How important is card magic in your opinion?

[Sazzaro]

I'm a little bit late, but i just wanted to add that you can amaze people with every kind of magic and the only really important thing is that you like what you'r doing!
If people like you,they will like your magic. The opposite is true btw.

 

[Maaz Hasan]

I'm a little bit late, but i just wanted to add that you can amaze people with every kind of magic and the only really important thing is that you like what you'r doing!
If people like you,they will like your magic. The opposite is true btw.

I'm sure people can not like you, and still like your magic at the same time, though the odds of that happening are meh.

I mean, there are a couple magicians who I don't like to watch or follow etc. but I still enjoy their magic.

 

[Sazzaro]

I'm sure people can not like you, and still like your magic at the same time, though the odds of that happening are meh.

I mean, there are a couple magicians who I don't like to watch or follow etc. but I still enjoy their magic.

Well that's an intresting thing to debate, but my point was more about the fact that you can be a great magician regardless of the type of magic you perform.

 

[HectorE1]

In my opinion I think card magic can be very strong, personal and artistic all at the same in the right setting just look at Spanish school of magic, Tamariz, DaOrtiz, Arragon, Gabbi Pareras etc. which is light years ahead of the American "pick a card here's you're card" school of magic. Also I do think cards have a certain magical esoteric quality to them on there own, I mean they've been around for hundreds if not thousands of years so this gives them a certain quality to them, again in my opinion...

 

[Magnanimus]

The thing is cards are everyday items, thus not suspicious, as opposed to odd boxes, huge rings, etc... This makes good tricks much more organic, impactful and magical. But that is theory.

Picture the stereotypical magician....
Awkward guy, 3 piece suit, top hat, playing cards fanned in a hand, cane in the other.
The thing you do not want to be.

So when a magician gets out a deck of cards he is directly associated with that, this is why I like non-card openers. But after the contact is established, use everyday items such as playing cards (regular ones, not the super fancy ones, they are suspicious). Give the audience the opportunity to handle the cards to remove all suspicion (that means no heavily gimmicked deck). Be as impromptu as you possibly can.

The only moment I like opening with cards is when they are a tool, not the main focus of the trick, such as an invisible deck (find a good excuse to ditch it as quick as you can).

 

[Simsallabim]

I appreciate everyone's advice and now I have decided to primarily focus on coin magic, impromptu, a bit of mentalism and cards cheers everyone

Card magic also appeals to everyone at any age. Unless they've never seen one. Cards are harder to work with, they're flimsy.

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

cards are everyday items, thus not suspicious

This may have been true about 20-30 years ago, but not so much any more. People don't play cards nearly as much as they used to, and I've met plenty of people who don't even own a deck of cards and are not familiar with them any more. I think cards are basically associated with poker and magic tricks these days. If you're not doing one, you're doing the other.

Card magic also appeals to everyone at any age.

Ever tried doing ACR to a 3 year old? Card magic is good for folks who are old enough to follow plots and able to care about things that are ultimately trivial. That really doesn't cover "any age".

Card magic can be amazing, don't get me wrong. But it's important to be aware of what is currently the case in the non-magic world, not just what other magicians tell you is the case. For example, how many times have people said that custom cards create suspicion? These people have clearly not looked at the Bicycle website or any playing card section in a store in the past half decade. Unusual designs are everywhere now.

 

[VagueTheory]

Hofzinser once said that card magic is the "poetry of conjuring." I personally agree, but remember, everybody has their opinions.

In my 10+ years in practicing and performing magic, 99% of my repertoire has been card magic. Sounds ridiculous right? Just depends on your audience.

After reading Derren Brown's "Absolute Magic," my views on magic itself changed. Derren totally ripped on card magic in the book. I met Daniel Garcia at TRICs convention in 2015 and he told me that card magic CAN be meaningful. How meaningful it can be is up to the performer and how he/she constructs their routines.

I think only some magicians (and magic enthusiasts maybe) will find card magic to be boring. I've personally never had a spectator tell me that card tricks were boring and that they'd prefer to see something else. Of course, when you do something with an "everyday object" it'll be more surprising because it IS more relatable, but when I blow my spectator's mind with a good card routine and hand out the deck for examination with nothing to be found, I think that the moment is just as strong as those you can get with other forms of magic.

 

[DisasterTheory]

Cards really are my thing. So I'm a bit biased. I find an elegance in cards and I find that most people I have performed for have found an elegance and skill in what I do. It's all in how it's presented. Cards can be used as the focus or as a "bystander prop." Almost all card tricks follow the same concept...Person picks a card, magician finds the card. Sounds boring...and actually is boring to repeat over and over again. This is where skill and presentation are introduced.

 

[Maaz Hasan]

Cards really are my thing. So I'm a bit biased. I find an elegance in cards and I find that most people I have performed for have found an elegance and skill in what I do. It's all in how it's presented. Cards can be used as the focus or as a "bystander prop." Almost all card tricks follow the same concept...Person picks a card, magician finds the card. Sounds boring...and actually is boring to repeat over and over again. This is where skill and presentation are introduced.

Not necessarily. There are tricks that don't require a card to be selected and found. Take a color changing deck for example. Even if the card remains the same color, the effect was the fact that the deck changed. Oil and Water is another one. Juan Tamariz and a ton of other magicians have effects with cards where the cards themselves don't matter. Manipulations never have a card selected. In fact, a lot of effects don't need cards selected and or found.

 

[DisasterTheory]

Not necessarily. There are tricks that don't require a card to be selected and found. Take a color changing deck for example. Even if the card remains the same color, the effect was the fact that the deck changed. Oil and Water is another one. Juan Tamariz and a ton of other magicians have effects with cards where the cards themselves don't matter. Manipulations never have a card selected. In fact, a lot of effects don't need cards selected and or found.

Well yes, that's why I said "almost all." For most card tricks, the concept is the same. There are a lot that do not require a card to be selected. The entire concept of a card being selected and then found is however the foundation of card magic because it made it personal to the spectator. I tend to think of color changes, oil and water, etc as handling techniques and card manipulation than "tricks" so to speak. I do a lot of effects where a card is not selected (color changing aces for example).

The stereotype of card magic is often parodied or even expected, thus the "pick a card, any card" line that tends to be parodied often in films, and television shows.

 

[jakeherndon24]

What's your guys opinion on cards in magic, personally I just started magic and hate them I love other kinds of magic, I want to do street then bar/restaurant magic. How important would you guys say it is for me to learn card magic or can you be good without learning bearly any card magic ( I will still learn a little bit).

It's totally up to you. If you want to learn that then do it. It's really great for everyday magic because everyone is familiar with a deck of cards, but if you're more interested in coins or organic magic then by all means.