Practicing your sleight of hand is important for the close up worker. There are a lot of sleights and

handlings out there and you have to pick a select few that work for you.

The best way I found to practice my sleight of hand is in front of a mirror and to practice the trick

"Spookey" by Jay Sankey.

Everything You Need to Know to Work As a Magician

DO YOU WORK RESTAURANTS? MAYBE A NIGHT CLUB? PRIVATE PARTIES? This book is going to prove invaluable to you. Yes we at Morrissey Magic have put together one of the most informative books on TABLE HOPPING MAGIC. Written with you the MAGIC ENTERTAINER in mind by Merlyn T. Shute, whose writings have proven to you, this man knows his subject. OUT OF YOUR POCKET will tell you about what to call yourself as a professional name, how to deal with restaurant and hotel managers. 

Practical Methods and Forty Original Card Experiments

A famous card expert demonstrates tricks that have left theater audiences amazed, and that card-playing professionals have used profitably. It is not a book for beginners. But these shifts, palms, glides, false shuffles, cuts, fans, steals and spectacular deceptions will help those with basic card expertise reach new levels of performance. Over 300 photos show Buckley's exact hand positions during each move.

Pretty good book with a variety of unique card sleights (palming, manipulating cards in the deck, etc.). These sleights are the 'real work', so it will take a little perseverance. Many of these utility sleights are ones that you ought to know if you want to be a card sleight-of-hand worker.