How to Perform Magic: 8 Tricks for Beginners

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Dazzle and delight with these spectacular illusions

Co-authored by Madeleine Flamiano

Last Updated: March 15, 2024 Fact Checked

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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. Then, work your way up to more difficult tricks, such as making a coin disappear and levitating. Read on to keep your audience spellbound with your repertoire of tricks!

Things You Should Know

Start with a simple coin trick to get a “handle” on magic, then work on other simple tricks like bending a spoon or making a pencil float.
Make clever comments to amuse and distract onlookers. For example, as you rub a coin into your arm, say that your doctor told you to “get more iron.”
Try a more challenging trick, like pretending to levitate, so you can entertain others and leave them wondering how you did it.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Simple Tricks for Beginners

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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—secretly cup the edges using your index and pinky fingers. Quickly pass your dominant hand over your opposite hand and act 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 went!^{[1]
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- You can perform this trick using any type of coin, as long as it's big enough to grip between your fingers and your palm.
- Make a show of pushing or rolling up your shirtsleeves, which provides a visual distraction that makes the “transfer” look less suspicious.
2
Bend and re-straighten any spoon instantly. Hold the spoon upside down with the head pressed against a table or similar surface. 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 part of the handle that’s directly above the head. Keep the rest of your fingers and your top hand poised in front of the handle. Push both fists down towards the tabletop as though you're bending the spoon by force. Slowly lower the handle so it’s at a horizontal angle. Finish the trick by quickly reversing the motion and “magically” restoring the spoon to its original shape.
- Try out this trick on your friends and family the next time you go out for dinner.
- Sit or stand facing your audience when performing this trick. If someone is watching from the side, they may be able to see what you're doing.^{[2]
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3
Make a pencil float in the palm of your hand. Wear a rubber bracelet and slip 1 pencil through it so it’s horizontal. Grab onto another pencil and slide it underneath the pencil that’s pinned in place by your bracelet. When you do this, you’ll hold your second pencil vertically in place because the first pencil will press it against your palm. Fan out your fingers and make sure the back of your hand faces your audience. Your pencil will look like it’s hovering in mid-air! ^{[3]
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- 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]
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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 5 in (13 cm) x 8 in (20 cm) printer paper large enough to step through. Fold the paper in half widthwise and cut a series of strips through the folded edge every 2 in (5.1 cm) or so, stopping about 1 in (2.5 cm) from the far end. Then, rotate the paper 180 degrees and cut along the midline of each strip, again stopping just short of the far edge. Finally, cut the top edge of each folded crease individually and open up the paper to reveal a staggeringly large paper portal that you can slip right through.^{[5]
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- 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 circle.^{[6]
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5
Smash a cup through a table "accidentally." Explain to your audience that you're going to pass a magical ball through a solid table top using a small cup and a “cloak of concealment” (an ordinary piece of paper). Place the cup upside down over the ball, then scrunch the paper around the cup to cover it up. Pick up the paper-covered cup and give your audience one last look at the ball. As you do, inconspicuously drop the cup into your lap and cradle it between your thighs. Put the cup-shaped paper shell back over the ball and give it a smack. Remove the paper to show that the ball is still there. Act like the cup has rematerialized beneath the table.^{[7]
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- Play up your “mistake” by saying something like, “Oh no! I think I hit it a little too hard. The cup went right through the table! I guess I used too much magic there.”
- The key to this trick is to let the cup fall quickly and quietly into your lap without your audience noticing it. 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. Raise your hands over the ends of the straw and wave them forward and backward in a “mystical” way. The static charge will cause it to rotate without you ever actually touching it.^{[8]
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- Keep your hands close to the straw at all times. If they get too far away, the static 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).

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Making Yourself Levitate

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1
Stand at a slight angle with your back to your audience. Stand in a diagonal position with the heels of your feet pointed towards the audience and your toes pointed away from them. Place both feet flat on the ground so they're side-by-side.^{[9]
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- To avoid drawing any suspicion, try slowly pacing back and forth while setting up the trick. Then, stop and get into position after your final turn. This will make it seem like you ended up in your stance by chance.
- This trick works best when performed in front of an audience that's standing still so they won't be able to move around and 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.^{[10]
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- 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 on the ball of the foot that’s furthest away from the audience. Fluidly transfer your weight onto the ball of the foot that’s far away from your onlooker while allowing the foot that’s closest to them to hover 1–2 inches (2.5–5.1 cm) above the ground. If you manage to pull this off, it'll appear as though you've succeeded in levitating for a brief moment.^{[11]
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- For added effect, wave your arms around like you're trying to maintain your center of gravity.^{[12]
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- If you get good enough at finding exactly the right stance and foot placement, this trick will make even the most skeptical member of your audience question whether they can trust their own eyes.
- Slip into a pair of flat-soled shoes with thick, chunky heels. These will do a better job of hiding the angle of your support foot than more flexible footwear, which may leave your arch visible.
4
Lower yourself back down to the ground. 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 on to your next trick or given a bow to finish your performance.^{[13]
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- The longer you “float,” the more of a chance your audience will have to deduce that the trick is just an optical illusion and not a real magic trick.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Making a Coin Disappear into Your Skin

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1
Explain your goal to your audience as you set up the trick. If possible, sit down and make sure that there's no one on either side of you. Grab a coin in your dominant hand and tell your onlookers that you're going to rub it right through the skin on your opposite arm.^{[14]
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- A line like, “My doctor said my iron levels are a little low,” adds some color and humor to your trick.
- While you can use any type of coin you like, something larger, like a quarter or half dollar, will be easier for your audience to see.^{[15]
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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.^{[16]
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- Make sure your audience can't actually see the coin inside your hand once you begin rubbing.
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.”^{[17]
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- 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.
4
Grab 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 your coin onto and quickly pass it back to your rubbing hand. Don’t actually pass it. Instead, cup it in your palm and place your elbow back on the table.^{[18]
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- Keep the fingers of your decoy hand open slightly so your audience doesn't suspect that you're holding the coin in that hand. Cling onto 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’ll eventually start to feel more natural.
- Alternatively, use your rubbing hand to covertly slide the coin off of the table and into your lap while making it look like you're picking it up.^{[19]
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5
Go back to 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. Throw in a remark like, “I can feel it now! Just a little more pressure...”^{[20]
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- 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 you'll sell the idea that you're trying your hardest to make the coin disappear into your skin.
6
Remove your hand to reveal that the coin has disappeared. When it comes time for the big reveal and “payoff”, stop rubbing and leave your hand glued to your arm. Then, slowly remove your hand and turn it around for your audience to see. There, they'll see that you’re totally empty handed! It’ll be like you absorbed the coin into your skin. ^{[21]
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- If you want to add some extra flourish, carefully transfer the coin back into your rubbing hand and “retrieve” it from one of your onlookers' ears, pockets, or shirt collars.

Community Q&A

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I want to become a magician. How can I find help with what to do to make it happen?

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Ask friends if they know anyone who likes to do tricks and check out YouTube videos that how many magic tricks performed and explained. Find magic forums online to ask questions and learn from. Purchase a magic kit or set that comes with instructions to learn the basic tricks. See further: How to Become a Magician.

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How do I do magic tricks using money?

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You can do the vanishing coin trick with a matchbox. Measure one end of the matchbox, then cut it with scissors. Then practise putting a coin in the matchbox and shutting it quickly. The coin will come out of the cut in the matchbox. Remember to keep the cut bit of the matchbox facing you.

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What trick should I show my friends if they want proof that magic is real?

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The disappearing coin into someone's ear or hair is one that might convince them!

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Tips

If possible, practice your tricks in the mirror. That way, you'll get an idea of how they'll look to a live audience.

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Resist the temptation to explain how you pulled off a certain trick. Remember, a magician never reveals their secrets!

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Have a “magic” puppet so the audience gets distracted by it. It can also be your "assistant."

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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.

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