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Now I normally do this at home, on my own.... and when I've honed the technique I then subject a few close friends to get my performance spot on.

However, there are plenty of occassions where I could practice, but am in public.... such as waiting at the doctors, waiting for a friend to choose a dress and sitting on a train on the way to work.

The reason I ask, is that on my way to work the other day, a guy was practicing a couple of routines, a few sleights and some card flourishes.... now these were at the stage where I'd still be doing this at home, meaning, they didn't always work and you could spot (well, maybe I'm being a little harsh here as I knew what I was looking for) a few of the 'key' moves....

Anyway, it just got me thinking.... does anyone have any views on this?

I'd be interested.

Cheers

Vats

lol, poor man
I carry a deck everywhere I go for this practice reason.
When I first started and say was learning the pass I would get them out whenever I had a spare second and go over it again and again but I must say I never did this in front of anybody I would want to show the trick to at a later date.
I found this helped in a number of ways, the first being the way our brain works, the more times you do something the stronger the path/memory becomes and thus becomes easier. Also it was important for me to build up my (never done a hard days work in my life) hand and arm muscles and this really helped.
That's just me though.
Hope that helps,
BaB

Favourite places to 'practice'/try out new stuff:

1) At work, after hours, when it's nice and quiet, the doors are locked, the phones are switched to the answering machine, and a large mug of Nescafe is close at hand.

2) At home when she who must be obeyed is out for the evening, phones, doors, & Nescafe as above.

Under these circumstances I suffer badly from time dilation - 3 hours seem to shoot past like 10 minutes and all too soon I have to put everything away again. Dammit!!

as a carer i used to practise a lot in pubs and resturants and i have got many bookings this way.
case in point the haunted key, yes i can hear you all yawning again but anyway, the main problem with the haunted key is over eagerness, so by practiseing in a enviroment of people i go into performance mode and consebtrate more on presenting the effect rather than doing it therfore aftert several sessions i achieved the desired time for key turn.

i find working blatently in the public eye helps me get things right i did the same with the tt, eating and drinking etc, realy helped me, most of the general public are to bussy to even notice and thoughs that bother to notice usualy get a bussiness card and i get a booking.

I always have a pack of cards on my desk and i constantly fiddle with them during the day....actually it has been commented that I should stop playing with the cards because from the other side of the room it looks like I am playing with myself....

....how I laughed!...I WAS actually playing with myself at the time...

..."oooh dear"...<wipes a tear from his eye>





....was that a bit TOO much info????

Keeping a deck of cards always at hand, and a Half Dollar in my pocket (that's why jeans manufacturer's give you that little pocket in the main right hand pocket - to keep your magic coins separate )

I practice all the time - and just in case I have an idea for a sleight or routine, I usually make sure there's always a deck in the glovebox - as I have been known to run out halfway through a restaurant meal and grab the cards to test out a new idea!

My ex-fiancee was not really very tolerant in the latter half of the relashionship - as I used to sit practicing riffle shuffles and stuff while she was trying to watch telly... but these days I just do it as and when.

My worst habit is trying to do coin rolls and stuff at work, where I have a glass topped desk... and halfdollars tend to be quite loud when they land on it!

I'm also dubious now about practicing in traffic jams, as the new phone law as of Dec 1, 2003 dictates you can't handle a mobile phone in the car... I wonder if there's a law about practicing your second-deal???

You can never practice too much!

For serious practice sessions, I tend to sit at the kitchen table - usually alone, with my mirrors (oooh errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....). I can sit for hours on end - and a tinny or two of beer and some Walker's Sensations with some black olives usually go down well.

You should make time and set it aside from disturbance to practice - especially when trying to learn a new routine. It needs to sink in.

That said, it is also beneficial to practice in front of trusted family/friends, to check angles and flashes etc.

But as pointed out, only do this when you're competent enough to keep the item in your hands!!!

that's why jeans manufacturer's give you that little pocket in the main right hand pocket

The other reason that pocket is there is to help ditch TT's. The inner seams retain the TT pefectly and you can show your hands to be quite innocent of any and all decptions.

I tend to pracice when my dad is close by as he will give me advice on what it looks like from a lay point of view.
My dad doesnt do magic but is very interested in it. Hes great for that type of thing.
If i am practicing close up, he walks round me to see the risky angles so i can try and hide them from him

Practice till you can do it without mistakes, then practice more till you can do it with confidence.

My mother has an old dressing table which i practice in on. It's good because it has mirrors left and right for combing the back of your hair, sorry, - meant for watching all those angles where a spectator might be standing. I sometimes use the bathroom mirror, but have wasted many cards by dropping them in the sink. - maybe i should leave the taps off!! As far as in public, no mirrors - it's all about the mirrors.
When I'm good i show my family or friends, and then everyone else.

My mother has one of those dressing tables, everytime I see it I think hmmmm, that would be handy

I went to a diy place and got six mirror tiles and built a shoddy frame from wood to do the same job, it is much more fragile I guess but it is the thing that has helped me most.
I haven't looked so I may be asking an obvious question but does somebody sell practicing mirrors, essentialy the same as the dressing table setup I should think?

I'm with boywonder. I like to have a trusted person who is in on the trick watch me practice to point out weaknesses.

As for the guy practicing in public, I'm not one to advocate giving up secrets in this way. But if you look at it objectively, nobody's really going to recognize the fact that your turning a deck over five thousand times is your attempt at a pass. They may think you're easilly entertained, though.

as a non cardy myself i would'nt practise card tricks in a pub or club, but i do practise vanishes and moves not ment to be seen anyway.
sometimes i will practise stripping cards from a stripper deck or a DL, possibly a bottom deal, but mostly its things like the haughnted key and hopping halfs just to peek someones interest so i can give them a card other than that i practise at home like every one else.