How to Do Magic Tricks

As a professional magician my job and passion is learning how to do magic tricks. I will teach you some incredible magic tricks that are practical to perform and will fool your audiences. Here is how to do magic tricks:

• Pick a trick you would like to perform.
• Read through and learn how it works.
• Gather the props.
• With props in hand again read through the trick.
• Learn and practice the moves until you can do them flawlessly.
• Perform the trick for friends and family.
• Go slow, make eye contact, involve your spectators, be comfortable, confident, and natural.
• Consider how your performances went and practice more.
• Perform for strangers- girl at Starbucks, guy at the bank, etc.
• Consider how your performances went and practice more.
• Continue this process and repeat with another trick.

The tricks below are all amazing and have been tested in front of real audiences. I will give you step by step instructions on how to do these magic tricks. Keep reading!

• RING ROUTINE
• STRIKE VANISH
• TWO CARD PREDICTION
• HEADS OR TAILS
• MATH TRICK
• TELEKINETIC PEN

I am right handed. If you are left handed switch the hands.

RING ROUTINE

EFFECT: A ring is produced and you do some very visual magic with it.

NEED: A ring. I use a 10mm thick bright chrome ring, size 10.

RING PRODUCTION

“A trick…with a ring.”

Start with the ring in right thumb palm. Hold your closed left fist palm up. Focus attention on it and slowly open your fingers. In one motion wave your right hand toward you, over your left hand. Leave the ring on your left hand, open your right thumb, and continue the wave. Move your right hand up over your left palm and then out of play. Make sure the ring is not moving when you reveal it. 

LEFT HAND TO RIGHT HAND

Toss the ring onto your palm up right hand and display it near the tips of your right 1st and 2nd fingers.

“From here…”

TOSS VANISH

Hold the ring in place with your right thumb, turn your right hand palm down, and move toward your left hand. With the tips of your right 1st and 2nd fingers slide the ring all the way up your thumb and grip it in your thumb crotch. Open your right hand wide and act as if you toss the ring into your left hand. Close your left hand as if you caught it. Keep your left hand in a loose fist and massage your thumb and fingers as if you have the ring. 

“…to here.”

Focus your attention on your left hand. Drop your right hand naturally to your side. Slide the ring onto your 1st finger with the tips of your right thumb and 2nd. Rotate your left loose fist palm down and, in a tossing motion to the right, quickly turn your left fist palm up and open it. Follow the invisible flight of the ring with your eyes. Bring up your right fist, back of your hand outward, 1st finger pointing up, and display the ring.

RING THROUGH FINGER

“Watch the ring go straight through my finger.”

Rotate your hand so your 1st finger points left. Grip the ring with your left thumb below, 1st finger on top, at your right 1st knuckle. Rotate your left palm outward so the ring can be seen. Extend your right fingers pressed together. Jolt your left hand forward with the ring in one quick motion. Relax your right 1st finger and let it naturally bend forward as the ring comes off. After the ring comes off snap your 1st finger back into position.

PRO TIPS: This is a move that must be done fast. Move your right hand slightly backward as you move the ring forward. Point the ring toward your spectator’s eyes so it covers the movement of your right 1st finger. Your right fingers should go from loose to tight when the ring comes off.

RIGHT HAND TO LEFT HAND

FAKE TAKE VANISH

Turn your left hand palm up and drop the ring on top. Display the ring at the base of your 2nd and 3rd fingers. Push the ring up with your left 2nd finger as you come in from above with your palm down right hand to take it. It is a fake take and should look exactly the same as if you really picked up the ring. Spend some time in the mirror practicing this. Here are the details:

RIGHT HAND ACTION: Turn your right palm toward you and slowly close it as if you are holding the ring. Move your loosely closed fist up and draw attention to it. Wiggle your thumb and fingers a little as if you are holding something in your hand. This is a strong convincer.

LEFT HAND ACTION: Rotate your hand palm down, curl your fingers naturally so they lightly grip the ring, and relax your hand to your side. Slide the ring onto your 1st finger with the tips of your left thumb and 2nd.

Rotate your right hand loose fist palm down and, in a tossing motion to the left, quickly turn your right fist palm up and open it. Follow the invisible flight of the ring with your eyes. Bring up your left fist, back of your hand outward, 1st finger pointing up, and display the ring.

IMPORTANT POINTS: When you vanish an object you need a plan on what to do next. Spectators will immediately look at your other hand. Good routining is the backbone of deceptive sleight of hand. You could also produce the ring from your elbow or pocket. I recommend a complete vanish. Check out the Strike Vanish below.

PRO TIPS

You can use any ring. It is great if you wear one so you are always ready. I don’t wear a ring so I just carry it in my pocket. You can also borrow a ring. There is a nice flow to this routine. Go slow and trust in the moves once you get them down. Focus your attention where you want your spectators to look. They will look where you look.

PRACTICE: This will take some practice, figure on 2-3 hours. Then an hour a day until you feel comfortable. Spend some time in the mirror and I also recommend filming yourself doing it. Make sure you are seamless with the moves before performing the routine.

STRIKE VANISH

NEED: A ring and a pen.

“Just a tap, and it disappears.”

IMPORTANT POINTS: This is a fast move, almost like a jolt. You can use a magic wand, a straw, a Sharpie, etc, to do this vanish. You can vanish any small object- coins, candy, dice, etc. It is best to perform this vanish head on with your spectators.

This vanish is a terrific ending for the ring routine above, it is a complete vanish. After the ring disappears casually put the pen and ring into your pocket. If the object is borrowed, reach into your pocket and produce it. The Strike Vanish can also stand alone and be done any time, it is amazing. If you want to learn to produce the pen, which is easy and very visual, check out The Visual Sharpie Routine.

TWO CARD PREDICTION

NEED: Deck of cards & a business card.

EFFECT: Spectator places a business card into the deck wherever they want. You show that you already wrote down two cards that match the cards they placed the business card between.

PREPARATION: Write down 2 cards on one end of the back of your business card (see pic). Place one of these cards 2nd from the top of the deck, the other 2nd from the bottom.

PERFORMANCE: Bring out the deck. Show the cards are all different. I recommend shuffling here and maintaining the top and bottom cards. The best way to do this is with a riffle shuffle which you can learn here- How To Shuffle Cards – A Complete Guide. Tell your spectators you want this to be random so you will bury the top and bottom cards. Place them into the deck one at a time. Now your prediction cards are on top and bottom.

Hold the deck squared up. Hand your spectator your business card with the side you wrote on toward you and face down so they don’t see what you wrote. Riffle up the front short edge of the deck with your 1st finger. Tell them to place the card anywhere and leave it sticking out half way.

Check out this Free Video and learn my favorite 4 Ace Trick. It is easy to do and guaranteed to amaze. I perform it all the time at my paid events.

BC FLIP OVER

Grip the packet on top of the business card, from above, with your right thumb at the inner short side and your 2nd finger at the outer short side. Slide your thumb beneath the packet along the bottom card and flip the packet face up. Clamp the top right corner of your business card against the bottom left corner of the face up packet with your right 1st and 2nd finger tips.

Turn your right hand palm down flipping over your business card. Move your left fingers out of the way and place the right packet beneath the left packet sandwiching the business card in between. Spread the cards and remove your business card with the card above and below it. Show what you wrote down. Flip over the cards.

IMPORTANT POINTS: This move looks best when your business card is placed into the middle of the deck. If your spectator doesn’t want to tell them you want it to go into the middle so it is completely random.

PRO TIPS: I prefer to do this routine from a shuffled deck. Have your spectator shuffle. Spread the cards face up showing they are all different and remember the cards 2nd from top and bottom. Take out your business card and write down the cards. Don’t let them see what you write. Bury the top and bottom cards of the deck and proceed with the effect as written above.

HEADS OR TAILS

EFFECT: Your spectator shakes up some coins and dumps them on the table. You tell them you will turn around and they should flip coins over randomly, 2 at a time. When they are sure the coins are mixed they should look at one, remember if it is heads or tails, and cover it with their hand. You turn back around and tell them whether it is heads or tails. You can do it over and over and get it correct every time.

HOW TO DO IT

• Spectator mixes up the coins in their cupped hands and dumps them on the table.
• Secretly count how many heads there are.
• Remember whether the amount is an odd or an even number.
• Let’s say it is an even number.
• Tell your spectator to flip over 2 coins at a time, as many times as they want, so the coins are mixed.
• Then they will choose a coin, know if it is heads or tails, and cover it.
• Turn around while they do the above 2 steps.
• When you turn back around secretly count the amount of heads.
• If the number is still even you know their coin is tails, if it is odd you know their coin is heads.

You can use any number of coins, I recommend 5 or 6. A smaller number is better since you will have to count. Do this trick 2 or 3 times for the same person. Any more than that is too much.

IMPORTANT POINTS: When counting the amount of heads you might want to slowly wave your hand over the coins as if you are concentrating and getting vibes. A little acting goes a long way here, play it up as if you are really reading their mind.

This is a great mind reading trick that you can do if you don’t have any props. Coins are always easy to find. This is a perfect follow up trick to Coin Prediction which you can find here- Mind Reading Tricks- Is Mind Reading Possible.

MATH TRICK

1. Think of a number between 1 and 10, this is your Original #.
2. Multiply by 3.
3. Add 6.
4. Divide by 3.
5. Subtract Original #.

CONCENTRATE…

You are thinking of:

This is a great quick trick. It is fun to do, requires no props, and it involves your spectators. Act as if you are reading their mind. Tell your spectator to concentrate. Tell them they are hard to read and it isn’t easy to step into their mind. Add a little mystery and showmanship here, it will go a long way. Slowly reveal their number.

POSSIBLE ENDINGS

Write the number 2 on a piece of paper and place it on the table before you start. Go through the trick and then have them pick up the paper and look at what you wrote. This makes the trick sort of a prediction. You could write the number on a piece of paper and place it somewhere without them knowing. After you go through the trick tell them to look under your phone or wherever you put the paper.

You could put 2 pennies inside an envelope and hand it to the spectator to hold before you start. Then have them open the envelope. They will see their number in pennies. This is just another way you can end the trick. It is good to add something extra to your presentations, it makes your magic more memorable.

PRO TIP: Whenever you are giving instructions to your spectators make sure you are clear and go slow. If a spectator messes up it is the magician’s fault. Always remember this. If you want to learn more math tricks check out- Math Magic Tricks – The Absolute Best Ones.

TELEKINETIC PEN

NEED: PEN & BOTTLE

You can use any bottle. I prefer the type with a cap that isn’t completely flat, like the one seen in the picture. Since the pen isn’t fully balanced it will move more, as seen in my YouTube video.

A basic round pen is best, Bic works well. You will need to static charge the pen. Wrap your shirt around the pen and rub it a few times. Best time to do this is before the trick starts, when nobody is looking. Turn away and charge it quickly. This takes 2 seconds.

Balance the pen on top of the cap. Hold your fingers above and your thumb near the end of the pen. Your thumb will attract and move the pen. Wiggle your 1st finger at the same time so it looks like you are moving the pen from above. Slowly bring your thumb near the charged end. When the pen moves gently move your thumb up and away. The pen will spin. When it slows down bring your hand close to the pen to give it more momentum.

Once you take the pen off the bottle and put it down it will lose its charge and your spectator may try. If the pen falls while balancing it might lose its charge. You can try picking it up and proceeding. If it did lose its charge move on to another trick. Recharge the pen at the right moment and try again.

PRO TIP: Practice balancing the pen a few times before you do the trick so you know the right spot on the cap. You don’t want to drop the charged pen in the middle of a performance. If you like this trick check out Telekinetic Straw and Telekinetic Post-It Note. You can find them here- How To Telekinesis – A Complete Guide (With Tricks).