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Hi guys. I dont really know of another way to start this thread so i'll just say it. Yesterday, my parents decided to buy a pub. Its the first time that they have ever done it, and have asked for the help of me and my sister to run it (work the bar, serve food, etc). They have also started insisting that i will be performing magic regularly for the customers.

Now, i've had a bit of experience performing for strangers, so im not so worried about that aspect. What im more concerned about is that all my effects are just card or a few coin effects. I imagine that i will be doing walkaround some of the time, and will be behind the bar serving people for the rest. I am really looking forward to doing this as i have never done anything like this before!

So, i will be in one of two different situations all of the time. So my first question is: What other types of magic do you think i should be able to perform and be ready for? And what resources do you recommend for learning these skills? I need suggestions for both behind the bar and walkaround.

My third and final question: Anyone fancy a pint?

Thanks for any help guys!

Ricky we all know what i am going to tell you but the sponges. Rope and some mentalisim . a couple of years ago i would have suggested stuff with cigs, but you wont be able to do that now what with the ban comming fast.

Effects with Wine corks, cigs, straws, cocktail napkins, coins, keys, lighters, matches, Cocktail umbrella's, whole limes/lemons, chop cup routines, borrowed rings, watches......try Jiggernaught available on Penguin, IT is awesome in a pub setting, TT---with salt, silks, etc for a vanish, Dice, Cards, Monte themed effects, cups and balls, pea and shell games, Elastics..........I have worked in pubs and restaurant often, and these are some of the items that I routinely use......I am a card guy at heart, and have gone to great lengths to broaden my routine to include other basic items..........simply think about any item you would find in a pub setting.....vanish bottle caps, healed & sealed soda can, coin in bottle, you are only limited by your imagination........A coin bender is a must in a pub setting......patrons will think they are losing their minds....and will spend the entire night trying to bend the coin back

For a review of Jiggernaut, see here. It's cups and balls, Jim, but not as we know it.....

The fantastic thing about a pub environment is that it's filled with 'familiar' objects.

Beermats, darts, pool tables, condiment sachets, coins, bank notes... anything which is in it's own natural environment seems much stronger when magic is applied.

Your coin skills should serve well... everyone's got a few coins in their pockets they won't mind pulling out in a pub (perhaps not in Scotland ).

Consider also effect like 'card thru glass' using the pictures on the walls, and a Jukebox which relies on numerical entries (the old type) can be used for some great mentalism.

There's lots and lots and lots.

My wife used to part-time in a pub, and I'd sit at the bar waiting for her shift to end. And it's so easy to entertain the locals with just a few items such as a regular deck of cards, a TT, a couple of gimmicked coins, and of course—the pub favourite—IT.

IT is great in a pub environment as pubs' lighting is usually dull enough to be perfect.

Because of the volatile and unpredictible nature of the 'captive audience', you need to plan lots of outs and clean-ups though

..and howabout some nice blindfold work too as you collect the pint-pot just to put the fear into a few people...

a f**d**g coin or two...i dunno about mentalism as such, but some types of predicitions might work well...

but as siege says, make use of the surroundings....

blindfold darts for comedy....

I used to own a hotel and restaurant with a very busy bar. I worked the bar myself most evenings, it's the perfect set up to perform a few tricks.

If it's your own place, you can do so much more than you would do as a customer in a pub as you can have so much set up in advance. If you're working behind the bar, think about what you could do if, for example, you had a Mega Bertha ready to stick into a holder under the counter (don't leave it there all night or you could end up with your customers stuck to the bar). You can then do some great PK miracles like making matches stand up on the specs hand etc. without any real fear of discovery.

I used to have a Collectors Workshop 'Gift of Time' set up on a mantlepiece which I could control from behind the bar. Sure it was an expensive prop but for the reaction it got over the years I got fabulous value for money out of it ('till some sod nicked it that is... Grrrr!).

Make the most of the fact that you can set up virtually anything you want before you open the doors to the punters. Something like a John Kennedy 'Jump' (or a simplified home made version if you can't stretch to the extortionate moolah it sells for) is another one that will get you a reputation as some kind of psichokinetic genius! This sort of elaborate set up that you can only dream about if you are a table worker is a reality if it's your own place.

Use the other bar staff... slip one of them a vanished ring as they reach past you for a glass, they can then plant it in any location you like (bag of crisps? bowl of nuts?) while the customer is focussed on YOU.

As your parents are buying the pub, convince them that buying loads of expensive props is a legitimate and very worthwhile business investment (hehe!).

I could go on all night but think outside of the box and the world is your lobster!

trickyricky wrote:Hi guys. I dont really know of another way to start this thread so i'll just say it. Yesterday, my parents decided to buy a pub. Its the first time that they have ever done it, and have asked for the help of me and my sister to run it (work the bar, serve food, etc). They have also started insisting that i will be performing magic regularly for the customers.

Now, i've had a bit of experience performing for strangers, so im not so worried about that aspect. What im more concerned about is that all my effects are just card or a few coin effects. I imagine that i will be doing walkaround some of the time, and will be behind the bar serving people for the rest. I am really looking forward to doing this as i have never done anything like this before!

So, i will be in one of two different situations all of the time. So my first question is: What other types of magic do you think i should be able to perform and be ready for? And what resources do you recommend for learning these skills? I need suggestions for both behind the bar and walkaround.

My third and final question: Anyone fancy a pint?

Thanks for any help guys!

hey got any jobs going?? not just magical ones, but im after a bar job!! (what??!! its ON subject! )

You could do your magic in such a way they people don't know it's you or at least make it seem that magic things just happen to you (like Bertha and some floating effects and so on - since you can set it all up in advance as much as you like)- soon there will be the rumour going round that your pub is the only truly haunted pub in town which should attract more customers.

I sense 'The TM Book of Pub Magic' becoming a physical reality very soon!

I can make pints of real ale vanish.

i think it should an audio book, with effects being explained by a very angry and very drunk posh bloke...

like an agressive Bernard from Black Books...

trickyricky wrote:Hi guys. I dont really know of another way to start this thread so i'll just say it. Yesterday, my parents decided to buy a pub. Its the first time that they have ever done it, and have asked for the help of me and my sister to run it (work the bar, serve food, etc). They have also started insisting that i will be performing magic regularly for the customers.

Now, i've had a bit of experience performing for strangers, so im not so worried about that aspect. What im more concerned about is that all my effects are just card or a few coin effects. I imagine that i will be doing walkaround some of the time, and will be behind the bar serving people for the rest. I am really looking forward to doing this as i have never done anything like this before!

So, i will be in one of two different situations all of the time. So my first question is: What other types of magic do you think i should be able to perform and be ready for? And what resources do you recommend for learning these skills? I need suggestions for both behind the bar and walkaround.

My third and final question: Anyone fancy a pint?

Thanks for any help guys!

I think the key is to select a few effects that are strong and you perform well. Preferably effects that are fine to repeat another day for the same spectators. You might also buy a book on puzzles with matches and maybe seek out material on puzzles and gags that can be used in a pub.

I recommed Bill Marlons 4 DVDs as well as Doc Eaton 3 vidoes/DVDs on Bar (card) Magic. However, I think it is extremely important that you do not do the "beginner mistake" and all the time present new effects wihtout ever learning to do them propertly.

I suggest you begin by putting together lets say 5 effects that you are comfortable with and include them in a short 10-15 min. program. Besides that you need maybe another 5 strong effects that can stand alone. From my experience this will be far more than enogh to entertain people. You can then later gently modify and change your repotoire as you go along, but please avoid the trap of being all over the place without focus.

For the few interested regulars you might prepare extra tricks and experiment with new material....

Finally I suggest you try to be natural and do not take on an artificial persona.

Learn the 'turning water into wine' trick. It'll work wonders on your parents gross profit!

There's something in 13 Steps To Mentalism featuring a prediction of a card using a dartboard... now THAT could be fun in a pub.