31 October 2026 marks 100 years since the most famous escape artist of the last century died. Most people who try a trick never get past the mirror. This page gets one trick in front of real people.
Practise one trick until it fools people
Type the steps of the trick you are learning, the days you have and who will watch. The page sorts the hidden moves, estimates the practice they need and shows where people can see them, for free. One run turns it into a chain of padlocks: a rung for each hidden move, a drill and a pass check each. After every run-through, a debrief sends you back to the right rung.
A Your trick
Write the steps the way your book or video teaches them. The page never fills in a method you did not type, and neither does the coach.
B What the page sees
C The chain
1 Build the ladder
The verdict follows a fixed rule: swap for an easier trick when your time is under 60% of the estimate, tight when it is under the estimate or people will be at your sides with hidden moves to guard, ready in time otherwise.
D Kept tricks
How the page reads a trick
Each step is sorted by its words: a set-up ("before the show"), a hidden move (a double lift, a palm, a false shuffle, a break, anything done "secretly"), a line ("say: ..."), a reveal ("turn over", "show it is gone") or, otherwise, open handling. Hidden moves that can be seen from the side - palms, breaks, lifts, steals, loads - are marked for the sightline fan. The practice estimate is the page's own rule of thumb, not a measurement: per hidden move about 90 minutes for a first trick, 60 with a few tricks behind you and 30 if you perform often; 15, 10 or 5 for each open move or reveal, a little less for lines and set-up; 15 or 30 extra for each hidden move when people will stand wide or at your sides; and 3 minutes a step for full run-throughs. Your time is under the estimate: tight. Under 60% of it: swap for an easier trick. The run notes are scanned for words like "saw", "dropped", "knew how" so the debrief can be checked against them.