How much do you practice?

How much do you practice? When you get a new magic trick, how much do you practice before you show it to someone? How do you know when you are ready? In our shop, we are constantly getting new tricks to sell, so we are constantly learning new tricks and patter. Sometimes it’s fun to demo it for the first time for customers. Sometimes we have to demo it a few times to work out the bugs and make it our own. Sometimes we even change everything. Some of you may know that I (Rick) also write children’s articles and stories. One of my favorite authors on the craft is James Scott Bell. A favorite quote of mine is in his book Revision and Self Editing in which he quotes a famous ball coach who said, “Practice doesn’t make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.” How do you practice? When do you know you’re ready?