SOLIDMAGIC – Free Cheese Only Comes In Traps.

Fogel’s Reminder 21.01.2020 In the Patrick Page Audio Archives there is a fascinating and eye-opening interview Pat did with the legendary Maurice Fogel. On the November 28th, ...
The Key to Success 19.01.2020 Here we have an older routine of mine, which I used extensively in my table-hopping times. A simple and amazing routine for the table ...
The Pickpocket 19.01.2020 Jay Sankey has come up with many good presentation ideas and variations on the “$100 Bill Switch”. It’s ...
The Profiler 15.01.2020 This is a version of the “Chicago Opener” in combination with the Card To Wallet trick. I use a modified “Dani DaOrtiz Multi-effect Wallet”. ...
Blundering 13.01.2020 Joe Burke is one of my heroes on the button box. He is a beast. This recording of him dealing with a blunder was ...
Piracy 08.01.2020 I have been thinking for a very long time now about the subject of piracy. Only recently have I discovered yet another website with ...
Pumping Iron 02.01.2020 No – this has nothing to do with the movie, but with the way to structure practice. It is a suggestion. You don’t have ...
The Rolling Stone 02.01.2020 When I compare music and magic (one of my favourite obsessions), one thing strikes me. In bass, we have tons of complicated, difficult to ...
The Close-up Pad 27.11.2019 Almost all close-uppers seem to use a close-up mat (or pad) in some form. These days, we have excellent close-up pads at our disposal. ...
Color Schemes For Magicians 27.11.2019 Using colour schemes is common amongst designers (industrial and artistic). So why not using these in magic? Still too often, we see magic props ...
The Lighthouse 27.11.2019 Now that the end of the old year and the beginning of the new year are nearing, I would like to explain something about ...
Bag And Purse Organizers 19.11.2019 This is one of the most useful hacks I ever encountered. These organisers are meant to be used in handhabgs to keep small things ...
Buffalo Shells 15.11.2019 Do we need more sets for the Three Shell Game? Certainly! We always welcome a good new set. Micha Stehle, the meanwhile well-known shell ...
Stock Market Crash 11.11.2019 In magic, I find we have motions similar to a stock market. A bubble-and-crash is often caused by a sudden trend or overestimating the ...
The Scorpio 06.11.2019 Here is a presentational angle on the “Omni Deck” (the clear plastic deck of cards block). I bought one with the scorpio inside, which ...
Deep Work 31.10.2019 I have been asked how I managed to publish six thick books in German in such a short time (roughly four years). My answer has ...
Google vs. Books 31.10.2019 We live in a time where we don’t actually need a good memory anymore. When we want to know something, Google does the work ...
Simple, Easy and Right 30.10.2019 “The right thing to do never requires any subterfuge; it is always simple and direct.”– Calvin Coolidge This is one of the proverbs I remember ...
Take Action 30.10.2019 “Actions speak louder than words.“ We all know that saying, and it is true. Especially for magicians. In too many performances, words dominate (often ...
Motivation for Magicians 30.10.2019 Sometimes, we suffer from being de-motivated, and see no reason to create this or that. This happens to me more often than I want. ...
5,000 Writing Plots 30.10.2019 When trying to find new ideas to create a script or screenplay for a magic routine, the beginning is, most of the time, the ...
The Brexit Trick 29.10.2019 I have been doing my version of the silk and purse routine (I first learned it from Patrick Page) for a long time. Recently ...
The Art Of Missing Out 29.10.2019 There is a trend contrary to the “be more productive, informed, on top of all, etc.” It is called the “art of missing out” ...
TNT III – English Version 26.10.2019 For all my English speaking friends, here is the detailed explanation of my effect TNT III, which is an interesting version (and so far ...
Eisenhower Matrix Applied To Magic 18.10.2019 I am sure you are familiar with the famous “Eisenhower Matrix”, a productivity system developed by the president of the same name. It is ...
Ockham’s Razor Blade 18.10.2019 In the 14th century, William of Ockham published his principle: “Entities should not be multiplied beyond necessity”. There are books on this, and they ...
The Negative Approach 17.10.2019 Many magicians wish to do spectacular routines that make them unique or stand out from the crowd. The search for the “perfect” trick. That ...
Script vs. Screenplay 16.10.2019 Often we talk about “scripting” our routines. With that we mean writing down a routine, with patter, stage directions, and all necessary information. Some ...
Holism 15.10.2019 Holism is something very important to me, especially in magic. Whenever I conquer a new routine, I visualise it from a holistic point of ...
Three Simple Questions 14.10.2019 Sometimes, I wonder why it is so difficult to battle the monkey brain (I love this concept of the monkey brain; it gives you ...
My Wacky Old Brain 14.10.2019 I chose this title because I read that the headline is important, as well as to create click baits. So I tried my best ...
Think Cards 13.10.2019 Sometimes, the simplest things are the best. Here is such a thing, a suggestion to effectively fight the monkey brain and help to establish ...
Magic and Short Stories 12.10.2019 Combining a short story with magic is a challenge. You always have to take care that the magic does not get overshadowed by the ...
Sharing Is Not Making A Gift 11.10.2019 Some wonder why I do this blog, and why it is all for free. Well, there are two points that go for it. If ...
The Book Without Words 11.10.2019 There are so many things that are distorted in our magical society. We are on a race to the bottom, but the many don’t ...
The Grass is Always Greener There 10.10.2019 If we give new magicians the “inside” addresses on the Internet and the addresses of the important companies, then their progress will be fast. ...
The Spanish School 10.10.2019 Many things have been told about the mysterious “Spanish Magic School”. The why’s and who’s that make this particular school of magic so different ...
Jay Sankey Rules 10.10.2019 I consider Jay Sankey one of the most creative magicians we have on this planet in this time. No matter what presentational style he ...
Stuck in the Middle of Nowhere 09.10.2019 The false-transfer or false-take is a foundation in magic. How many times do we need to place an object from one hand into the ...
Create a Themed Act 08.10.2019 Themed acts have a particular charm to them. The act is held together by the theme, and constructing a show or an act is ...
Table-hopping Chess 07.10.2019 I don’t table-hop anymore, only very seldom. But when I was doing it more regularly, here is a little strategy that is easy to ...
The 100 Props Challenge 06.10.2019 There is a challenge in the wide range of the self-optimisation field, and this is called the “How to Live With 100 Things” challenge. ...
The 365YOU! Project 06.10.2019 The title says it all: it is about YOU, on 365 days, a full year. It is about your progression and life as a ...
The Point of No Return 05.10.2019 What makes a professional and an amateur in magic two different beasts? The difference is vast, and sometimes, I wonder which is the happier ...
The Big Chance 04.10.2019 Seeing the stuff the big online magic companies are offering to their (mostly young) audience, triggers some critical thoughts. In the modern magic industry, we ...
The Blank Book Test 03.10.2019 There are more book tests in magic than magicians being prepared to buy. The amount of the various systems and editions is staggering. I ...
The Erdnase Bible 02.10.2019 A strange title for a strange trick. It is another version of the Signed Folded Card plot, but has some intriguing logic in it. ...
Linking Pins Finale 01.10.2019 I love to perform the Linking Pins. A miniature version of the Linking Rings, this always registers strong in close-up. With a minimum of ...
The No Bullshit Bullet Journal 30.09.2019 Using notebooks for decades, I think I know the one thing or another on how to take notes, and what works for me and ...
Misconceptions About Presentation 29.09.2019 How many times have you heard this: “It doesn’t matter what you do, but how you do it!” “Presentation is all that matters.” “People don’t care for ...
A Street Table or Not? 28.09.2019 Should we use a ‘street table’ when doing our magic open-air or in the streets? Difficult question, and I don’t think there is a ...
The Artist 27.09.2019 Very true, and a well-written article about being an artist by David Ackert: ”Musicians, artists, theatre people are among the strongest and bravest people on ...
The 80/20 Concept 26.09.2019 [This is an excerpt from NOTAS, so you have an idea of what — besides the tricks — I’ve written up for you in ...
The 12 Inch Concept 25.09.2019 Here is an exciting concept that can help in many routines in close-up. The idea is to make certain moves invisible to the spectator ...
Teatime 24.09.2019 Sorry, but no other title for this one. The principle is interesting. Another version of the signed folded card. This time a nice switch. ...
Card in Bottle 23.09.2019 Robert Harbin’s Card in Bottle is a terrific trick. I love Eric and Martin Lewis’ brilliant adaptation/method for doing it. The only wee drawback ...
Buddha Card 22.09.2019 The title stems from a Dr Stanley Jaks mystery, in which he used a purse and a small Buddha figurine. His routine inspired me ...
Multiplying Bottles Hack 21.09.2019 This video clip is in German, but I don’t bother to do it again in English because the content is clear. It is my ...
A Practical Table 20.09.2019 There is always a need for a practical table. Here is another one I designed years ago for a commercial manipulation/patter act. This table ...
Build an Act 19.09.2019 Often, one wonders how to start to build an act, or short program. Here is the simplistic system I use. Take three file cards ...
3-Shell-Game Bag 18.09.2019 In the past months, a craze is going on with the shells, peas and all the related stuff for the Three Shell Game. All ...
Erdnase False Shuffle 17.09.2019 This is the shuffle I use whenever I want to create the impression of a genuine shuffle. it is based on the good old ...
7-Card-Monte Handling 16.09.2019 Years ago I played with the 7-Card-Monte. Here is a clip I found on my old smartphone and had forgotten about. You will find ...
Ascanioesque Double Lift 15.09.2019 This is one of my handlings of the double lift, following the Ascanio school of magic. It is a ‘floating double’, and the video ...
Bill in Lemon in Bottle 14.09.2019 This is a lavish idea. I thought that it would heighten the effect of the Bill in Lemon, but Harry Riegel tells me he ...
Anti-Gravity Bottle 13.09.2019 Do you remember the old trick where two glasses are placed with the openings down onto a transparent glass plate (or a book), which ...
Pimp Your Cups and Balls 12.09.2019 I am a Cups and Balls afficionado, and therefore a lot of ideas have accumulated over the past years. As usual: some are good, ...
Multiplying Bottles Retouched 10.09.2019 I needed to do the Multiplying Bottles in my Scottish Act. Therefore, the use of Whiskey bottles suggested itself. I got an old, beaten-up ...
Checklist New Stuff 09.09.2019 Whenever I decide I want to buy, learn, or add something new to my arsenal, I work with a checklist. This is a tremendous ...
Glasses on the Table 08.09.2019 It is always a problem to use glasses and a table. They might tumble (and they do). I built a table top with two ...
About This Blog 07.09.2019 In the past weeks (actually months), I redesigned and built everything for this project new from scratch. The design is minimalistic, but that’s on ...
Balls For the Cups 06.09.2019 The Cups and Balls depends on two props mainly: the cups and the balls. It is interesting that most magicians don’t give too much ...
A Quote From Seth Godin 05.09.2019 Here is something interesting which landed in my inbox today. It is well worth to think about. Seth Godin writes some tremendous things in ...
A Quote From Ken Brooke 04.09.2019 I don’t think anybody comes into the magic business these days with the intention to make a lot of money — at least here ...
The Container Theory 03.09.2019 For me, the thumb tip is a container. A container that transports stuff from one place to another. But with a big difference: the ...
Props and Gear 02.09.2019 Gear is an important aspect of street performing, and if you do it for a while on a regular base, you will know what ...
The Street Magician 01.09.2019 I have been thinking about the topics for this blog a lot, and hit upon a crazy idea: I would write something for the ...
Cups and Balls Loading Sequence 31.08.2019 There are two things that disturb me: the increasing number of performers doing Gazzo’s exact cups and balls routine; word for word, move for ...
Cracking Magic 6: Selection of Material 30.08.2019 This and the following articles should be of some help to you in making proper selections. We must understand it that the tricks and ...
Cracking Magic 5: Note Taking 29.08.2019 Haven’t mentioned in the last article already that the computer is not my most important tool for the archive, here is one of the ...
Cracking Magic 4: Organisation 28.08.2019 Now that we have the little notebook or whatever, it is time to get some structure onto it. Here is the system I have ...
Cracking Magic 3: Tools 27.08.2019 A quick view of my usual archive workspace. Everything needed for a practical archive is here. Now we will discuss two tools useful in building our ...
Cracking Magic 2: Archive Structure 26.08.2019 Let’s look at that monster called archive. You will build one from scratch. Much better than wasting time in trying to get some overview ...
Cracking Magic 1: Introduction 25.08.2019 There are tons of books, courses, and even blogs dedicated to self-organisation. But for magicians and their magic-specific needs, there isn’t too much information ...
How to Write Magic Books? 24.08.2019 An interesting question. I believe that the most valuable information a reader can get out of a magic book should be the answer to ...
Magic as an Indicator of Growth 23.08.2019 Most of the time, magicians take magic too seriously. I am not only thinking of an abundance of psychics and mind readers, body-language-readers, intuitive, ...
A Thumb Tip Holder 22.08.2019 It is important to get the thumb tip in a show without fumbling out of the prop case or centrepiece. I tried many holders, ...
Quick Starters 21.08.2019 Sometimes, one wonders how to give a trick a quick and interesting theme, to get a quick start in developing some presentation. Often, time ...
The 24/7 Magician 20.08.2019 I am a firm believer in the thesis that a magician — for mentalists this is a necessity — should be able to perform ...
How to Better The Card to Wallet 19.08.2019 Here is a small bit of refining the handling of a Card to Wallet routine, with the purpose to obscure the moment of the ...
A Bass Player in Magic 18.08.2019 In bass playing, a trend arose to elevate the instrument to a higher level. Tons of sophisticated bass solos were written and performed, the ...
The 12 In. Concept 17.08.2019 Here is an exciting concept that can help in many routines in close-up. The idea is to make certain “moves” invisible to the spectator ...
A Matter of Reputation 16.08.2019 Seth Godin wrote in one of his newsletters: “There’s a chasm between science, where the identity of the discoverer doesn’t matter, and culture, where, “because ...
A Comparison to Chess 15.08.2019 I subscribed to the chess website Tiger Chess by GM Nigel Davies. My thoughts were two-fold: I wanted to improve in my chess and ...
The Family of Three 14.08.2019 The Three is a substantial number. Think of a trio, threesome, triad, troika, triangle, triumvirate, trilogy, triptych, trefoil, three-piece, triplets, God, Jesus, and the ...
How to Save Time, Money and Energy 13.08.2019 Ninety percent of the magicians waste their time, energy, and money on: ‘Research’ on the Internet. Passive consumption video clips, DVDs, PDFs Passive consumption conventions and get-togethers. Passive ...
Move for Balls and Net Routine 12.08.2019 I was playing around with this, and discovered an important thing. The move is much easier, when the left thumb is pressed against the ...
About Lectures 11.08.2019 I am not sure whether this is because times have changed. Or people have changed. Maybe both. I have been doing lectures for the past ...
R.I.P. Don Wayne 10.08.2019 One of the greatest designers, inventors and consultants in magic has gone forever. So sad. Such a loss for magic, and for all the many friends ...
Mark Elsdon‘s Hidden Gems 09.08.2019 I got a hold on these eBooks by Mark Elsdon some time ago. After reading them, two things dawned on me. Not that I don‘t ...
The Rehearsal 08.08.2019 Practise is not only needed if you want to have the techniques at your fingertips when you need them. It is necessary for complete ...
The Morning Routine 07.08.2019 Most successful people have morning rituals. There are fixed times in the early morning where they execute important things: they write, practise, think, or ...
Simpler Magic 06.08.2019 To experience a lighter approach to magic, we could think about simple things: simple props simple handlings simple effects Less is more, and this holds for magic as ...
LePaul Cards and Envelope 05.08.2019 There is a trick in the book ‘The Card Magic of Paul LePaul’ which has fascinated me since my youth: it is the ‘Cards ...
Focus 04.08.2019 The information overload is severe. It is impossible to follow everything and be up-to-date. There is something amiss all the time. How is it ...
Trapped 03.08.2019 How many does a person need? iPhone, iPad, iMac, Time Capsule, MacBook, iPod, various Clouds – Dropbox, iCloud, Evernote, etc. Do not to forget ...
Chase the Ace 02.08.2019 That trick has been around for a long time. It is a classic for the stand-up and stage performer (although I’ve seen people do ...
Birth of an Act 01.08.2019 All ten years, I create a new act. This time it will be a manipulative act for the small stage/parlour. In my past, I ...