Mentalism tricks for beginners and where to begin as a mentalist
In this article I will cover mentalism tricks for beginners, what is mentalism in magic and the psychology of mentalism.
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Mentalism tricks for beginners starts with building confidence. In this article there are a few tricks that are easy to learn and can be performed with a small amount of practice. Learn these five mentalism magic tricks and then progress to learning more.
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What is mentalism in magic?
Is a mentalist a magician and can a magic performer also perform mentalism? Of course the answer is yes to both of these.
Many mentalists claim not to be magicians. They will argue that their shows are a different performance art form altogether. However, if you look at the definition of magic; ‘this is the power of apparently influencing events by using mysterious or supernatural force or having or apparently having supernatural powers.’
This is not too different to mentalism which uses various forms of deception and various techniques to create the illusion of a sixth sense. Many consider this sixth sense to be some form of paranormal or psychic power. In other words ‘magic.’ There is a crossover between the two.
Many mentalists either start out performing magic tricks. Some even include magic tricks or card tricks into their mentalism performances. Derren Brown is always including card tricks into his shows.
Mentalism tricks for beginners?
If you are new to mentalism and if you are looking for mentalism tricks for beginners, I have included a few tips and tricks for you to begin with.
Learning mentalism begins with building confidence.
If your your reason for learning mentalism as a beginner is to impress a few friends, then these tricks are a good way to start. But if you intend to become a professional mentalist, even if this is to perform at weddings or parties, then you will need to invest in some courses. Courses like Master Mentalism.
It’s also recommended to read books on mentalism too. Books by famous mentalist Derren Brown or if you want to learn some of the mentalism basics and old school tricks, take a look at the 13 Steps to Mentalism by Corinda.
The range of skills and tricks you need to learn as a beginner are very broad. But you have to begin somewhere. So here are a few mentalism trick reveals to get you on your way.
Let’s begin with some mentalism magic card tricks…
Mentalism tricks for beginners #1 – Mentalism Card Trick Revealed
This very simple card trick is easy to learn and will baffle your audience. However, there are some techniques to learn. The first is how to splay the cards, as this guy does at the beginning of this card trick.
This looks slick at the same time as revealing that all the playing cards are different.
The second skill to learn is ‘catching a break‘ in the cards or a ‘pinky break.’ This is demonstrated at around 5:55 into the video. Master these two card skills and you’ll have a very cool mentalism magic trick to begin your mentalism tricks.
So now you have a beginners card trick to learn, let’s take a look at a maths prediction technique.
Mentalism tricks for beginners #2 – Number prediction
This is a very simple trick you can play on your family or friends at a party. Whilst it’s very straight forward and doesn’t require too much skill to master (other than some simple arithmetic), you are up and running.
However, what’s good about learning simple tricks like this one and performing them, is building confidence. One of the biggest hurdles that beginner mentalists struggle with, is confidence.
Overcome the confidence hurdle and you’re on your way.
So now you have a beginner mentalism card trick and a mathematics prediction trick, let’s add a drawing mind reading trick.
Mentalism tricks for beginners #3 – Drawing your thoughts mind trick
This mentalism drawing trick is one that looks like you’re reading their mind, when in fact there’s a ‘force‘ going on.
You’re forcing the subject to pick as number. That number relates to a specific group of objects or items that are similar. In the video above these similar items are disc, hula-hoop, ring, circle, etc. When you force the subject to choose one of these items, and you managed to draw it, they will be blown away.
However, the down side of this trick is that you can only do it once with any one group of people. Also, if you want to include the card force on them by catching a break, you will need to learn and practice this skill too.
This next trick is a mentalism prediction trick. This will give the appearance of your ability to have psychic powers or a sixth sense.
Mentalism tricks for beginners #4 – Mind blowing prediction trick
I love the simplicity of this prediction trick. If you’ve not seen this trick before, I would hazard a guess that you had no idea how he predicted the number. Once the trick is revealed at the end, it becomes obvious. But before that you’ll be baffled, just like your audience.
To do this trick, you will need an audience of at least four, but preferably a few more. Also, you will need a note pad that is the same on both sides. This will allow you to switch it like Mark Edward did.
To perform this mentalism trick you need confidence. You also need the audience to be slightly distracted at the point you turn the pad around. With Mark Edward, he did the switch when the fourth audience member came from the crowd. Why? Because the focus is on this person and not him. This creates the distraction for his slight of hand switch.
But notice how he asks the three audience members to confirm the three numbers on his pad before he does the switch. This builds confidence in these people, but more importantly, it builds confidence with the crowd too. Notice that he has the fourth audience member who adds them up to hold this to her chest.
This is to give the impression that Mark doesn’t see the total, when in fact it is to prevent the three audience members from seeing the trick that just happened in front on them.
One of the risks associated with this trick is the three audience members may ask to see the pad afterwards. You could add some drama to the trick by getting the fourth person to shred or burn the answer, but remember the number. But in most cases the audience don’t ask, they are usually left amazed and left scratching their heads in wonder.
Mentalism tricks for beginners #5 – David Copperfield – The hand twisting trick
How about this really simple trick that will get people’s minds all in a twist.
The skill you need with this one is to create a distraction when you do the hand switch. Watch the video and the trick of how this simple trick is done is revealed for you.
Once you’ve mastered some of these mental magic tricks, you should move on to the next stage of mentalism. The more advanced skills of mentalism include the psychology of the mind.
What is mentalism in psychology?
The psychology in mentalism includes techniques such as neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), reading body language or nonverbal language and other techniques such as mind reading.
An example of NLP with Derren Brown and Judy is below. What Derren has done is to use a technique known as embedded suggestion. This powerful technique is the power of mind manipulation at work. The manipulation works so well that the subject feels the ideas that have been ‘planted’ in their mind by the mentalist are their own.
When Judy thinks of the letter ‘A,’ she thinks this was her choice, when in fact Derren Brown has suggested it to her. This technique is one of the most impressive of all mentalism techniques or skills to learn and master.
If you’re able to learn this at the start of your mentalism career then you may be a successful as the likes of Derren Brown, Oz Pearlman and other famous mentalists.
If you would like to learn how to do amazing mentalist tricks that will make your friend’s jaw drop, look at the Master Mentalism course.
Master Mentalism is an in-depth course that will show you the secrets behind most of the popular mentalist magic tricks there are.
In just a short time after learning from Master Mentalism you will know exactly how mentalists do what they do!
For a ridiculously small investment on your part you will be learning some fantastic mentalism and magic skills. These skills will not only make you the life of a party, but they will set you on your way to become the next famous mentalist!
I hope you enjoyed this article about mentalism tricks for beginners…
I’d love to hear from you. Tell us about your journey to become a performing mentalist or magician (or both). Please comment below. Please also share your experiences, both good and bad!
If this article hasn’t answered all of your questions. If you have more questions either about mentalism or magic, I will try to answer them (or specifically about mentalism tricks for beginners), please comment below with your questions.
There will also be many more articles about mentalism for you to read and learn about this fantastic skill.
Have fun and enjoy your journey into learning how to become a mentalist!