Royal Road to Card Magic The

not need 'trick' packs of cards, nor special cards, nor expensive accessories. This is most important, because it means that no matter where you may be you need only borrow a deck of cards when called upon to entertain; the ability to amuse and interest will be literally at your fingertips.
    To ensure that you
will
be a good card magician, we have introduced you to the mysteries of card magic progressively. Each chapter describes a new sleight or principle and a selection of tricks follows in which only that particular sleight and those already learned are used. We do not suggest that all the tricks in each section should be mastered before you pass on to the next sleight. You should, however, select at least two and learn them so well that you can perform them smoothly and entertainingly before going any further. These tricks have been chosen with the greatest care and every one of them is effective if properly done. If you find that, in your hands, a certain trick falls flat, this undoubtedly means that further study is required.
    Clearly, to travel the royal road to card magic, you must begin with the fundamental principles and learn these well, as you would in learning any other art. Fortunately, the study of card conjuring is a delightful task and one that is no less fascinating than the performance itself. For this reason, we have found that the student is inclined to race ahead to explore the distant pastures that he or she is sure (and rightly!) are lushly green. We cannot blame you if you, too, wish to rush through this book, but we would rather have you emulate the tortoise than the hare. By making haste slowly, by
really learning
what is given you in one chapter before proceeding to the next, you will, in the end, be a far better card magician.
    By adhering to our plan of study, you will not only learn practical sleights and subtleties, but you will also simultaneously add to your repertoire of good card tricks that will surprise and please all of those who see them. Best of all, you can begin performing tricks of sleight of hand as soon as you have mastered the first chapter, and thus at once learn through practical experience before audiences how tricks must be presented to achieve the greatest effect from them. Then, too, we have inserted in each chapter feats that are self-working - effects that require no skill on the part of the performer. These will give you an opportunity for concentrating your whole attention on acting your part in such a way as to bring out the trick's greatest possible effect.
    We reiterate that there is a vast difference between
doing
and
performing
card tricks. Since your primary purpose in performing sleight of hand with cards is to entertain those who watch, it is not enough that you should achieve technical perfection alone. You must also make your tricks amusing and interesting by weaving about a trick's basal plot a pleasant discourse that will divert the spectators. We have tried to show you how this is done by outlining talk, or patter, for most of the tricks. Naturally, your patter should be in keeping with your own character: cheerful and amusing if you have an ebullient personality, more straightforward if you are a serious person. For this reason you should use the patter we have suggested only as an illustration of how the bare bones of a trick may be clothed in talk and action to make the
presentation
a striking one.
    True art, we have been told, holds the mirror to nature. This is especially true of conjuring with cards. Complete naturalness of action, speech and manner is the essence of the art. There is a school of card conjuring in which the artists, by the mere rapidity of their actions, attempt to impress the audience with the great skills they possess. We urge you to eschew this type of card work and instead strive at all times for a natural, relaxed, graceful handling of the cards.
    There are a number of general rules governing good card magic that you should always keep in mind.
Never
tell beforehand what you propose to do. Forewarned, the audience conceivably may discover the method. Wait until the climax, when all the necessary secret preparations have been made, before announcing what you will do.
Do not repeat a trick, unless you can duplicate the effect by another means.
Never reveal the secret of a trick. Many good card tricks are so simple that to reveal the method is to lower yourself in the estimation of the audience, who have given you great