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David Martinez

Professional Magician

David Martinez is a Magician based in San Jose, CA. David has over 20 years of experience and has performed throughout Northern California at weddings, private parties, team-building events, and more. He has notably performed for some of the biggest companies in the world, including Apple, Google, Facebook, and Uber. David previously had a career in tech and worked in Marketing and Product Design at Apple for 17 years. In 2021, he quit his job to pursue his passion in magic, and now he is one of the busiest magician entertainers in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2023, he combined his learnings from both careers to co-author Amaze and Delight: Secrets to Creating Magic in Business, aimed at helping individuals and organizations nurture healthy and happy business cultures.

Education

  • University of California Berkeley, BA, English

Professional Achievements

  • Authored "Amaze & Delight: Secrets to Creating Magic in Business" and "The Book of Baseball Literacy"
  • Winner of multiple awards for close-up, parlor, and stage magic

Certifications & Organizations

  • Past president of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, Silicon Valley chapter (Ring 216)

Favorite Piece of Advice

The number one thing for beginning magicians to know: tension kills magic. When performing, you need to learn the moves and sleights so well you can do them at a relaxed pace, so it doesn't look like you're doing anything at all.

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Q&A Comments (13)

Are there any other ways to read minds?
So there's also cold reading, a fascinating trick that seemingly reads minds. First, you set the stage by asking your participant to think of something specific, like their favorite vacation destination. As they focus on it, start with a general statement, like, "I'm getting a sense that this is a place you've wanted to go to for a long time." Now pay close attention to their reactions and cues. If they confirm with a "yes," you're on the right track. Then, delve deeper based on their responses. For instance, if they mention sun or outdoor activities, you could say, "I'm sensing a lot of sun and outdoor vibes. It feels tropical, doesn't it?" Continue this pattern, using their feedback to refine your guesses. If they correct you or give a negative response, simply adjust your statement accordingly. For example, if they say it's not tropical, you might pivot with, "Ah, it's more of an urban vibe, like a bustling city, right?" With each exchange, you gather more clues and refine your guesses until you've successfully "read their mind." Remember, it's all about observation, intuition, and steering the conversation based on their responses. With practice, you'll master the art of cold reading and leave your audience amazed at your apparent mind-reading abilities.
Are there any other ways to perform the writing on a paper and prediction trick?
So another intriguing method for performing the classic writing-on-paper prediction trick. Picture this: you've asked your participant to jot down something on a piece of paper, keeping it hidden from your view. They fold it, tear it, and perhaps even burn it to ashes. Then, as if by magic, you reveal the exact content of their thoughts. Here's the secret: while appearing to discard or destroy the paper, you actually retain a portion of it containing their written message. This sleight of hand is executed seamlessly while your audience's attention is diverted. For example, as you tear the paper or reach for a pen, you discreetly glance at the writing. This technique, known as "endurance" in the realm of magic, is a staple among mentalists. It allows you to obtain crucial information while maintaining the illusion of mystery and mind-reading prowess. By cleverly exploiting moments of distraction, you acquire the necessary insight to astonish your audience with seemingly supernatural abilities.
What is a forced card? How does this differentiate from regular cards?
So imagine a deck where one card, let's say the ace of spades, is subtly shorter than the rest, just by a fraction of a millimeter. This slight variation sets the stage for an astonishing illusion. As you shuffle through the deck with your thumb in one direction, each card appears distinct due to the short card (the ace of spades in this case) trailing closely behind the previous one. This creates a visual spectacle where every card seems unique. You can also incorporate multiple forced cards into your deck for a more intricate and captivating performance and tricks.
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Co-authored Articles (15)

How to Perform Magic: 8 Tricks for Beginners

Dazzle and delight with these spectacular illusions Many magicians devote their entire lives to mastering the art of illusion, but you don't have to go to such great lengths to impress your friends and family. With the r...

20 Number Magic Tricks: Read Minds with Math!

Perform math magic to ace your arithmetic + amaze your friendsAmaze your friends, relatives, and teachers with these number-based mind tricks! Whether you want to be able to do math quickly in your head or blow your frie...

How to Read People’s Minds as a Magic Trick: 6 Fun Methods

Learn mind-reading tricks involving words, numbers, cards & morePeople visit psychics, palm readers, and mystics because they're attracted to the idea that it's possible to read minds. You can capitalize on this fascinat...

6 Easy Coin Tricks That Any Magician Can Master

Wow your friends with these slick beginner coin tricksCoin tricks are the place to start for any budding magician. These six tricks are easy to perform with a bit of practice, and can liven up any dull moment. With enoug...

How to

Escape from Handcuffs

If you find yourself in a situation where you need to escape handcuffs, it is entirely possible to do so using ordinary objects. Handcuffs have standard locking mechanisms that can easily be unlocked with a makeshift key...

How to

Use the Svengali Deck

A Svengali deck is a common type of trick card deck with slightly shortened duplicate cards.. 22 March 2024. With it, you gain the ability to do hundreds of different magic tricks. The key part of using a Svengali deck i...

How to

Make a Card Disappear

Prestidigitation, or sleight of hand, is a type of magic trick or illusion using quick hand movements and various objects. One of the most common subsets of these tricks is to make objects seem to "disappear." Playing ca...

How to

Do an Easy Magic Trick

Professional magician David Martinez & wikiHow staff go over easy disappearing, mind reading, and card tricks to amaze your friendsAre you starting out as a magician, or just looking for ways to impress your friends at a...

How to Perform 4 Easy Magic Card Tricks

Wow your friends with a card magic trickMagic tricks are great for impressing your friends as well as practicing your sleight of hand and your ability as a performer. All you'll need to perform these basic card tricks is...

How to Perform a Levitation Illusion: Magician Secrets Revealed

Make yourself and small objects float in mid-air with our expert adviceLevitation is a classic magic trick that always wows an audience. While it’s not possible to actually levitate, there are a few simple ways to make...

How to

Perform an Easy and Convincing "Guess Which Card" Trick

We've all seen "pick a card, any card" tricks where the magician does something amazing and finds your card. This one is slightly different, as it requires a partner, but it is extremely easy.

How to

Flourish Cards

Card flourishing is a performance art that uses a regular deck of playing cards to create visually impressive tricks. These tricks are meant to look difficult and wow an audience. One of the fundamental skills for a begi...

How to

Make a Pen Magically Disappear

This is both a fun and engaging trick that is a great start for an aspiring magician or just someone who likes to mess with their friends. It's easy, fun to perform, and doesn't require any special tools or skill. Just k...

How to

Memorize a Deck of Cards

Imagine being able to memorize the order of cards in an entire deck (or two) as quickly as they can be dealt. The secret of the card counters is a secret no more. Using a mental map and a celebrity matrix, you can memori...

The Viral TikTok Tape Mug Magic Trick, Explained

Learn to magically wrap your taped fingers around a mug handleIf you’ve been on TikTok lately, you’ve probably seen the viral Tape Mug Magic Trick, where someone somehow wraps their taped fingers around a mug handle....