“Mike is a very funny and talented magician who fools me with a new effect every time we meet! Do what you can to see his lecture. You will learn a lot!” - Jeff McBride

"Mike Hankins is one of my oldest and dearest friends in magic. He has an engaging and entertaining style that is infectious. By the end of his lecture, I'm sure you will agree." - Eric Jones

"Mike has entertained myself and our crew many times on tour. We remain confused and very entertained!" - Jono Grant, 1/3 of Grammy nominated Above & Beyond

“Hankins (as I like to call him) is not only skilled in magic, but his ability to entertain is second to "None!" You won't believe what he has to teach, now if we can just teach him to straighten his hat!” - Chastain Criswell,  (AKA "None")

"Mike's magic is really, really good." - Tiësto, Grammy Award winning DJ/Producer

What will he teach?

OCD - Mike’s favorite opener. You take the cards from the box and rapidly reveal the 4 aces. You then explain that all focus should be on the backs of the 4 aces, not the aces themselves. Showing all 4 backs being blue, you then have the spectator make a magic gesture. All 4 aces now have red backs. You then spread the deck and the entire deck has now turned red.

What chu talkin' bout Will "Ace"? - Spectator names any card. You proceed to remove the 4 aces from the deck, accidently forgetting one ace. You tell the spectator that you will "magically" force them to select the last ace. Spectator ends up picking the card they named earlier. You then place that card on to the table and attempt to have the spectator "magically" select the last ace again. It ends up being the named card, again. The card placed onto the three aces is now the last ace!

It Takes 2 (The Last Trick of Dr. Daley) – Mike’s handling of the classic card effect. Four aces are shown. You explain to the spectator that this effect always takes 2 times before it works. You place the 2 red aces into their hand. When they turn the cards over, it is still the 2 red aces. Repeating the same sequence, you now place the two black aces in their hand. Magically, the two black aces have turned into the two red aces!

Which Ace Do Ya Like Best? – The spectator names their favorite ace. The other 3 aces are placed away. Three indifferent cards are then added to their favorite ace. With a magical snap of the fingers, all of the cards turn into their favorite ace. Then, their favorite ace disappears from the packet and reappears wherever you want! (If you are standing, the ace can come from your pocket. If sitting, the ace can appear on top of the deck or anywhere else you desire.)

Stop. Hammer Time. - You show a card in your pocket. You then riffle through the deck. The spectator thinks of a card. You then tell the spectator the SUIT of the card as then telepathically send it to you in your mind.  The spectator holds out their hand and the magician places a card that he THINKS is the one they thought of into their hand. It is not the right card. You ask them to name their thought of card. You show the card in your pocket that was there before the trick began. The card is actually the one that you placed into the spectator’s hand. The card they are now holding is the one they thought of

Illuminate – The spectator selects a card. It is the! 2 of hearts. The card is placed back into the deck and then back into the box. You have the spectator hold the box and a lighter, and have them imagine pulling their card up from within the flame. You decide to film this for whatever reason you decide. The spectator then goes through the deck and sees that their 2 of hearts has the hearts burnt out of the card. You then show them the video you filmed. You can in fact SEE the 2 hearts being lifted out of the deck within the flames!

No, It's Right Here - Magician removes a joker from the deck and places it aside, stating that this card is an acrobatic card. A card is freely selected and randomly placed back into the deck by the spectator. The magician picks up the acrobatic Joker and shoots it into the middle of the deck, trapping it in between two cards. Neither one is the selected card. When the magician gets it wrong twice, the joker is turned over and is found to be their selection! This is Mike’s take on Daniel Garcia’s William Tell.

Cannibal Cards - Mike's version of this classic effect. 4 cards are introduced as serial killers. One at a time, they devour their victims. Finally, they are caught and put into prison. Uh oh! They escape but they aren’t very good at keeping clean, as they are still covered in blood, and can easily be spotted.

Morph Calling Orson – Magician introduces the 4 tens and then a playing card is named. The magician tells the spectator that he will change the 4 tens into their named card. Oops, the 4 tens turn into the 4 aces. Oops, the 4 aces now turn into the selected card. This is Mike’s take on Patrick Kun’s effect Morph.

Your Card is Right… – Magician shows the spectator 4 different cards and is asked to think of one of them. The cards are placed face down on the table. The magician reveals the card they are holding is “your card”. When it is turned over, it in fact does say “Your Card.” The other three cards are turned over one at a time to finally reveal the card they had thought of.

Snap Change – Mike will teach you the proper way to execute this amazing color change. He will also teach you variations of this change including a double and triple snap change as well as a tap change and the baby cradle method.

Clip Spin – A control, color change or multiple color change. In the action of rotating the deck, cards change right in front of the spectator’s eyes. Or, have a card selected from the middle of the deck. With nothing more than a twist of the deck, the selected card has been controlled to the top.

Twist Pass – Mike will teach you a pass that doesn’t rely on speed. This is Mike’s variation of Bruce Cervon’s Free Turn Pass.

Cards from Mouth – Mike has performed for some of the best known electronic dance music artists in the world including Above & Beyond, Deadmau5, Tiesto, Steve Aoki, Disclosure, Mark Eteson and a ton more. Mike will show you what he thinks is a sure-fire way to be noticed even in an extremely loud setting such as a dance club. 

Slider Double – Mike’s handling of Howie Schwarzman’s Impeccable Double. Eject multiple cards on to the table making it look like a single playing card! Toss out two cards on to the table…NOPE! It’s a 4 of a kind.

Effects with Slider Double:

Vegas Prediction - Magician places "prediction" card on the table face down and states that hopefully the card they choose will match the prediction card. Spectator selects a card. (ex – A Hearts). Magician reveals the prediction card. It is the A Diamonds. It matches! But the magician keeps going and shows that the other 3 Aces are behind the prediction!

and

Table Snap! - Spectator selects a card and places it back into the deck. Magician places card on to the table. It is not the spectator's card. With just a snap, the card changes to the spectator's selected card.

Also,

Waltzin’ - Spectator selects a card and signs it on the face. That card is placed on to the table. Spectator chooses a card for the magician to sign, but the magician signs it on the back not the face. That card is placed on the table. The ending: the magician's signature jumps from his card to the spectator's signed card. Learn one of Mike’s favorite sleights: the JG Move.

JG Move – Mike’s take on the classic KM Move, with an acrobatic twist. Use it as a mid-air color change or even as a switch. Conceal the back of a playing card right under their noses!

The Deal Down or Stop and Count– The Spectator names ANY playing card. The magician removes that card from the deck and tosses it into the deck at random as the cards cascade. When the magician spells that card, the next card turned over is that exact card! NO forces. NO breaks, steps, or jogs. This is completely impromptu and can be performed with a borrowed and shuffled deck. (Howard Hamburg has a variation of this effect. With his blessings, Mike will teach you his version.)

TK Fan Control - A deceptive way to control a card to the top of the deck.

Secret Siri – Ask the spectator to name ANY famous person. Show them on your phone that you had been searching for that same person earlier in the day! This is just an idea, but in the right hands and right minds, the ideas are limitless!

Slow Distance Spinner - Cause a card to shoot out of the deck and fly to your hand in what seems to be slow motion. NO STRINGS or WIRES.

Skies Control - You show a card on the bottom of the deck. Without any funny moves, you turn over the top card. It was the card that was on the bottom of the deck!

Bob Ross – Mike’s take on the Paintbrush Change, with a little titanium white added.

Also, discussion on:

Creativity Talk/Jam - Mike will talk about creativity, character creation and new trick development. Mike will first show you how to create an original character utilizing a technique he came up with when performing improv and sketch comedy, and share with you a few of his own original characters. Next, Mike will take a piece he learned from Jeff McBride at the MAGIC AND MYSTERY SCHOOL and show you how to create an original magic trick.

Performing in Dance Clubs  – Mike performs close up magic in the biggest dance clubs in the world and has been personally requested to perform for some of the biggest names in the dance music industry. Mike will talk to you about the money that can be made working in the clubs, the type of material you should do, the type of crowd you will be dealing with and how to be asked back time and time again.

Never Be Told "NO" Again – Mike has a 100% full proof plan to ensure that you never hear the word “NO” again when performing in restaurants. 

Who is he?

Mike Hankins has been performing magic professionally off and on since the age of 18. He has worked on the Magic Lab team for David Copperfield, put in his “time” behind the bar as well as the restaurant floor, and has performed for one of the hardest audiences you could imagine: Marines fresh from the battlefield. He has performed and taught sketch comedy, improv, and the basics of character creation. You may even find Mike breaking out into one of his many impressions from time to time.

Growing up in Baltimore, MD, Mike was mentored by Denny Haney of Denny & Lee’s Magic Studio where he would spend countless hours in his shop, growing and learning as a magician. Mike later became alumni of the Magic and Mystery School taught by masters Jeff McBride and Eugene Burger. Now, Mike can be found performing magic in some of the biggest and best dance clubs in the entire world, for some of the biggest names in the dance music industry.

If you could ask ONE question to one of the world's most creative professional magicians, what would it be?

If you've never been to a magic lecture, there’'s never been a better time. Sunday, March 20th, at 7:00pm, we're live-streaming Mike Hankins LIVE in a spectacular 2-hour interactive online lecture. Watch, ask questions, and learn things you won't find in any book or DVD.