Dude That's Cool Magic Blog

Practice is so important, and with the huge numbers of magicians that there are now as interest in our art increases, it is the one factor that can really separate the men from the boys, and you from your contemporaries.   First of all, do you practice already? If not, you are probably of the opinion that it is a chore, and something to be ideally avoided. In truth, there is a lot of satisfaction that comes from successful practice, especially when progress is visible.   At the risk of sounding like a geek, running through a trick that I love is a genuine pleasure, even just for myself. If the same is true for you, then you will actually enjoy the process of magic your magic look and feel smooth and professional.   If you don’t particularly enjoy practicing certain things like moves, then it’s easy enough to still do so. Simply sit yourself down in front of the TV, and practice with cards in hand. You will still need to look ...

This is probably the first problem a magician starting out has - what if someone knows your tricks? How do you prevent it, or handle it when it does happen? Well, first up, let’s just be clear. It happens to everybody, at some point. But here’s a check list to make sure it happens as little as possible, and when it does, to give it minimal importance. One - Are your tricks deceptive? There’s an old line about ‘there’s no bad tricks, only bad performers’. The truth is, there’s plenty of both. Not all tricks are created equal, and as a performer it’s up to you to pick the best ones for your own performing character. As a general rule, I like to avoid tricks where the first solution as spectator might come up with is the correct one. Like Linking Rings. Urg. So, are the tricks you are doing deceptive? Is there an obvious solution to them, and if so, what can you do to hide or conceal the secret more? There normally is, and if it’s not obvious, co...

It’s not often that I think of myself as an old-fashioned kind of guy, but in at least one sense, I am. Very. It all stems from my ability to keep a secret. These days, for a magician, this trait is rare. Keeping a secret is an unusual thing to do, as other guys concentrate a lot of effort on the complete opposite. Youtube videos are made with a performance so bad that no secret is protected, but just as common are videos of people simply revealing the methods - no attempt at performance. So, why is this bad? First of all, it is of course exposure. Now, I’m not one of those people that goes screaming to the magic circle when a maths trick appears on a cereal packet, but likewise, I believe it should be slightly harder for a spectator to uncover a method for a trick by simply typing it into a search engine. In the age of smart phones, I’ve had people google the tricks during the performance. This is obviously not a great situation. Secondly, (but probably of paramou...

This is, of all of the things that I will blog about, one of the most important to me, because a single piece of advice totally flipped my perspective, changed my magic for the better, and literally started a revolution for one. When I first started out (and if I am being honest, quite a few years after that) I thought of myself as a pretty good performer. I would do paid gigs, and the majority of the time, they would go very smoothly. Occasionally, there would be the odd spectator or two who didn’t like the magic, or ones that would grab props, or interfere and heckle generally. But hey, what’s a guy to do? Everyone gets guys like that right? But a funny line, to put them in their place, puts them straight. That’s what I’d been told. My job is to show people magic, and I’d do that, regardless of anything else. At the time, I thought like this. And now, here’s the piece of advice that blew my brain. It comes (like all good knowledge) f...

We've added a bunch of goodies to the site over the weekend:   iTwist by Skulkor (Black)  and iTwist by Skulkor (Black and White Combo Set) Imagine yourself borrowing an iPhone from anyone, twist it in half while the phone screen is still on, then Twist it back and restore the phone. And hand the phone back to its owner. You heard it right. It's a borrowed phone. Can't get crazier than this. Talk about performing organic miracle with everyday objects. Some may use a coin, some may use a dollar bill. Nothing, is like borrowing people's everyday phone and perform miracles. A modern twist from the legendary Paul Harris' Screw Deck. Many have had fun moving the phone logo around. How about REALLY screwing someone's phone? Borrow an iPhone and twist it. Change the physical structure of the entire phone! Now that's crazy! Cell phone has grown to be a very intimate and emotional attachment to almost everyone is this generation. There is just no bet...

One of the things I often get asked when lecturing or teaching a trick is “What happens if someone says ‘Can I examine it?’ or a similar question?” It’s a strange question because these days, lay people simply never ask me to examine the props I am using.  I like tricks that end clean, but even when I use them, and overtly offer the props out, people often refuse. And yet, it certainly wasn’t always like that - I definitely remember starting out, and lots of spectators were very ‘touchy-feely’ and often wanted to check out whatever I happened to be using. Coming to understand the change is difficult - there was certainly no sudden tip or secret that I could credit the change to - the shift was instead so gradual that I have no recollection of the actual process. So, to my mind, that means a combination of several things.  I’m going to take a look at three of them now. Confidence. This is the big one, and time really is the only thing that progresses it.  When ...

I’ve read comments and articles about the ‘essential’ things that a magician should learn before, but it always seems to exclusively focus on card magic. Nothing wrong with that, obviously, and God knows I love my card tricks , but I am of the opinion that cards should just be a small part of what we are able to do as magicians. Quite often when I was performing at table hopping gigs, I would remove a deck of cards only to be informed by a spectator ‘I have seen this one!’ or on doing two or three card tricks in a row, someone might comment ‘Do you do tricks with other things too?’. However, when I do a couple of non-card tricks to open, I have never heard ‘Do you do any of those card tricks?’.  So, variety being the spice of life, here are some of the things that I think you should learn, particularly if you are a beginner - these are tools that could serve you well for the rest of your life. The Bill Switch . I’m not going into the gimmick that you need to do the ‘ 100 Dolla...

  Okay, so we’ve been waiting for “the secret weapon that even James Bond would be thrilled to own” for a few weeks now I’m please to write that finally we’ve just taken delivery of “ Kieron Kirkland's Espionage Wallet ” I sat down and watched the instructional DVD last night and I must say that the routines just got better and better and better. I’m so impressed, I simply just can’t wait to get out and start utilising this brilliant piece of kit for myself -  Highly recommended! Some of the features contained within the Espionage No Palm Card to wallet Palm Card To Wallet Billet to wallet Very clever Internal peek External peek Perfect switch wallet SUC function Holdout system Billet Index Card Index Shogun System Now, we know what you're thinking "this wallet must be huge!" Well fear not, Kieran has combined all these features in to a standard size Hip Pocket wallet. The Espionage has been design for you to carry as your everyday wallet. You ...

A favourite magical past-time of mine is reworking classic tricks to suit me. Not the handlings - most classics have enough style to stand on their own method wise, and the ones that don’t certainly have enough variations already in print to piece something together. It’s the presentation that I always look to change. How can I make this trick fit me, and, just as importantly, topical? This last part is often overlooked I feel. Peter Kane’s ‘Watch the Ace’ or Wild Card as it became known, is a classic example. I simply LOVE that trick. Changing a bunch of cards into duplicates of a selection, (or printing blank ones) can be hugely effective. A handling I particularly recommend is John Bannon’s ‘Mag-7’ from his Mega-Wave book available here. Mega Wave by John Bannon   There are some great Wild Card routines already out there, but the vast majority are playing card based, and I was looking for something a bit different. So, an obvious...

"When Kevin first sent me the video to show me the effect, it really fooled me. So I watched it again, and it fooled me...again."- David Forrest Without any suspicious moves at all, you can immediately cause a signed card to appear in the card case. Your spectator will watch in disbelief as with empty hands you fairly pick up the box (nothing palmed), show the box on both sides (nothing to see), genuinely un-tuck the flap (the box is really closed – always has been) then slowly and fairly remove the signed card from inside of it. YES! THEY ACTUALLY SEE THE CARD COME FROM INSIDE THE BOX! In late 2011, Dave Forrest received a link in his inbox pointing at a short video of a ‘card t box’ concept. The sender was Kevin Schaller and the video fooled Dave badly. Dave took Kevin’s initial concept and made additions to the gimmick making it more practical for the real world and, through constant use, began to unearth the true depth of Kevin’s discovery. XBOX was born. Ye...

Visual Texture ‘Texture’ in the context of a magic act or performance, is a bit of a buzz word, and it can relate to many different aspects of magic.  Here though, I’m talking about how the magic actually looks. There are several types, and while a lot of people have a very clear preference (a lot of people I speak to say they only like ‘visual’ magic), presenting a trick from each category typically provides a much more satisfying demonstration of magic. Type 1 - Implicit Magic This covers a wide range of magic, and refers to any trick where the actual magical process is not seen - simply the results of it. Typically, people think of this as being less effective, but in reality, almost all magic falls into this category, and is highly effective.  Take for example, a coin vanish.  They see you put a coin in your hand, you close your hand into a fist, then you open your hand, and the coin is gone.  This is implicit, as your spectators see the ‘bef...

The Cooler by Christian Engblom. Best. Deck Switch. Ever . "The Cooler" will change the way you do card magic. Vanishing Inc. is pleased to announce the release of the most coveted and praised deck switcher in... well, ever. The testimonials speak for themselves: David Blaine, Paul Wilson, Rene Levand, Dani DaOrtiz, and on and on and on. They use it, love it, and swear by it. Christian Engblom's "The Cooler" is about to change the way you do card magic. The perfect deck switcher is the holy grail for card workers. It allows you to get into and out of memorized deck, gaffed work, stack work, or to change the back design. It is the "missing link" between otherwise incompatible card routines. But deck switches are normally difficult. Many involve lapping or being seated. Others require a jacket with secret pockets sewn in. Some even involve bizarre contraptions that come from your sleeve. Because of this, most magicians just opt not ...