Hi, i'm new to magic. I'm wondering what a beginner to magic should pick up to learn more about mentalism. Any recommended books/dvds?

Also, was reading a thread about the Berglas Effect where someone mentioned to understand how to do the trick you need to nuderstand his concept behind the trick (or something like that ). I've been trying to find information about David Berglas online but not with much luck. Is there anyway i can get more information about him?

Also, I have not seen a David Berglas performance of the Berglas Effect. Been reading that it's extremely clean and am curious to see it. Anyone has a link or the video?

Thanks. =)

Lu Chen did the Berglas effect on taiwan variety show before. Try doing a search on youtube. I heard that it is really pretty underground, so you may not be able to find much about it.

The Berglas Effect is an Any Card At Any Number effect. Lu Chen's performance is just one of the many methods/presentations available to the plot and he used David Berglas as a storyline hook. Lu Chen is probably not using Berglas' method.

More information about Berglas can be found in The Mind and Magic of David Berglas which is unfortunately out of print and also going at very very very very high prices.

There are quite some solutions available to the Any Card At Any Number plot around with different versions but it's difficult to find one that's "perfect". Either it requires a lot of work or there's some compromise somewhere. So you just have to find one that suits you.

For starting out in mentalism, "13 Steps to Mentalism" will give you a clear understanding of the basic principles/concepts used in mentalism. For dvds, you can look up materials put up by Banachek or Richard Osterlind regarding mentalism. I will warn you though that alot of mentalism materials are mostly suited towards parlour only rather than close-up.

Before you get any of the materials above, think carefully about what you want in magic. If you already have existing materials on magic, perhaps you will want to work on it and master them first before going to get anything else new.

I am currently actually concentrating on learning cards. I just bought US half-dollar coins so intending to try a hand at coins. I rmb someone telling me its gd to get exposed to all forms of magic when starting out. So actually the reason for my asking is because i want to understand the basic concept behind mentalism. However, i will still be spending most of my time on cards. =) Thanks for your feedback.

Btw, i read that Lu Chen's is a variation of Berglas Effect. I've seen another (Mark/Paul, cant rmb the name) done it on youtube. His is cleaner because he doesnt really control the card u pick. I was wondering about the cleaner versions of ACAAN. It is an extremely powerful effect. In awe.

Lu Chen's effect can easily be replicated by anyone using a mirage deck with a little bit of creativity. Think out of the box. :P