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As with most people when creating a routine of 2 or more effects I ideally like to link them together into logical groups that flow together.

Sometimes this will be one trick that coincidentally leaves the deck nicely set up for another trick, or maybe it will be one trick that ends with an item that is used in the next trick. Basically I like continuity. I find it gives me the impression of being more professional than just doing what to the spectator may seem a random sequence of non related effects

For example if using ESP cards (aka Zener Cards or Rhine Cards) it is unlikely that I would do a single trick with them instead I may string 2 or three tricks progressively showing different and aspects of mentalism.

I thought it would be interesting (and I may well be proved wrong here) to start a thread that allows us all to name some of or favourite sequences of tricks.

Here are some of the effects I always try to do in sequence.

1. Disappearing Card Case, Invisble Deck
Rather than make the box of cards disappear, just make it invisible, and use that ID to do the ID routine...

2. Card Warp, Restored Card
As with many of you when I do a Card Warp, I will end up by tearing the cards in Half, with a comment such as "If I tear the cards in half you can clearly see that just two normal cards were used for this effect." More often than not at this point I get asked whether or not I can repair the cards, so now I am prepared for this event, and with my trusty aardvark I restore one of the cards.

3. Further Than That (Stewart James), The Secret To A Perfect Royal Flush (both from Ammar's ETMCM1).Actually they are just two examples of tricks that end with the deck set up for the next trick. I will occasionally also do a Jerry Sadowitz trick, that the name excludes me, but basically you have the spectator curt to a Royal Flush. This also is set up after "Further Than That".

As a final example of continuity in a routine, I have considered doing (but admit have never actually done) a signed card effect that ends up with the card being lost - moving on (having aparently failed) to a cups and ball routine where the final load is a lemon, then having the lemon cut open to reveal the signed card...

Truer words were never spoken!

One of the pillars of Magic is to be able to weave together different and possibly unrelated items into a continuous or at least relevant programme. Going from one card trick to another with the 'same' deck is an obvious example and the sleight merchants will be laughing up their sleeves 'cos they can do this easy peasy!

The nearest I've ever come to this was with some friends at a dinner party last year when I did the Mysterious Kings thing (don't look for it as it's not out there any more but it's a card effect!) with the suggestion that we don't control our own destinies. Then to give them chance to get their own back and pass the responsibility buck elsewhere I did Diceman - http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/viewtopic.ph ... ht=diceman - in a fairly spooky manner. And then to round it off and lighten the atmosphere with a bit of normal, mystifying magic, I used the same die for Dice Thru Mirror - http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/viewtopic.ph ... hru+mirror.

Not exactly earth shattering stuff but it gave me a continuity pattern to work with and I'd hope it made the short programme more interesting for the specs. It was hard to tell as most of them were drunk as skunks but I think it went OK as they're still talking to me.

and I'd hope it made the short programme more interesting for the specs

I'd hope it does make it more interesting, but regardless of this I think it definitely makes it all the more magical, as from the spec's point of view it was one routine as opposed to many unrelated tricks. If you just do a series of unrelated tricks, then the spec will (I believe) be more inclined to just assume you have been out and bout a load of gimicked effects, whereas the way you were doing it it suddenly becomes believable as magic/mind power/suggestion/whatever you are trying to project.

most of my shows follow a set sequence with patter lines that folow on to each trick, i like to group tricks such as cut and restored rope, unequal ropes and ring off/on rope in one sequence then have a patter line that links the ring onto a linging ring routine etc.

Good topic, and one which should not be taken lightly.

Oddly, I was only writing yesterday about 'Routine Maintenance', and here's a few things to share with you on this subject:

Routine structure
I think it's not only important to have a flow/continuity, but also find LOGICAL links between effects. Seen a few things lately which are so disjointed as individual effects, but fit together in a logical pattern.

The ones mentioned above by Bananafish are quite logical - i.e. vanished card case > ID, or card warp to restored card.
But how about something more illogical, such as the link between something like ambitious card - and floating card - i.e. the card is LIGHTER.

This allows cross-genre magic to take place. The fusion of two or more effects/principles allows for what is essentially a new effect. I.e. - use the floating part of the floating card effect alongside the ambitious card to PROVE that the card rises to the top because it's lighter.

Escape Rout-ines
Not only should you have your regular routine planned, but JUST IN CASE things go wrong, or heavens forbid, you DIE onstage - have a few side-alleys you can go down to resurrect a dying trick... i.e.

THE ID DEATH SYNDROME
We've all been there... you get the WRONG card turned over in the ID. Sometimes it's a genuine mistake, owing to bad calculations - and occasionally, it's because you've not put the deck back together correctly. So, have an escape plan! My personal fave is to hand the speccy the *wrong* card, and quickly flick around, cull and steal the RIGHT card into lateral palm, and perform a double-lift switch.
Tell the speccy to keep the *wrong* card and you can use it later. Of course, they have the CORRECT card in their hand.




It's very wise to plan this way. I once watched a documentary about comedians, and how they 'flow' their gags. They always have a get-out plan, in case things go wrong.

Funnily enough, the more I am starting to concentrate on 'Plain Deck' purist stuff and mentalism, the more I realise that it's so hard to keep track of pure 'impromptu' routines than it is to keep track of, for instance, packet effects.

Packet effects/gaffed/gimmicked stuff is PHYSICAL and easier to keep track of in your mind for that reason. Whereas, things such as Vernon's Twisting the Aces, Poker deals etc. are NOT physical, as they involve a standard deck and moves.

Stage work, from what I gather, is far easier to plan, for the above reasons... everything is FAR more logically put together because most props are one-trick-ponies, such as zig-zag, sawing in half, etc.

This could turn out to be a really fun thread...

not forgetting you can use music and audio ques to bridge the gap between tricks for example after ive caught a ghost (yellow silk) in my clear prod box to the ghostbusters music.
the music changes to life is like a butterfly on which i start produceing paper butterflys, the music goes to life is a celebration on which i produce a series of champagne bottles.

Very very good thread

I can only agree, I think the watching of other types of entertainer is a good one, I also learned a lot about flow from comedians when I was starting out and it convinced me to learn stuff I didn't think I wanted to learn to enable a simple 3 or 4 tricks strung together and also made me think about outs.

It is nice to see this being talked about, it is as important as the tricks isn't it? It certainly adds a whole new level of entertainment rather than the heres a thing, heres another thing, hold on while I switch props etc.
Nice thread and glad it is here for people to read, including myself

Man I wish I knew this kind of stuff at the start, lol.

In relation to a slightly different aspect of 'Showbiz' did anyone ever see Gloria Gaynor in concert at her height of 'I will Survive' fame? She had no charisma at all, and her method of linking one song to the next was by the simple wording, 'That was..... and now I'll sing.....' That was it. Nothing else. No attempt to introduce any kind of flow to it all. Thanks goodness we know better. I hope!

PS Great thread, it's got me thinking and re-evaluating a few things outside of magic as well.

you want showmanship and linkage then i only have two words for you.

puppy love

for pure sleighters (ie. ME hopefully!) one of the major difficulties in routining is the ability to cull the deck into order for the next routine cos if you cant (ie ME!) leaves you with maybe a dozen "find a card" tricks followed by a " hold on while i set this up!!"... so any tips on culling cards are greatfully received!

the_mog wrote:for pure sleighters (ie. ME hopefully!) one of the major difficulties in routining is the ability to cull the deck into order for the next routine cos if you cant (ie ME!) leaves you with maybe a dozen "find a card" tricks followed by a " hold on while i set this up!!"... so any tips on culling cards are greatfully received!

The advice is to buy the Lennart Green series 1-6. He can put a deck in order using all sorts of techniques—and use each arrangement stage as an effect in itself.

ive got the first green magic one and i find him a little hard to follow to be honest. so any OTHERS are appreciated also... hehe

You can always use a stripper deck... I will leave the rest to your imagination, but a decent stripper deck can act just like a regular deck 90% of the time...

Personally, after watching Green, I now find it almost second nature to be able to arrange somthing like a royal flush using culls and cuts - whilst just pattering.

Using a system of glimpses and peeks, it seems like you can just lay your hands on the right cards at any time. Just practice, I suppose.

The Lennart Green dvds are class - i use drop cull separation, a lot... you just spread through the cards asking if the spectator can see their card in the deck... and you're culling, a royal flush or 4 aces or whatever.

I use a string of 3 regularly with mentalism.


1. I give the spec 2 situations and tell them to think of one of them. I then tell them which one they are thinking of, sometimes I can tell them that they first thought of one then changed their mind to the other and in which order.

This is I tell them simply a tuning in session.

2. Next I bring out Dieabolical Die for a bit of fine tuning.

3. After two tricks that give them a limited choice I now give them a much wider choice and get them to draw a shape with a number in it, which is then put in my wallet without me seeing, I of course can reproduce it.

I find this method much more powerful than any one of them on their own, as they get a growing sensation that you are able to read them like a book. Also the method is different in each case, so it makes it very hard for them to work out. In particular the first one, in which there is no way of knowing except being able to read them or with a lucky guess. THis sets the precedent I want.