By The Magician on February 26, 2011
From Tim David, at TimDavidMagic.com.
“Retention of Vision” as it is commonly known in the magic world, is also called “persistence of vision”.
It is the idea that the human eye retains an “after-image” of an object for a few moments after the object is out of sight.
A common coin move, The Retention Vanish, supposedly takes advantage of this “glitch of the eye”.
You’ve probably read magic books or seen magic DVDs that say something like, “The spectator swears they see the coin in your hand, due to what is called ‘retention of vision’.”
The only problem is, that’s a bunch of crap.
What’s worse, people have known the truth about “retention of vision” since 1912!
Apparently, nobody told us magicians.
Incidentally, a retention vanish works not because of a physiological defect in the eye, but rather a psychological effect known as “object permanence”.
Then why do magicians still talk about “retention of vision” like it is gospel truth?
I don’t know, but let’s end the myth together! Forward this blog post to your magic friends and spread the good news…Your eyes are not broken!
For you wiki-nerds out there, here’s some more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persistence_of_vision
Original Post: “Retention of Vision” – Just a MYTH?
Posted in Magic Theory | Tagged persistence of vision, retention of vision |
By The Magician on June 4, 2010
This is a good one, especially as it is free – courtesy of Brian Dean of LearnEasyMagic.com! Simple enter your name and email address, and click ‘Send Me My FREE Sample Magic Trick Now‘. In this trick there is no sleight of hand required, a small setup, and the rest is your cover routine (patter). The basic story is that you have a small note card that has a subliminal message printed on it, that will influence the spectators decision on what card they will choose. The spectator goes through the deck, stops where ever they choose, and then you reveal that the subliminal influence card has the the message visible on the back, revealing the next card they will turn over. Simple, effective, and sure to keep an audience wondering about the secret!
Posted in free magic tricks | Tagged Bryan Dean, Card Tricks, Magic Tricks, Subliminal Influence |
By The Magician on June 4, 2010
If you would like to learn a simple but effective mentalism mind reading trick, using an ordinary deck of cards, then check out the current free offering from MasterMentalism.com. Simply enter your email address in the box, and click “send me the video.” You will instantly have access to the video, a pdf transcript of the trick, and a pdf reference sheet for a popular method of stacking cards. Sleight of hand is not necessary for this trick, but preparation of the deck (stacking the deck) is required.
Posted in free magic tricks | Tagged Card Tricks, Magic Tricks, mentalism, Mind Reading |
By The Magician on May 30, 2010
Finding the 4 aces (or 4 cards of the same value) is a very popular card trick with perhaps an infinite number of variations. Many of the setups are the same, so it is really just the process of making the the trick look more-or-less complex that changes, and this is only really limited by your imagination and card handling skills. This variation of the 4 aces production actively involves the spectator, so essentially the spectator finds the aces.
A spectator does all the work, you never touch the deck, and all 4 aces are found at once.
This exact method is actually my own invention that I came up with as a kid after someone showed me the simpler version at the end and I didn’t think it was deceptive enough. Though I wouldn’t be surprised if I wasn’t the first on this. – magicalmaniac77
Posted in Card Trick How-To Videos | Tagged 4 Aces, Card Tricks |
By The Magician on May 30, 2010
A simple, yet effective, card trick. It is based around performance rather than spectator participation (no card to choose). With the simple wave of a scarf or handkerchief the Aces from the deck magically appear in the wine glass, facing the audience. I will not give any hints as to the secrets of this trick as it is best to watch the performance video first, and then learn the secrets after you’ve seen it performed.
The trick that so many of you have been asking for, so here it is. Thanks to Lance Burton for this one. – magicalmaniac77
Aces With Your Wine? – Performance
Aces With Your Wine? – How-To
Posted in Card Trick How-To Videos | Tagged 4 Aces, Card Tricks |
By The Magician on May 30, 2010
Although this is more of a game than a magic trick it is the sort of thing that can be used during a magic routine to add a little variety and demonstrate your advanced magical abilities to always be one step ahead of the audience.
Not really a magic trick but a nice little rigged game you can annoy people with.
The explanation can get a little confusing but it’s really pretty simple, just mess around with it you’ll get it. – magicalmaniac77
Posted in Magic Trick How-To Videos | Tagged Magic Tricks |
By The Magician on May 30, 2010
The ability to make cards magically and mysteriously change from one color to another requires some sleight of hand and a good story to dress up what could appear too obvious or boring. The sleight of hand is used in many beginners card tricks and can be learnt quickly and applied to many different tricks. The routine can be modified and is only limited by your imagination. Finding unique ways to make the trick look more difficult or more spectacular is what magic is all about.
I had a request for this one so here’s a simple easy handling of this effect. There are literally dozens of ways this effect can be achieved but this is a good beginner method. – magicalmaniac77
Posted in Card Trick How-To Videos | Tagged Card Tricks |
By The Magician on May 30, 2010
A good beginners card prediction routine where you use a magic coin to predict the card that the spectator has chosen. With some slick patter the trick will amuse your audience with the humorous misdirection.
Selected card is shuffled into the deck by a spectator and then you find it with your magic coin. – magicalmaniac77
Posted in Card Trick How-To Videos | Tagged Card Tricks |
By The Magician on May 30, 2010
For a beginners card trick Hit and Run is actually quite impressive. It is easy to perform with only a simple sleight of hand required. The sleight of hand that is used in is this trick is used in many different card tricks, so is well worth mastering. Also, pay attention to the way the cards are handled throughout the routine. You will discover why cards are dealt from, or returned to, the deck in a certain way when you move on to more advanced tricks. Learning to imitate so of the card handling skills will save you time later.
A chosen card appears alone in a spectators hand from a group of cards that were just shown NOT to be his. – magicalmaniac77
Posted in Card Trick How-To Videos | Tagged Card Tricks |
By The Magician on May 30, 2010
One of the simplest card tricks that works purely by a mathematical formula (that no self-respecting magician seems bothered about learning or figuring out!). Basically, you deal out 21 cards in 3 rows of 7, ask the spectator to choose a card, but only tell you the row. Through a simple process the spectators card always ends up at a predictable position and you simply need to dress up the reveal with a clever performance of your choice.
The absolute beginners card trick. Many of you may know this but possibly not the reveal. Check out the second half at least, you may learn something useful. – magicalmaniac77
Posted in Card Trick How-To Videos | Tagged Card Tricks |