The Online Magic Store Blog: How To

One hand holding a red-backed deck from above while cards drop flat into the open palm below

How to dribble cards: grip, release and practice

A beginner-friendly guide to the card dribble: the grip, the release, how high to go, what it’s used for and the mistakes to avoid.

A relaxed open hand beside a worn silver coin on a walnut table

How to classic palm a coin

How to classic palm a coin: the grip, the best coins to learn with, how to load it, honest progress and the drills that make a palmed hand …

Shin Lim springing a long cascade of cards from one hand to the other against red smoke

How to spring cards from hand to hand

Learn the card spring step by step: the grip, a smooth squeeze, a caging catch and how to widen the gap without spraying cards everywhere.

A hand lifting the top card of a face-down deck over a green close-up mat

How to do the Ambitious Card routine

How a beginner builds and performs an Ambitious Card routine, from the signed card to a clean finish, using the double lift and a simple co…

A face-down card beside a squared deck on green baize, a hand resting nearby

How to do the key card trick: a self-working classic

Learn the key card trick, the classic self-working way to find a chosen card using one card you secretly know.

Hands holding a packet of four face-down red-backed cards, taking the top card

How to do the Elmsley count: the four-card false count

What the Elmsley count does, its general shape, where it came from, how to practise it and a simple routine to start with.

A hand holding a face-down deck in dealing grip over a green close-up mat, cards dealt beside it

How to do the glide

The glide lets you show the bottom card and secretly deal the one above it instead; here is the classic outline, a practice plan and two ol…

A hand with a rubber band looped around two fingers at a sunlit kitchen table

How to do the jumping rubber band trick

Learn the classic jumping rubber band trick step by step, how to make it jump back, and the second-band follow-up.

Twenty-one red-backed playing cards laid face down in three rows of seven on green baize

How to do the 21-card trick: step by step, and why it works

The classic self-working 21-card trick taught step by step, with why it works, how to present it so it doesn’t feel like maths, and variati…

An open handwritten notebook, a fountain pen and red-backed playing cards on a desk at night

How to write patter for magic: a beginner’s guide to scripting your tricks

How to write, cut and rehearse patter, the words you say during a trick, with presentational styles and a worked card trick script.

A silver coin resting across the knuckles on the back of a hand

How to do a coin roll across your knuckles

A beginner’s guide to the coin roll (knuckle roll): which coin to use, the steps, a practice plan and the mistakes to avoid.

One hand in mid-air doing a one-handed cut, half the deck on the palm and half raised on the thumb

How to do the Charlier cut

A step-by-step guide to the Charlier cut, the classic one-handed cut, with grip, fixes for dropped cards and a practice plan.

A full circular fan of red-backed playing cards held in one hand

How to fan a deck of cards

How to do a thumb fan, a pressure fan and a one-handed fan, which decks fan best and how to keep them fanning well.

An everyday carry flat lay: a deck of cards, coins, a rubber band, a pen, keys and a notebook

Pocket Magic: How to Build an Everyday Carry Magic Kit

How to build an everyday magic kit that fits in your pocket, so you're ready to perform whenever the moment comes.

Someone practising at a desk, holding up a single face-down card beside a deck and a practice notebook

Flap cards: learning curve and practice

How hard flap cards really are to perform, the skills around the gaff, and a step-by-step practice plan.

Hands folding a red silk on a lamp-lit workbench beside a spool of thread, scissors and a magnifier

Invisible thread: weight, handling and safety

How to match invisible thread to the weight you want to float, handle a strand from spool to show, and keep thread work safe.

Two hands riffle shuffling a red-backed deck on green felt

How to riffle shuffle and bridge a deck

How to do a clean table riffle and finish with the bridge, without ruining your cards.

A practice desk with a deck, a coin, a notebook, a coffee cup and a phone facing a mirror

How to Practise Magic: A Simple Daily Routine That Actually Works

A simple daily practice routine for magic: technique, rehearsal and performance, plus the mistakes that slow most beginners down.

A brass metronome beside a single red-backed card on a dark stage floor

Pacing and timing in magic: beats, pauses and the moment of magic

How to pace a magic routine: beats, pauses before the reveal, offbeat moments, and why rushing and dragging both kill the magic.

A magician’s raised open hand in a spotlight while the other hand rests in shadow

Misdirection principles: how magicians manage attention

The working principles of misdirection, from where you look to offbeats and time delay, and how to practise them.

Two hands at the moment of a coin vanish, one reaching to take a silver coin from the other

How to do the French drop

A step-by-step guide to the French drop, the classic coin vanish, with the mistakes that give it away and how to practise it.

A magician’s hand holding a red-backed deck while a spectator’s hand takes a card

Card forces: overhand, Hindu and cut

What a card force is, and how the cut, Hindu shuffle and overhand families work, with a learning order and the mistakes to avoid.

A thumb lifting the corner of the top cards of a red-backed deck on a dark close-up mat

Double lift mastery: showing two cards as one

What the double lift is, how the get-ready and turnover work in principle, where to use it and how to practise until it looks like a single…

Guests’ hands around a candlelit dinner table scattered with red-backed cards, wine glasses and a coin

Magic for Dinner Parties and Bars: How to Build a 3-Trick Social Set

How to choose and perform magic at dinner parties and bars: what works, what doesn't, and how to build a three-trick social set.