Michael Skinner was considered one of the best all-around close-up magicians in the world with one of the best professional repertoires. He was the resident close-up magician at the Golden Nugget Casino in Las Vegas for more than 20 years. On this video, he performs and teaches his impossible looking Vanishing Matches routine.

The basic routine: Michael Skinner would start by placing a handkerchief on the table with three matches. He would then make the matches vanish at his fingertips one at a time until they were all gone. He would then drape the handkerchief over his hand and reproduce the three matches.

You can learn and do the entire routine as Michael does or you can just do a piece of it to devastate your friends and audiences. Anytime you like, you can make a match (or any similar shaped object) completely vanish and reappear. There are no gimmicks involved and it is very easy to do.

This originally appeared on Michael Skinner’s Professional Close-Up Magic, Volume Two, video. A Meir Yedid Magic Product. Produced by A1 MagicalMedia. Original release date: 1998. Running time: Approximately 4 minutes.