So, you want to impress your friends with some cool, easy magic tricks and illusions. The good news is that you don’t have to get a degree to be a magician.
It’s all about playing with the mind of your audience and exploiting their cognitive loopholes using some simple stuff: coins, cards, pencils, etc. Of course, you need to do some practice to master the art of even simple magic tricks.
In this post, I am going to explain 5 easy magic tricks you can learn to show off at parties or wherever you want to entertain people. Let’s get started!
5 easy magic tricks
1. The coin disappears
I am sure you have seen magicians disappearing a coin. The next time you’re at a party, try this simple trick to entertain your friends. All you need to do is take a coin and place it on the table. And then place a glass on top of it. Everyone around you should be able to clearly see the coin through the glass.
When you fill the glass with water, the coin will just disappear. Isn’t it fascinating? I bet it is, but how on earth does the coin disappear for no reason? It’s simple refraction of light that apparently disappears the coin. We know light travels in a straight line, bouncing off different things, allowing us to see them.
In this trick, when you pour water into the glass, the light bends and doesn’t reach our eyes. As a result, we can’t see the coin under the glass. So, it’s a scientific phenomenon that helps magicians pull off this trick.
2. The rising card
In this trick, you ask one of the spectators to pick up a card and then you let that card lose in the deck. When you rest your first finger on top of the deck and then lift it, the spectator’s card magically rises with it. It is probably one of the best magic tricks for beginners and kids to learn and perform in front of an audience.
Now let’s explain how to do it with precision. Here are four main steps you need to perform:
- Hold the deck in your right hand with the last card a little bit lowered facing you and hidden from your audience.
- Now just pull up the last three cards and spread them so that a spectator can pick one. Remember, these are not exactly the last three cards because you still have the one that you lowered back there.
- Ask the spectator to pick one out of those three cards. No matter what card they pick, you just need to slide the cards back down with the lowered card still behind them. If they pick card #2 or the middle one, the spectator’s card no #2 is your card #3.
- Take the cards from the top of the deck and put them somewhere in the middle while counting them off. If the spectator picks card #2, you count 1 and put it in the middle and then 2. By doing so, you will be able to put the lowered card and card #1 in the middle. You have to make the spectators think that the card they just picked has been placed somewhere in the middle of the deck.
- Here is the final step: place the index finger of your left hand on top of the deck. You have to use the pinkie of that hand to push the last card up, which is obviously the one that has been chosen by the spectator.
It’s easy and simple but you need to spend some time practicing this. Let’s move on to the next thing on our easy magic tricks list!
3. Bend a spoon
Bending a spoon is a simple and easy magic trick where you press down a spoon with your hands and make it look bent. Well, you don’t really bend the spoon, but create an illusion that you’re bending it.
Here is how to perform this awesome magic trick in a minute or less.
All you need is an ordinary spoon. The real magic is how you hold the spoon in one hand but create the impression that you’re using your both thumbs to bend down the spoon.
When you push down the spoon with your both hands, you’re not actually pushing it but just sliding it down in your right hand with the help of the pinky of the right hand. Look at the above image to learn how you are supposed to slide the spoon in your hands.
Since the spoon is covered in your hands, your audience wouldn’t be able to see what’s going on inside your hands.
4. Moving a pen with your mind
The next time you’re with your friends or family, try this really simple and fun trick: magically move a pen with your psychic power. Sounds spooky? Well, there’s nothing ghostly in this trick. All you need to do is move a pen by simply blowing on it without making it obvious.
Here is how to do it:
- Take a pen, make sure it is round: no edges around it.
- Rub the pen on your shirt just to divert the attention of your spectators.
- Put the pen on a smooth surface like a table.
- Blow on the pencil while you’re bending down.
- Move your hand with the pencil to make your audience think that the movement of the pen has something to do with the movement of your hands.
- Wear a basketball cap, if available, to cover your face a little.
At parties, people wouldn’t be able to hear your breath sounds. So, it will be easy for you to pull up this trick in a public place with plenty of music and background noise.
5. Break pencil with an index card
Is it really possible to break a pencil with an index card? I don’t think so. Let’s take a quick look at how to perform this trick with ease and speed. All you need is a pencil and a piece of paper, an index paper or even a dollar bill will do the job. Breaking a carrot is a good idea because a pencil can hurt your finger.
- Have a spectator tightly hold a pencil/carrot with both hands.
- Tell your audience that you can turn a piece of paper into a weapon.
- Now count to three. On three, extend your index finger quickly and hit the pencil with it.
- Make it so quick that your spectators wouldn’t be able to see the finger breaking the pencil. Instead, your spectators will believe you did it with paper or an index card.
Make sure to do some practice beforehand – breaking a pencil with your finger can hurt you.
Final thoughts
I am sure you’re ready to perform some of these easy magic tricks at a gathering where people like to be entertained.