Try springing by putting your hand on each corner of the card instead of the sides. That's how I do it and my cards have lasted longer because they don't bend down the middle.
I recently acquired Morgan Strebler's "Liquid Metal" and I love it so far. It's a great routine that I could see myself doing. I already got some forks and experimented with the routine and the forks really bend well. There's only one problem, I can't do the corkscrew. I've tried as hard as I...
Flash cotton is more theatrical. You don't have a lot of burn time. Once you light it, it's gone. I used flashed cotton with a flash ring in a show I was in. It was great because it looks good on stage and it can be good for quick productions.
On the other hand, flash PAPER is better when...
You should be learning in a way that you want to. There is no one answer to learning. Some people learn solely based on reading. Some people prefer watching videos. Just experiment with how you learn.
Also, there are many people that dislike YouTube magic. I am a supporter of learning magic...
Check out Bill Abbott's "Celebrity Smart Ass"! You can buy it or you can do what I did and just do the routine with another method. I performed it at my variety show and it killed! It's a deck of cards and a folder that fills up a theater with hundreds of people.
http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/S12952
Ring to impossible location is always a great way to end a ring-on-string routine:
Nest of Wallets
Ring to sealed envelope
Mullica Wallet
Sansminds Wallet
*****DO NOT MAKE A RING APPEAR IN ANY FRUIT******
Move your hand more when you deal the cards. Bring your hands together, then apart as you deal. Cover the smaller actions with a bigger action. I had a similar problem.
Those are some great effects. I think that you need to expand a bit more. Do some non-card tricks. I'm a huge supporter of card magic. I'm not one of those people that thinks card magic is bad. So just expand your magic.
I have Stay Cool and I think it's great! The only thing that requires a special gimmick is the color changing glasses. The DVD teaches some great ways to product sunglasses with your own pair!
It seems like you have your magic under control. I think you need to focus on the most important part of being a performer: YOU! You need to ask yourself "Who am I? When I go on stage what do I want the audience to see me as in the first five seconds of my show?"
This was some great advice I...
Sometimes I end with a great gaffed trick and control that card(s) to the top or bottom of the deck. Then I place the cards in the card box and put them in my pocket and move on to a different routine. If I want to do another card trick without the gaff cards I just dump the cards out of the...