-time audience how some of our favorite tricks are done. There's nothing wrong with teaching someone a trick, if they're genuinely interested in magic. However, these television programs and websites offer more to the lay public than those who are actually willing to put in the necessary time and work to perform a trick. That said, I also wanted to make something available on my website, so that potential magicians might get a taste for what it's like to perform. What I finally settled on is this article. This article will teach you how to perform a simple "key card" trick. It's not risky in an "exposure" sense, because it's more basic than professionals are apt to perform. However, it is somewhat deceptive, and if you're just getting started, you can have some fun with it. Hopefully, you'll like it enough to want to learn some more advanced magic. If that's the case, just make sure you do it the right way: read books, watch DVDs, purchase tricks at a magic shop, or find a mentor. Don't just visit an exposure site. The teaching will be of lowest quality, and you'll be contributing to a serious problem for the magic community. The key card trick is a way of finding a spectator's selected card, even though you don't know what or where it is. The premise is deceptively simple. The key card is a card that you DO know something about, and it tells you all you need to know about the other card. Here's how it works. Shuffle the deck of cards. Have a spectator shuffle the deck of cards. This is totally fair, so make sure everyone is satisfied that it's legitimately shuffled. Then spread through the cards and have a spectator select one. While they're doing that, all you need to do is glimpse the bottom card. Be subtle, but don't worry too much. Everyone's looking at the selection, not the deck. Have the card returned to the top of the deck. Cut the deck once. Then deal the cards face up. When you come to the card that you glimpsed, you automatically know that the next card is the selection. Play this up as much as possible to make it dramatic, then reveal that you were right. It's easy and doesn't require any tricky moves. Have fun! |