Many common magic tricks are easy to learn and only require common items such as matchboxes, cloths and coins to perform successfully. The most common tricks are playing card and coin tricks which are both a good way to practice technical and audience distraction skills.

Card tricks are one of the oldest forms of conjuring and perhaps the best introduction to learning magic tricks and performance for beginners. Whilst you can buy special card kits and find free magic tricks online, you should start out with a normal deck of playing cards and learn specific card magic techniques that don't rely on props.

Start small and practice, practice, practice

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This trick, very kindly given to me by Mr. Dai Vernon, the famous card expert, breaks new ground. The effect is that any pack, having been thoroughly shuffled, is placed in the performer's hand, which he holds behind his back, and is then covered with a handkerchief, in which it is securely wrapped. Any number is called by a spectator. The magician names a card. The spectator uncovers the pack, counts to the number and finds there the card called.

The method is subtle. When the pack is covered with a handkerchief, in bringing it to the front, turn the cards face up and sight the top card's index by stretching the fabric a little at that point. Hold the pack with the left forefinger below and the thumb at the index corner, ready for a riffle count. As you ask the spectator to name a number, riffle off five cards. As soon as he calls a number continue the count till you reach it. Bring your right hand over the pack and make the pass at that point under the handkerchief. Turn the deck over, under cover of wrapping it securely and hand it to the spectator. All done in a few seconds.

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An uncle taught me this trick when I was young -- it always amuses children, but can be a cool feat of close-up mentalism for any audience.

In this trick, you place a card flat on the back of your palm. Apparently using only the powers of your mind (look mom -- no hands!) you slowly cause the card to bend right before your audiences eyes.

The vanish of a jet while it rests on the tarmac has become one of the most significant vanishes of all time. On many occasions this illusion has been performed before a live television audience, while a crowd of onlookers keep an eye on the real thing.
It is not an illusion most magicians can afford to perform, still I will explain the most common way of performing this trick.
The audience will see the jet as it taxis onto an area at the landing strip. The crew will park the plane and disembark. The audience, both directions. Spotligths will be pointed at the plane, making it fully illuminated against the dark night.
At the performer's command, the ligths to flash off, then back on.
When the ligths are relit, the plane is gone. The spotlights are once again pointed in the same direction as before, but there is no jet plane, only the tarmac and the night. The plane is then brought back in the same manner. The lights will flash off then on, and the plane back. The Crew boards the plane and taxis it back to the hangar.

The effect: Explaining to your audience you are going to perform an amazing magic trick you buy or borrow a bottle of unopened drink and remove the bottle cap. You hand out for total examination. This poves to your spectators it is totally unprepared in any way.

Holding the bottle cap in your hands you give it a spin and amazingly it HOVERS in mid air in front of you. You can make it hover from one hand to the other and even rise up and down. Your spectators are baffled! It seems you have total control over the levitating bottle cap. To prove it is unsupported you wave your hands all around it. You make a ring shape with your fingers and amazingly the cap effortlessly floats through!