Mind & Body
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Card Magic

Fool your friends with one deck of cards.

3levels, ending in a routine you can perform anywhere
25 mina Step, on average
$8to start Level 1
FreeLevel 1, always

The path

  1. 1
    Level 1Free

    First Tricks

    A three-trick set, performed live

    15 Steps, about 28 minutes each. Anyone with a deck of cards. No sleight of hand experience needed.

    1. Chapter 1: First tricks. Two tricks that fool people, a shuffle that keeps a card where you want it, a force, and your first live show.
    2. Chapter 2: Sleight of hand. A clean double lift, the start of the Ambitious Card, and a coin that vanishes.
    3. Chapter 3: The show. Patter for every trick, a full Ambitious Card, a three-trick set filmed, and a performance for a group.
    1. 1
      Learn the key card trick
      Find a spectator's card in a shuffled deck, three times in a row.
      Show your group
    2. 2
      Learn a self-working trick
      A second trick that needs no sleight of hand, practiced until you don't need the video.
    3. 3
      Control a card with a shuffle
      Shuffle the deck and keep the spectator's card on top every time.
    See all 15 Steps
    1. 4
      Force a card
      Make the spectator 'freely' cut to a card you already know.
    2. 5
      Perform for one person
      Two tricks performed for one friend or family member.
      Show your group
    3. 6
      Learn the double lift
      Turn over the top two cards as if they were one, smoothly, without looking at your hands.
    4. 7
      Use the double lift
      A trick where the card on top changes when you snap your fingers.
    5. 8
      Start the Ambitious Card
      The spectator's card pushed into the middle, rising back to the top, twice.
    6. 9
      Learn the French drop
      Make a coin vanish from your hand using the French drop.
    7. 10
      Build a coin routine
      A coin that vanishes and reappears from behind someone's ear.
      Show your group
    8. 11
      Write your patter
      A few lines to say during each of your three best tricks.
    9. 12
      The full Ambitious Card
      A three-phase Ambitious Card routine with a strong ending.
    10. 13
      Build your set
      Three tricks in an order, with a way to get from one to the next.
    11. 14
      Film a rehearsal
      A full video of your set, watched back and fixed.
    12. 15
      Perform your set
      Your three-trick set performed live for a group of three or more people.
      Show your group
  2. Level 2Unlocks after Level 1

    Sleight of Hand

    Passes, palms and a full routine

  3. Level 3Unlocks after Level 2

    Close-Up Show

    A 10-minute show for a room

Where it ends: a routine you can perform anywhere

Free lessons in First Tricks come from Complete Deception, Vanishing Inc., Ash Marlow, Conjuror Community, OTHMARIUS MAGIC, One Ahead, Alex Pandrea, Magic Makers, Jay Anoin, Instructables, GoodTricks, University of the Conjuring Arts, The Art of Manliness, Mind Blown Magic Illusion, MagicRef. We link to their work and never copy it.

Cover photo by Magic Dnipro on Unsplash