Whether you're a cardist or a card magician, you go through a decent number of decks of cards. There comes a point when a deck is no longer usable in card magic, and the same can be said for cardistry. They're both different times, mind you, but the times do exist.
As a person who primarily practices card magic, I can kill a deck in a single day. I say this, but I tend to use the same deck for a whole week before swapping in a new one. Why? To get used to different levels of deck-fluidity, of course. I'm just kidding, it's because I'm lazy =P
By the end of day 2, it's harder to fan the deck. By the end of the week, even spreading the deck between my hands results in clumps. Ugh.
However, the last day or two, the deck is really good for practicing cardistry moves where packet cuts are required. Since the cards clump together and are far less slipper compared to a new deck, I only drop the deck about 80% of the time!
After the week's up though, what to do... what to do? Well, I throw it away. Plain and simple.
I mentioned this to a few friends on Instagram and they flipped. They aren't necessarily deck collectors, but they hold onto their poop decks too. Why? No idea. Maybe because these things cost between $10 - $20? The way I see it though is that it's like any other consumable good. Once consumed, it's gone. A coffee from Starbucks easily runs $5. Back in my heyday, I'd have one almost every day. Did I keep the cup after I drank it? Nope. So, why keep the deck after it's no longer usable?
I do have two exceptions to this. One is for photogenic decks. I have my first 1ST V2 deck still and it is beyond dead. However, it still looks great. Whenever I want to use a V2 in a photo or video, that's the deck I grab so that I don't overwork one of the others in my limited stock. The other exception is for decks that aren't on thin crush stock -- like Bicycle Standards. With those, I practice gimmick making (i.e., card splitting and flap cards). I've tried splitting thin crush cards and, well, I'm not doing that again =P
Do you want $10,000? How about a brick -- that's 12 decks -- of playing cards? If so, check out the year-long contest being held by Orbit called Orbit's Dopest - 2023 Contest and you'll have a chance at those prizes and even more!
The short of it is, every month Orbit will select their favorite "original move" as a winner of the previous month. In other words, in February 2023 they'll pick January's winner, and so on. Once they have 12 winners for the 12 months of 2023, there will be a community vote to see which makes it to the top 3.
The final 3 cardists will have one more month to film one more move. The move with the winning votes wins the grand prize!
Rules
Use an Orbit deck
Use the #ORBITSDOPEST hashtag
Upload your videos to Instagram
Prizes
Each monthly winner will receive:
1 brick of Orbits
$100 gift card to the Orbit store
"Orbit's Dopest" T-Shirt
Their move featured on all of Orbit's social media platforms, and on the homepage of Orbit World.
The top 3 will be competing for:
3rd Place: $1,000
2nd Place: $2,500
1st Place:
$10,000
Being flown out to San Francisco to hang out with the Orbit crew and get a solo video filmed at Redwall studios
I'm nowhere near being a cardistry buff, or a "cardist", or even near the level of skill to be able to say "I'm not a cardist" ironically... however, even that monthly prize is worth giving a deck a couple of flourishy cuts to try to compete!
Coincidentally, the same day I first heard about this contest I had come to the decision to start learning -- specifically practicing -- cardistry moves. In my Instagram and YouTube videos I like to show off decks in a nice and up-close fashion. Magic tricks are fine and dandy, but many decks are better featured with flourishes, and I can only do a Sybil cut so many times before people start to catch on.
I really, really don't think I'll make it anywhere near this contest. After all, they say that contestants should be submitting original moves (albeit that's not technically one of the rules). However, I have already started practicing different flourishes and in the last few days have been able to make things look like I actually know how to hold a deck of cards in my hands, so who knows, in 6 months from now maybe I'll be able to make something of my own!
Either way, my videos will get some new B-Roll footage and hopefully you will have a chance to put your cardistry skills to the test and enter the contest too.
As a new magazine, its first year was full of growth and contributions. We saw several changes to the format of The Hermit, we saw dozens of magicians providing really well-thought-out content, and numerous magicians who came back time and time again.
2022, or "Volume One", had 12 issues in total and it's exactly a year to this day when I first subscribed. Let's look back at how the first year of The Hermit went.
A Brief Look at The Hermit
This monthly magazine is published on the 1st of each month and delivered right into our email inboxes. That's right folks, it's completely digital!
Each issue comes in at around 50-ish pages, except one that was 80! There's a title page that's immediately followed by a table of contents, followed by page after page of content! The very last page or two are any additional credits for the routines that are contained in the issue. Oh, and there aren't any ads! None at all! We're talking 40 or more pages of just content and no filler -- it's amazing! But what kind of content are we talking about?
There are magic tricks, of course. Card magic, rings, coins, mentalism, and random things here and there. Each issue feels like a unique mixture and though I could easily count to verify, my feeling is that there were more card tricks than anything else (which I'm cool with).
Other than magic tricks, there's usually at least one article on any subject, typically magic theory. For example, December's issue was titled "How are you limiting yourself?" in which we hear Jay Sankey share a mantra he uses to keep himself from building a box to exist in. Quite an interesting concept that, if you don't consider it, there's a good chance you've started building a box!
Each issue also contains a "The Hermit Challenge", a monthly challenge dealing with anything from taking a photo to writing predictions of the future. It's a fun way to engage with the magazine and have them engage back.
Evolution Throughout the Year
The Hermit was originally funded as a Kickstarter campaign towards the end of 2021. I wasn't a backer myself because, truth-be-told, I didn't know about it. However, in January of 2022 -- after the first issue was already released -- I heard about this new independent magic magazine and wanted to see what was up. I read a little about it, thought it sounded like a decent endeavor and subscribed.
When I received the first issue, the very first page didn't really scream "magazine" to me. It was more like a newsletter, lacking a cover page, no index, just straight to the content. The content, however, was not disappointing in the least.
Issues 2 and 3 were the same format. No cover page and no index. Though, it's worth noting that the email that accompanies the magazine's delivery does highlight what's included so we weren't completely blind to the contents.
Volume 4, April's issue, now that's where the format started to change a little. It finally had a proper cover page, and all issues after this one came with one as well.
That's right, this is the first issue with a proper cover! In magazine publishing, the cover is used as an attention-grabbing device, to get you to pick it up, and hopefully purchase the issue.
The opening sentences of The Hermit, Vol. 1, Issue 4, by Scott Baird.
In September's issue (No. 9), we received a new update: an index page! Starting with this issue, we can easily see what's in the pages before us, who contributed them, and what page number they're on (... like a typical index page =P). What really caught my attention in this issue though, which I hadn't noticed before, is that the page numbers continued from the previous issue. In other words, instead of each magazine issue starting at "page 1", issue 9 starts at page 391, picking up where issue 8 left off. Neat!
My Thoughts
If you haven't picked up on my thoughts and feelings toward the magazine yet, to spell it out clearly: I like it.
The magazine's Kickstarter campaign description said:
The Hermit is a subscription-based online magic magazine, focusing on creativity, art, design, and of course magic tricks.
And that's exactly what it brings to the table. Though, there's also engagement and inspiration to be found throughout its pages, not to mention the very stylish artwork.
Whether it's through monthly community challenges, learning a new Torn-and-Restored Card effect, or finding out a killer way to make your own Ultimate Brainwave deck, there's so much packaged into these pages that I have a list of bookmarks that references at least half of the tricks in Volume One! When I received the "time to renew" email, I didn't have to think about "is it worth it" because I already knew the answer =]
There are more than 70 routines published across the 12 issues. If you're interested in getting a peek at all of the different effects, The Hermit's website provides summaries for each issue so you know what you're getting into.
Magicians and Contributors
Every issue has content from several contributors, most -- if not all -- are magicians. The contributions, as outlined above, are either magic tricks or articles and are all wonderfully illustrated by Scott Baird himself!
Throughout all of 2022 (Volume 1), we saw material from 33 different folks! Several had submissions in more than one issue too. The list of contributors, in no particular order:
Whoa, what a list! It's important to note that anyone can submit a contribution that may be selected to be featured in the magazine too. If you have content, check out The Hermit's Submission Form.
What's Next?
First and foremost, the question is "do I re-subscribe and get 2023's issues?" Yes. The answer is yes. With affordable monthly and annual subscription options, the fresh take on card tricks and other magic types, and the introduction to a whole list of magicians I haven't had the pleasure of hearing of yet, it's a steal! In fact, I've already slammed that "add to cart" button and checked out =]
But wait, there's more!
The Hermit, In Print
While the monthly magazine is delivered digitally, Scott's put together a physical book that contains all of Volume 1! The two-book set, available to pre-order here, comes in your choice of paperback or hardcover and each is over 300 pages.
What's further tempting about the book is that not only does it contain all the issues from 2022 (e.g., Volume 1), but according to the website it also includes:
a few pages of bonus content that includes magic new to the magazine, and further exploration of the tricks that have already been in print!
I, personally, have hardcover collections of Pabular, Magicana (from Genii), Apocalypse, and even Talk About Tricks and can say for a fact that for me, the compact collection format of a book is well worth it. Add to that bonus content, sign me up!
Upcoming Projects
While Volume 2's issues are already in the works, The Hermit is making sure that their time is fully booked by adding even more projects to their queue.
Coming up soon, we'll be seeing a collaboration between them and Big Blind Media (or, "bigblindmedia" as they write it =P). They, BBM, are a magic media company that produces instructional tutorials and even decks of playing cards. We don't have any details about what the collab between BBM and The Hermit is yet, but I'm excited to see what they're going to come up with.
Speaking of limited details, there's also a video project in the works! That's all the info we have about it so far but print, video, and a collaboration with BBM, now that's an ambitious workload for 2023. If last year was any indication though, the magic community is going to get some fantastic works from The Hermit this year.
Happy New Year everyone! I hope things on your side of the screen are going well and your 2023 will be the best year yet!
My plans on New Year's Eve fell through, so my family and I ended up hanging out at home, just the four of us. It wasn't bad, we had made a ton of food and the drinks were flowing. We even stayed up to watch the ball drop -- it just wasn't the big party we had expected. That aside though, it's 2023 and I'm already excited for all the potential increases in my "magic" life.
"What increases," you ask? Well, for starters, I'll be attending my first ever magic convention! Originally it was supposed to be Blackpool; however, the cost to attend that with flights and lodging were a bit out of reach right now. So instead, I looked more local and Magifest -- held in Columbus, Ohio -- looks perfect. I've already bought my ticket, booked my flight, and have a hotel all lined up. In just a few weeks I'll be walking the cold, cold streets of Columbus and meeting magicians in person!
The rest of today's post is more of a defined set of resolutions on my part, all pertaining to myself and magic. I recommend giving it a read to see if anything resonates with you, or if you might have feedback that could help me as well.
Social Media
Now that I've started a YouTube channel, I took a step back to reevaluate what posting photos and videos online really means to me. I've used my Instagram account to show off tricks I've been working on, and photography of decks of cards. I want to keep that as it is, but maybe dial it back a little -- I fell into a constant cycle of posting just to post and I want to move back towards a "quality over quantity" approach. For YouTube, however, it's a blank slate at my disposal!
My plan for the channel, for now, is to post deck reviews that show off a deck in its entirety. This may involve moments of cardistry, or even short magic tricks. B-Roll ftw! I've uploaded a few of these so far and with each one, I've learned something new about filming lengthier videos and the whole YouTube workflow. I think that, with a few more, I'll finally have a good method in place and some consistent structure. However, to flip all of that around a bit, I'm excited to do a book review too. For a book review, I want to perform some of the routines that are in the book (if any). Perhaps do a "here's me the first time reading it" and "here's my progress after a week". It might be fun!
I'll likely do tutorials too, and though I have plenty of ideas for them already, that's not on the top of my list right now. If you're interested in tutorials though, let me know and I'll be happy to assist!
Personal Growth
I have a lot of books on card magic. While yes, I see many magicians that have even more, my collection is quite large in my opinion -- and I'm not even counting the videos! The issue, mainly, is that I acquired too many books too fast and last year I didn't give a single book the attention it deserved. I honestly think that I'm 15% into 30 different books right now, and that's just not helpful for my progression in card magic. However, this is not a bad thing overall. In essence, my magic collection is an antilibrary and only stands to remind me of how much more there is to learn.
This year, and I alluded to this last year as well, but this year I am going to dedicate a single month to an individual book. I think that by leveraging the idea of doing a "book review" on YouTube each month will help reinforce that. A month might be too long for some books and way too short for others, but it's enough time to figure out which routines I would consider to be "keepers" and have an overall feeling of the book itself.
All of that said, the same thing applies to videos. I don't have nearly as many videos -- DVDs and downloads -- as I have books, but I do have a decent number. I also like that format and truth be told, it's faster to consume. I might also do a "video review" here and there too, but I don't want to commit to too much at the beginning and burn out, so for now I'm only going to be set on the book reviews.
And the most important part: what's the purpose of learning magic? Why do I do it? What's my end-goal? Why study and practice at least 3 hours a day, every day? I have an answer for this, but it's not the truth. At least, not yet.
That answer is "to make people experience magic and be happy". It is the truth, but it isn't... because I don't perform for people. Before covid, I had been learning magic for a year, maybe 2 and performed a few times for folks who weren't immediate family or close friends. It was great! However, once the lockdown took place I went into a shell and since 2020, I've shown magic to people enough times to count on my 2 hands only. How am I learning magic to make people happy if I'm not sharing it?!
2023, I'm looking at you. This year, I'm setting a goal to perform for people -- whether it's family, friends, or total strangers -- at least once a month. I know that that's not a lot. But it's a lot more than what I've been doing. I feel that if I start that, it'll snowball, and the performances will increase naturally.
I want to be a better magician and I want to let people experience magic. Let's make it happen!
Another year, another batch of sweet, sweet Mystery Decks from Art of Play!
I filmed everything and put together what's currently my longest video to-date. If you want to unbox with me, watch it here before scrolling down to see the goodies:
About the Mystery Decks
This year, there were 25 possible decks to receive (at random) when you purchased a Mystery Deck. For the full list, check out my post here: Art of Play's 2022 Mystery Deck List.
I placed an order for 16 decks. It's a nice and even number, higher odds to get more unique decks, and best of all, free shipping! Unfortunately, I had a 10%-off discount code that I remembered after I placed the order, so that stings just a little.
I already owned 11 of the 25 possible decks, so the potential of receiving a duplicate is a little higher. Not only is it possible to get a duplicate in the Mystery Decks themselves (i.e., unwrapping more than one of the same decks), but given I own slightly less than half of the potential decks, it's also possible I unwrap one I already own. For me, that's perfectly fine. I really like the decks from Art of Play and truth be told, buying them at the Mystery Deck price of $12 each is a sale (given most are $18+).
Wrapping the Wrapped Decks
For the intro to my unboxing video on YouTube, I wanted to make something unique and fun. So, I created a little packaging:
Complete with stamps and everything!
It was quick and easy to make, and I thought it made the presentation a little extra special. It also gave me a way to use the sticker that they sent. The amount of time and effort Art of Play put in to making the custom wrapping paper for the decks, and manually wrapping every deck, I thought that this extra presentation-wrapping was worth it.
Anyways, enough about that, let's get straight to it!
Unboxing the Decks
If you haven't already, I encourage you to watch my unboxing video on YouTube. I not only unbox each deck, but I also open a few of them and give the cards a peek!
Every deck came wrapped in a really nice "gift wrap" type of paper wrapper. The outside was adorned with Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, and Spades while the inside was like a puzzle board.
Also paired with each deck was a little sticker, all related somehow to games and puzzles. The stickers were also included with last year's decks.
I wonder if I have every variation of the stickers?
After unwrapping each deck, here's the full list of decks I received:
The decks that are bold above are the Mystery Deck exclusives! Out of everything, I received 14 unique decks. Of the 16, I already owned 7, so that's 9 brand new decks added to my collection -- super happy!
When I saw the blue back of this card, I was quite surprised!
The top deck I was after was the Ramen Heads deck because, well, it's ramen! I like food themed decks, but more importantly, good artwork -- and that deck has it all. After that, I was really hoping to get the Smokey Bear (Mustard) deck, or another copy of the IAOCPv2 deck since I opened my others, but it's all in the luck of the draw I guess.
Like I mentioned above, duplicates were possible. I received 2 of the Eames and Messymod decks, and I already had 3 of the Eames decks as it were. The benefit of having multiple of the same decks is that duplicate work is possible, and creating more gaffs or gimmicks is a possibility.
Oddly enough, even though I have multiple of each I haven't opened any of them yet!
I pulled the new Vertigo deck and when I opened the wrapping, I was surprised. I had completely forgotten that this was a deck that was available. I don't know a lot about the deck yet; I haven't even taken it from its cellophane yet, but I will soon. It might be one of the next decks I review... maybe =P
Would it make sense to watch Hitchcock's Vertigo before opening the deck?
I pulled some really colorful and "artsy" decks, and a few that I consider to be fantastic everyday decks too.
These decks are so vibrant, full of life and color. I almost feel bad playing with them. Almost...DKNG Wheels and James Coffee Co. decks are some of my more-frequently used decks. Their designs are crisp and clean, and they handle extremely well.
Overall, I am quite happy with the decks I received. A big shout-out to Art of Play for putting on yet another awesome Mystery Deck event and sending so many my way. I'm already looking forward to next year's batch =]
