How to Do an Easy Magic Trick

Last Updated: December 20, 2022

Are you starting out as a magician, or just looking for ways to impress your friends at a dinner party or during everyday conversation? If so, then you've come to the right place. If you want to know how to make something disappear, read minds, or perform a few easy card tricks, just follow these steps.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Doing Easy Disappearing Tricks

1
Make a coin disappear. This is an easy trick that makes it look like you're moving a coin from your left hand to your right, and then making it disappear in your right hand. In reality, you'll keep the coin in your left hand the whole time while tricking your audience into thinking you moved it. Here's how you do it:^{[1]
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- Hold the coin between the thumb and first two fingers of your left hand.
- Move your right hand towards the left, pretending to reach down to pick it up with your three middle fingers, while really letting it "drop" into the left hand.
- Pretend that you're holding it between the index finger and thumb of your right hand.
- Blow on "the coin" and open up your right hand, showing that it has disappeared.
- Reach your left hand toward your elbow and reveal the coin, making it look like that was where you made it disappear.
2
Make a card disappear. This simple trick is called the "throw away" card trick. For this trick, you have to place the card in your hand, snap it, and make the card in the hand appear to have disappeared. Here's how you do it:^{[2]
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- Hold your hand with the index and pinkie fingers up and the other three fingers touching each other, doing the old "Rock n' Roll" symbol.
- Place the card so the last inch or so (2.5 cm) tucks into the area between the middle and ring finger and thumb.
- Gently snap your fingers and straighten out your hand. The card will be clipped between the first and second finger and the third and fourth finger, and will appear to have disappeared. Just make sure you're facing the audience with your palm and they can't see the card on other side of your hand.
- If you get more skilled, you can practice bringing the card back and making it disappear again.
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3
Make a pencil disappear. All you need for this trick is a pencil and to wear a loose, long-sleeved shirt. This simple trick requires you to first hold a pencil by its edges with both of your hands and then make it look like it has disappeared into thin air. In reality, you'll be snapping the pencil to the side of one arm and then making it disappear down your sleeve. Here's how you can pull it off:^{[3]
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- Hold the pencil's edges with your thumb, index, and middle fingers, turning your hands so the backs of your fingers face the audience.
- Apply a bit more pressure to the pencil with the fingers of your right hand, making the pen bend a bit toward your right inner wrist.
- Move your hands up and down a bit to create some movement.
- Appear to snap the fingers on your left hand, making the pen move so it is lying along the right wrist.
- Discreetly move the pen into the sleeve on the right hand, showing that the pen has disappeared.
- The faster you can do this, the more convincing it looks.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Reading Minds

1
Guess a magic number. This is a simple trick where you ask a person to perform some easy math that leads him to the same answer almost every time. This is what you should tell the audience member:^{[4]
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- Think of any number.
- Multiply it by 2.
- Add 8 to the total.
- Divide it by 2.
- Subtract your original number from the total.
- Remember this new number--it's your secret number!
- Count on the alphabet until you get to the letter that goes with your secret number. (Number 1 is A, Number 2 is B, and so on.)
- Think of a European country that goes with that letter.
- Go over to the next letter of the alphabet.
- Think of a large animal that begins with that letter.
  - Once the audience member has thought of it, just say, "I know what you're thinking of...the number 4...and an elephant in Denmark!" This will work every time.
2
Guess a magic vegetable. This silly trick works almost every time. All you need is some paper and pens, and several gullible audience members. First, place one scrap of paper in your left pocket that says "celery" on it, and place another scrap of paper in your right pocket that says "carrot" on it. Remember where you've placed this paper. And you're ready to begin your trick:
- First, hand out paper and pencils to all of your audience members.
- Ask them to complete several easy mathematical tricks, about ten of them, such as multiplying 2 x 2, dividing 10 by 5, adding 3 and 3, and so on. You can say that this is getting their minds ready for mind reading.
- Then say, "Quick, write down the name of a vegetable!" Make sure that people do this as quickly as possible; don't let anyone "think" about it for too long.
- Call on a random audience member to say what vegetable he wrote down.
- If he says "celery," pull out the piece of paper in your left pocket that says "celery." If he says "carrot," then pull out the piece of paper that says "carrot." Tell the audience that you have such strong mind-reading powers that you were able to predict what they were going to write down before the trick even began.
- People in the US and Canada pick one of these two vegetables 80-90% of the time. If the person doesn't say one of the two vegetables, then oh well, you'll have to move on to another trick! If you're in a different country with different popular vegetables, then you have to try to find your own "magic vegetable."
3
Guess the name of a famous person. This trick is pretty simple but it can take a little while to master. All you need to get it done is a hat, around 10 audience members, a pen, a slate to write your prediction on, and as many scraps of paper as you have people. Here is what you have to do:^{[5]
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- Ask an audience member to shout the name of a famous person.
- Write the first name down on a scrap of paper and throw it into your hat.
- Ask the audience to keep shouting out names.
- Pretend to write each name down, when really, you will just be writing down the first name, over and over. This is the part that takes practice.
- Once the hat is filled, ask an audience member to volunteer to help you.
- Say that you will predict which name he will draw out of the hat. Of course, you will predict the first name. Write it down on the slate so that everyone can see.
- Have the audience member reach into the hat to pull out any scrap. Since they all say the first name, lo and behold, you have correctly predicted the name he would pull out!

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Doing Easy Card Tricks

1
Do the "appearing aces" trick. This quick and easy trick can make you impress your audience by making four aces magically appear in a deck of cards.
2
Do the "4 kings" card trick. This easy card trick will wow audiences -- all you have to do is show them that the 4 kings in a pile of cards always stick together.
3
Find the card a person picked. This is a classic card trick that requires you to discreetly see the card the person picked and cut the deck in a way that makes the person believe you were able to magically find the card.
4
Do the "whispering queen" trick. The "whispering queen" is the queen of hearts. With a little work, you can make her appear at the end of the trick.
5
Perform the "to the top" card trick. Have an audience member pick a card, place it in the middle of the deck, and have it rise magically to the top of the deck!
6
Do a two-card monte card trick. This trick makes an audience member think that the two cards he is given have magically morphed into two different cards.
7
Do the jumping card trick.
- Get a deck of cards. Take two out and put them together so it looks like one. Do this before the performance.
- Only show the bottom card to the spectators. Put both cards on top of the deck.
- Take off the card on top so that it looks like you're taking the real card to the bottom. The real card should be on top.
- Pretend you're using your mind to bring it to the top. Reveal the card on top and the spectators will be amazed.

Community Q&A

Question

How do I become a magician?

Community Answer

Becoming a magician doesn't have any special requirements, or anything like that. You don't even need a costume! All you need are some tricks up your sleeves, and an audience to perform for. Once you've mastered a trick to perform (big or small), you can officially call yourself a magician!
Question

I don't understand the coin trick?

Community Answer

Just don't take the coin out of your left hand. Make it look like you put the coin in your right hand. Then, blow on your right hand and open it. Of course, no coin is there. Put your left hand on your elbow, and show the coin to your audience.
Question

I need to perform some magic in school. What can I do?

Community Answer

Learn these and other easy magic tricks, and maybe learn a couple of intermediate ones. Practice your presentation too. You need to be likeable and entertaining. Practice at least a week before the show.