talkmagic.co.uk

Hey, I'm going over my tricks and a lot of them in my opinion are the type of trick that merits a "oh good, quite good" response, whereas I'm more looking for a response along the "OMFG WOW!" line.

Bought Mirage and 3 card monte from Magictricks.co.uk today and have an army of thumbtips and D'lites kicking around, some Svengalis, about 3 stripper decks and some average run of the mill regular bicycle decks.

On MT.co.uk, I feel comfortable doing tricks up to rank 2 on the rating system. 3's are just out of reach at the moment with my current skill.

So..I'm gonna hit you with the question....

Can you recommend a good solid handful of tricks that are always a success, getting the WOW factor I really need?

What I'd prefer: Any type i.e coins, cards
Gimmicks involved, so no tricks with everyday objects
Instant Reset if possible, not something requiring 10 minute setups
Hard-to-spot gimmick, possibly able to hand out for examination


Cheers
Mark

Since I've been getting more and more into mentalism, rather than answer your question directly, I will demonstrate by predicting the responses you'll get to this query:

"You won't like the answer, but the performer makes the effect great or not, not the material in and of itself"

Both parts are true. Most people don't like the answer the first time they see it, but it is true, and it is what you'll hear. They'll tell you this not to discourage you but to encourage you to realize that small effects can be great miracles when properly presented

I've seen some of the simplest effects turn out amazing when in the proper hands, and some of the best effects turn into bombs due to poor presentation.

Take the torn and restored newspaper - I'm sure everyone has seen some pretty poor presentations (try youtube if you've been fortunate enough to have avoided it). It's a relatively simple trick, the thing that makes it fantastic and magic is the presentation.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=8rWcCuNYcrc is a good example of making it more than just, "Look, I've torn it. Look, now it's better".

(There's another I've seen recently by a British(?) gentleman whom I hear is very well known –even famous- in his area, but isn't well known in the US. He has small round glasses and recently released a 2nd edition of his book - maybe someone could help me out?)

Looking back at your posts you seem to have focused on effects that are released as "tricks", gimmicks, or kits. I would suggest that you pick up 2 books. You'll find hundreds of recommendations as to which ones you should get on these pages, and you could well pick any of them, but please allow me to make two suggestions: One should be a book of effects with some range (Lady of Magic already suggested Mark Wilson's Encycopedia of magic in your intro thread - I swear she must have some sort of system to make commission) so you can find what type of effects work for you. The other should be a book about presentation. These two will be invaluable as they will let you focus on a few tricks, and then how you present them. It will prevent you from becoming overwhelmed and spending money on the latest "cool" gimmick. I wish I had been smart enough to listen to this type of advice when I started out. I bought a ton of books, became overwhelmed and was constantly playing catch up with myself. It felt stressful and it should be fun.

Finally, you said you were new to magic so like most of us you probably have been doing a fair bit of surfing around sales sites looking at demos. Often to induce hype and excitement the demos feature “OMG! WTF!” type responses. In the real world these seem rare, they break the flow of the routine and while they are exciting I almost prefer seeing demos that show REAL shock. My first reaction to a brilliant performance is not to run around screaming – but to quietly admire it and allow myself that small moment of awe before trying to figure out how it was done. Being from America, I hate to admit that a lot of the screaming at magic c**p seems to have originated, or at least been popularized, here.

Best of luck,
-Tyler

It all depends on your attitude and presentation while performing. I can get a "Wow, holy c*** (not the best)!" response from a single coin move by treating it (with a silent script) with respect and giving it a sort of personal ritualistic feel.

The trick isn't necessarily what gets the reaction.

That said, Triumph, card to mouth, and a slow ACR can get very strong reactions for card people. Color changing deck routines are also strong.

I don't use it, but I would think that Paperclipped gets very strong reactions as well.

My knowledge of coin stuff is very limited, but Han Ping Chien's coin thru table is very strong (tip: find multiple methods that allow for repetition without using the same exact method twice in a row).

The only completely gimmick reliant tricks that are very strong in my repertoire are Paul Harris's Improv Screwed Deck and PH Deck Vanish. Both are excellent.

Add Penn and Tellers' to Mage's list of good TnR presentations. They hand each other bits of newspaper while Penn comments on modern events, making jokes.

Good luck!

"You won't like the answer, but the performer makes the effect great or not, not the material in and of itself"

Im going to have to agree with that statement! I have seen people make the ID look ridiculous and and obvious gimmick, rushed and boring, and on the contrary I have seen people like Bill Malone make a full routine with it and absolutely "WOW!" the audience.

I would stick to what you have got for now. If your not "wowing" the audience with that, maybe have a revamp of your presentation or invest in a dvd or book about the items you have.

I suggest watching videos of Bill Malones ID, and seeing how he presents it.

I think in a lot of ways the statement is right about the performer making the effect but I'm inclined to agree with Darwin Ortiz when he says (paraphrased here)

A cr+p trick is a cr+p trick no matter how well its presented. Think along the lines of polishing a turd.

I think its right to think about strong effects first and then the presentation around them to make them truely amazing and impossible.

For easy mind blowing effects - Chicago Opener and a colour changing deck routine always get stunning reactions

A cr+p trick is a cr+p trick no matter how well its presented.

It's true in a way. But from what he has already purchased, a "cr+p" trick isn't to be seen.

Very true, I use that colour monte all the time.

I just get sick of the line all the time that its the performer and not the effect.

Just my personal opinion but its not always the performer, it really can sometimes be the effect as well

Definately, there are some effects, which have been shoddily made and even in amazing hands lack real audience reaction. With such versatile gimmicks such as the stripper deck, the audience should definately be "WOWed" if presneted mildly well.

Wild Card wrote:

A cr+p trick is a cr+p trick no matter how well its presented.

It's true in a way.

I totally don't agree with that, I perform a version of the good old 9 card trick but altered slightly to use a entire deck and present it as a demo of muscle reading. It always goes down brilliantly, it's an old trick that everyone knows but presented in a totally different way which makes it almost believable

Wild Card wrote:
Quote:
A cr+p trick is a cr+p trick no matter how well its presented.


It's true in a way.


I totally don't agree with that, I perform a version of the good old 9 card trick but altered slightly to use a entire deck and present it as a demo of muscle reading. It always goes down brilliantly, it's an old trick that everyone knows but presented in a totally different way which makes it almost believable

I'm not sure everyone is on the same wavelength about what a "cr+p" trick is. I don't think there are many card tricks, if any, that can't be tarted up and made into miracles.

There are however, in my opinion, that are certainly a lot more limited than others, no matter how you perform them. What The Masked Magician already has purchased, is more than enough to make the audience go nuts, he is obviously just not put a lot of thought into the presentation.

Cross reference your favourite tricks with DVD's using real world footage of pro's performing in settings you would (i.e pubs bars) and getting good reactions (see reviews for an honest evaluation most the time), get them and work your personality into to the routining they use and you should be getting better reactions very quickly!

Stigmata, when done decently, will always get good reactions. In the end t all drops down to performance. Practice it, and practice it with people.

The thing is, to really get a wow factor from a spectator you really need them to believe in what you're doing. Even if it's obviously not real magic, if you can get them to suspend reason and believe in magic for just that split second, you'll have a good reaction.

That's what the top guys do, they draw you in and make you believe in what they're doing. Look at Derren Brown, people believe in him and they believe in his effects and that's why he gets the reactions that he does. The same goes for other magicians to, it's their personality and performance that they put across that pulls you in and makes you for that split second believe in them.

Presentation is everything I think. If you present a trick as a trick, it'll look like a trick, oh the spec might think it's clever but they'll still think it's a trick. Make something more out of it, make it magical and they spec will see magic. It's then that they'll feel that wonder.

don't argue with the lomster...

I only just realised why you call her Lady of Mysteryster.

what a fool.