Types of Magic Tricks
Magic tricks aim to astonish and bewilder people. They are illusions that aim to entertain a large number of people or just a single person. They can be done in close proximity or with the aid of a large stage at a certain distance from its audience. However the trick is done, successful magic is one that can keep audiences wonder in awe at what has just happened.
There are many different types of magic tricks that performers practice and use to entertain and to astonish. Different magicians try to specialize in one or a couple of the different methods in order to master. Different types of magic usually take years to learn and to master. Here are some of the different types if magic tricks that magicians try to perform and master.
Stage Magic
Stage magic is probably the most popular of all types of magic. Also known as platform magic or stand-up magic, stage magic generally refers to magic being performed for a medium to a large number of spectators. It can either be indoors or out of doors. But what makes stage magic different is that it usually makes use of a number of props to help the magician perform his illusions.
Street Magic
Street magic is a form of magic that usually is performed quite randomly while walking down the street. Street performances are characterized by a lack of big props usually being used in stage magic. What props may be used by a street magician might be something that one can bring in his pockets. What makes street magic so appealing to most people is that it requires a closer interaction with the audience who may happen to be passing by the street. It may also take the magician some considerable skill to master since it may be quite difficult to perform most magic tricks with the audience being so close to see each trick or illusion.
Escape Magic
Escape magic is another form or technique used in performing that deals with a variety of tricks that involves confinement or restraints. This type of magic is also known as escapology with the performer usually allows himself to be tied up or confined into a cramped space and locked from the outside. The magic trick stems from the ability of the magician to escape from such restraints without the obvious use of tools despite seemingly insurmountable odds that he finds himself in.
Mentalism
Mentalism is another form of magic where the magician tries to create the impression in the minds of the audience that he possesses special abilities to read thoughts, predict events or control the minds of others. Mentalist feats can either be done with a large or solitary audience, on a stage or close-up.
Theatrical Seances
A theatrical seance is that branch of magic that makes use of spiritualistic or mediumistic methods for effect. It is not usually “spiritual” in nature but is merely meant purely fore theatrical purposes. Magicians who follow this method usually lead the audience to believe that they are conjuring up spirits.
Unfortunately, this is a form of stage magic that is often misused by many con artists pretending to actually be in contact with spirits and mislead people for profit.
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The Voodoo Magic Trick
There are many versions of the voodoo magic trick. What you are trying to do here is simply to make the person believe you know what they are thinking of or what they had written down. One example is telling the person what they had written down on a piece of paper.
For this, you will need to round up somebody and ask them if they want to perform a magic trick. If they are more than happy, tell them to write something in a piece of paper. When they are finished, you instruct them to crumple the piece of paper and put it on the ashtray.
You then light it up using a match or a lighter and when it is completely burned, you get the burned piece of paper and rub this on your arms. When you are done, you tell the person what was written on the paper.
The key to making this trick work is being able to look at the paper before this is completely burned. You should do this without the other person noticing so they wont know how you did it.
A similar trick will be letting a volunteer think of a number between one and one hundred and saying this out loud. You then show the piece of paper with the same number written that will really make them believe you can read their minds.
For this to work, you will need to wrap a small piece of cellophane tape on your thumb and a broken pencil lead which you will set on your thumb. Before they say the number, you pretend to write the number they are thinking of on the piece of paper. When they say it, you use your thumb with the broken lead and write it down then show it to them.
There is also the think of any card magic trick. Instead of writing something down, you simply give the person time to think which card they like and then say it aloud. When they say, it, you simply take it out of your pocket and surprise them because you just showed them the card they had picked.
But how do you do that? A lot of people say this trick is a wild guess but you can get a way with it since many pick the nine of diamonds, ace of spades, queen or hearts or the six of clubs. For this to work, you must have all the cards ready and then simply pull the right one out of your pocket. Just make sure you know where all of these are located so you get it right the firs time.
Can anyone really read a persons mind? Of course not but this is the beauty about magic because you are creating the illusion that you can. It will just take some time to practice each of three magic tricks mentioned so you can get this right so you will be able to make everyone believe you have this gift.
The voodoo magic tricks are very simple and anyone can learn how to do it. If you are able to master these and want another challenge, do some research about other magic tricks so you can show it off to your friends.
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The Torn and Restored Magic Trick
Ever seen someone tear a piece of paper and within a few seconds witness it put back together? If you think about it, that is not possible. But if you know the secret of this magic trick, you can achieve the same results.
For this, you will need to prepare a few things. Lets say you are using a playing card and before you perform the trick, rip off already a piece of the card of the same color and suit you will be using to make people believe that is going to be the one you are going to tear.
When you are ready, place the card facing in front of you and fold it into four pieces. Crease it and then unravel it. While you are doing that, explain to those who are watching that you are doing this so the card can be torn evenly.
In essence you are holding two cards with the extra torn card piece pressed by your thumb onto the side of the card that is facing you. You rip down the upper middle piece of the card stopping at the center and then fold down the upper right corner and slide out the card which you ripped earlier making people believe that you just tore it in front of them.
To make the trick more believable, you rip it one more time by folding what is now the lower right corner behind the card. As you are bending the piece back, you slide the extra piece into view again and rip it off. Dont forget to put this behind the card and fold the card in half again.
You rip the card one more time and when you are done, you fan the pieces to make everyone see that there are three pieces of one card in your hand. You can even call someone in the audience to check it and then when you set the torn pieces on the table, you take away the loose piece using your thumb and hide this in your hand by using a finger palm move.
With one hand, you make the second card come out which was never torn in the first place appear out of nowhere which can be examined by the person you called earlier and be surprised to see that the card has been restored to its original form. As for the torn card that is hidden in the other hand, quickly slide this in your pocket and bring your hand out so no one will know that you made a switch.
The torn and restored magic trick can be performed in 6 simple steps. Dont expect to learn it overnight since it will take time to master since you have to make sure that the torn area is proportionate with the one you will make everyone believe you will tear later. Otherwise, they will notice the difference and your people will know that you made a switch.
If you what to learn more magic tricks like this one, do some research by buying a book or looking for this in the web. Most of the information can be downloaded for free so you can practice as many tricks as you can and impress whoever is watching.
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The Levitation Magic Trick
Ever seen a magician make someone float in the air? Have you ever wondered how this was done? Well, with some help, you can perform this magic trick and amaze the audience.
For this, you need a special type of couch that has a secret compartment where the person can slide into and stay in until the trick is over. You can call someone from the audience or just let your assistant help you by letting them sit in a reclining position and then covering them with a piece of cloth.
After some time, you command that person to rise and once she has risen to a height about a foot from the couch, you remove the couch and walk around that person. Unknown to the audience, the person does not really levitate and what they see is simply a mesh like screen that is shaped like the body of the subject.
To make it more believable, you tell the person to rise a few feet more way above your head. This is made possible by the four strings of invisible thread attached to the mesh and controlled by another person who follows your lead by telling them when to raise or lower the cloth.
Once the body is lowered and leveled to your head you remove the cloth and astound the audience because nobody is there.
You then make the person to show him or herself by calling them to come out. So that people will not think she hid in some hidden compartment backstage, your assistant can bring this person somewhere else and then let everyone see that assistant or the volunteer.
This is done of course as the couch that was removed earlier has been brought backstage so the person can come out already.
For the trick to work, the background or the backdrop has to be dark. The best color is black. The mesh that is used for the magic trick should be made of nylon material and can either be black or transparent.
When the trick is about to be completed, the off stage assistant who controlled the strings earlier should raise the uncovered screen completely out of view so they wont see any strings and making sure that the stage is clear.
There are many versions of the levitation magic trick and using string and an assistant is just one of them. There is one where you can make yourself levitate and make you go one foot off the ground but for that to work; you will need to saw a block of wood that is smaller than your foot.
This is then placed on your trouser leg and then when you are ready, you bend over and remove it pretending that you are tying your shoe but what you are really trying to do is put the block on the floor and then hide this behind the shoe. You then hop up on the block with one foot and float a few inches of the ground.
People can catch on to how you did this magic trick so dont stay too long up there. You can avoid this by dropping down fast and telling everyone that it takes a lot of effort to do this so you cant stay up there for so long.
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Simple Magic Tricks
There is nothing more entertaining to do at parties or gatherings than doing a number of simple magic tricks. There are a number of magic tricks that are fairly easy to learn. You do not need to have extraordinary talent to do such magic tricks for entertainment. All you will need is some time to read and understand the trick as well as to practice. Here are some simple magic tricks that you can try out:
The Non-Bursting Balloon
If you have ever seen magicians push a needle into a balloon only to amazingly see it still inflated and not bursting, this trick will give you in on the secret. For this simple magic trick, you will need an inflated balloon, a sharp pin long enough for your audience to see and a tiny piece of transparent adhesive tape. To prepare for this trick, you take a small piece of adhesive tape and place it somewhere in the part of the balloon where you wish to push the sharp pin into. Make sure to stick it so that it evenly adheres to the rubber surface of the balloon.
In doing this trick, try to tell your audience that you will attempt to insert a pin into an inflated balloon without letting it burst as what will usually happen. Take the inflated balloon in your hand and hold a sharp pin with the other. Slowly try to bring them together. As you do so, try to locate the area where you have placed a tiny piece of adhesive tape. Then try to gently insert the sharp pin into it.
Make sure that you do this carefully by rolling the pin as you try to insert it into the balloon. Slowly you will see the pin going through the balloon, incredibly without the balloon bursting.
The secret to this trick is that the adhesive tape holds together the rubber surface of the balloon even when the sharp pin is inserted through it and preventing it from tearing apart. What you get is a balloon with a hole but does not burst. In doing the trick, try to show the audience that you have successfully inserted a sharp pin into the balloon without bursting. But to let them know that you are using an ordinary pin.
Take it out slowly and then use it again to pierce the balloon and let it burst. You may need to do this before the balloon releases the air inside it which will obviously give your secret trick away.
Mysterious Coin Balance
Here is another simple trick that would surely amaze your audience but would require a bit of dexterity using your hands. You will need a large coin and then a straight pin to make this trick work. In order to do this trick, try to practice concealing the straight pin in one hand. With the other hand, try to take the large coin out of your pocket and show it to the audience.
Tell your audience that you will try to use your mind over matter abilities in order to make the large coin stand up between your fingertips. Allow the audience to take a closer look at the coin to convince them that it is just an ordinary coin. Or you can choose to use a coin from a volunteer.
Once you have the coin back, place it on top of your fingertips where you have concealed the straight pin. Now raise the coin to a standing position along with the straight pin. Do this while keeping the pin and the coin close together. Then slowly remove your hand from the coin and it will magically stand up, with the help of the straight pin that only you know is there.
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Performing a Vanishing Magic Trick with a Coin
The hand is faster than the eye and this is so true once you have mastered performing the vanishing magic trick with a coin. The key to this trick is the position of the coin and for this to work; you will need two of them.
The first you have to do is lay one coin in the palm of each hand. The coin on the left should be placed in the middle of the palm. The coin on the right should be near the thumb.
In one quick motion, you should flip both hands and then let it face down on the table. You must quickly move the coin on the right hand to the left without anyone noticing then twitch the right thumb a bit to deceive people into thinking that both coins are there.
You then ask the audience where the coins are. The deception you caused earlier will make many believe that the coins are on the right but when you open it, they are wrong because the two coins are both under your left hand which they will see when you open up your hand.
This trick can also be done with the opposite hand. You should just put one coin in the middle or your right palm and the other coin near your left thumb then repeat the instructions as mentioned before.
Again, the key to this trick is the position of the coins. When you rotate your hands from palm up to down, the coin in the center stays put while the other shifts the coin to the other hand. You have to do this very quickly so the audience does not suspect what happens. If you dont follow the proper positioning of both hands, one coin will flick away and your trick will fail.
One way to practice this trick is to imagine your hand is a table tennis paddle. If the coin is in the center of your palm, this will make sure that the coin will stay in the same place when it lands. As for the other, something different happens.
This helps you move the coin from one hand to the other so when you lift the hand containing the coin, people will see two and not one.
The speed at which the coin travels from one hand to the other varies. The more time you have to practice, the better so even when people ask how you do it, you simply say a magician never tells how he does his tricks.
The vanishing magic trick using a coin is just one of many tricks you can do. There are also variations which you can learn and try out so those who watch you wont feel bad always seeing the same thing. A lot of these can be found online while there are a few that are written down in books with pictures to guide you along the way.
When you are ready, try to do this with a friend first and see if you are successful. If it works, then perhaps it is time to try this out in the presence of strangers. In any magic trick, just remember that positioning is everything and this can only be achieved with patience and practice.
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Mind Reading Magic Tricks
Can we really read the persons mind? No but when you perform magic tricks, anything is possible so lets discuss some of them.
The first magic mind reading trick is called name of the dead. For this you will need a sheet of paper and three volunteers. You tear the paper into three pieces and tell two of the participants to write on each sheet the name of a person who is still alive. The third person will be instructed to write the name of someone who has already passed on.
Take note that when you cut the paper into three pieces, the top and bottom will have only one rough edge while the one in the center will have rough edges on both sides. To make people believe you can read their minds, all you have to do is give the center piece to the one who will write the name of the person who is already dead.
To make people believe that you can do this, you tell them to drop the three pieces of paper into a hat which is resting on the table or raised above your head. You then put your hand in the hat and simply feel the paper which has the rough edge and then take it out.
To build the suspense, put that piece of paper on your forehead to make them think you are sure about the sheet of paper you picked. You then give this paper to the one who wrote on the paper that has the rough edges.
The next mind reading trick is called famous names. For this, you will need to get 10 famous names from the audience and then write these down on a separate card. They are mixed and then you make a prediction of the name written on the card which will be checked by someone from the audience.
For this trick to work, you will need ten small cards or ten small sheets of paper. The 10 famous names should come from the audience so once they give out a name, write it down and then do the same for the rest.
What the audience does not know is that the first famous name written will also be written on the rest. You then put these into the hat and shake it. You now ask a volunteer from the audience to reach into the hat and give you the paper.
You put this on your head to create a dramatic effect and then say the name of the famous person aloud which will be confirmed by the volunteer. So no one will discover what you did, make sure to get rid of the slips.
The two minding reading tricks mentioned are really simple to do and anyone can do them. This just proves that magicians who perform this trick dont really have the talent but rather pull a fast one to make people believe that they have this gift.
If you want to learn other mind reading tricks, do some research and then practice this a little then do it with a few friends. At the end of the trick, some people might really believe you have this gift which is funny especially if they knew how you were able to do it.
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Magic Tricks You Can Do At Home
You dont need high tech props to perform magic tricks. If you look in your pocket or even in your kitchen, all the tools you are there. The only thing to do now is learn how to have fun with them.
The first is called the Everlasting Ash Trick. The objective here is to smoke the cigarette without letting any of the ash fall off. For this, you will need a cigarette and a paper clip.
Before you begin the trick, straighten the paper clip and carefully stick this down to the cigarette as close to the middle as possible. You have to be sure that no one sees the paper clip before performing this trick so that when you light it, no ash will fall off.
Another magic trick you can do with cigarettes is the Bending Cigarette Trick. Here, you tell people you can bend a cigarette stick without breaking it.
What you need for this trick is a cigarette, a lighter and a drink. Now, you dip one end of the cigarette to your drink so at least half a centimeter is wet. You then light the other side and take a big puff. After two seconds, you will be able to bend the cigarette without bending it.
You can win every time you try the Tricky Coin Toss regardless if the other person calls it head or tails. This is because you have another coin tucked under your ring finger so if ever they call heads; you just flip it over and then present this as the coin which you flipped in the air.
If you have some friends over for some beer, you can entertain them with the bottle cap trick. Here, you tell them that you can move the bottle cap up the side of the bottle until it is upside down by only using your forefinger until it reaches the top of the bottle and then back down again onto the table.
You perform this trick by pushing the bottle cap to the top of the table making sure that it sits there upside down. You gently roll the bottle top around until it is balanced on the edge so you can get your finger underneath it. To bring it down, you simply the bottle cap over and go the opposite way.
The glassblowing trick can be done with two straight pint glasses. Here, you tell your friends you can make the inner glass come out of the outer glass without touching either of the two glasses. This is accomplished by blowing very hard into the gap between the two glasses and within seconds, the inside glass will pop out.
The Egg trick is something you can do when everything you need is in the kitchen. You will need a shelled hard boiled egg, a box of matches, some paper and a beer bottle. When all of the materials are ready, you set this on the table.
The objective of this trick is to get the egg into the bottle. To do this, you take a piece of paper and set fire to it. Afterwards, you place the burning paper into the bottle. You now place the egg on top of the open bottle and within moments, see the egg get sucked into the bottle.
The magic tricks mentioned are very simple to do. With a little practice, you will be able to do this perfectly even with a larger audience.
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Techniques In Doing Magic Tricks
Doing magic tricks is an age old method of entertainment. While some are being shrouded in mystery and secrecy, a lot of magic tricks are merely the work of dexterity of the hands and careful system of movements that try to make the audience see only what the performer wants them to see. This is more commonly called as “sleight of hand”.
Most magic tricks are actually the product of misdirection, deception and even collusion with some people in the audience. It is not always of supernatural of origin as most people may realize. There are many types of magic tricks that most performers and magicians use to entertain people. Here are some of the techniques that they use:
Production
This is the type of magic trick that aims to produce something out of nothing. The most common examples would be when a magician tries to take a rabbit out of a hat or producing a fan of cards out of thin air. Production tricks usually become quite effective in surprising audiences especially if the trick makes the action border on the impossible
Vanishing
This technique is the opposite of production. Instead of the magician producing something out of nothing, he makes something disappear. It can be as simple as making a coin, a cage of doves or milk from a newspaper disappear or vanish into thin air. The trick can be as complex as making an assistant inside a cabinet or even the Statue of Liberty mysteriously disappear.
Teleportation
This technique to impress the audience allows the magician to cause something to move from one place to another. A borrowed ring can suddenly be found inside a pocket of another person from the other end of the stage. The trick can be as astonishing as putting a canary suddenly trapped inside a light bulb. The trick is called transposition when two objects placed a distance apart from each other exchange places. In other words, it is a simultaneous or double teleportation.
Levitation
This is another common but quite astonishing technique that magicians make use to impress audiences. The magician uses his skills to seemingly defy gravity. A magician makes something float in the air, be it himself of another object. A table seems to hover above the air without the aid of any suspension gadget or a magician wills a volunteer to fly in the air with the power of his mind. The technique of levitation comes in many forms and methods of making the seeming illusion seem impossible.
Prediction
Prediction is another astonishing illusion that magicians use to leave audiences amazed. The trick seems to allow the magician to know future events or guess what is on the mind of a volunteer. The magician tries to predict the outcome of an event under seemingly impossible circumstance. The prediction technique is the basis for most card tricks where a random card is chosen and the magician able to predict the card without ever seeing it.
Restoration
This type of illusion usually starts when the magician tries to destroy an object. In a sudden turn of events, the magician incredibly restores it back to its original state. The restoration method of magic forms the basis of many common magic tricks. A magician cuts a rope or tears a newspaper in half and then magically restores them to their original form. Ina more astonishing aspect of the trick, a woman is sawn in half and then is brought back together.
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Magic Trick Tips
There are various magic trick tips that will help you learn magic faster. With a number of magic tricks to learn, you must also have to know some of the important principles behind most magic tricks. Among the principles involved in doing magic tricks is sleight of hand.
Sleight of hand is actually a technique used in magic where a magician makes use of certain hand movements to manipulate objects such as coins and cards. Sleight of hand is a technique that magicians and performers use in order to produce a certain effect. Sleight of hand is that technique where the magician tries to show an audience something and lets them see it in a certain way. It is like trying to force upon a spectator to see a certain object in effect that will lead them to believe that it is so.
But the fact of the matter is that it may not actually be how the spectator actually sees it. It can be quite confusing but learning more about sleight of hand would help you further understand about the process.
There are seven different methods used for sleight of hand magic tricks. They usually require lots of practice before a person can be effective enough in using them. Palming is one of the most common of sleight of hand methods. It refers to the action of trying to seemingly have an object in an apparently empty hand. Steal is another sleight of hand method wherein a performer tries to obtain a needed object secretly.
Another sleight of hand method used in magic is ditching. It is a method used to try and secretly get rid of an object that the performer doesn’t need. Loading is another sleight of hand technique that is used to move an object secretly to where the magician wants it to be. Simulation is another sleight of hand technique that magicians use to give the audience the impressions that something has happened when in fact, nothing has.
Another popular sleight of hand tool that magicians often use is misdirection. It is a series of actions that lead the audience to look the other way while the magician tries to do a secret move. Misdirection allows magicians to hide what he is doing that might obviously give away the trick to the audience. Switching is another sleight of hand principle that is used to exchange an object secretly in place of another.
Doing sleight of hand magic tricks takes a lot of practice since hand and body movements are often employed to generate a certain effect. The different techniques can provide the basis to how magic tricks can be performed. Most sleight of hand tricks are utilized in close-up magic although they may also work as well from a distance or above the stage.
Although most sleight of hand principles are being used for magic, there are other people who try to use it in order to deceive. A lot of sleight of hand techniques can be used by some people to cheat at gambling games where the techniques can be performed quite differently than how magicians usually do it.
That is why sleight of hand techniques also brings with them a negative association that is borne out of the use of such skills for doing bad things.
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