Magic tricks using cups. Tricks you might want to try for entertainment or performances.
We’ve gathered ideas for magic tricks using cups and glasses that are perfect for beginners who want to try magic for the first time.
From the classic cups and balls to coin-through-glass tricks, quick and easy effects, and routines that require a bit of practice, there’s a wide range to choose from.
These tricks use props that are simple to prepare, so you can give them a try the same day you get inspired.
If you want to expand your magic repertoire or are planning to perform magic for an event or entertainment segment, be sure to use this article as a reference.
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Magic tricks using cups. Tricks you’ll want to try for entertainment or stage acts (11–20)
Changes in coffee beans
It’s a magic trick where coffee beans come out of a paper cup that should have liquid coffee in it.
First, staple a small paper cup (about 30 ml) inside a large paper cup.
Put a powder called “slush powder,” which instantly solidifies liquids, into the large cup.
Put coffee beans into the small cup.
That’s all the prep! Next, carefully pour liquid coffee so that it goes into the large cup side, then tilt the cup to pour out the coffee beans.
When performing the trick, be careful not to let the audience see the gimmick in the paper cup.
A cup that disappears into newspaper
This is a magic trick where a cup disappears inside a newspaper.
First, place the cup upside down on the table and cover it with the newspaper.
Flip it once to show the cup is there, then, as you flip the newspaper again, secretly remove the cup.
The key is to maintain the cup’s shape in the newspaper.
After that, while holding the cup in one hand, collapse the cup-shaped form and flatten the newspaper so it looks like the cup has vanished.
The performer in this video demonstrates it very well, so use it as a reference and give it a try.
A drink (cola) appears.
It’s a magic trick where a drink appears from what should be an empty paper cup! Prepare two large paper cups and one small paper cup.
Cut off the rim of one of the large cups, and make a slit in part of the bottom of the small cup.
Combine these two so they look like a single cup.
Now pour your favorite drink into this cup.
When you pour it in, the drink flows through the slit to the back, making it look empty.
If you pour from the side with the slit, the drink will appear; if you pour from any other side, nothing will come out.
Practice your presentation, prepare well, and give it a try!
Magic where candy appears inside a cup
It’s a magic trick where you cover a cup with colored paper, cast a spell, and candy appears in what should have been an empty cup.
You place colored paper into the empty cup, then set a second cup—one with its rim cut off and filled with candy—inside.
The trick is that you move the candy cup together with the colored paper.
It’s important to pinch the paper and the cup at the same time, and to hold them steadily so the weight isn’t noticeable.
Then, when you cover everything with the paper, you secretly return the cup, and a quick pull to remove the paper completes the trick.
Practice pulling the paper out swiftly as well, so the instant appearance is clearly emphasized.
Magic where a tomato comes out of a cup
A magic routine where a tomato appears from a cup and the wonder spreads from there.
You can start trying it the very day you think of it.
Beginning with freely manipulating small cherry tomatoes, and ending with the appearance of a large tomato, a lemon, and a lime, it will captivate your audience’s eyes.
From an opening where glimpses of the technique can be sensed to an increasingly flashy buildup toward the climax, the venue is sure to be filled with surprise and applause.
It will undoubtedly draw attention as an act for entertainment segments or parties.
Why not take this opportunity to give magic a try?
A cup that makes arrows look reversed
This is a video of a magic trick where an arrow appears to point in the opposite direction when placed behind a glass of water.
It’s simple, so anyone from kids to adults can give it a try.
First, prepare a glass filled with water, a piece of paper, and a pen.
Then draw an arrow on the paper.
Next, slowly move the paper with the arrow behind the water-filled glass…
Due to the refraction of light in the water, the arrow will appear to point the other way.
Watch the video to see the full sequence and the expected result, then try it yourself.
Magic tricks using cups: 21–30 tricks you’ll want to try for parties and performances
A cup that produces coins
I’m introducing a magic trick video where a 100-yen coin suddenly appears out of nowhere.
All you need is a paper cup and a 100-yen coin.
After letting your spectator examine the paper cup, you place it on the table and tap it a few times.
Then, a 100-yen coin suddenly appears on the table from seemingly nothing.
There are no gimmicks or hidden mechanisms in this video, so if you watch it to get a sense of the successful performance and also check out the explanation video before trying it yourself, you should be able to pull it off.
If you’re curious, try looking up how it’s done.