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This week I'm going to get some cards printed - contact cards rather than business cards as I don't have my own business and I'm not a gigging magician yet! Their main function will be for use with my new Outlaw

However, before I did I thought I'd pick the collective brain about effects that use a written prop. I'm not usually into number tricks unless it's really, really good (you know, pick a number between 118 and 125, multiply it by this, times it by that, add up each individual digit and look, I magically predicted your number... ) but I'm open to any suggestions.

I need something I can print on the card, that will just look weird or slightly mysterious when unexplained, but could usefully tie in with an effect, or form an effect of it's own. Possibly some sort of force, revelation, or even better - something which could - perhaps with a swami - be very versatile... perhaps multiple outcomes? I don't know, but hopefully you get the picture, and have the perfect thing in mind...

Scarne on card tricks has a lot of effects that involve buisness cards. He usually puts a message on them like "Were you folled?"

Personally I really like the spoon bending routine from Sankey's "21 blows to the head" DVD: you take a spoon a napkin and a pack of business cards, you place the spoon in the napkin and give it to a spectator to hold, then you show a picture of a spoon on the business card (you can print it on it, but Snakey does it by just sketching it with a sharpie) you take the business card and give it a bend, then you tell the spectator to open the napkin and the spoon inside is bent, and then you show that the spoon in the picture on the card has also bend.

Probably the best routine in that DVD, and make it worth the money alone.

What about using the freewill principle for a mental trick.
maybe a square,cross & triangle on three different cards then write a prediction on another or have it already printed.

cheers
Chris

Mine fit nicely under a card if you control it. So I'm working on a routine where, when i put the card face down on the table (thier card) i also put the buisness card down under it. (a DL but with a business card and a playing card)

Go into lots of patter.

And finally, reveal that the card face down on the table was thier card + the surprise of finding your business card.

Needs work. But....

hmm - not too sure what you're into, but you may want get hold of Kentonism. Very interesting use of a business card

iummydd wrote:...spoon bending routine from Sankey's "21 blows to the head"...

Probably the best routine in that DVD, and make it worth the money alone.

I can't say I agree with that. The best trick in my opinion has to be Fade Away, closely followed by resistance is futile.

Anyway, back to the topic. There is an old trick that uses three spectators and nine cards (to indicate the numbers 1 thru 9) where you arrive at the same number every time despite the seemingly free random choices of which numbers are used by the speccies. Very easy trick to do and very entertaining with a good presentation.

I know this trick from Volume 4 of David Regal's "Premise, Power, Participation" series and his presentation is hilariously fantastic. However, a friend of mine did the same trick with a different presentation which he got from Richard Osterlinds "Easy To Master Mental Miracles" series. Don't know which volume it was though.

Well, so far I've gone for the ole favourite - ESP symbols. Lets face it, they're versatile if nothing else, and mentalist-style effects (NOT "pure mentalism", and not referred to as a "trick", don't worry Craig! ) are good openers/closers - the sort of time you want to be handing out your card particularly. You can predict, they can select, you can swami/PW... it'll do until I find something more original!

I've hopefully attached it for your insatiable curiosity... keep the suggestions coming though!
(PS. will print these on the computer - I'm not getting them done properly until I know for sure!)