We’re pretty sure Allen Iverson has never been, or will be, a magician. His legendary rant spells out exactly why.

And yes. We talkin’ ’bout practice.

We don’t know a single magician who doesn’t like to train. Unlike musicians, athletes, artists, writers, gamers or anyone else who pursues some sort of art or skill, magicians have no problem with the discipline of practice.

In fact, magicians seem to embrace the art of practice more than any performer we’ve encountered — and we’ve encountered a lot. All the magicians we’ve worked with, every one of them is always picking something up, working a move, even when we’re talking in business meetings. As every magician grows, they learn the joys of performance AND of practice, to the point that the practice becomes just as important as the performance.

As it turns out, there are four things about magic that gives us a better chance for successful, productive practice. These things help us plow through setbacks, deal with failures and conquer practice fatigue. People could learn a lot about practice from us, but our art gives us an advantage.

We practice techniques unknown to many. Considering the fingering pattern of a guitar piece, or the position of the heel in a martial arts kick. The method is just as known as the end result. But not in magic. The things we do lead to surprisingly different things that laymen would never know about. That thrill of the arcance fuels us. The knowledge of knowing how to do something filled with ruse and subterfuge charges us up to take action and do those things over and over — even if it’s just in front of a mirror.

Progress in failure is easier to see. Though magicians are artists of subtle moves, our mistakes are much more glaring to us. That means we reap many more benefits than the keyboardist does from hitting the wrong key, or the basketball player gets from a proper follow-through with the wrist. That further hones our ability to self-critique and analyze. And because magic is all about details, practice helps us hone our ability to be thorough.

Our methods unlock many more creative options. An actor who plays around with material might discover a new insight to a character. An artist might discover a new sort of mark with a pencil, and utilize it to draw something completely different. But a magician, when playing around, might discover something that unlocks a whole new effect. And that benefit comes during many more times than practice sessions — the act of shopping at a flea market might lead to an incredible new effect or presentation.

The payoff is much bigger. As practitioners of the only art form that challenges an audience to maintain disbelief, our reward is the perfect reaction, where someone goes crazy from having seen something impossible. Every magician craves that moment when they really blow someone away. That moment is so valuable — it goes beyond the thrill of simple appreciation of a performance. It reaches deep into people and affects them profoundly, and so affects us. That’s why we do what we do; why we practice our passes, our palms, our cuts and clips.

What did we miss? Think there’s another way magicians get more out of practicing than other artists? Let us know in the comments.

FOUR POINTS is a regular feature that celebrates magicians’ favorite number by highlighting four critical bits of importance, awesomeness or otherwise. Send your suggestions to joe@ellusionist.com.

A deck of playing cards is filled with enigmas and mysteries. One of the most enduring features a man with no mustache. The King of Hearts is one of the most iconic cards in the deck, mainly because of his awkwardly placed sword. Because of that, he’s earned the nickname of “suicide king.”

But that may be somewhat inaccurate.

A little history:

• ~ Modern playing cards — spades, hearts, clubs and diamonds — are French in origin. The shapes were easier to stencil than the detail-laden bells, hearts, leaves and acorns of German decks.
• ~ The designs seen in a deck from the U.S. Playing Card Company, Gemaco, Carta Mundi and other modern publishers descend from models produced by Pierre Marechal in Rouen around 1565, according to World of Playing Cards.
• ~ Near the end of that century, French publishers started naming the court cards after heroes, legends or historical figures. Names were printed on them until about the 18th century.
• ~ Originally, the court cards were portrayed as fully standing figures, complete with stockinged feet.
• ~ The simplistic graphics of today’s modern court cards can be traced back to those Rouen designs. Elements of those designs, including the flowers held by the queens, the King of Diamonds’ axe and the positions of the courts’ faces (namely, the one-eyed royals) have been incorporated in modern-era decks from numerous publishers.

The King of Hearts was dubbed Charles, presumably after Charlemagne. He’s the only king without a mustache, the only king doing something active with his weapon. The mystery deepens with an examination of that weapon, however: According to Wikipedia, it’s been suggested that because Charlemagne’s sword does not exactly match the weapons held by the other kings, perhaps he is not killing himself, but recovering from an attempt on his life.

Or maybe he’s just raising his sword, ready to attack. It’d be easy enough to speculate that –because the Rouen designs featured flat crowns on each court card flush against the border of the art, there wasn’t a lot of room left over to depict Charles in charge, ready to slice some heathens.

And conquering is what he’s known for: Charlemagne is remembered in history for a humongous expansion of his kingdom, including overtaking the Roman empire. Pope Leo III declared him emperor of the Romans, after he and his armies helped defeat a rebellion. Charlemagne died in 813 of an infection in his lungs.

Not exactly the kind of guy who would jab a sword in his skull. 

But the myth of the suicide king endures. He was a character in Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland.” There are a few plays named after the card, and a Roy Orbison album, released after the singer’s death, was named “King of Hearts.” And we’ve read some reports from Christian magicians who say the king’s apparent act of sacrifice make the card perfect for representing either God or Jesus.

Yet of all the iconography in a deck of playing cards, the suicide king remains one of the most often repeated designs, as critical to a complete deck as two one-eyed jacks. The reason for his apparent sacrifice is probably one of the biggest mysteries in a modern pack of playing cards.

INSIDE THE CARDS is an occasional feature that dives into the history of a single card. Know any good legends behind cards? Let us know. Comment below or e-mail joe@ellusionist.com.

When Joe Gold set out to make a movie about magicians, it was crucial to seamlessly weave the story and the magic together. But the issue of how women are treated in magic spoke out to him — so much so that he made it a central plot point in his latest movie.

“When you go to a play, and there’s five people in a play… everybody gets a bow at the end, everybody is in the program, everybody is treated as a performer, as an actor in that play. That’s not usually the case with a magic show. You go to see a big illusion show, and there may be a lot of assistants running around. If you are an onstage performer, you deserve a bow, you deserve to be treated like you’re part of the show.”

“Desperate Acts of Magic,” directed and produced by Gold and Tammy Caplan, was inspired by Gold’s experience as a professional magician. He performed more than 500 kids’ birthday parties and entered a slew of magic contests. The movie features Jason, a magician competing in an international magic contest, preparing to compete head-to-head with Stacy, a woman and street magician he fell in love with.

The movie took almost two years of filming to produce, and dealt with challenges from finding the time to shoot scenes to finding a replacement for a wrecked car. Gold talked to us about the movie, including some of the magicians who served as stars and consultants, how Valerie Dillman tackled the message and magic of playing Stacy and why it’s really hard to get work done when hanging out with Jonathan Levit.

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The movie opens up this weekend in New York City, next week in North Hollywood and can be requested for your area at Tugg.com.

It happens to all of us: We go to the bookstore, or shop on the Internet, and look for books about magicians. Our search results disappoint us, though: We get “Harry Potter.” “The Magicians” by Lev Grossman. “Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell,” by Susanna Clarke. “The Night Circus” by Erin Morgenstern.

Those are all great stories, but those are the wrong kind of magicians. We don’t want wizards, sorcerers and the kind of magic that some spell “magick.” We want our kind of magicians, the guys who practice their tails off, who perform for audiences and design miraculous illusions. THESE are our people, the ones who live lives knowing how to size up situations instantly, who go to great lengths in order to study arcane secrets.

The good news: There are many outstanding stories of the magicians you and I know. Some are even written by magicians. Here’s four worth hunting down:

“Carter Beats the Devil,” Glen David Gold

You’ve seen the Carter the Great posters in magic stores, but Glen David Gold brings the great one to life. Centered around the mysterious death of President Warren Harding, Carter is implicated and investigated by the FBI. What follows is a grand historical fiction featuring a number of well-known names, from Francis Marion “Borax” Smith to TV inventor Philo Farnsworth. Houdini and Howard Thurston also make appearances. And Gold’s writing is golden: The escapes he spins for Carter grow more and more impossible with each chapter.

“Magic,” by William Goldman

Known for “The Princess Bride” and “Marathon Man,” Goldman is no stranger to writing Hollywood-worthy stories, and “Magic” is no different (it was made into a movie starring Anthony Hopkins). After learning sleight of hand while bed-ridden in a hospital, Charles “Corky” Withers sought training by a top pro, but still lacked the courage to jump on stage. After finally summoning the courage to perform at an amateur night, the resulting response triggers a breakdown. That’s when the mannequin starts talking to him, and things spiral from there. Though reviewers don’t think of it as highly as his other works, “Magic” is a dizzying horror story that chills as much as it thrills.

“The Magician’s Assistant,” by Ann Patchett

How about some love for the assistants? Ann Patchett tells the story of Sabine, assistant to the magician Parsifal. The relationship is complicated, however — though her love for him is unrequited, he still marries her shortly before his death. In his death, Sabine discovers a world that he kept hidden from her. Though not as action packed as others on this list, Patchett gets a nod for weaving an interesting tale where an assistant is able to watch her magician grow young.

“Re-Deal,” by Richard Turner

Trust an expert card mechanic to figure out how to get his main character to play poker with Doc Holliday and S.W. Erdnase, and not seem the least bit weird. Turner is well known for his excellent sleight of hand and his specifically-details Bicycle decks. But his fiction story about Matt McCain and his encounter with the angel Miss Guided shows he’s just as creative with a story as he is with a deck of cards.

Bonus point: “The Prestige,” by Christopher Priest

Ever wonder why Christopher Nolan’s movie was so good? He had great source material. The mysteries and double crosses reveal themselves slowly in “The Prestige.” Written as diary entries, the battle between Angier and Borden stays intense and solid, long after it is explored by the magicians’ offspring.

Those are our four — five, actually — picks. What did we miss? What’s your favorite story featuring a magician?

FOUR POINTS is a regular feature that celebrates magicians’ favorite number by highlighting four critical bits of importance, awesomeness or otherwise. Send your suggestions to joe@ellusionist.com.

Our Artifice line of playing cards has always been the sharp-dressed deck in our catalog.

The Artifice Tundra wears the tux.

As dignified yet dazzling as formal wear, the Artifice Tundra deck features a distinctive color scheme similar to the Ghost deck — almost all the color has been removed, except for the dark scarlet pips of the hearts and diamonds.

Details were selectively and carefully removed for an elegant, classy look that has fast become one of our favorite decks in-house. The Ace of Spades and Joker cards cleaned up, and the backs feature a blurred back that creates the look of a thin border, similar to Madison Rounders.

With just the right amount of metallic inks, our Performance Coating and superior stock, this deck handles as dream-like as it looks.

Check your Sunday finest: Make sure your suit is pressed, your cufflinks and shoes are shined and your tie is knotted in a double Windsor. The Artifice Tundra is a deck of distinction, and is ready to perform as elegantly as you.

Mario Marchese had no idea that a hitchhiking trip would lead to a career in magic. He had all the essentials for himself and his dog packed in a guitar case — the ability to pack that way became an art form. On that trip, he went to all the places that were supposed to inspire creativity.

But nothing inspired him like his home, New York City. And nothing inspired his magic like that trip.

Now, Mario the Magician is performing a unique colorful show that fits inside a suitcase. A whiz with electronics, Mario has handcrafted all his props, including a suitcase that turns his act into a Buster Keaton-like flurry of activity.

And for the first time in seven years, he finally feels like he has some comfort with his creations.

Mario will perform live in the Metropolitan Room over the next few Saturdays. Before his first Saturday show, he talked with us about exactly how rigged his coat is, his unique path to magic (spoiler: he didn’t get a magic kit as a kid) and what some of the experts taught him about the basics.

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“The internet has a lot to do with piracy. And prevention.”

Yesterday BBC released a report about theft in the magic industry. Featuring legend Jeff McBride, the story covered how he handled a copycat performer of his well-known mask routine in Thailand, and also covered the theft suffered by creators such as Kevin James and Losander. (Full disclosure: Ellusionist.com has also seen its products and training videos pirated, copies and sold by other unauthorized dealers.)

But for those who argue that the Internet has ruined magic, McBride said it has also strengthened it. In a quick break in his schedule, the founder of Magic and Mystery School told us that the Internet and social networks have become a form of magic police.

“Our fans blow the whistle, and our fans are global. All of a sudden we get emails and Facebook messages, and situations get handled pretty quickly.”

McBride said he reached a quick resolution with the Thai performer, who turned out to be a fan. Rudy Coby discovered, a day after getting cut on “America’s Got Talent,” that a Russian performer lifted his act for a similar TV show.

But those are problems that the pros deal with. Those who are learning, or those who are working performance gigs in their communities, what can they do to help?

McBride said it’s a combination of supporting the ethical companies and ignoring or boycotting the copycats. Additionally, they should continue to polish their performances.

“I spend as much time with masters such as Eugene Berger, Johnny Thompson, Juan Tamariz. I travel around the globe to study with them. The best thing is to get a really good guide. And because of the Internet, students Skype with me from all over the world. They can spend time getting expert instruction by masters.

Also, spend more time practicing, polishing, taping and reviewing than you spend with podcast or in magic chat rooms. They maybe are making you more informed, but they are not making you a better magician. In ‘Outliers,’ Malcolm Gladwell invokes the Anders Ericsson study on virtuostic performance and the 10,000 hours rule. How are you spending those 10,000 hours?”

We’ll post more of our interview with McBride in the coming days.

Magicians love technology, and it’s even better when we get a hold of new tech before the rest of the public, a la Glen David Gold’s “Carter Beats the Devil” or Christopher Priest’s “The Prestige” (yes, the movie was adapted from the book). And we’ve all seen what Marco Tempest does with things on the cutting edge.

That got us thinking about what tech magicians would like to see. We asked you to think big, and you thought even bigger. Your responses on Facebook and Twitter fell into four general categories. We dived deep and picked the best ideas, then searched the Internet to find out how close that tech is to actually existing.

Smart paper

Some of our favorite ideas involved things on paper that could change, whether it was moving inks or really thin touchscreens.

• ~ Doug Hunnington: See through paper with special polarized glasses!
• ~ Zach Werden: A playing card that is actually a super thin touchscreen monitor. The possibilities for gaffs and color changes would be infinite!
• ~ Cedrick Burcena: I wish I could invent a “touchscreen card” with the same thickness, flexibility and feel as a regular playing card. The screen will also have sort of easily replaceable screen protectors.
• ~ Kirkland Agaskadodv Butcher: Having playing cards that reflect other playing cards for a short amount of time with heat and pressure. They have a special ink and paper that reflects and captures the image of another playing card underneath it so you can have this playing card the wrong way around on the bottom of the deck and have it reflect that playing card.
• ~ Ernests Stroinovs: A computer in the size of the card. Same thickness, same flexibility. With a hidden mic and face side being screen. At first, it shows back pattern of a card, but when a spec names a card, it records it and the image of card named instantly appears instead of back pattern.

Almost here? This paper tablet computer was all the rage at the most recent CES show. About the size of a regular sheet of printer paper, the PaperTab is built mainly to work with other similar devices.

Levitation

One of the 10 theories of magic, performers have developed plenty of ways to levitate things, from rings to themselves. But you thought bigger than that. And smaller.

• ~ Alustaazu Bitun Gina DhonAhmed: float a water drop
• ~ Kieran Porter: Dam the top of a waterfall and wait for the water to stop flowing over the edge and then reverse the flow of the waterfall so the river at the bottom is sending the water back to the top.
• ~ Craig Farquharson: Something to suspend a table cloth and it’s contents so when I yank the table out from under it everything stays. I would lead everyone into thinking its a normal tablecloth trick when it is in fact a reverse table cloth trick
• ~ Robbie Yeadon: levitation of a chosen object in a room!

Almost here? Sadly, our searches for floating water didn’t pan out. But we were mesmerized by what Brussup does to water under the influence of sine waves.

Energy production

From fire to electricity, many of you wish you had the power of the elements at your command (the powerful ones, anyway — no one wanted to shoot dirt or water out of their fingertips).

• ~ Michael Mayo: Lightning from my fingertips Raiden style….hands down
• ~ Lazare Londaridze: Pure fire from nothing
• ~ Tom Vella-Lott: Liquid that ignites with friction and burns similarly to lighter fluid, but doesn’t dissipate so quickly, so a ‘light your cigarette with my finger’ type effect.
• ~ Pete Esquivel Jr: I would love to write in mid air with fire
• ~ Wolfgang Schürz: How would really cold fire work? Perhaps: Invisible with a burning ring might even look like producing fireballs in your hand.

Almost here? We’re not exactly sure, because all we can find are homemade projects and circus acts. A man shooting electricity out of his hands was featured on the TV show “Maximum Exposure.” And this guy in 2009 posted a video of his wrist-mounted flamethrower, and adds some fire to his hadouken. If you’re looking to produce smoke, then let us introduce you to the best smoke system on the market.

Data mining

Plugging into the machine has a lot of magic potential. Several wanted the ability to access the internet in better, more subterfugal ways.

• ~ Sean Mccarthy: I wish i had the ability to instantly post information gathered during a performance to youtube whilst still performing for the same group. Its one thing to have a prediction on a piece of paper in front of you, but if the spectator could see information that was very personal to that performance on youtube it would be amazing, not to mention they could then show the video to their friends later as a great reminder of the effect.
• ~ Philip Alexander: Some type of radio which could find the phone number of the person I’m performing to. I would force a card and then tell them to think of their card. I would then trigger the radio and they would get a text message saying what they’re card is.

Almost here? We fully expect our brains to be WiFi capable in a few decades. Until then, Google Glass appears to be the next step in internet devices.

FOUR POINTS is a regular feature that celebrates magicians’ favorite number by highlighting four critical bits of importance, awesomeness or otherwise. Send your suggestions to joe@ellusionist.com.

Sold out. Again.

Two times, we’ve sold out. Each time, we’ve reordered bigger quantities. Yet Invisible, the trailblazing new system from Damien Savina, keeps selling out.

This is the effect that Brad Christian watched Damien perform in an exclusive high-end restaurant, and he captivated the whole place. This is the levitation effect that introduces an ingenious hookup with a stunning result — the ability to push a floating object sideways.

Invisible features six full, impromptu routines from Savina’s repertoire, which he has honed over many years in magic. It also includes a high-quality reel and a booklet that contains further teaching, advice and ideas.

Out of 50 reviews, 47 of them are five-star (the other three are four-star). Workers and newcomers to this type of system alike have raved about the cleverness, instruction and quality of Damien’s effect. What all those performers have in common is that they are blowing minds:

• ~ RYAN H.: Leery at first but after watching the video and practicing (and practicing some more) I have been won over. It’s like having an invisible partner who does a ton of work for you. I thought I would get caught (in some lighting situations you will) but I performed the ring levitation surrounded and when that ring rose up off my hand everyone actually took a step back…quite the thriller.
• ~ CLAY SKIBINSKY: I have never reviewed a product before, but this is worth reviewing. This is a set-up I could never have thought of in a million years and is so useful. I was very pleased with the tricks presented, and also the fact that it came with suggestions for effects to use in case your thread breaks. I feel like there is hardly anything on the market to teach you how to use invisible thread, but this TOTALLY changes that.
• ~ CHRISTOPHER OUELLETTE: On first glance with the trailer, I thought, “Oh Great, more thread miracles”…until the moment when Mr. Savina decided to push the ring and have it stay in place and it gave to me the same feeling I’ve been trying to convey all along: Awe. The DVD is top professional quality, all aspects of ‘what could go wrong’ and possible outs for these are covered, the gimmick supplied is top notch and with proper practice will last a very long time. His work on the new set-up is fantastic (I’ve played with quite a few “set-ups” and this is by far the one I feel easiest and most comfortable with), great out of the box thinking, AND all movements within routines are JUSTIFIED.
• ~ MICHAEL CANDELARIA III: This effect is beautiful. The reel is smooth, quiet and a lot better than the one I had before. The package it came in is real nice and can house both the DVD and reel, which I really like. As far as the DVD quality goes, its also great. The only problem I had was that there is no voice walk through, but the close up views and subs make it easy to learn. I’m still practicing so the movements look more natural, overall I love the effect(s) and price.
• ~ STEVEN JOHNSON: New to ITR, very comfortable setup. Still learning the strength of the IT. My favorite effect is the floating ring. Not a fan of coin magic and the haunted deck seems too unnatural to me. The floating ring effect totally fries people’s minds. The video has no talking for instruction, but it is so well done, it doesn’t need it.

Invisible will return soon. When it comes back, don’t miss it.

We’ve complained before about how magicians seem to get the shaft in movies — odd, considering that moviemakers and magicians are practically married. The movies about magicians that get it right are few and far between.

According to advance reviews from magicians, “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone” appears to be one of the movies that gets it right. Steve Carell and Jim Carrey do admirable jobs portraying a magician who struggles to reclaim former glory from an upstart competitor. We’ll probably try to catch a showing down the road — our schedules are pretty packed with projects and gigs right now.

But just in case it lets us all down, however, these are four movies that we know don’t disappoint. In case you suffer a letdown at the theater, pick one of these movies up to have your faith in movie magic restored.

Magicians: Robert Webb and David Mitchell play two former partners split up by an intentional affair and an accidental beheading. The resulting competition satires the rivalry between magicians brilliantly as the two try to revive their careers. It features great cameos from Ali Bongo, Aladin, Patrick Page and Scott Penrose, and is HILARIOUS.

The Escape Artist: Known more as a cult hit among Coppola fans, Griffin O’Neal does what we all wish we could do: Take down corrupt city officials with the power of our magic. The movie has great performances from Raul Julia, Terri Garr and Desi Arnaz as it tells the story of a young magician following in the footsteps of his dead father — played by Harry Anderson.

The Great Buck Howard: Is this a sendup of The Amazing Kreskin? Who cares? It’s a great movie with powerful acting and great magic cameos, including David Blaine and Ricky Jay. Also in the cast are Colin Hanks, Emily Blunt, Steve Zahn and the titular character is played brilliantly by John Malkovich. The movie’s message is that the only important thing is the performance.

The Prestige: One of the greatest tricks this movie performs is convincing the world that we magicians actually use the terms “pledge,” “turn” and “prestige.” That being said, this is probably our favorite movie about magicians. Featuring outstanding acting, outstanding directing and a plot that makes us immediately watch again, “The Prestige” captures the thrill of magic perfectly.

Bonus point — The Illusionist: It hit the theaters at about the same time as 2006′s “The Prestige,” and it uses some computer animation in place of actual magic, so “The Illusionist” gets overshadowed. But it’s a compelling story about performing an elaborate magic tricks for an audience of one.

FOUR POINTS is a regular feature that celebrates magicians’ favorite number by highlighting four critical bits of importance, awesomeness or otherwise. Send your suggestions to joe@ellusionist.com