Children and Adults alike are always entertained by Easy Magic Tricks.  Getting a smile or other reaction by coming up with your own Easy Magic Tricks is always more rewarding than just doing a "Copy and Pase" of someone elses.  It may be an awesome trick, but the satisfaction of saying "Yeah, I made it up!" is way better than "Yeah, I learned it."  What I want to do here is breakdown each step in order to make your own Easy Magic Tricks that you can bring to your family and friends.  Now mind you these steps may or may not apply to the elaborate illusions you see on television or stage.  Those require the help of skilled stage hands or the mastermind magician with centuries of experience!  This will help you construct something that is very simple, very quick, and very Amazing!

 Each of your Easy Magic Tricks can be broken down into five easy steps.

- The Setup

- The Move

- The Presentation

- The Magic

- The Big Finish

Each of these steps are relatively easy to follow and, with a little creativity, can be put together to make something "Magical".  They can be used to make items dissapear, reappear, levitate, or anything you want.  You just need to use your imagination.

This step involves finding your prop or props that will be involved in your Easy Magic Tricks. It may be a coin, ring, deck of cards,...etc.  When doing on-the-spot tricks I prefer to use something small that can fit in my palm or pocket.  This provides an easy stash-away that I can use in the next step.  The Setup also involves any "Special" props you may need to construct your Easy Magic Tricks.  This may include things like Clear Tape, Magician's String (or thin thin THIN string), or other item rigged for a special purpose.  By this I mean like a trick coin, or hankercheif fitted with a toothpick in the hem, or my favorite a gel pen cut in half and fitted with small magnets.  As you can tell, your setup can be quick and easy, or very elaborate and detailed.  It's all up to you.

Most people are familiar with the term "Sleight of hand". This is what the "Move" is all about. A form of misdirection that takes the attention of your audience while you do something sneaky. The misdirection may be right where your sneaky act is taking place but nobody notices that it's even happening. Here is an example of what I mean. This move is a classic that works time and time again when making small objects dissapear. Sit at the end of a table with a napkin or hankercheif in your lap. Place a small coin on the table within reach. Reach out to grab the coin covering it with your fingers. Drag the coin towards you and off the table into your lap while acting like your are picking up an actual coin. To practice this move, do the motion and really pick up the coin. Keep doing this over and over again until you are familiar with how it feels, then continue with dropping the coin into your lap.

REMEMBER, your move can simple and in some cases silly and kind of STUPID! But if you really think about it, when you figured out how someone performed a trick you were amazed by, I bet you felt silly and kind of stupid.

 The presentation is what sells your Easy Magic Tricks.  This is what separates pros from amatures...PERIOD!  The presentation makes your trick amazing, mind bending, completly origional from every other trick out there.  So put some thought into this step becuase it will make or break your performance.  It can be in the form of an intro, storyline, description of an object that contains "magical powers", or whatever.  An easy way I like to present a trick is this, I show two rubber bands to an unsuspection victim and say, "Do you like David Copperfield?"  I use this presentation because it puts into the viewers mind that I'm going to perform a Copperfield-like illusion and they are instantly excited.  Simple.

 The Magic is very simple and very effective.  The Magic is the action or spell or word that causes the illusion to work.  It may be a snap of the finger, wave of the hand, magic word, or the concentrated stare!  Whatever you chose it needs to fit within the realm of your presentation.

This is where you "Pull the rabbit out of the hat" or show that the "Coin has vanished" and you get your ooooh's and aaaah's. This is the step that tell if can put together Easy Magic Tricks. In most cases, my Big Finish is fast and powerful (that's what she said...there I said it). Pulling apart elastics that were linked together, throwing at someone a golf ball that isn't really there, or eating my kid's favorite toys and making them cry. It should leave a lasting effect with any viewer.

There you go. Now you have some basic steps to come up with your own Easy Magic Tricks. Remember, like in any art form, nothing is solid. Some of these steps can be switched or left out or added on, and they should be. Making it with your own personality is the most important element to any Easy Magic Trick...right beside never telling how you did it.