Card Tricks for Kids

Discuss your favorite close-up tricks and methods.
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Card Tricks for Kids

Postby Guest » July 23rd, 2001, 8:16 am

The conventional wisdom has it that card tricks are inappropriate for children. Experience suggests otherwise. With the right effect and the right attitude, children find card tricks to be hugely entertaining. :D

Two of my favorites for kids are: David Williamson's Famous Three Card Trick and Derek Dingle's Everywhere and Nowhere...

Anyone care to add to the list?

Brad A._dup1
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Re: Card Tricks for Kids

Postby Brad A._dup1 » July 23rd, 2001, 10:01 am

I've had mixed views from children on card tricks. I suppose about 8 and up understand cards, and (like you said) like card effects.

I've performed Twisting the Aces, followed by Dr. Jacob Daley's Last Trick.

The only time I run into troulbe with performing card tricks for children (say, under age of 8) sometimes they don't know what the cards are.

-Brad
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Richard Kaufman
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Re: Card Tricks for Kids

Postby Richard Kaufman » July 23rd, 2001, 11:26 am

There's a trick in Five Times Five: Scotland that uses cards with spots on it. The idea of a trick with spotted cards is unpleasant, however this is a damn clever trick! It might be good for kids.
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Re: Card Tricks for Kids

Postby Tom Dobrowolski » July 23rd, 2001, 11:31 am

I've had a lot of success and fun with children as young as 5 with causing one card to change into another. This is NOT a card they selected but just a card taken from the deck. A simple double lift then have them tap or blow on the card and it changes. It's one of those things that they ask you to do again and again and again, etc.

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Re: Card Tricks for Kids

Postby Rafael Benatar » July 23rd, 2001, 7:21 pm

Try Close's Clones.

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Doug Conn
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Re: Card Tricks for Kids

Postby Doug Conn » July 24th, 2001, 3:51 pm

Any trick where a kid gets to write / draw on a card seems to capture their attention.
(card to wallet, ambitious, etc.)
This is a great way to get young children(as young as 3 years old +) involved in card plots that might seem mundane to their intellect.

regards,
Doug Conn
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Re: Card Tricks for Kids

Postby Guest » July 24th, 2001, 4:58 pm

I agree with Rafael and DougC:

Close's Clones is a real winner (I mentioned it under "best gaffed..." for kids)

I also love Simon Lovell's Card-in-mouth for kids (sans suggestive patter, of course :p)

Guest

Re: Card Tricks for Kids

Postby Guest » July 24th, 2001, 5:15 pm

Here are some tricks that I have found to be very strong with kids: Sankey's "Measles", Bannon's "Tattoo You", "Twins", ambitious card, Close's "Frog Prince", Curry's "Color Changing Deck" (I do Johnny Thompson's version), C. Miller's "Dunbury Delusion", and, of course, "Cannibal Kings".

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Re: Card Tricks for Kids

Postby Guest » July 25th, 2001, 1:15 am

Close's Ooh-Ah Bird

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Re: Card Tricks for Kids

Postby Guest » July 25th, 2001, 2:36 am

If you put a little thought into it...you can make almost any card trick kid friendly...Has any of you ever thought of using ANIMAL CARDS instead of a regular deck? ex. Ambitious card w/ a kangaroo card( the kang. keeps jumping to the top)

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Re: Card Tricks for Kids

Postby EdAndres » July 25th, 2001, 3:04 am

Mental photography :)

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Re: Card Tricks for Kids

Postby Jeremy Medows » July 25th, 2001, 10:07 am

Most of my performances are for adults, but I am asked occasionally to perform for children and I try to avoid card tricks for them, but there are two things that I do perform frequently.

Geoff Williams has a fun card trick in his lecture notes that plays well for kids and adults (based on my experience) in his lecture notes. I can't remember the trick's name from memory, but it involves bare (blank) cards and a card with a bear sticker on it.

Another favorite for kids and adults is Cardtoon. Even if they don't get the card trick part, the kids enjoy the "little stickman" animation.

Of course if those tricks don't play, I'll do a long drawn out impossible location (just kidding).

Best,
Jeremy

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Re: Card Tricks for Kids

Postby Doomo » July 30th, 2001, 7:28 pm

Oddly enough I have done shows for the kiddies on several occaissions. Usually about 3rd to 4th graders. The one thing they LOVE is to see the adults as subjects of fun. I do cards across with 2 adults on chairs. I "hypnotise" the adults, so that a kid is now invisible. I tell the kid he can make faces etc and they cant see him. Then the invisible kid removes a card invisibly from under one adult and slips it under the other. Plays about 10 minutes... packs small...
RFA Productions yeah... It is cool stuff.

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Re: Card Tricks for Kids

Postby Guest » August 16th, 2001, 8:32 pm

Well, i find that relating to the kids helps.
If they understand what you are saying, and it appeals to them, they will be more interested in the magic you are doing.
Ive got a magic gig tommorow for kids and i try not to plan too much, i rather just have fun, and that usually works for me.
I have found that tricks from Art of Astonishment (Paul Harris) are very effective.
Examples are Reset, since the effect is simple yet effective, headache, which can be funny if performed in the right approach, and hi there babycakes since it has a very nice effect, and is a surprise since they are holding the card when the magic happens.

I find that the tricks aren't as important as you might think, i feel that the attitude of the performer is a lot more important than the actual affects, just remember tha aim of the game is for them to have fun, thats all kids care about :-)

You have to make yourself out to be the fool, the silly guy etc.
I also think that tricks where you apparantly fail but then pull it off even better than expected are very good among childrens shows.

Just a few thoughts :)

Guest

Re: Card Tricks for Kids

Postby Guest » August 17th, 2001, 1:38 pm

anything humorous! I also have heard that using the popular "Pokemon Cards" In place of your Bicycle cards are good. Instead of a kid trying to remember a "10 of spades," they say, "Hey look I got a Pikachu" or something like that.

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Re: Card Tricks for Kids

Postby Bill Duncan » September 11th, 2001, 2:38 am

Originally posted by Doug Peters:
The conventional wisdom has it that card tricks are inappropriate for children. Experience suggests otherwise...

Anyone care to add to the list?


I don't work for kids but I happened to be in Victoria BC, Canada this weekend and visited Tony Eng at Tony's Magic and Joke shop where I saw Tony do a legit Three Card Monte ( the same routine he does for adults ) for a six year old girl. Not only was she able to follow the entire effect but she was obviously delighted and amazed.

It never would have occured to me to do Monte for a child.


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