Street Magic

Street Cap - Bottle cap magic!
Pass a bottle cap through a bottle. The cap is bigger than the next of the bottle so this is not easy to do! Watch the video and see the reaction of the woman in the street as she figures out what she has just seen. This trick needs a couple of small gimmicks and these can be made at home with items you will likely have. This is a great addition to anyones street magic rountine. This trick has a difficulty rating of 3.

UFO - Flying coin magic trick!
A great street magic flying coin routine. Just watch the guys passing by who had to stop and look. This trick is very visual and if you perform it in the street or at school you know people are going to stop and look! This trick breaks the rules a bit and you will need to buy something from an online magic store or regular shop to perform it. However as the trick is so visual we thought we would let it pass this time. We estimate you will need to spend less than 10 dollars to buy what is required. We are therefore giving the tutorial video away for a great value price! The tutorial will explain what you need as well as explain how to make the coin fly and how to get it to fly inside the plastic cups. So at a great price and being so visual we expect this to be a very popular download. This trick has a difficulty rating of 3.

How Did They Do That? Types Of Magic Tricks
There are many kinds of magic tricks, but most fall into one of a few categories. Oftentimes, a magician will specialize in one or a few areas. For those who employ a range of techniques, they will often develop some type of persona or specialty act to differentiate themselves from other performers. Just as other entertainers often find a niche, so too do magicians.

While no type of magic is particularly easy, some types are common for beginning magicians, such as learning sleight of hand tricks. Most magicians know a core base of tricks, and then develop their particular repertoire from there.

Magic is based on illusion and mystery, and all types of magic tricks employ this mystery. This is what is so alluring about magic! Secrecy is of course another major element of magic. Practicing magicians are very selective about who they share their secrets with. People who work with magicians are often required to sign contracts stating they will not share the magician's secrets with anyone else.

What types of tricks do magicians perform? The following list is a basic overview of magic tricks that are commonly associated with the practice of magic.

Sleight of hand tricks are those that involve skilled hand movements where objects seem to appear and disappear in the hands of the performer. One of the oldest sleight of hand tricks originated in Ancient Egypt. In this trick, the performer hides balls under turned-over cups. As the performer moves the cups around, the balls change positions under the cups. The observers try to watch and guess where the balls will appear, but the magician fools them every time!

Sleight of hand tricks are used with a variety of objects, including card, coins, balls, and other objects. Some magicians have even used live animals. A magician skilled in sleight of hand can perform magic almost anytime, anywhere.

Illusions are those where the seemingly impossible becomes possible. Some of the better known illusion tricks include those where a woman is sawed in half and levitation tricks. Other illusions involve making people, animals, or objects reappear. David Copperfield, a modern-day magician, has made such large objects as the Statue of Liberty and a jet airplane disappear in front of live audiences.

Escape magic is just as it sounds. The most famous escape artist was Harry Houdini, who performed a number of daring escapes in front of large audiences in exotic locations. Suspended high in the air, Houdini would be handcuffed and placed inside locked or otherwise sealed containers and emerge moments later. Escape magic is intriguing not only because of the amazing feat, but also because of the danger involved.

Mentalists are another form of magicians who appear to read the minds of strangers. In front of live audiences, mentalists will recreate drawings done by audience members that are unseen to the magician, but visible to the audience. They will also read the minds of strangers and perform an array of amazing mental tricks. The mystery of the mentalist lies in the performance in front of a live audience. Some mentalists in modern times have even created tricks for television where they seem to read the minds of viewers!

How and where magicians perform varies a great deal as well. Street magic, close-up magic, and stage magic all offer amazing performances in vastly different settings. Street magic is as it sounds, performed outside and in the spur of the moment. Street magic often includes sleight of hand tricks, although a variety of magic is performed this way. One of the most famous current-day street magicians is David Blaine, who performs a wide range of card tricks, disappearing acts, and even levitation on the street.

Close-up magic is performed indoors or out, and often involves such things as card or coin tricks. It is performed just as it sounds--in close range. The audience is small, and the magician sits or stands in the middle, which adds to the allure--when people surround the magician, he or she has little room to "hide" anything. Additionally, when the audience is so close, one might assume the observers could easily see the magician's tricks--but this isn't the case!

Finally, stage magic is just as it sounds--magic performed onstage. These magic tricks date back in history to the 1700s, and are often very elaborate performances. Stage magicians offer an extensive range of tricks from sleight of hand to making large objects float or disappear. Oftentimes large animals are involved. There are a number of present-day famous stage magicians, including Siegfried and Roy, David Copperfield, and Penn and Teller.

Magic Trick Facts is an information site that contains articles, a directory and other<a href="http://www.magictrickfacts.com/"> Magic Trick Resources</a>. It can be found at: <a href="http://www.magictrickfacts.com/">http://www.magictrickfacts.com</a>

Learning The Tricks: Other Miscellaneous Tricks
Magic has always been a fascination for children and adults. We see David Blaine mesmerizing us with his street magic, from biting a coin (and restoring it back) to doing stunts which might seem impossible for the rest of us. We heard of Harry Houdini and his death-defying acts.

Magic tricks have always been just illusions. A magician?s true aim is to deceive the eyes of the audience into seeing something else. This can be done in different ways and gives different results and reactions.

Here is an example trick. It uses two techniques to deceive the audience, namely substitution and misdirection. The trick is to show your audience a clean sheet of paper then after putting it in an envelope and saying your magic word, the paper will now have writing on it.

This one is really an easy trick. You just have to prepare it before the show starts. You will need two envelopes, two pieces of paper. First thing you do is to paste the two envelopes together (back to back), so you will have two pockets where you could put the papers. Then write something smart on one paper and stuff it in one of the envelopes.

At the time of performing, just show your paper. Exclaim that it is really blank. May be you could pass it around for them to see. This is called misdirection. You are putting their attention on the paper that they will forget about the envelope.

After getting the paper back, fold it twice and fit it in the other pocket of the envelope. Close it and saying your magic word (or just do other stuffs to make the audience laugh), open it and just get the paper with the writing in it. This is called substitution. The audience didn?t know that there was already a paper inside and that you have made a switch. Show the paper around and while doing this hide the envelope so no one will be able to inspect it.

Here is another trick where everything you do is planned and the audience will not know how you did it. It?s a simple trick that even you, once you know how it?s done even you would laugh at how simple it really is.

The trick will go like this. First you will let your audience write a word on the center of the paper. Then you will let him/her fold the paper in half and then fold it in half again. Then you will tell them that you will tear the paper into pieces (without looking at the message) and put it into a pot and then you?ll pick one to burn what?s inside the pot. As your audience watches, reveal to them what the word that was written in the center of the paper.

This is really a very simple trick. Try doing the trick yourself and you?ll be amazed at its simplicity. Get a clean sheet of paper. Write your name at the center of paper. Try folding it once. From that point of view you know that your name is somewhere in the middle of the crease in the paper. Then try folding it in half again. You will probably notice that now your name is now in the top left portion of the twice-folded paper. Try tearing that part and you?ll see that you?ve got your name in your hand. Of course, if you?re doing the trick, you must remember not to put that part of the paper in the pot. Try holding onto it and once finding someone to burn your pieces of paper, look at that piece (without letting them see!) and dispose of it somewhere.

Add some suspense before you tell them of the word you have just read and you?ve done your trick. This is a really good and easy trick. If done properly, your audience will not just clap, but would be amazed at you and would be talking about it for some time.

Try practicing these two tricks at home. They?re both simple and easy to do. They just both need some practice and a creative story to keep them laughing. Remember the audience is expecting fun so give it to them.

Preston Houer has been involved with the art of illusion and sleight of hand for over 30 years. Let Preston show you how to Have Fun With Magic. Visit His Site Today! <a href="http://www.have-fun-with-magic.com" title="http://www.have-fun-with-magic.com" target="_blank">http://www.have-fun-with-magic.com</a>

Bite out dollar
A great street magic trick with a dollar or any other bank note. A section is bitten and then spat back to restore the dollar bill. The reaction of people watching will be amazing. You can see there is a whole and then it just gets filled. How is that possible, watch closely and the missing part just flies into place. This is going to be a very popular trick so be one of the first to own the solution tutorial video. As with all Doorway Magic tutorials they are filmed to a high standard and explain everything you need to know. This trick does not need a gimmick and the tutorial explains how you can hand back the dollar bill at the end. This trick is simpler to learn than the bite out card magic trick and will need only 1 or 2 practice attempts to master. The method for this trick is different to the bite out card trick so why not get them both!

The Art Of Magic
What comes in to your mind when you hear the word "magic"? What is magic? What is the ART of magic? According to World Book Online Encyclopedia, "The word magic also refers to entertainment in which the performer does tricks of so-called magic. In such entertainment, neither the magicians nor the audience believes that the performer has supernatural powers."

On the other hand, Paul Harris who is the author of "The Art of Astonishment" defines magicians as "guides to astonishment". Thus, magic can be defined as "an application of guided astonishment."

The three main branches of magic are "stage magic", "parlor magic" and "close-up magic". Stage magic is any magic that can be done on a stage. Stage magic is used to depict the imagination. On the other hand, there's also "stand-up" magic. If you've ever seen the Amazing Johnathan or Paul Kozak perform, you've been witness to stand-up magic.

Magic can be categorized by the motivations and the performance styles, but it does not end there. Here are some of the types of magic according to motivation:

Parlor magic is performed right on the same floor level as the audience, as opposed to a raised stage. Gospel is a special type of parlor magic that is used to demonstrate religious (mostly Christian) concepts. With the replacement of intimate nightclubs by super-mega-nightclubs and comedy clubs, classic parlor magic is rarely seen today.

A distinctive branch of magic has developed quite recently, called "close-up". Close-up magic, like the other styles of magic, has developed its own individual genres. Other types of close-up magic are "table-hopping", "walk-around" and "street magic". All these magic happens in the magician's and/or spectator's hands. This form of magic has become increasingly popular due to its intimate nature.

After discussing the various ways and motivations of magic, it seems appropriate to talk about the various types of "magic". Eugene Burger, who co-authored the entitled "Magic and Meaning", he mentioned the divisions of magic. First, there is the "primary magic" which is the imagination.

Secondary magic, on the other hand, is drawn out of the imagination and into the physical world. These include "ritual" magic and "stage" magic. Ritual magic is directed to enhance some aspect of life. A good example of this is magic performed by an Indian shaman (i.e. the rain dance around a campfire). Unlike stage magic, ritual magic relies on the imagination itself.

Other types of magic are:

Detached magic, which is a form of ritual magic, wherein the symbols used do not have direct significance to the individual invoking the magic.

Reflexive or trickster magic uses deception. This differs from reduced deceptive magic as it focuses on reminding and telling audiences its deceptive nature. Such include gambling displays and "sucker tricks.

Preston Houer has been involved with the art of illusion and sleight of hand for over 30 years. Let Preston show you how to Have Fun With Magic. Visit His Site Today! <a href="http://www.have-fun-with-magic.com" title="http://www.have-fun-with-magic.com" target="_blank">http://www.have-fun-with-magic.com</a>

Bite out card
Doorway Magic presents their latest street magic effect. Watch this video and see if you say . . . . what the %$£$! This is a killer effect that is going to send your friends wild. Imagine showing this next time you hang out, you know they are going to be freaked out by this. You know they are going to ask how it is done! The tutorial video explains in detail how to perform the trick. There is a gimmick required and this can be made at home. You do not need to spend tons on money to perform this trick, as with all tricks on the site you can make the gimmicks for almost nothing. Some handling skills are required but this should be mastered with a few hours of practice. You should also check out the Bite out dollar trick and see, which you like the most. The methods to these 2 tricks are different!

It's Showtime!
So you?ve decided to be a magician. Now you want to join a local group to learn a lot of tricks of trade. You practice them every night and now you think you?re ready to perform. What should you remember to do? Here are some tips for a successful magical show.

Show it to Other Magicians

Before plunging straight to the stage, be sure to show it to other magicians from your local group. They can spot mistakes and give you advice you could use once you start doing your show. This will be very important so keep in mind what they have to say.

Remember to ask for help if you?re struggling with your tricks. Ask them if you?re doing it right or ask what you are doing wrong. Be humble enough to know there are others better than you.

Plan Your Show

You can?t really barge in front of an audience without knowing the order of how you?ll do your tricks. The key is to get their attention, maintain it and at the end do something mesmerizing.

The first trick should be something that will catch attention. Don?t call on an audience volunteer immediately. Try some simple but effective sleights of hand to start things off. The second trick should be better than the first. Then follow it up with another trick. In between great tricks, try telling something funny or doing funny tricks just to make them laugh. At the end, mesmerize them with a spellbinding trick that will make them ask for more.

Remember that all your tricks should flow from one trick to another. It should be like a story where all the things happening are related to one another.

Length of the Show

If you?re in front of an audience that is paying, give them something that will not make them go to the refund window. Show them something exciting. New tricks are preferable as old tricks will just make them not want to watch your show.

If you?re doing it for kids, do something simple and short. Remember that a child?s attention span is short so you should give them something that will make them continue watching.

If you?re doing street magic, just give them one of the tricks you?ve mastered. Just mesmerize them and leave them with their mouths wide open showing appreciation to your magic.

Remember to practice, plan and time your show. A great show doesn?t need to be long to be good. Just give them something to remember you by.

Preston Houer has been involved with the art of illusion and sleight of hand for over 30 years. Let Preston show you how to Have Fun With Magic. Visit His Site Today! <a href="http://www.have-fun-with-magic.com" title="http://www.have-fun-with-magic.com" target="_blank">http://www.have-fun-with-magic.com</a>

History Behind The Hat: The Story Of The Magician
The concept of magician as entertainer has its roots deep in human history, but mostly dates back to the sixteenth century. Prior to this time, those who practiced magic claimed to have supernatural powers. When this idea clashed with Christianity in the Western world, new magicians, who entertained audiences, emerged.

Chevalier Joseph Pinetti impressed audiences in the late 1700s with his tricks as an escapist and mentalist. Illusionists emerged in the nineteenth century, using devices to produce elaborate stage shows. One of the first magicians to use live animals was

"Hermann the Great," who performed disappearing acts and levitation tricks with the animals. Later, famous magicians Siegfried and Roy gained fame in part because of their elaborate show and tigers.

Harry Houdini, perhaps the most well known magician of all time, developed elaborate escape tricks including handcuffs and locked chambers in the early 1900s. His death on Halloween is now also known as "National Magic Day." Houdini also created grand illusions, some of which magician David Copperfield emulated. During Houdini's time, Vaudeville acts included and promoted magic tricks.

Over time, the interest in magic has come and gone, although it enjoyed a revival in the 1970s that continues today. Many magicians, similar to other performers, develop a unique style or focus on a particular type of illusion. David Copperfield makes large objects disappear. Lance Burton employs many birds, and Penn and Teller are known for their unique style. Most recently, David Blaine gained fame for his street magic and outrageous stunts.

Magicians of all sorts keep their secrets very secret. The appeal of magic is trying to figure out how magicians accomplish those amazing feats. For those interested in learning magic, many sources are available for the entry-level magician. Some well-known tricks are "out in the open," and beginning magic kits can help a beginner learn the tricks of the trade. Many books and other resources are available for card tricks as well. Many stores carry magical wares as well.

For those who are serious about the craft, two organizations are devoted entirely to magic, both with headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri. The Society of American Magicians and the International Brotherhood of Magicians have chapters throughout the world, provide information, and hold conferences. For those
seeking information, these are good places to begin. Your local library is also a good place to find more information, as is the Internet. However, online sources in particular are varied in quality and information, so beginning with one of the organizations may be a better way to begin.

The allure of magic is very real. Throughout the past few decades, magicians have taken magic to a new level, with elaborate stunts and full-out entertainment spectacles. From amazing card tricks to large disappearing acts, magic will likely continue to enthrall audiences worldwide for years to come. It is a performance art unlike any other, and the mystery associated with magic adds a level of intrigue that does not exist with other performance arts.

Magic Magicians is an information site that contains articles, a directory and other<a href="http://www.magicmagicians.com/"> Magician Resources</a>. It can be found at: <a href="http://www.magicmagicians.com/">http://www.magicmagicians.com</a>