talkmagic.co.uk

hey people,

something ive noticed while doing magic is people dont have the expected reaction to a certain trick.

one trick i love doing is called the best card trick in the world, search for it on google video if you dont know what it is.

This gets a great reaction from the spec. if i am asked to do another trick i do a location, card change and then the card appears in my mouth, however this doesnt seem to get as much of a reaction as i would have thought.

i also love doing this that and the other, which gets a very good reaction at the end.

Im curious to know how you measure tricks on the 'reaction' scale and what should follow your first trick

May I offer a tip: Stop learning things from YouTube!

Learn from a reputable source and you might find your magic improving.

Let us know where you perform, what kind of situation; and we'll point you towards some books or DVDS

If you've blown them away with your first effect it's not surprising that you're finding it hard to obtain even stronger reactions for your second. Maybe you should stop at one (or try something that doesn't involve cards for your second effect).

When I perform I usualy perform a s******i routine with multiple stages, each more impossible than the last etc. This gives the spec the feeling of having witnessed several 'tricks' and it takes up the time that two or three tricks might take.

When performing it is also a good idea to have a effects that build in order of strength. Hit them quickly with a quick and good opening trick then build the strength. For example, when i still performed regular magic i often opened with a quick card trick (e.g. Ice breaker by lee Smith) then i would perform a fast chop cup routine (45 seconds max) move on to a ring flight and end with a card in sealed envelope. Sometimes i had to leave one trick out due to time. The point is that a set like that builds in order of seeming impossible, ending with a card or cards in a sealed envelope seems impossible. If i had done that earlier in the set there is a sense of 'what next?'

To make sure you hold peoples attention and get good reactions, try to make your first and last trick short. My card to envelope could be long sometimes but several things happened in a short space of time.

theycallmesuperman wrote:one trick i love doing is called the best card trick in the world, search for it on google video if you dont know what it is.

At least call it by the correct name, its called "Chicago Opener"

TheMentalist wrote:

theycallmesuperman wrote:one trick i love doing is called the best card trick in the world, search for it on google video if you dont know what it is.

At least call it by the correct name, its called "Chicago Opener"

I don't think it's fair to penalise him for that He didn't know it had another name.

But at least now he knows for the future

in my defense, when i first started out in magic, the internet is where i began.
However after i researched on magic, i have bought books.

the general situation is just at partys and social gatherings.

Obviously now, my first trick is no longer chicago opener but after learning a new trick, or making one up, i dont know how effective it will be. Its like after you've learnt a new trick, there is no scale saying what reactions you will get.

Also when you move from a card trick to the chop cup routine, how do you move from one to another, surely its just random, like there is no flow.

theycallmesuperman wrote: after learning a new trick, or making one up, i dont know how effective it will be. Its like after you've learnt a new trick, there is no scale saying what reactions you will get.

Try it on friends, family, strangers in bars or on the street where it doesn't matter if it goes wrong.

But to be honest you should probably have a fair idea of how strong an effect is based on how impossible the outcome is and how direct the presentation is. eg, if you have to get a spec to pick a card, put it on the top of a deck, count off a certain amount of cards and put them on the bottom then have them deal two piles and then pick one and deal another two piles to find their card etc (you get the picture ) then it will have less of an impact because it's less impossible than having them just place a card in a random part of the deck and then have them give a number and deal down that number to their card! You see what I mean?