\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThere’s no way four aces will actually turn up,\u201d I told the pompadoured man in front of me, half dismissively and half out of curiosity.<\/p>\n
We were at Institute Illusions, a new magic school and theatre at Orchard Towers offering live shows and magic lessons. I was there for the latter \u2013 albeit an extremely condensed version.<\/p>\n
Moments earlier, the man \u2013 award-winning magician and Institute Illusions founder Tommillusions \u2013 had laid out two sets of faced-down cards, split from a deck I had randomly cut.<\/p>\n
We then divided our respective sets into four piles in front of us, eight piles in total, each of us free to decide how many cards to place in each pile.<\/p>\n
Completely random.<\/p>\n
When he was done, Tommillusions flipped over the top card of each of his four piles.<\/p>\n
Four kings.<\/p>\n
It was a feat that had already left me impressed. But then came the finisher.<\/p>\n
\u201cWould you like to make a bet? Do you think your cards can beat mine?\u201d asked Tommillusions.<\/p>\n
Now, I\u2019ve watched enough episodes of Criss Angel Mindfreak to know that, yes, my cards will somehow end up beating his.<\/p>\n
But still, I didn’t want to take that bet because, logically, there was no way I would pull four aces. Again, every move up to that point had been completely random.<\/p>\n
And yet, the top cards on all four of my piles were aces.<\/p>\n
Like magic.<\/p>\n
“Now let\u2019s teach you how to do that,\u201d said Tommillusions, with the warmth of Dumbledore and the charm of the Horsemen from Now You See Me.<\/p>\n
Institute Illusions currently offers one-hour lessons for kids, between the ages of six and twelve, where they can learn two magic skills per session, with over 15 skills across their rotating programme.<\/p>\n
A cursory look at Institute Illusions’ website shows glowing reviews for these lessons, with parents praising how fun they are and how the lessons have inspired the children to pick up and practise magic skills on their own.<\/p>\n
So it really is a testament to Tommillusions’ patience when he had to spend 60 minutes teaching me \u2013 someone with horrific motor-skill coordination \u2013 repeatedly struggle with shuffling techniques that were easy for children.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n