How to stop people being over inquizative.

Struggling with an effect? Any tips (without giving too much away!) you'd like to share?

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How to stop people being over inquizative.

Postby jugglemonkey » Feb 12th, '04, 16:22



Ok so have been practicing some transposition effects with cards. Mainly utilising the DL. but when i give them "their" card to place their hand over they often check to see if its theirs. How can i stop this? They don't suss what im doing but continuosly they are trying to "catch" me out.

please save me doctor nick,

yours truly,

worried magician (hampshire)
:lol:

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Postby magicdiscoman » Feb 12th, '04, 16:47

i usualy say when i put the card down place your hand ontop and you other one crosswise so that i cant get to it, place it down then dont take your finger off the card till both hands are down.
as they do this say it is not uncommon for skilled mages to finger palm off the card from under your hands so you see mine are empty.

this usualy sets it in there head that the card they are holding hasn't been tampered with and that they have one over you, for women you can ask them to out there top hand in yours and stroke it a few times then say this is not part of the trick i just wanted to stoke your hand.

then say did you feel me............switch your card........no...would you like me to do it again, streatch out hand eagerly...finish reveal as required.

with men same process but diferent patter you take there hand and access there ability to feel subtle vibrations made when you switch there card :wink: :wink:

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Postby nickj » Feb 12th, '04, 16:54

I recomend control and direction.

Don't give them a chance to look, but definately don't tell them not too. What I do is put the card on the table or on their hand then physically place their other hand over it. Then I either press down slightly on the hand or squeeze them both together whilst telling them to make sure that I can't do anything to change 'their' card. This way you subconsciously tell them that they have their chosen card and you put a short delay into theit reactions. They are unlikely to open thier hands once you've told them to keep them tightly closed, and even if they do and hence find the card changed you've got the 'out' that if they hadn't opened their hands you wouldn't have been able to change the card! Admitedly if they do do this you don't get to continue as planned but if it has been more then three seconds (this seems to be the span of very short term memory) the exact sequence of events will have been forgotten and the memorey will be of 'their'card being placed in their hands.

The times that this will fail are when people are trying to catch you out and in those situations you should pack up and move on anyway.

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Cogito sumere potum alterum.
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Postby magicdiscoman » Feb 12th, '04, 17:01

perfect thats why nick's the king of cards.

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Postby nickj » Feb 12th, '04, 17:06

'Tis not much different to what you said though, I just made it sound more complicated, perhaps I should make a dvd....

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Postby Midas Kid » Feb 12th, '04, 17:24

Couldn't agree more with Nickj. Subtle control is everything. Picking the right person is also a mjor part of it. I know this is obvious but if you have a real mouthy bloke don't use him as he will be doing all he can to undermine your performance (get him later with that effect that blows him away). Also by making the spectator the centre of the attention they should play along.

Sorry dude you just have to keep doing until one day you will hit on the phrase/action that work for you and the spectators will listen. From then on they will never look at the card.

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Postby Mandrake » Feb 12th, '04, 18:53

Double Back requires this twice so can be doubly dangerous. When sliding 'their' card towards them, I take the spec's hand, ask them to point their first two fingers straight out like a gun (and show them what to do using my other hand) and then arrange it so the tips are firmly placed in the middle of the card and warn them not to move or let me or anyone else get at their card - in case I cheat, Heaven forbid. The second time they already know the form so it's easier and you can add to it with a bit more mock sincerity - dire warnings of doom etc! But, if you can see that someone is going to be difficult, as suggested above don't use them and pick someone well away from them if possible so they can't reach over and get involved. Last resort, stand up, bow slightly, excuse yourself by saying they're all far too good for you, and leave the area. You can swear your head off outside in the car park.

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Postby seige » Mar 10th, '04, 13:34

Some important points raised... and rightly so!

Spectator selection is very important. Never EVER ask someone to help who looks like they could be volatile, quizzing or generally a pain in the asterix.

Choose your spectators wisely... pick someone who looks like they are enjoying the work, as they will be more receptive and responsive to what you are about to do.

When handing an object to a spectator, such as an indifferent card from a DL, I often find that if I gesture to them first to hold their hand out, palm down, fingers outstretched, at waist height, then place the card into their hand, they rarely peek.

If you're at a table with more than one speccy, slip the top card to the table, ask the 'main' speccy to place a palm down on the card, then ask the second speccy to place their hand over the first, to 'magician proof' the card.

There is also the element of "suspicion via attention" which can catch you out, i.e. the idea that if you tell a child NOT to look at something, they do. And it's not just children...
The bigger deal you make about it, the more heat there will be.

Being able to perform a fluent and smooth DL is paramount to being able to belay the suspicion.

Also, saying things like 'THAT's YOUR CARD', 'HERE'S YOUR SIGNED CARD' etc and over-emphasising can also raise suspicion.

It's another thing that I feel falls into my 'UnSleightly' principle, which is, at the end of the day, what you want the spectator to see is that you show their card, turn it face down, and hand it to them. Work on this, and it will serve you well.

After all, I consider the DL to be possibly one of the most important sleights in all of card magic.

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Postby Midas Kid » Mar 10th, '04, 15:31

After all, I consider the DL to be possibly one of the most important sleights in all of card magic.


Someone should tell Bananafish :)

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Postby Mandrake » Mar 10th, '04, 15:37

How to stop people being over inquisitive? Easy - just introduce them to your two assistants. Mr.Smith and Mr.Wesson.

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Postby seige » Mar 10th, '04, 16:06

:)

Like it.

But really, the real essence of this thread indicates CONTROL.

You need to try and maintain control of the situation at all times. As soon as you enter a room, you can start sussing out the areas and tables etc. where you may lose your control.

And as Nick says, if you start getting grief, they're obviously not interested in what you're doing, so move on.

It happens all the time, and is very soul-destroying.

I wish there was a way out of it, but once it happens, and a speccy has you where they want you - i.e. backed into a corner, that's it. Game over.

So, the upshot is, maintain control as much as possibly. Analyse each effect and it's pros/cons, and try to tighten up your performance in areas which leave you exposed to such situations.

Oh, and the topic of the day is PRACTICE, and that's relevant here, too. Being totally flawless is almost impossible, but it's good to get as close as possible.

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Postby Part-Timer » Mar 10th, '04, 19:02

"Wonder Words" contains some advice on categorising spectators and this might help you in choosing who to get to do this type of effect.

However, just using your common sense (as suggested above) is a great starting point and may be all you need.

It reminds me of something I did many years ago. It was a card prediction "sucker" effect, where I was to predict the wrong card, then the prediction I wrote changes to the right one.

I had some business cards and wrote the name of "wrong" card on one. I got the spectator to sign the business card and then put it on the table, face down.

She immediately picked it up and looked at it. My heart skipped a beat, but she just smiled at me, put it back down and waited for me to carry on. She obviously had just checked for her signature and hadn't noticed that the prediction now said something different.

She chose her card. I confidently said that she had chosen the card I predicted. She thought I had got it wrong and was amazed when she turned the business card over and read what I had written.

To her, the trick was impossible, as she was the last person to handle the card.

Now, if only I could get people to do that regularly, it would be a real winner.

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Postby jugglemonkey » Mar 10th, '04, 19:52

Wow! didn'y know this thread was still breathing let alone how much info there is! Thanks to all of you guys! I have been fiddling with some different handlings on the DL, like taking the card and letting the cards fall as one onto the top of the deck as one face up. then turning them over again then thumbing this card off. I'm sure this method is one all you guys use. But it has aided in making my DL look more believable (due to the fact that this is how i display cards usually).

I've also started showing random people my effects as my friends now my "handling" of cards during a game and therefore now how i shuffle/deal and lift cards. Thanks for all your help guys.

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