IN CASE YOU HAVE SOME QUESTIONS, AND I AM SURE YOU HAVE ! FAQ, PART 1.
In this section I answer the questions I am most frequently asked while performing. I have selected only three to start with; there will be more to come a little bit later.
1. When and how did you start magic?
– I started at the age of 16, during the summer 1998. Back then, I was still studying of course and this was more a hobby than a real passion. I learned the basics of magic watching the video tapes of French magician Bernard Bilis, which I bought in Bordeaux. I then went for two years of intensive studies and could not devote myself to magic as much as I would have liked.
– But in 2004, while working in a publishing and distributing company in Paris, I was fortunate enough to live only blocks from a large magic shop. That is where I literally caught the bug; I dove into magic books and dvds and am still swimming now! I became full-time pro magician in 2009.
2. How do you find tricks? Can one buy them? Do you create them?
Well, yes and now. You can purchase “tricks” in magic stores, but I would not recommend it if you want to become a serious magician. Rather than buying a gimmick deck or coin that will allow you to realize one effect only, you might get yourself magic instruction books and dvds, then work on your technique and moves so you will be able to improvise and do the effects you want. So yes: I create most of the tricks you will see me performing at your events.
It is like cooking. You can buy something already prepared that you just have to put in the microwave, or you can learn how to properly cook and then prepare your own recipes. You will be a better cook and magician if you do it yourself. There is a place for certain purchased tricks, but it all depends on your audience, your spectators’ expectations, the amount of time you want to dedicate to this art and most of all, on your ambitions and quality standards.
I am sure that opening a restaurant and claim you are a cook would not cross your mind when all you have is a freezer and a microwave. Well, I can assure you some guys do not hesitate and promote themselves as magicians when all they have is a trick deck and a thumb tip and have never opended a book of magic…
3. Are you banned from casinos? If we play cards together, can you make me win?
If we play cards together I can make you win, but of course I can also make you lose! No, I am not banned from any casinos. There are only three ways, at least in France, you can get banned from casinos:
– by justice: when you just leave jail you may have certain restrictions such as staying away from gambling casinos,
– by administrative decision: casinos put you on their black list because you are the kind of person who causes troubles at the gaming table,
_ and by your own initiative: you ask to be banned for a period of three years because you are addicted to gambling and are trying to quit.
But trust me: although I do not belong to any of these three categories (in case you doubted it!), beating the house at the blackjack table is “Mission Impossible” for me! Cameras are everywhere, surveillance is tight, dealers pay great attention and most of the time you are not even allowed to touch the cards. And I don’t want to be banned !
