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how about some coin magic> or some mentalismesque effects, and you could throw in some geek magic for good measure.

Mix it up, do bill switches, mind reading, 'experiments'. There is so much more to magic than cards

but.. twist the aces, ace routines, storyline effects, dream of aces, pick a card effects where the pick a card part is almost an afterthought and forgot about. ' burger kings ' springs to mind

i can see where you're coming from but i think you can't go wrong by making every trick a pick a card trick, any trick that involves a person on some level just makes that trick that much better for them; makes it a touch more personal.
and while someone performing some kind of ace production/location can look quite nice, it doesn't really have that personal touch.
if you don't want to start every trick with "so.. pick a card.." you could at least try and include a spectator as much as possible, get them to handle the cards as much as you can let them. i'll go back to ace productions here, how about doing an ace production bit after having 2 or 3 people shuffle the deck? doesn't have that "pick a card" bit to it, but does have the element of audience participation.

but that's just the way i look at things, any stage performer could give you plenty of other ideas.

Now one thing I like to do is to run a couple of pick a card type tricks back to back using the same card. One combination I use fairly often is RRTCM's Everywhere and Nowhere followed by a card through hankie and finishing with the card vanishing from the deck and appearing in their bag, pocket, etc...

....and sometimes, just giving them the whole pack to look thru whilst you say "just keep one that you identify with the most..." can also give you a little something extra to build upon later...

if you personalise it, it feels less scripted...

or even just ribbon spread them face up, gather them up quickly, turn 'em face down and ask them to cut somewhere, anywhere they choose...and then perhaps hint that subconciously they selected that card for a reason...

Also, if you're getting tired of card tricks in general, you really should look into learning about coins and mentalism effects.

monker59 wrote:Also, if you're getting tired of card tricks in general, you really should look into learning about coins and mentalism effects.

but not if it doesnt suit your character...and you can link the effects together into a proper routine...

I personally don't see the need to learn any coin or mentalism tricks (at the minute). I haven't any problems at the minute just using card tricks.

As long as the tricks are varied, have different patter and productions things should be interesting. I try and keep the pick a card to one or two tricks in a set. I'll use the same card for different tricks as well, to keep things flowing.

Anothing good thing to keep things flowing is to riffle and just show the card after they say stop (or your prefered method) then get on with the trick. Things are a lot fluent this way rather than pick a card...... ok show it about..... place it in the pack...

I find that usually the first trick (with a picked card) the spec will want to physically pick a card but there after just keep things fast and flowing.

OOTW, cards by weight, getting one person to think of a card and another to name a no, then making that card jump to that no

abraxus wrote:

monker59 wrote:Also, if you're getting tired of card tricks in general, you really should look into learning about coins and mentalism effects.

but not if it doesnt suit your character

The chances that not one single coin or mentalism effect not suiting somebody is very slim. I used to think I would never learn rope magic, but I found some good effects and now I perform some impromptu ones for friends all the time.

Lawrence wrote:i can see where you're coming from but i think you can't go wrong by making every trick a pick a card trick, any trick that involves a person on some level just makes that trick that much better for them; makes it a touch more personal.
and while someone performing some kind of ace production/location can look quite nice, it doesn't really have that personal touch.

I was just re-reading 'Shattering Illusions' in which Jamy Ian Swiss makes similar points, stressing audience involvement and suggesting that what he calls 'display magic' can be sorely lacking in comparison.

I have often worried about 'pick a card' tricks just because it is such a cliche, but I now think he and you have a very good point. People like picking a card, having a vested interest in whether you correctly identify it in whatever wonderful manner, knowing (rightly or wrongly! that they really did make a free choice.

It's also worth bearing in mind that the original poster said that his peformance went down very well; it seems like it's magicians who worry about 'too many pick a card tricks' more than the audience does...

monker59 wrote:

abraxus wrote:

monker59 wrote:Also, if you're getting tired of card tricks in general, you really should look into learning about coins and mentalism effects.

but not if it doesnt suit your character

The chances that not one single coin or mentalism effect not suiting somebody is very slim. I used to think I would never learn rope magic, but I found some good effects and now I perform some impromptu ones for friends all the time.

i meant that if your displaying card skills in a traditional sense, suddenly swopping over to a mentalist effect might look a little iffy and suspicious...

abraxus wrote:

monker59 wrote:

abraxus wrote:

monker59 wrote:Also, if you're getting tired of card tricks in general, you really should look into learning about coins and mentalism effects.

but not if it doesnt suit your character

The chances that not one single coin or mentalism effect not suiting somebody is very slim. I used to think I would never learn rope magic, but I found some good effects and now I perform some impromptu ones for friends all the time.

i meant that if your displaying card skills in a traditional sense, suddenly swopping over to a mentalist effect might look a little iffy and suspicious...

Not if you're clever. A comlete leap can look like a smooth transistion using one sentence: "And now, let's change things for a moment and move in a slightly different direction". I used to use this all the time for not only magic but in my writing assignments and my teacher that I was brilliant.

P.S. I feel bad for using all these quotes.

well...lets leave it there, its just a difference of opinion eh...

we all have different paths afterall

As the saying goes, Dif'rent Strokes for different folks.

Little bit of American TV humor there for ya.

Ooh, just missed out on that one... FWIW, I agree with abraxus.