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The clearance section at Alakazam is a great place to find real bargains. With discounts up to 50% you can find amazing DVDs from all kinds of magic, mentalism, hypnosis and card flourishing. They are having a massive clearout in preparation for new releases so go take a look inside…

If you love cardistry there are two best sellers that every self respected card flourisher should own, for under 15 pounds! The System by Dan and Dave Buck and Show off 3: King of Cards by the legendary Brian Tudor.

Make sure you check out all the offers and new products on the home page, they have amazing stuff and shipping is so fast within the UK and the whole Europe, but hey, they also ship worldwide!

There are limited numbers of each title and once they are gone, they are gone for good.

Be right back, i’m going to fill up my shopping cart

The guys at Ellusionist extended their promotions until the end of 2010. Here are some of the deals and coupons, more to come soon.

Get them while they are hot!

Free Shipping on orders over $75

$100 in FREE Gifts with Ellusionist Magic Training Collection

Save 10% On Custom Playing Cards DECKPROMO

Save 20% on Custom 12 Deck Sample Pack Cards

Save 15% on Custom 3 Deck Sample Pack Cards

FREE Levitation DVD & Black Playing Cards with How To Do Street Magic DVD

Save 50% on Quick Start Super Bundle

Save 20% on Killer Card Work Bundle DVD Set

Save 5% On Any Order at Ellusionist ELL313

Free Arcane Deck with every Arcane Porper Clip

Check out our screencast guide on how to get free decks with your order and how to use the coupon codes: Screencast #1: How to get free decks of cards from Ellusionist

“Soaping” is a technique for making a deck of cards spread more easily.

Here is a little tutorial on how to effectively apply the soap across the back of the cards in order to make them fan and spread more evenly.

Fanning powder gives the deck a very different feel then soaping a deck. I’m not saying soaping a deck is better or worse then any other technique. I personally always use a new deck so I would never use either technique in my professional work.

The best part about this guide is that it works on cheap “gas station” finish playing cards. See for yourself.

Why does this work?

Sodium stearate (a main component of most soaps) and Zinc stearate (the main if not only ingredient of “fanning powder”) are both soaps chemically speaking and have a similar structure, it’s logical that they might both decrease friction between cards.

Recommended soap

If you want to try this it’s recommended that you get yourself a “Cashmere Bouquet” soap. This brand of soap is a bit hard to find in retail stores but you can get them from eBay for about 3 dollars, shipped.

Credits

This technique appears in Gary Ouellet’s book “Close Up Illusion’s” .

Got cards? I do.
I have somewhere near 200 decks now in my personal collection. With that many cards, I have had to learn a little something about how to take care of them. Here are a few pointers from me to you to help keep things slick.

These few tips and pointers are just the beginning. Use them to keep your collection in tip-top shape.

1- Get Organized

As you start to collect a lot of cards, you need somewhere to put them all besides EVERYWHERE.

I personally use this, a plastic drawer set from Walmart. This isn’t the only option, but figure out something. Here is mine.

2- Find a place for loose cards

Old, worn cards, and spare cards from your… um… creative projects have many uses. You may use them to replace a lost or signed card in a deck, to make gimmicks, or to just simply practice card throwing. Whatever your style, these loose cards make an AWFUL mess. Find an empty shoebox, or a drawer on your plastic storage unit from Walmart, and keep them all there.

3- When your cards start to get sticky…

Give them a break. If your favorite deck just doesn’t want to work anywhere, let them rest. Let them sit untouched in your favorite storage place for a couple weeks. Often all it takes for your cards to be revived is to get a rest from the moisture of your hands. When they have enough time to dry out, they will regain their amazing feeling.

4- GET A CLIP. Period.

These things are NOT gimmicks. They really work. A regular, cheap clip will keep the deck from warping like mad in your pocket. A nice PORPER clip will even take some of the bend out of your cards.

5- Wash Your Hands

Grease and dirt will kill your cards, and there is no return for a greasy, dirty deck. If you know you are going to be using your cards, go out of your way to wash and dry your hands. This simple, common sense idea will keep your pasteboards alive.

There will be more to come, but in the meantime get your collection organized and send us your photos so we can see how creative you all are!

-Lyle Borders

1- Book your tickets as soon as possible.

This is common sense, most conventions offer a special discount if you register within the first days of the announcement. Check your Google Calendar and organize your scheduled months upfront.

The Session offered a book and DVD for early registrants, Magic-Con a $100 discount and a contest to become VIP, but it’s usually like this with all the good ones like Blackpool, Magic Weekend or even FISM.

2- Never travel alone

Talk to the people on the forums and your local magic circle when organizing the trip. If you are traveling by car, you will need four fat snoring and smelly colleagues to ease the ride. You will save money by splitting the gas and hotel expenses.

3- Only go to lectures you are really interested in

If you do card magic for a living and never plan to do balloon animals or color changing clothes routines then skip those lectures (workshops). You will most likely watch the artists during the gala show on the last day so focus on what you do and keep some mystery in your life by not allowing yourself to discover the secrets to those other illusions.

4- Eat when everyone eats

You might be able to be sneaky enough to steal a couple of French fries or your skinny friend’s leftovers while practicing your misdirection skills.

5- If you are hungry perform a “sandwich” routine

Restaurants are expensive; therefore stay away from them if you are not going to sit next to the star. A light meal with a piece of fruit will keep you alive.
If you are performing that night, that’s another story, but then again, you will not be spending money but rather earning it, so pay a round to your fans.

6- Hand out your business card to everyone

Business cards won’t save you money directly, but if you are lucky you might get hired later on. Perform a couple of tricks at the nearby restaurants and if the staff notices you, tell them that there is an international magic convention around the corner and that you are the star of the evening. Ok, that’s lying, but that’s what magic is all about, isn’t it?

Also check out our post on how to design good business cards for magicians.

7- Buy cards in bulk

The dealers’ booth is where magicians spend most of their cash. Call your fatty snoring friends and make a huge joint order of 10 bricks of bicycle decks and tell the dealer to give you a good discount. They always do and you might also get a couple of custom decks for free if you ask for them kindly. If you need 30 minutes to convince him, just do it.

8- Lie to the dealers, just a bit…

Always start with, “They sell them for $XX online, how much do you want to charge me?” It will instantly put a big “I’m stupid” sign on your forehead, but surprisingly it works most of the time.

Another thing you can do is fake a foreigner accent and pretend you don’t understand what they are saying to try to pay less or get stuff for free…

Je vais prendre ces “glucumputuptus” gratuitement ok?

This does not work that well, but you’ll get a laugh, especially if you are a Derren Brown fanboy trying to “yes ladder” the dealer in French.

9- Get your books signed by the authors.

If you have the chance, buy the stuff the artists carry rather than at the magic shop booths. They don’t usually get paid much for the lectures and need to sell some DVDs or lecture notes to be able to hook up a cutie that night. If you do, tell them to sign the stuff. You can always put it on eBay a couple of months later…

Magicians usually offer bundle packs with their complete DVD collection and lecture notes. Take advantage of that and it will save you a lot of cash you can use to buy more playing cards.

10- Wait for the last day

This is the golden rule. If you are strong enough to hold your horses until the last day of the convention you will get the best bargains out of the dealers. I know it’s hard but it pays off.
They are tired of negotiating with people with signs on their forehead and they don’t want to pack everything back in their suitcases, so they will give you a special discount just to see you walk away.

HO HO HO!

I know you’ve been waiting for this for almost a month and it’s been killing you and all that but today the wait is over.

52 of you have been chosen by the stars to be one of the lucky winners. It has been an awesome experience climbing down your chimneys and falling down your rooftops.

This giveaway has been a huge one thanks to all the sponsors that made it possible, let’s give them a big round of thankful applause!

I just want to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone.

Congratulations for being so awesome,

-Alejandro Portela “Santa Cuso”

…

Here is the complete list of winners for .thecuso’s Christmas Giveaway.

1-Shoeman: 1 deck of Bicycle 125th Aniversary from Aceking
2-Nebelfuchs: “Stain/Shiv” DVD by Andrew Mayne
3-Dimitri: 1 PDF from DeeChristopher
4-Rune Hou Thode: Surfaced from Chad Nelson
5-Ryoma: 1 Download from VanishingInc
6-Garret: Devious PDF from Geraint Clarke
7-jtmorris: 2 decks of Arcane Playing Cards
8-Tarvi: ZAP Dvd from Jay Noblezada
9-Riddick: Uncut sheet of Bicycle Raiders from MagicNetwork
10-StephenCooley: My night with a stripper DVD from Chris Brown
11-Luiz: One Hand Popover dvd from Aaronfisher
12-Pelle Kravik: Devious PDF from Geraint Clarke
13-Nicolas: 1 PDF from DeeChristopher
14-41KO: Manchurian Approach DVD from Anthony Jacquin
15-Cesar Mosqueda: Inside by Daniel Madison
16-maxvelio: Uncut sheet of Bicycle Raiders from MagicNetwork
17-Cody Lust: Annual Subscription to MagicMez
18-Frank: Uncut sheet of Bicycle Raiders from MagicNetwork
19-Cyber: 3 Bicycle Raider decks from MagicNetwork
20-Trevkor: 1 PDF from DeeChristopher
21-Jowee: Uncut sheet of Bicycle Raiders from MagicNetwork
22-Garland: 1 PDF from DeeChristopher
23-Patrick Kunvatanagarn: Inside by Daniel Madison
24-fingertip: 1 PDF from DeeChristopher
25-omegathakid(twitter): 2 decks of Arcane Playing Cards
26-Zhe Wei: 1 Karnival Assassins deck from trickshopmagic
27-Mohd Azmi Abdullah: Uncut sheet of Bicycle Raiders from MagicNetwork
28-anthony: 1-on-1 from Theory11
29-abie jie: Devious PDF from Geraint Clarke
30-Andre Kings: Genesis Download from Andrei Jikh
31-HCheng: 1 PDF from DeeChristopher
32-jack webster: Devious PDF from Geraint Clarke
33-Kirk: My night with a stripper DVD from Chris Brown
34-Jinrob: Devious PDF from Geraint Clarke
35-JackWMagic(twitter): Uncut sheet of Bicycle Raiders from MagicNetwork
36-magicdude17(twitter): Signed 1st Edition Smoke and Mirrors
37-Maz: 1 Karnival Assassins deck from trickshopmagic
38-satria: One Hand Popover dvd from Aaronfisher
39-RC: $25 credit for Dan and Dave On Demands
40-David Pedersen: 3 Bicycle Raider decks from MagicNetwork
41-Chinmay: 2 decks of Arcane Playing Cards
42-lee ju yeon: 1-on-1 from Theory11
43-dliwer(twitter): Reality is Plastic from Anthony Jacquin
44-vinicius: 1 deck of Bicycle 125th Aniversary from Aceking
45-inflames33(twitter): 3 Tally Ho Fan Backs from Eyellusionist
46-Mark Tirone: 3 Tally Ho Fan Backs from Eyellusionist
47-TheCardshark952(twitter): 3 Bicycle Vintage Racer Back decks from Eyellusionist
48-L: 1-on-1 from Theory11
49-Shanku: 1 Karnival Assassins deck from trickshopmagic
50-Eldarius: 3 Bicycle Vintage Racer Back decks from Eyellusionist
51-AristoteS(twitter): Thunderbird PDF from Lee Asher
52-Carlos F: 1 Download from VanishingInc

If your name is on the list you will be contacted in the upcoming days to the email you used to to post your comment.

There will be more contests and special deals really really soon so subscribe to our RSS Feed, Email Newsletter, Twitter and Youtube.

Once again congrats to the winners and everyone who participated and see you on the next one!

Post your One-Hand Popover performance as a video response to Aaron’s video on youtube and enter to win a super rare, hardcover, signed, 1st edition “Paper Engine”. One of the most serious and technical books on modern card magic.

If you are only casually interested in sleight of hand with cards, then The Paper Engine is not for you. Because anyone who told you that real sleight of hand doesn’t take hard work is just trying to sell you something. Magic does take hard work. But that’s not all. All the practice and dedication in the world won’t make you a true card handler without the correct information. I’m talking about real secrets.

-Aaron Fisher

But wait, there is more. 5 random contest participants will receive a personal coaching lesson on card magic with Aaron Fisher through skype. Ain’t that cool?

Hey guys,

here is a little Christmas gift to show our appreciation. A cool mentalism PDF that allows you to showoff your “superhuman mathematical brain”. If you like impromptu magic effects that you can do anytime-anywhere check out the Instant Sudoku Solver.

A feat that would seemingly require a superhuman mathematical brain.

Effect
Within seconds of a spectator calling out a random number you are able to draw a 4 x 4 sudoku like ‘magic square’ in which all combinations of 4 squares inside the grid add up to the spectators freely chosen random number.

Another classic of magic that has seen somewhat of a rebirth of popularity lately probably due to Derren Brown performing it in one of his recent sellout stage shows.

There is no catch, download it now and pass it to your friends, this one is on the house.

Oh, by the way, if you like it or plan to use it spread the word on twitter and facebook. I’m sure your friends will thank you.

Merry Christmas!