Expert: Jerry White - 1/7/2007

Question
Hello Jerry, I have just started doing illusions, impromptu, slight of hand, and street magic. Im in high school and usually do tricks in front of large groups of people, so I have to practice alot. I make my own tricks up and use old tricks and slight of hand techniques. I mainly love to use coins/bills in most of my tricks. Other than french drop, palming and misdirection, what could I do to improve my skills to impress people? What are the best slight of hand techniques. I would really like to use larger objects in my presentations, but I dont know how. Please help.

Answer
Johnny:

Thanks for your interest in magic & illusion. I can send you in the right direction and hopefully can answer some, if not all of your questions. You mentioned working with larger objects for illusions....This is basically considered stage magic and takes much more preparation to perform, and a lot more practice to master. I can't give you advice in this area because I only practice "Close-Up" magic. It's spur-of-the-moment, and you can basically carry it with you wherever you go. I work with cards, coins, and sponge balls. By the way.....sponge ball magic gets me the best response from my audience. If you haven't given it a try, I suggest you do!

I'm going to direct you to a few websites hosted by my magician friends. Some will include video of slight of hand plus other techniques. Some of these illusions will cost you a few dollars, but it is definitely worth it!

Try these sites:
www.downloadmagic.com
www.magictrickvideos.com

For magical equipment try:
www.themagicwarehouse.com