How would you spend $200?

[BlueCuzco]

Here's an interesting situation for you to think through: unexpectedly one day you get two hundred dollars. You decide pretty quickly that you want to invest it into magic, getting higher level stuff that will set you apart and really fit with your style, and want to get things that will work well on the street and will fill up your outset hat with coins and dollar bills of various denominations.

This is the precise situation I have landed in, and I'm looking for advice. This is a lot of money (and I'm prepared to supplement it with my personal bank account), so I'm not looking for off hand suggestions; I would really appreciate it if you think hard about what you would do before replying. Hopefully I'll be able to take real stock in the responses I get on this thread and make decisions based on information I get here and with conversations with fellow magicians.

Here are some stats. Products owned: a few magic books I got at Barnes and Nobles before my "real magic" days, Scotch and Soda, a pen through dollar gimmick, Dan and Dave's Trilogy (I can do the majority of the tricks and a couple of the flourishes), FOUR by Arron Fisher, Totally Out of Control by Chris Kenner (I've only learned 5 speed so far), and Fan Control and BeLieve by Joel Pashcall. My style: As a relative newbie (only nine months in "real magic") I'm just now discovering my style, but I'm guessing it will be something somewhat mysterious and contemplative, but superficially extroverted and friendly. (Maybe like I'm a normal, outgoing person generally but also have a quieter, more contemplative side wherein my magic is done, which is true for my personally, too (minus the magic). I'm very much not into "old school magic". I want the very very opposite of that; kinds of things that people won't expect but also won't immediately relate to Cris Angel or David Blaine. Hope this info helps.

Thanks for reading through all this; I hope I get a few replies,

Kristian

 

[Khazul Ves]

From looking at what you already have it doesn't look like you have a good foundation of all the basics. I would highly recommend you buy Card College for the basics and beyond of card magic. If you are looking into coin magic I would highly recommend J.B. Bobo's Modern Coin Magic.

 

[Guardian18]

Do you like flourishes? Then definitely get A. XB or B. Encyclopedia of Playing Card Flourishes. Or both!

 

[BlueCuzco]

Thanks for your suggestion; it is an important one. I do have Bobo's and am looking into traditional card basics resources. I already have a decent background and will definitley start building up my basic skills as I work more and more with this. (Especially with coin magic which I am new to.) I guess what I'm saying is that I'll build up my basic skills once I have a certain goal in an area of magic. So if you recommend a specific effect or field of effects I will definitely go back to some of the basics and build those up to where I'm on the level of actually working on your suggestion; I'm willing to learn the basics, but that's not really what I'm looking for here.

Edit: Yes, I'm interested in flourishing, but not primarily. I'm using them more as a supplement to my magic rather than a goal in an of itself. I feel that with the Trilogy I already have a large amount of material, though I am also looking into getting the Encyclopedia (again, to broaden my basic knowledge to work on those higher goals. I'm looking for the higher goals here).

 

[RikAllen]

Art of Astonishment series. If I don't say it someone else will. (not just Card magic, but tons of good effects that can be adapted to many styles.)

I also second the Card College series.(This will strengthen your fundamentals and then teach you advanced sleights...also giving you tons of perspective into areas most books don't cover specifically: Presentation, Theory, etc..)

Strong Magic by Darwin Ortiz.

Depending on how many you have/use in a given time period, stock up on the deck you use the most of (buy enough to keep you good for a year or so, also giving you spares to practice effects that destroy cards.)

I didn't see The Expert at the Card Table...Erdnase, own it...read it...love it. (it's like 10 dollars at B&N)

Just a few thoughts.


-Rik

 

[jpmorganjeromy]

ben earl past midnight... very varied material plus some of its hard to get in a working closeup repetiore ... ummm some stack work, i like richard osterlinds number 6 dvd, breakthru card system, ... and some instant downloads you think that are good, so you can have some "quick tricks" i personally like luke jermay... and chris kenner is always a winner.

 

[Zeedub81]

Along with what everyone else said....

d+M's stuff is always good, but a bit more advanced. His trilogy is a good basis for many card effects. Burn is cool, but you'll want to have a seperate deck just to "burn."
Two words: Invisible Deck (if don't already own one)
It's probably a wise choice to buy some roughing fluid and make your own,(more for your money), but if you're not familiar with it, buy one first to get used to it. Daniel Madison has an "improved" version of it taught on Identity called the irreversible deck, it's pretty cool.
Prophet is almost a must-have, if you already don't do a bill change.

That's pretty much all I can think of for now, hope it helps.
Z

 

[praetoritevong]

Art of Astonishment would be a great investment, as would Card College. If it were me I'd get a whole bunch of the books on my wants list - but most of them are either old stuff or IMO above 9 month's experience worth of stuff... I honestly think though that you should focus on books, they're the way to go...

 

[Malik]

Hey there,

As a full timer and someone who much condones books. I would say that they are the wisest place to invest your money. I have had a copy of Mark Wilson's complete course for over 20 years that I still go to as a resource. Also, "Now you See it now you don't" by Bill Tarr is in my opinion one of the most important foundational books on sleight of hand magic. Anything by John Carney, especially "Book of Secrets", and "Maximum Entertainment" by Ken Weber.

Also check out David Williamson's videos, which contain material inspired by "Art of Astonishment" as well as his original creations.

I am constantly on the hunt for new and unique material, and often find it in older books that not many people read any more. Sometimes a classic in new dress becomes an entirely new routine.

Hope this helps.

 

[magicman384]

I would get a bike, the latest motley crue cd, some pizza, and the latest barney movie.

 

[KevinOwens]

You seem like you like street effects a lot. I think that Two Card Monte is a must know for a street performer. I recommend Kard Klub from E. It teaches you everything you need to know plus a vast amount of performance tips. Plus pretty much every trick sold here at T11 is a great street effect.

hope that helps,

-Kevin