Prop Tricks — learn magic tricks with coins, bottles, fire and other props « Prop Tricks

How To: Guess how many candies are in a jar

Want to win the prize? Knowing a little math is the key to winning this popular contest. In this video, learn how to estimate correctly.

How To: Tear up a piece of paper and have it magically be restored

Here's another video showing you how to rip up a piece of paper and then have it magically restore itself to its pristine state. This requires two pieces of paper and little handy work, distraction and you're off to the races!

How To: Make a hot air balloon shape using a rubberband

In this video tutorial Slipperypiggy5 shows an easy way to make a hot air balloon with a rubber band. Take a rubber band put one end on the thumb and the other on the little finger of left hand. With the right hand's finger (index finger) make a twist in the middle and put it on the middle finger of left. Take one part of the loop from the little finger and put it on the thumb and do vice versa. Hold the middle part with right hands index finger and release all loops of thumb and little finge...

How To: Do a bottle cap hand-swap trick

This video will teach you how to do a trick that you can use to win money off of your friends when they cannot do it. The task at hand is holding a plastic bottle cap in the thumb-forefinger gap in each hand and switch the caps without letting go of them. This video will show you the exact technique for making it work, which you friends will probably not know, rendering them completely unable to do this, frustrated, upset with you, and less however much money you bet them.

How To: Spin a book on your finger

If you want a challenge, try this at home or anywhere. Learn to spin a book on your finger. This will make you enjoy more of your vacant time. It also helps your balancing skill developed. 1. Get a book. 2. Get your finger to the center of the gravity of the book. 3. Spin the book on your finger. 4. As the book spins, your finger gets outside of the center. 5. Try to get your finger back to the center and you can do that by moving your hand in a linear circular manner. 6. Keep practicing by s...

How To: Do the Infinity pen spinning trick

Learn how to do the Infinity with this pen spinning tutorial.

How To: Do the Thumbaround Reverse pen spinning trick

Learn how to do the Thumbaround Reverse with this pen spinning tutorial.

How To: Perform the "rope through the neck" trick

This video starts off with a magician performing a trick that he will teach. You are going to need a length of rope or a scarf to do this trick. The rope or scarf should be about five feet long. Put the rope behind your head so the sides are hanging normally down your chest. You’ll want the rope that is on the left side hanging a little lower then the right. Reach with the right hand and grab the rope high on your chest. With the left hand grab the rope on the right side making sure your left...

How To: Link rubber bands trick

In this tutorial, we learn how to link rubber bands trick. To start, you will need to have two rubber bands. After you have these, you will count to '3' and then link the rubber bands together. This is a very simple trick to do, just hold the hands in each of your hands. Then, stretch these apart, putting your thumb on the bottom part of the top rubber band. Then, when you count to '3', you will quickly move and put your middle finger through the other rubber band, making them link together. ...

How To: Do the "large coin, small hole" trick

A great and easy to do trick. You can cut out a small hole and by bending the paper just right you can fit a much larger coin through it. This "large coin, small hole" bar trick is a great way to win money, beer or even just to impress the best.

News: Make magic jumping beans

We were dumbfounded at first, too. But this jumping bean is momentum based, not larva powered. The erratic movement of these DIY foil toys is actually simple physics. Hint: there is a marble inside the aluminum foil. When the marble rolls internally to the foil's end, the foil-bean flips with the momentum. All this commotion mixed with some well coached hands makes for a magic jumping effect.

How To: Perform the vanishing salt shaker magic trick

Want to amaze your family at the dinner table? Well follow along with Ryan Oakes as he teaches you a great meal time magic trick that'll get everyone craving for more! You will need a salt shaker, two paper napkins, a

How To: Perform a magnetic pencil magic trick

Get right to the point with this magic trick! You will need two pencils. Sometimes we use materials that require adult supervision... like scissors, so make sure you have friends and family around whenever you do magic tricks.

How To: Do the "Thumbaround Harmonic" pen spinning trick

Interested in pen spinning? Want to pick up a few moves? Pen spinning is the skilled movement of a writing instrument or pen with one's hands. It is used as a source of self entertainment (often for students), but there is a great deal of pen spinning culture (competitions, websites, etc.). Watch this pen spinning tutorial video and learn how to perform the "Thumbaround Harmonic" move.

How To: Make a balloon float two different ways without using helium

Out of helium? Forgot to pick up the tank? Don't worry, this video shows you two different ways that you can make your balloons float without using helium! And better yet, these methods use things you likely have around the house, so no added cost!

How To: Perform a pen and coin magic trick for kids

Kids love magic, and they love performing it too! Here's an easy trick kids can learn to get them on the way to being their own Criss Angel, except cool. You'll need a penny a pen and some magical words. Abracadabra.

How To: Magically levitate in the air with a box and mirror

Wish you could fly like Superman? Now you can, with a little magic (or more appropriately, illusion). This magic trick lets you float horizontally in midair, and it's simple to perform. This video reveals the secret, which is as simple as a box and mirror.

How To: Make a spinning candle trick with a nail & two glasses

Forget the standard one-ended candle— this two-ended spinning candle beats even the biggest candle. It's a simple trick, which needs only a couple glasses (wine glasses used here), one nail, a long taper candle, and a lighter or pack of matches.

News: Jerry Andrus and His Impossible Box

Below is a great video that shows a classic illusion designed and built by Jerry Andrus. Jerry is a backyard magician and illusionist who created his own kind of special magic tricks for his entire life, up until his death in 2007.

How To: Do the Houdini ball rope escape magic trick

Check out this crazy kid from the Netherlands as he tries to teach you a bit of magic... called Dutch Magic!

How To: Stick a 4-Inch Nail Up Your Nose

Remember Brian sticking a 4-inch nail up his nose at Diggnation New York? Want to do it yourself? This time he shows you how it works!

How To: Do the Devils Sonic and Devils Around pen tricks

Learn how to do the Devils Sonic and Devils Around with this pen spinning tutorial.

How To: Do the Shadow pen spinning trick

Learn how to do the Shadow with this pen spinning tutorial.

How To: Do the Extended Thumbaround pen spinning trick

Learn how to do the Extended Thumbaround with this pen spinning tutorial.

How To: Do the Thumbspin 1.5 pen spinning trick

Learn how to do the Thumbspin 1.5 with this pen spinning tutorial.

How To: Break a fork with mental power

Here is another magic trick to add to your collection. Learn how to break a fork seemingly with your mind. This trick requires little prep time and will make your audience believe that you have supernatural mental abilities.

News: Ouka's Hypnotic Performance with Optical Illusion Rings Is Mesmerizing

Heads up: the following videos and GIFs will definitely cause you to zone out and lose focus on whatever it is you're doing.

News: 10 Incredible Optical Illusions

Here are 10 incredible optical illusions that will blow your mind! Which optical illusion do you think is the coolest?

How To: Do the Sliced Banana Trick!

How to do the sliced banana magic trick! Fool your friends and be the life of the party with this awesome magic trick! This video will show you how to cut a banana before you even peel it! All that you will need for this cool trick is a needle and a banana.

How To: (Almost) Always Win a Bet with Your Friends Using These 10 Tricks

So, the in-person conversations between you and your friends has slowed down to a near halt, thanks to everyone's obsession with texting, Facebook, and over-uploading pics to Instagram—socializing at its best. It could also be that you're just not interesting enough anymore in person.

How To: Levitate a Ping Pong Ball in an Invisible Wind Tunnel

What can you do with a hair dryer besides dry your hair? Lots. You can remove stickers from clothing, clean up crayon marks, and mold your plastic eyeglasses for a better fit. But how about something a little more fun? Well, you can levitate things. Ping pong balls, to be exact.

How To: Catch Money on Fire Without Actually Burning It

If you want to convince your friends that money is not an issue, then you can just burn it for real like Walter White. But if you don't really want to destroy your hard-earned cash, this burn trick is perfect for you. It just takes some basic chemistry and a few materials, such as salt, water, alcohol, tongs, and a source of fire. And of course—money.

How To: Perform the leaning coke can trick and balance a coin on a dollar bill

In this video, learn how to alter the center of gravity within a coke can so that it leans on its side like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Later, learn how to balance a coin on a dollar bill. Take a look at how this is done and learn a little bit about how gravity functions in the process

News: 5 Vintage Magic Tricks from the 1964-65 New York World's Fair

Happy weekend! Time to relax and waste time. If you're a child at heart, or you've got a couple young ones hanging around, treat them to these old-school magic tricks, courtesy of Flickr user Jordan Smith. Smith generously scanned and uploaded a selection of cards from a postcard set published by the General Cigar "Hall of Magic" for the 1964-65 New York World's Fair.

How To: Make magical handheld fireballs (that won't burn) with common household items

Don't get burned playing with fire——know how to play with it right, just like those crazy magicians do when it comes to magical fireballs that you can hold in your hand. You can juggle them, too, but you need to know the secret to making them safely.

News: Make a Spoon Disappear

If you're willing to shell out for a mind-blowing party trick, here's another great one to add to your repertoire. Unfortunately this isn't a dirt cheap junk drawer DIY—you'll need a $40-$60 gallium kit (which doesn't include the spoon mold). What is gallium, you may ask? An amazing, man-made metal which melts at the low temperature of 86 degrees Fahrenheit. Plunk your trick spoon into a cup of hot water, and amaze. According to the Department of Energy, it's safe to handle as long as you don...