talkmagic.co.uk

So what do you people think is the most overrated trick on the market? And by that I mean an effect that everyone raves about, top notch reviews but you think it stinks and it's gathering dust.

I'm trying to think what my answer would be and it's a difficult one. As I'm into mentalism I'll have to say the Tossed Out Deck. I really don't like it and I really feel as though the method is highly highly obvious in anyone's hands.

Over to you.

Have you seen the Electric Deck and seen some of the claims made by sellers?

Oh dear oh dear.

Sure I can think of something worse while I'm watching the rats in the basement though. I'll get back to you on that one.
BaB

bought a magic rat catching trap that said it would catch every type of rat.
no sir dos,nt catch transmuting rats, teleporters and scare rats so back to the spade for me.

to answer your question:-
1) rice bowls, claimed vertualy undetectable gimmik in plastic no way.
2) predicter deck claims you can predict any card chosen in the deck, very over prised svengali.
3) almers ultra escape handcuffs, die cast, enough said.

lol
/me takes the blotters off magicdiscoman

I once bought a wizard deck from a different site, not our hosts and the pack had MAGICAL WIZARD DECK in big letters all over it and the words trick and special. It also had the site URL.
Didn't make it a bad deck, just a deck without a box to carry the cards in.
Yes you can get around this but I shouldn't of had to so it was "stored" in my drawer.

BaB

once bought a spinning device for a zombie rated as the next best thing to happen to a zombie ever in large gold on black lettering no less.

they forgot to mention youd need to weld your zombie on to stop it flying off into somones lap though.

Without any shadow of a doubt, it has got to be the Healed and Sealed effect, made popular by Blaine. Sorry, but that's how it is...

Second is the Bite Out coin... totally obvious, totally abysmal, totally overrated.

And taking third place for it's general nastyness and overratedness, it simply has to be the simple mechanical 'rising card deck'. There are SO many better/cleaner ways to do this, and yet time and time again it gets re-invented. Dear oh dear.

And of course, on my own PERSONAL scale would have to be the Reality Twister - but of course, that is personal preference, and no indication of how this effect really sucks.

That reminds me that I bought Healed and Sealed at a convention before it had been shown over here by Blaine.

I suppose I have to agree in some respect because I haven't used it since then however it does use an ingenious 'wish I'd have discovered that' method and you can't knock that!

SharkTrager wrote:That reminds me that I bought Healed and Sealed at a convention before it had been shown over here by Blaine... however it does use an ingenious 'wish I'd have discovered that' method and you can't knock that!

Absolutely - and this is the point which is missed...

The name 'Anders Moden' is practically outshadowed by 'David Blaine', and that's because nobody cares who Anders Moden is.

It was his routine (although the method, I believe, is older - and probably based on a Physics lesson in a school somewhere) - and yet since Blaine did it, albeit in a VERY contrived way, it seems to now be marketed under Blaine's wing in a lot of cases.

By the way, and this is TOTALLY off topic, it is possible to combine the Xpert gimmick to improve a weaker part of Healed and Sealed. In fact, I would swear that this is how it's done on the Blaine programme (Vertigo???) where the effect was featured.

Sorry to have diversified, but this just came to mind after replying to some Xpert posts...

Healed and sealed I couldn't take in how bad that was, gets my vote as number one now you've mentioned it.

Number two might well create the need for a flame retardant suit but I'm going for ANY levitation effect, of the "from a standing position" variety.

Third, hmmm, what's third going to be?
Ooooh I know, the reel raven!
Is it safe to come out yet?

BaB

Frankly, my dears, I love Healed & Sealed! OK, the Blaine connection is annoying but the effect is good and requires just a small amount of set up. Having said that, there are only a few occasions where someone like me could perform this and it would be as more of a gag type of thing than as magic. Horses for courses indeed. By the way, seige is right about Xpert - it works fine!

The most useless thing I ever bought was several years ago from a magic shop in Weymouth. Sadly it's no longer there (the shop, that is, Weymouth is still there) and it was Chu's Rattle Box. This is a plastic box about 4" x 2" x 1.5" (apologies to those who only know the metric system) and would have been OK except it had the words 'Chu's Rattle Box' in large raised gold embossed Capital letters on the top. If they'd added the words, 'and it's a Trick' it couldn't have been any worse!

mandrake wrote:Frankly, my dears, I love Healed & Sealed!

Yes, but we're not saying we don't LIKE it!!! Merely that it's overrated - for possibly the reason you state - it is just SO hard to work into a routine...

I have discussed this before - and I dearly love the effect - but in the real world, it's almost impossible to do this off the cuff.

Yet it is SO raved about, and SO discussed in other forums as being 'a reputation builder', 'the Holy Grail' etc.

Maybe?

Also, back to rattle boxes, and all things 'branded'...

I was in a local 'boutique' type shop recently, you know, the ones which sell objects of wonder, and I happened across some rather nicely presented magic tricks. Amongst them was a deck of cards - which had the words 'Magic Cards' written clearly on the box. And similarly, every card in the deck had a Wizard's hat on the back as the design.

Talking of arousing suspicion... I saw a guy at the pub last night doing a trick he must have got from a gift shop or something... it looked like a variation of the Limited Edition effect, except on the back of the five card packet he was using was printed a magician's top hat and wand.

And we work SO hard to try and show we're working with genuine decks!!!

but I'm going for ANY levitation effect, of the "from a standing position"

Not sure I agree with this. I have a few levitation techniques up my sleeve, and if I choose the right group of people, and pick the right time (and only do it the once), the levitations can actually get amazing reactions. A lot of it depends on how youve built it up.

I'm not 100% sure what you mean by standing position - as I have never tried to levitate whilst seated - so I assume you mean the semi crouched approach needed for kings rising or neo rise. In which case - yes they are sometimes better - but you know the balducci levitation isn't that bad either just as long as you get your angles right (and no one moves).

in the real world, it's almost impossible to do this off the cuff.

Oh ye of little faith!!! There are hundreds of opportunities to do this impromptu and off the cuff, firstly there's ...........or there's.......... er how about when..... OK that just leaves the summer BBQ when everyone's had far too much to drink and they'd believe anything! Except a deck of cards with a Wizard's Hat on them - what a bummer!

Sadly there are a lot of poor quality items sold, especially at this time of year, which aren't even fit to be in cheap Christmas Crackers yet they cost almost as much as the better quality items. Equally sadly, some of the well known magicians put their names to sets of these things and it really is a rip off - check out Toys R Us or similar and you'll see what I mean! (OK, I'm off the soapbox now!)

Levitation to me falls into that bracket of magic that screams, this can't actualy happen, I am pulling your leg and as such I personaly keep clear of it. I know most magic falls into this "box" but people will suspend the truth of science for most magic but not for levitation in my experience.
They are willing to believe I am magic, they aren't willing to believe I am god.
Having said that...
I am not saying it is a bad effect, just a worn, over rated, people drop dead at the mention of its greatness effect.
I agree it has it's place but in reality if you do any of these for a group you are lucky if only one person knows what you are up to, or is this just my cack-feetedness? lol

So to the question, I think levitation is greatly over rated in other forums or on magic sites etc Why use ten words when an essay will do

Other levitations I enjoy watching are the person lying on two chairs etc.

BaB