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Thing is when you're doing magic to members of the public, what makes a trick impressive is that it presents you as a person with great skill or power. O.O.T.W is amazing to strangers because it makes them think you have psychological or supernatural abilities.

Your family will not think that, they'll always know you're just a bloke so you need a trick that is so impossible that it just blows them away, or it has a twist they don't see coming.

These are the trick's my family keep insisting are the best I've ever done.

Cup and balls, one which ends with you producing fruit. Best way to get a great reaction is to surprise them, people never expect to see a lemon so somehow it's more magical.

The ultra mental deck or ID just place a pack of cards on the table and have your family decide on a card as a group. This is a really great one because you can focus entirely on presentation. Try to get everyone as involved with it as possible.

Hi

Is it just card tricks you are wanting to perform? Only I have performed many a trick on friends and family and have found that the ones with everyday objects go down the best as Alfred said Joshua jay is very good as I'd Paul zennons street magic.

Whatever you do ur family will love it

Good luck

M

Posted in two parts because my computer is c*** (not the best) and because I like to artificially boost my post count.

The chicargo opener, I can't remember where I learned this but I think it was from another magician. I'm sure someone here will know which book it's from. The one thing about this trick is you'll have to know how to do a D/L and a force.

What makes this trick work is that it seems to go wrong before turning out right. This always causes a strong reaction because:
1. Like the cup and balls it's surprising.
2: By appearing to fail you will make your audience root for you, apart from some rare wankers most people hate seeing someone fail as they then suffer empathetic embarrassment.
3. When you appear to fail they then dread the obviously awful and clumsy act they're going to have to politely sit through, suddenly succeeding causes great relief translating to greater enjoyment.

Jean Eugene Roberts wrote:The chicargo opener, I can't remember where I learned this but I think it was from another magician. I'm sure someone here will know which book it's from. The one thing about this trick is you'll have to know how to do a D/L and a force.

Original Chicago Opener routine appeared in Frank Garcia's Million Dollar Card Secrets, page 13. Many people have come up with exact copies or differing methods but the plot remains pretty much the same...it's a great routine.

Also sort of taken on the name "The World's Best Card Trick" for some reason, I imagine somebody published it online somewhere under that name to many people.

In three parts ffs.

You don't have to do any of the trick's I've mentioned (obviously), but I do think you should bear in mind the criteria: surprise, impossible and victory from defeat.

Actually while I've been typing this now unnecessarily long post I've thought up an O.O.T.W that might work.

You ask your family to start dividing a pack of cards into two groups telling them you're going to tell just by touching the pack how many are in each group.

You then place your hand over each pile and declare '26 in the left pile and 26 in the right, wow that's quite a coincidence'.
You (or an audience member) then count down the pack face down, revealing 19 in the left and 24 in the right, a complete failure.

You splutter around for a bit before saying
'Oh balls I know what went wrong, this deck is missing cards, 19 and 24 adds up to 43, there are meant to be 52 cards in a deck, so I said 26 in each because I knew' (Turn the cards over) 'that you would separate them perfectly into reds and blacks.'

Pepsi Twist wrote:Edit: I was just looking for this Gemini twins and it's come up on Google books so I learnt it already! I'll still add the book to my wanted list though of course

Check out amazon, most of the Fulves 'self working' books are on there dead cheap secondhand. I bought a load of 'used' books off there and they're all like new. Except the balloon book that my 3 yr old took a sharpie to when I was out of the room

Here's the fulves card tricks for £2.81

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listin ... ition=used

and the "more" cards for £4.28

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listin ... ition=used

fill yer boots.

Stop loading up on tricks, they won't do you any good unless you can present them. My two cents? Use two card effects you already know, throw in a coin trick, Scotch and Soda, Dynamic coins, something short and simple. Perhaps change it up a little with a hankerchief vanish using a good ole' fashioned TT and you are good to go. Keep them fun, simple and engaging.

I did look on Amazon for the Karl Fulves books, both for £7 seems pretty good! I don't have any gimmicks (except hopefully UCCU if it ever arrives!!) and I am too poor to buy much at the moment I just want a handful of decent tricks I can work on to present at christmas. Thanks to everyone, so far I will probably use Design for laughs, Out of this world (I have Paul Zenons Street Magic) and Gemini Twins, and I will have a look at Chicago opener. What a splendidly helpful bunch you all are!

Right there you have a decent set of stuff - hope it all goes well!

I'd recommend John Scarn on card tricks, similar to the Fulves. Plenty of self workers on varied themes.

Something like a simple two card transpo or a simple ACR is easy to do.

Stephen Ward wrote:Something like a simple two card transpo or a simple ACR is easy to do.

Do you think so Stephen?

Because the DL is taking me ages to master, and I am reluctant to even attempt performing an ACR with perfecting this

Yes, sorry! We all have different views on what is simple, i forget sometimes that not everyone knows the moves yet. A stud DL is a nice one to learn.

I am working on a DL but it is taking a while to make it look natural, I think I am a long way from that unfortunately

i found the mechanics DL easy to learn.