About

As a hobbyist magician, I have become frighteningly aware that one of the greatest ironies of the art form is that while performing magicians are often seen as con men by their spectators, the magicians themselves are seen as the helpless marks of many magic illusion publishers. It is the intention that this blog be an aid to other hobbyist magicians in finding quality magic tricks that are performable in most real world situations.

The write-ups on the packaging of magic tricks are made to sell; it can’t perform the trick for you to watch, it has to hook you some other way. “Imagine if you could [FILL IN IMPOSSIBLE FEAT HERE] right before the eyes of your spectator!” Obviously, the impossible feat is still impossible, but the packet trick promises to teach you how to fool your audience into thinking that the feat is at least possible for you. But what if the effect just isn’t convincing?

“One easy-to-learn slight is all it takes!” Well then, it shouldn’t be that hard, huh? What if that slight isn’t as easy to learn as promised? What if that slight is only imperceptible at a very specific angle? What if it is just downright impractical?

These are the kinds of things this site hopes to divulge.

Also, are there simpler tricks—less expensive tricks—that offer much more bang for the buck that your arsenal is missing? What are the must-haves of every hobbyist magician? I’m going to try to track those down for you.