how to learn a magic trick

How To Learn a Magic Trick – My Complete Process

People ask how I learn magic tricks. I will go over my step by step process for finding a new trick and perfecting it. I’ll walk you through each step as I learn an amazing close-up trick, The Buddha Money Mystery.

How to Learn a Trick

1. Pick a Trick

There are many tricks available to learn, especially on this website. Another option is to find a trick you like and order it online.

Choose a trick that fits your performance style, is appropriate for the crowd you perform for, and is suitable for the environment you perform in.

Make sure you answer yes to all these questions. It is important to choose a trick that you will perform, and then invest your time in learning it.

LEARN MORE: Where Do Magicians Learn Their Tricks (A Complete Guide)

2. Learn the Trick

Learn the workings of the trick and the moves involved. Consider what is behind the trick, and ask yourself, “Am I comfortable with the method, with practice can I do it?”

Basically, you need to decide, honestly, if this is a trick you can really see yourself performing.

If you can’t see yourself doing this trick, scrap it right now. Don’t waste any more time on it.

I have done this far too often. I find a good trick, yet I don’t feel 100% comfortable with it, for whatever reason. I work on it endlessly yet never perform it.

When you find a practical trick you believe you will perform, proceed to the next step.

3. Write Up the Trick

Create a document on your computer. I use Pages on my Mac. Write-up the trick with step by step instructions, as if you were performing it. Play with & figure out the exact handling of the trick as you write it up.

Consider every moment, from getting into it, to getting out of it. You don’t want to fumble through the trick or figure it out during a performance. There should be no guesswork.

As you go through the handling, step by step, smooth out the edges.

4. Practice the Trick

Practice the moves, over and over, until you can perform them smoothly and confidently. Perform the trick for yourself, multiple times, until you know it inside and out and feel comfortable and ready.

practice your tricks

5. Perform the Trick

Perform the trick in a low-risk environment, at least 10 times. Try it out on a friend, a girl at Starbucks, the guy at the bank, a family member, etc.

Real-time performance is completely different than practice time. There is an added “performance pressure.”

Do your best and push through any anxiety you have. If you mess up the trick, it is no big deal, tell your spectators you are still working on the trick, and laugh it off. Everyone starts somewhere.

6. Evaluate and Consider Your Performance

Be honest with yourself. How do you feel about the trick:

If you have given the trick a chance and feel it isn’t for you, cut it. Waste no more time.

A true artist has the courage to reject his own work.

Otherwise, figure out what improvements you need to make. Consider the reactions you got, and the reactions you would like to get.

7. Make Necessary Changes

Go back to your document and run through what you wrote. Consider your performances and make any necessary changes to the routine as written.

Going through the process of writing up the routine is great for learning the trick. Having the routine written up is important for when you forget the details.

8. Practice, Perform, Improve

Practice. Practice Practice. And go out and perform the trick. You will see major improvement. Repeat this cycle over and over until you feel confident performing the trick. Keep updating your document.

Learn the Buddha Money Mystery Trick

1. Pick a Trick

I chose the Buddha Money Mystery, which I ordered from Penguin Magic. I have never performed it before, it has been sitting in my closet.

Las Vegas Magic Legend, Michael Skinner, performed the Buddha Money Mystery on many occasions, it was one of his favorites. I will be teaching the routine Skinner performed.

The trick is well made, looks great, and seems perfect for real-world performances. It is visual, easy to do, and can be performed surrounded. The trick is a fooler.

2. Learn the Trick

I watched a few YouTube videos of this trick. I saw it performed and also learned the method. It is very simple, definitely a trick I can perform.

3. Write Up the Trick

You unfold several papers eventually finding a dollar bill. You refold the papers and open them again. The dollar bill changes into 4 quarters.

Buddha Money Mystery Magic Trick

Set Up

Place 4 quarters on one side of the folded papers and a dollar bill on the other side. Keep track of which side is on top.

How to Do It

There are four sizes of paper. The 2nd largest is the gimmick, with an extra folded set of papers glued on the back. Flipping over this paper switches in the quarters.

Opening the Papers

Start with the set on the table with the top unfolding toward you.

Repeat this 3 times. Show the folded dollar bill inside. Open it, display it, fold it, and put it back inside.

Closing the Papers

Repeat one time. On the next time, the 3rd paper, you will do the switch.

Flip Over Switch

Buddha Money Mystery Magic Trick

Repeat the flip over switch for the last piece of paper, just so it looks the same.

Wave over the whole package. Flip the entire package over toward you. Open again showing the 4 quarters.

LEARN MORE CLOSE UP MAGIC: Sleight of Hand Tricks With Pencils

4. Practice Perform Improve

While I’m writing up this trick I take the time to learn and practice the moves. This is a pretty easy trick so I was able to combine some steps and after a short bit of practice, I am ready to perform.

I performed the trick a bunch of times and then made a YouTube video. I feel very comfortable with the routine. I am excited to have a new trick to perform.

Pro Tips

Once you start folding and unfolding, keep it moving and don’t stop. With repetition comes smoothness, you will quickly memorize the moves.

Make sure to always put away the trick with the folded bill on top so it is always ready to go.

Conclusion

Taking the time to go through each step of a magic trick helps you fully learn the trick, inside and out. Smoothness makes all the difference. It comes with the experience of knowing what comes next.

Writing up your tricks forces you to discover the important details that make a big difference.

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