Author Archives: Tom Interval

About Tom Interval

San Diego Magician Tom Interval, owner of Interval Magic, provides magic entertainment and training to private and corporate clients locally and nationally. A member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians (IBM), Society of American Magicians (SAM), and the Academy of Magical Arts (AMA), Interval has captivated tens of thousands of people at numerous venues, including Busch Gardens theme park in Williamsburg, Virginia. With a BA in professional writing and minors in communications and business administration, Interval writes magic-related e-books, magazine articles, and blogs and produces tutorials and related videos for his YouTube channel. Most recently, Interval earned The Linking Ring Award of Excellence for a cover story he wrote for the magicians' publication. To learn more, please visit https://www.intervalmagic.com.

New England Magic Collectors Association Chooses My Newsletter Name Idea

Posted on September 2, 2022 by Tom Interval

By Tom Interval In April, the New England Magic Collectors Association (NEMCA) announced on its Facebook page a contest to name its quarterly newsletter. Today they announced the winner: yours truly! Thanks to the NEMCA board for that. My name … Continue reading →

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Before You Do Card Tricks, Learn These 6 Things

Posted on August 28, 2022 by Tom Interval

By Tom Interval In the 37 years I’ve been teaching magic, many students hired me specifically to learn card tricks. Before meeting me, some of them didn’t know a spade from a club or how to properly: Remove the deck … Continue reading →

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Now You See It, Now You Don’t!

Posted on August 23, 2022 by Tom Interval

By Tom Interval It’s one of the most iconic illustrations in the modern history of magic literature: a pair of hands in sequence makes a red ball disappear in a flash of white light. It appears on the cover of … Continue reading →

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Magic Book Club

Posted on August 20, 2022 by Tom Interval

By Tom Interval Who doesn’t like a good book club? Well, probably a lot of people, actually. If you’re one of them, then you’ll be sad to know I’m starting one for magicians. Not an in-person book club, mind you, … Continue reading →

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Cups and Balls: the First Routine Magicians Learn

Posted on May 6, 2022 by Tom Interval

By Tom Interval Here’s a magic trivia question for you: What is the oldest magic trick ever performed? Many magicians would quickly answer, “The cups and balls!” But the truth is, while the cups and balls is one of the … Continue reading →

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How to Do the Ribbon-Spread Turnover

Posted on April 28, 2022 by Tom Interval

By Tom Interval If you love movies, you might have seen Paul Newman in The Sting (1973) manipulating cards like a magician or gambler. Of course, there was expert manipulation going on, but it mostly wasn’t Newman doing it. Why … Continue reading →

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How to Fan a Deck of Cards: The Pressure Fan

Posted on April 19, 2022 by Tom Interval

By Tom Interval You don’t have to be a magician to learn really cool flourishes with playing cards, but it does help if you’re already good at shuffling, cutting, dealing, and knowing your way around a deck in general. If … Continue reading →

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How to Roll a Coin on Your Fingers

Posted on April 15, 2022 by Tom Interval

By Tom Interval Have you ever seen a movie in which a character rolls a coin on his fingers? Examples include Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday in Tombstone (1993) and as Chris Knight in Real Genius (1985), Van Heflin as … Continue reading →

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Harry Houdini Lives: a Deepfake Encounter

Posted on March 30, 2022 by Tom Interval

By Tom Interval I recently uploaded a video compilation of clips I made animating old photos of magicians, thanks to deep-learning software called Deep Nostalgia. Being a hopeless Houdini enthusiast, I couldn’t resist doing the same with photos of the … Continue reading →

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Magicians of the Past Brought to Life

Posted on March 30, 2022 by Tom Interval

By Tom Interval Ladies and gentlemen, step right up! For my next trick, I shall bring past magicians back to life! Not literally, of course, but with uncanny results, nonetheless. Although this magic is of the technological variety introduced more … Continue reading →

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