Expert Card Technique: Close-Up Table Magic

This book is a must have for any serious card magician starting out. That said, this book is valuable to any level magician, as it is loaded with many slights and forces and tips used in many card tricks today. The easy-to-follow instructions coupled with the drawings help in learning these trade secrets. I have this book and several others and find I come back to this book from time to time. Buy the book, it's worth the money

The book is a bit difficult to understand because it was written rather long ago. And may be a bit difficult to understand anyway unless you have Royal Road to Card Magic. But those difficulties with the book pale in comparison to the amount of information in this book. Expert Card Technique is such a thick book. It teaches many complex sleights and builds off of them with effects using that sleight. A lot of effects. And a lot of sleights. It also gives quite a few routines and routine ideas. Keep in mind though, the effects in this book are quite advanced. Beginners shouldn't start out with this book. I would recommend that you have Royal Road to Card Magic first (which was made for beginners to fill in the experience gap). Expert Card Technique is a staple for any card magician. For less than $10, any magician really can't pass this up.

If you are a beginner magician and you want to start creating your own magic, this book helps you understand the basics and math, the pictures are big enough to properly see what is going on and it is well illustrated, the steps are easy to follow it is a overall great started book.

If you are keenly interested in card magic there is every reason to buy this book. It's inexpensive, it's comprehensive, and a terrific resource. I can give it only four stars because I find it terribly hard to learn most of the sleights from the diagrams and descriptions. They're very hard to describe but, when this was written, there was no internet, no DVDs, no way of learning other than one on one or via the printed page. So there are far easier and clearer resources for learning the techniques in this book. Still, it's a classic volume and, particularly if accompanied by a good video reference for the various moves, well worth the money.

Great explanations

My grandson liked the book. He has always had interest in tricks and said this was a pretty good book

Book has great intent for teaching the techniques in such a detailed manner. But there aren’t enough pictures/illustrations. More importantly illustrations on the most important parts of the moves. There is about 2 illustrations per sleight and usually the sleight will robotically have about 16-20 steps. Not a beginner book at all. Im even having problems understanding the first technique which is a get ready for a double lift. Ive been doing magic for 5 years. The pinkie count is my go to. Read with caution if u are ready to spend hours on one page to learn 2 steps to a sleight that takes 1 second. Great intent tho.

Very nice