Introduction to Magic Card Tricks

Series Summary

Magic is the art of performing what seems to be an impossible feat by using illusions and slight-of-hand to trick the audience into thinking that the magician is supernatural. One of the most famous magicians in history was Harry Houdini who took his stage name from Robert-Houdin, a magician in the 19th century who opened a magic theater and performed magic with machines that he appeared to control as if they were alive. He was as much a performer as magician, so the audience was always amazed by the pageantry of his performances and the impossible things he seemed to be able to do.

In this free video series you will learn several basic magic tricks that are sure to amaze your friends and family. Our veteran magician walks you slowly through each trick and shows you how they are done. There are also more advanced tricks available in the series if you really want to be challenged. Check out our other series on magic and become one step closer to the next great magician!

Video Transcript

"Good evening! My name is Wayne Phelps and I am a professional magician. Tonight I represent Expert Village.com. I have been doing magic professionally for the past seven years. I am a member of the Academy of Magical Arts and The Society of American Magicians. Tonight I want to show you some of the secrets of the inner circles. I am going to teach you how to do basic card magic. We are going to start off with some simple cuts and shuffles, false cuts and flourishes. Afterwards I would like to teach you how to top retention of the card (selected or otherwise) a bottom retention and then we are going to go through this step by step; I am going to break it down for you. I am going to show you how the tricks are done. I am going to show you the techniques involved behind this and then we are going to go in and check out a simple card levitation called Pinkie Does It. It’s a wonderful effect and you are going to love it. I want to focus a little bit more on card forces. A card force is a technique in which you use to make sure your spectator selects the card you want them to select. By using cards you can force a single card on a spectator and already know in advance what card they will select. I am going to teach you a slip force tonight. I am also going to teach you a Hindu force as well as a Hindu color change which is a brilliant trick using a Hindu shuffle. I am going to even teach you a little bit a Hindu glimpse - a technique used with a key card. Key cards are cards you know in advance that you use in card magic to find spectators cards. I am going to show you a simple trick called the Paul’s trick. It utilizes a key card and your poker players are going to love it. Finally I am going to end with a card prediction. This magic trick I have been doing for years blows the minds of everyone I do it for. You are going to love it as well. So get yourself a deck of cards and get ready to check this out. "