How to Do Magic Tricks

Many magicians devote their entire lives to mastering the art of illusion, but you don't have to go to such great lengths to impress your friends and family. With the right know-how and a little practice, you can easily learn to perform a number of jaw-dropping tricks that are guaranteed to leave onlookers in awe! Start by perfecting a few simple beginner tricks, like making a pencil float in the palm of your hand or passing a cup through a solid tabletop. You can then work your way up to more difficult tricks, such as rubbing a coin into your skin and making yourself levitate, to keep your audience spellbound.

[Edit]Steps

[Edit]Pulling off a Few Simple Beginner Tricks

1. Make a quarter vanish into thin air. Place a quarter in the palm of your dominant hand and tell your audience that you're going to make it disappear. Make sure it's resting right in the center of your middle and ring fingers—this will allow you to secretly cup the edges using your index and pinky fingers. Quickly pass your dominant hand over your opposite hand as though you've transferred the quarter, then let your dominant hand, which is still palming the coin, fall to your side. Open your empty hand and savor the look on your audience's faces as they try to figure out where the quarter want!^[1]
   
   
   • You can perform this trick using any type of coin, as long as it's big enough to grip in the finger-palm position.
   • The disappearing quarter is one of the oldest tricks in the book, which means many people already know how it's done. If you really want to impress them, you may need to pull out a lesser-known trick.
2. Bend and re-straighten any spoon instantly. Hold the spoon upside down with the head pressed against a table or similar surface and act like you're gripping the handle firmly in both fists. Instead of actually wrapping your hands around the spoon, loop the pinky finger of your bottom hand around the point on handle directly above the head and keep the rest of your fingers poised just in front of the handle, along with your entire top hand. Push both fists down towards the tabletop as though you're bending the spoon by force while slowly lowering the handle to a horizontal angle. Finish the trick by quickly reversing the motion and magically restoring the spoon to its original shape.^[2]
   
   
   • Try out this trick on your friends and family the next time you go out for dinner.
   • Be sure to sit or stand head-on to your audience when performing this trick. If someone is watching from the side, they may be able to see what you're doing.^[3]
3. Make a pencil float in the palm of your hand. This one is as easy as can be—just clutch a pencil in one fist with the back of your hand facing the audience, then grab your wrist with your opposite hand like you're bracing yourself for a great effort. Without attracting attention, slowly outstretch the pointer finger of your support hand and use it to pin the pencil to your palm as you open your fist. When done correctly, it will look like the pencil is hovering in front of your hand.^[4]
   
   
   • If you really want to blow your audience's mind, you can perform a slight variation of this trick immediately afterwards. Hide a second pencil on the inside of your wrist under the band of a watch or bracelet and use it to hold the “floating” pencil in place as you slowly remove your support hand entirely.^[5]
   • You can carry out this trick either from the side or from a top-down perspective, so long as the inside of your hand isn't visible to your audience.
4. Pass an ordinary piece of paper around your body. Bet your skeptical audience that you can cut a hole in a normal piece of typing paper large enough to step through. Fold the paper in half widthwise and cut a series of strips through the folded edge every or so, stopping about from the far end. Then, rotate the paper 180 degrees and cut along the midline of each strip you just cut from the opposite side, again stopping just short of the far edge. Finally, cut through each folded crease individually and open up the paper to reveal an impossibly-large paper portal that you can slip right through.^[6]
   
   
   • Take care not to accidentally cut all the way through the paper, or to tear it while you're picking it up. If you do, you'll end up losing your own bet!
   • Though it may seem like genuine magic, this trick has a simple explanation: cutting the strips in such a careful way rearranges the surface area of the paper so that it's essentially one big outline.^[7]
5. Smash a cup through a table “accidentally.” Explain to your audience that you're going to pass a magical ball through a solid tabletop using a small cup and a “cloak of concealment” (an ordinary piece of paper). Place the cup upside down over the ball, then mold the paper around the cup so that it covers it completely. Pick up the paper-covered cup to give your audience one last look at the ball. As you do, drop the cup into your lap inconspicuously and cradle it between your thighs. Put the cup-shaped paper shell back over the ball and give it a smack. Remove the cloak to show that the ball is still there, but the cup has rematerialized beneath the table.^[8]
   
   
   • Play up your “mistake” by saying something like, “Oh no! I think I hit it a little too hard. The ball is still here, but the cup went right through!”
   • The key to this trick is to let the cup fall quickly and quietly into your lap without your audience seeing, and to make it look like you're reaching all the way down to the floor when you go to retrieve it.
6. Spin a straw around the top of a bottle using only your mind. While no one is watching, take a paper-wrapped straw and rub your hand up and down its length a few times to generate static electricity. Be careful not to tear the thin paper wrapper. When you're ready to do the trick, lay the straw across the top of a bottle or another container with a narrow opening, with its center point directly over the mouth. Raise your hands over the ends of the straw and wave them forward and backward in a mystical manner. The static charge will cause it to rotate without you ever actually touching it.^[9]
   
   
   • Keep your hands close to the straw at all times. If they get too far away, the charge will be too faint to continue moving it.
   • If possible, perform the setup for this trick while your audience is absent or distracted (such as when your dining companion excuses themselves to go to the restroom).^[10]

[Edit]Making Yourself Levitate

1. Stand at a slight angle with your back to your audience. As casually as possible, make your way into a roughly diagonal stance with the heels of your feet pointed towards the audience and your toes pointed away from them. Place both feet flat on the ground, side-by-side.^[11]
   
   • To avoid drawing suspicion, try pacing back and forth slowly while setting up the trick, then stop and get into position after your final turn. This will make it appear like you ended up in your stance by chance.
   • This trick works best when performed in front of a stationary audience, who won't be able to move around to get a better look at your feet.
2. Caution your onlookers that levitating is an extremely difficult skill. Stress that you'll only be able to hold yourself up for a second or two, if at all. When you're ready, hold your arms out to your sides slightly and take a few deep breaths to convey how hard you're concentrating.^[12]
   
   • If you want, you can go as far as to throw in a couple “failed” attempts to lend an element of realism to the trick.
3. Rock up smoothly onto the ball of the foot furthest away from the audience. Transition your weight onto the ball of your support foot fluidly while allowing the foot the audience can see to hover above the ground. Try to support yourself as far forward towards your toes as you can. If you do this just right, it will appear as though you've succeeded in levitating for a brief moment.^[13]
   
   
   • For added effect, wave your arms around like you're trying to maintain your center of gravity.^[14]
   • If you get good enough at finding exactly the right stance and foot placement, this trick will have even the most skeptical member of your audience questioning whether they can trust their own senses.
4. Lower yourself back down to the ground before your audience catches on. The idea is to give them just a quick flash of what's happening and leave them reeling with surprise. By the time their minds begin processing what they've just seen, you'll have already moved onto your next trick or cleared the scene altogether.^[15]
   
   
   • The longer you “float,” the more of a chance your audience will have to deduce the secret behind the illusion.

[Edit]Rubbing a Coin Into Your Skin

1. Explain your objective to your audience as you set up the trick. If possible, move into a seated position and make sure that there's no one on either side of you. Grab the coin in your dominant hand and announce to your onlookers that you're going to rub it right through the skin on your other arm.^[16]
   
   • A line like, “My doctor said my iron levels are a little low” can add some color and humor to the trick while also taking your audience's attention off of what you're doing.
   • You can use any type of coin you like, but something larger, like a quarter or half dollar, will generally be easier for your audience to see.^[17]
2. Begin rubbing the coin into your opposite arm. Rest the elbow of your decoy arm against the table with your hand pointed straight up. Take the coin, press it against the fleshy part of your forearm, and start rubbing it back and forth.^[18]
   
   
   • Make sure your audience can't actually see the coin inside your hand once you begin rubbing. This will become important in the second stage of the trick.
3. Pretend to drop the coin onto the table. After rubbing for a few moments, let the coin slip out of your fingers and land in plain sight on the tabletop. Sell the drop as an unintended mistake by making an offhand comment like, “Whoops! Got a little carried away there.”^[19]
   
   
   • Leave the coin sitting on the table just long enough for your audience to see that it's the same one, and that you haven't swapped it out with a trick prop.
   • This part is where the sleight of hand comes in, so you need to make it as believable as possible in order for the trick to be convincing.
4. Pick up the coin with your decoy hand and fake a pass to your other hand. This is where the illusion comes in. While you're apologizing to the audience, snatch up the coin with the hand of the arm you were just rubbing and make a quick motion indicating that you're passing it back to your rubbing hand, only don't actually pass it. Instead, cup it in your palm and place your elbow back on the table.^[20]
   
   
   • Keep the fingers of your decoy hand open slightly so your audience doesn't suspect that you're holding the coin in that hand. Use the finger-palm position, pressing into the edges of the coin with the sides of your index and pinky fingers.
   • It may take quite a bit of practice before you can fake the handoff without being obvious. Keep trying—it will eventually start to feel more natural.
5. Resume rubbing your arm with your empty hand. Get the trick back on track and continue massaging the coin into your elbow. Let out a couple faint grunts or groans like the friction is causing you discomfort. If you like, you can even throw in a remark like, “I can feel it now! Just a little more pressure...”^[21]
   
   
   • Avoid rubbing so vigorously that you risk knocking the coin out of your decoy hand.
   • Take your time with the second round of rubbing. The longer you rub, the more certain your audience will be that the deception takes place in this phase of the trick.
6. Remove your hand to reveal that the coin has disappeared. When it comes time for the big payoff, stop rubbing suddenly and leave you hand glued to your arm for a moment longer. Then, peel it off slowly and turn it around for your audience to see. There, they'll be faced with a fistful of nothing.^[22]
   
   
   • If you want to add some extra flourish, carefully transfer the coin back into rubbing hand while your audience is exchanging amazed looks and produce it from one of your onlookers' ears, pockets, or shirt collars.

[Edit]Video

[Edit]Tips

• Have a “magic” puppet so the audience gets distracted by it. It can also be your "assistant."
• Resist the temptation to explain how you pulled off a certain trick. Remember, a magician never reveals their secrets!
• If possible, practice your tricks in the mirror. That way, you'll get an idea of how they'll look to a live audience.

[Edit]Warnings

• Never perform the same trick more than once in the same show. Doing so will make it easier for your audience to figure out how it works.

[Edit]References

[Edit]Quick Summary

1. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnnSwdkIcnI&feature=youtu.be&t=144
2. ↑ https://s3.amazonaws.com/MagicTricksForKids/PDF+Downloads/%2328+Spoon+bending+Illusion.pdf
3. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRMbv14lkLM&feature=youtu.be&t=31
4. ↑ https://www.goodtricks.net/magic-levitating-pencil-trick.html
5. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BDtaFgq2jE&feature=youtu.be&t=51
6. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5E-Qnfo8ql8&feature=youtu.be&t=19
7. ↑ https://www.kidzone.ws/magic/walkthrough.htm
8. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDkNjKKfa6E&feature=youtu.be&t=77
9. ↑ http://www.physics.org/marvinandmilo.asp?id=63
10. ↑ http://mentalfloss.com/article/64990/15-magic-tricks-you-didnt-know-you-could-do
11. ↑ http://mentalfloss.com/article/64990/15-magic-tricks-you-didnt-know-you-could-do
12. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6CNvFnlPL0&feature=youtu.be&t=20
13. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-AQSR2gUKc&feature=youtu.be&t=68
14. ↑ http://mentalfloss.com/article/64990/15-magic-tricks-you-didnt-know-you-could-do
15. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3S0UJHMf0E&feature=youtu.be&t=41
16. ↑ http://mentalfloss.com/article/64990/15-magic-tricks-you-didnt-know-you-could-do
17. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7gWFuKua-Q&feature=youtu.be&t=13
18. ↑ https://youtu.be/PodmT0gpT-w?t=48
19. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7gWFuKua-Q&feature=youtu.be&t=81
20. ↑ http://mentalfloss.com/article/64990/15-magic-tricks-you-didnt-know-you-could-do
21. ↑ https://youtu.be/PodmT0gpT-w?t=80
22. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7gWFuKua-Q&feature=youtu.be&t=99

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